Everything You Need to Know About the Iran Nuclear Talks
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After a second extension in November, the Iran nuclear talks are back on.
Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, twice this week in Geneva and Paris, and staff-level talks have resumed under a March 1 deadline.
At a press conference on Friday, President Obama sought to convey the negotiations importance alongside UK Prime Minister David Cameron, a close partner among the countries negotiating with Iran, which have been dubbed the P5+1: the five permanent members of the UN Security Councilthe U.S., UK, Russia, China, and Franceplus Germany.
I've always said that the chances that we can actually get a diplomatic deal are probably less than 50-50. Iran is a regime that, you know, is deeply suspicious of the West, deeply suspicious of us, Obama said. We have huge differences with them on a whole range of issues.
Cameron, for his part, acknowledged that hes personally lobbied U.S. senators against passing new sanctions that could sink the talks, while Obama promised a veto if Congress makes that move.
With neither side commenting publicly on the substance of the talks, many questions remain unanswered. Here are some critical things to keep in mind.
ROUHANI WANTS A VOTE
Last week, President Hassan Rouhani caused a stir in Iran by calling for a public vote.
Addressing an economic conference, Rouhani suggested holding referenda on issues of significant national concern, state news agency IRNA reported, proposing to implement a little-used provision in Irans constitution that allows for such referenda. Many interpreted that as a reference to the nuclear talks.
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Everything You Need to Know About the Iran Nuclear Talks