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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 2 hours 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. 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 and weighing strategies among key partners with a deadline just days away.
Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also planned to take a breather from the high-stakes negotiations while Kerry traveled to Paris. 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. In a sign of the evolving nature of the talks, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, appeared to call off plans to return to Tehran to discuss the status of the bargaining.
The moves, however, do not appear to reflect an unraveling as Monday’s deadline loomed. It was not immediately clear whether Kerry would also shift his agenda after Zarif’s decision, reported by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Instead, a senior State Department official described Kerry’s upcoming meetings in Paris as a strategy session with European allies to plan for homestretch efforts back in Vienna. Kerry was scheduled to head to Paris for further meetings with envoys from some of the nations involved in the talks: the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany.
The official said it was “natural time” for Kerry and allies to huddle since Zarif was in Tehran. The Paris meetings will discuss “the next steps moving forward,” added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are at a sensitive stage. Zarif’s move comes amid an array of speculation and commentary on whether a deal can be reached by Monday and — if not — what it would mean for prospects between the West and Iran after nuclear negotiations were revived nearly three years ago.
The State Department official said the foreign ministers are expected to return later this weekend, and the talks will continue in their absence. The issues have narrowed to several key points: The extent of Iran’s ability to make nuclear fuel, the level of U.N. monitoring and how much Iran can see international and U.S. economic sanctions eased in exchange for concessions.
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. The U.S. and its allies fear Iran could use its uranium enrichment labs to one day produce warhead-grade material. Iran insists it does not seek a nuclear weapons and only wants to fuel reactors for energy and medical applications.
But it also noted 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 met with Zarif on Friday, but both sides gave no significant details — a sign of how much was at stake.
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 huddled in Vienna with foreign ministers from France and Britain, as well as Germany’s representative to the talks. Kerry also spoke by telephone with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, his office said in Moscow.
Kerry also was scheduled to talk with his French and British counterparts, Laurent Fabius and Philip Hammond. Russia, a close Iranian ally, has important clout in the talks. Russia built Iran’s lone energy-producing reactor in service, and signed a deal this month to construct others in the coming decade.
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. Lavrov said he and Kerry agreed that “additional efforts” were needed to strike a deal by the deadline, according to statement from Russia’s foreign ministry, without elaborating on the remaining hurdles.
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.” In Tehran, the influential speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, expressed hope of a deal before the deadline as “serious talks” continue between the United States and Iran, IRNA reported.
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. Kerry’s possible meetings in Paris are designed as a strategy session with European allies to plan for “the next steps forward,” said a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitity of the talks.
Though negotiators have said they have made significant progress in months of talks, the remaining issues are among the most complex. The negotiators have been tight-lipped about the sticking points in the talks underway at the Coburg Palace.
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.”
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 favor 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 oversight from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based 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.
It’s not clear who Kerry plans to meet with in Paris. Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.
China and Russia are the only other negotiating partners Kerry has not spoken to in Vienna. Kerry also has met in recent days with officials from Oman and Saudi Arabia — both important Arab allies.