US secretary of state remains cautious about Iran deal but cites progress

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/14/john-kerry-iran-nuclear-talks

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John Kerry said that talks on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme have made progress, but there were still “important gaps” to overcome.

The US secretary of state said the discussions aimed “not just to get any deal – it is to get the right deal”.

“We made some progress, but there are still some gaps, important gaps,” Kerry said on Saturday at a conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The negotiations are entering their final phase, with Kerry due to meet his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Switzerland after the conference in Egypt ends.

Six world powers – Britain, China, France, Russia, the US and Germany – aim by the end of this month to nail down the outline of a deal that would prevent Tehran from making a nuclear weapon.

“The deadline is approaching. Time is critical,” Kerry said. “We continue to remain focussed on reaching the right deal.”

The parties hope to reach a full accord by 1 July.

However, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticised the negotiations.

On Thursday he said the other side in the talks was “deceitful and stabs in the back”, according to Iranian news agency ISNA.

Kerry will be joined in Lausanne by the US negotiating team, including chief negotiator undersecretary of state Wendy Sherman and energy secretary Ernest Moniz.

“I want to be very clear. Nothing in our deliberations is decided until everything is decided,” said Kerry. “President Obama means it when he says again and again that Iran will not permitted to get a nuclear weapon.”

World powers remain focussed on getting the “right deal”, he added.