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| Kerry opens homestretch push for Iran nuclear deal with deadline looming | Kerry opens homestretch push for Iran nuclear deal with deadline looming |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| VIENNA – Secretary of State John F. Kerry plunged into wide-ranging talks Friday over efforts to define limits on Iran’s nuclear program, meeting with Iran’s top diplomat then pulling back to confer with Western partners with a deadline just days away. | |
| Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also planned to step away from the high-stakes negotiations in Vienna. Zarif was scheduled to return to Tehran for “consultations and exchange of views with top officials,’’ said Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. | |
| Kerry, meanwhile, headed to Paris for strategy sessions with European allies as Monday’s deadline loomed. It was unclear when Kerry would return to Vienna, said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, but he would remain in close contact with the negotiating team and others. | |
| The escalating high-intensity push on all sides highlighted the hopes of reaching some kind of pact after nearly three years of discussions between Iran, the United States and five other nations. | |
| But it also reflected the hurdles still to overcome such as the level of Iran’s ability to make nuclear fuel and how quickly international sanctions could be lifted in return for Iranian concessions. | But it also reflected the hurdles still to overcome such as the level of Iran’s ability to make nuclear fuel and how quickly international sanctions could be lifted in return for Iranian concessions. |
| Kerry, who arrived in the Austrian capital Thursday night, embarked on a round of meetings Friday morning that included a sit-down with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Catherine Ashton, the European Union representative who is present every time Kerry and Zarif get together. | Kerry, who arrived in the Austrian capital Thursday night, embarked on a round of meetings Friday morning that included a sit-down with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Catherine Ashton, the European Union representative who is present every time Kerry and Zarif get together. |
| Kerry also was scheduled to talk with his French and British counterparts, Laurent Fabius and Philip Hammond. | Kerry also was scheduled to talk with his French and British counterparts, Laurent Fabius and Philip Hammond. |
| The negotiators have been tight-lipped about the sticking points in the talks underway at the Coburg Palace. Few details have leaked out to reporters assembled in an overheated tent outside. Tight security has deterred many locals from frequenting the hair salons and boutiques on the quiet streets nearby. | The negotiators have been tight-lipped about the sticking points in the talks underway at the Coburg Palace. Few details have leaked out to reporters assembled in an overheated tent outside. Tight security has deterred many locals from frequenting the hair salons and boutiques on the quiet streets nearby. |
| Within earshot of the hotel, about a dozen Iranians, who said they are residents of Austria, stood on a street corner waving placards that proclaimed, “No deals with the mullahs.” | Within earshot of the hotel, about a dozen Iranians, who said they are residents of Austria, stood on a street corner waving placards that proclaimed, “No deals with the mullahs.” |
| They alternated between Farsi, English and German as they chanted, “Down with Khamanei, down with Rouhani,” referring to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, who has propelled the nuclear talks as a path for Iran escape the yoke of sanctions. | They alternated between Farsi, English and German as they chanted, “Down with Khamanei, down with Rouhani,” referring to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, who has propelled the nuclear talks as a path for Iran escape the yoke of sanctions. |
| Though negotiators have said they have made significant progress in months of talks, the remaining issues are among the most complex. | Though negotiators have said they have made significant progress in months of talks, the remaining issues are among the most complex. |
| The United States and its negotiating partners want Iran to reduce its stockpiles of uranium and the centrifuges used to enrich uranium. The goal is to get the levels low enough so it would take a year or longer for Iran to enrich enough uranium to potentially build a nuclear bomb. | The United States and its negotiating partners want Iran to reduce its stockpiles of uranium and the centrifuges used to enrich uranium. The goal is to get the levels low enough so it would take a year or longer for Iran to enrich enough uranium to potentially build a nuclear bomb. |
| But Iran, which claims its nuclear program is only for civilian purposes, wants more centrifuges to make fuel for nuclear reactors. Iran currently has one main energy-producing reactors, but others are planned. | But Iran, which claims its nuclear program is only for civilian purposes, wants more centrifuges to make fuel for nuclear reactors. Iran currently has one main energy-producing reactors, but others are planned. |
| In addition, Iran wants all sanctions lifted permanently and soon. The United States and its allies want a gradual suspension, a temporary measure that could be slapped back into place if Iran is found to be cheating. They also want Iran, which already has a heavily monitored nuclear program, to submit to even more monitoring from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. | In addition, Iran wants all sanctions lifted permanently and soon. The United States and its allies want a gradual suspension, a temporary measure that could be slapped back into place if Iran is found to be cheating. They also want Iran, which already has a heavily monitored nuclear program, to submit to even more monitoring from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. |
| On Thursday, Iran’s nuclear head, Ali Akbar Salehi, showed no signs of relenting, telling local reporters that Iran would increase its enrichment capacity to 20 times its current level within eight years. | On Thursday, Iran’s nuclear head, Ali Akbar Salehi, showed no signs of relenting, telling local reporters that Iran would increase its enrichment capacity to 20 times its current level within eight years. |