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Iran nuclear talks struggle with ‘tough issues’ as gaps remain Iran nuclear talks inch along slowly
(about 5 hours later)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Secretary of State John F. Kerry said U.S. and Iranian negotiators grappled Thursday with “tough issues” over Iran’s nuclear program, as diplomats suggested they are unlikely to reach an agreement this week. LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Talks over Iran’s nuclear future remained bogged down Thursday over fundamental issues, with the duration of a potential accord and the pace of sanctions relief still unresolved.
A European negotiator said talks were “slow” and remained “pretty far away” from an agreement that would curb Iran's nuclear program and ease sanctions — countering claims earlier this week attributed to a top Iranian envoy that most hurdles had been cleared. U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who spent a fourth straight day in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said negotiators have taken a few steps forward but are wrestling with some difficult matters in the final stages of talks.
Kerry, whose morning meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was delayed by almost two hours for unexplained reasons, came to the hotel garden on a sunny day for lunch, and made a more cautious assessment. “We’re pushing some tough issues,” Kerry told reporters when he emerged for a lunch break on a hotel patio. “But we made progress. We’re just working away.”
“We’re pushing some tough issues,” he told reporters. “But we made progress. We’re just working away. Working hard.” [Read: A framework? A deal? The semantics of the talks]
The most dismal assessment came from the European negotiator from one of the five countries that are working alongside the United States to reach a framework agreement by March 31: France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia. Negotiators face a March 31 deadline to achieve a framework agreement that includes the broad outlines for a final accord, to be reached by June.
[A framework? A deal? The semantics of the talks ] A European official familiar with the negotiations said the March deadline is critical to the Obama administration, which is under pressure to come up with an agreement before Congress enacts laws that could complicate a final deal, such as imposing more sanctions on Iran.
“We are not close to an agreement,” the negotiator told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. “We are pretty far away. There are a lot of issues that still need to be resolved. The Iranians must make substantial concessions.” The Iranians also are eager for an agreement that shows some progress toward easing sanctions. But the other world powers negotiating alongside the United States — France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia — feel less urgency, the official said, and are willing to keep talking to get more concessions from the Iranians.
U.S. officials — also speaking on condition of anonymity due to the secretive, ongoing nature of the talks — said that evaluation was too pessimistic. “I don’t think we’ve made sufficient progress,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of the talks. “A lot of issues remain on the table. At the end of the day, the pressure should be on Iran. They have to move.”
But they noted they did not share the assessment of Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s atomic agency chief, who was quoted in Iranian media two days ago saying 90 percent of the issues had been resolved — a remark that eventually was removed from several state media Web sites. The official said the United States and its negotiating partners are considering allowing Iran to keep about 6,000 uranium-enrichment centrifuges, far fewer than the 19,000 it currently has. But U.S. officials caution that the number of centrifuges is just one of many factors under consideration, including whether the equipment is modern and efficient. Many of Iran’s centrifuges use 1970s technology, which takes considerably longer to enrich uranium, a process necessary for fueling energy-producing reactors and making nuclear bombs.
Salehi was observed gesturing animatedly while talking with Zarif outside the hotel Thursday morning, but reporters were not allowed close enough to hear what they were discussing. The United States and its partners want to ensure that it would take at least a full year for Iran to amass enough highly enriched uranium to build one nuclear warhead.
The West and others worry that Iran could one day use it uranium enrichment centrifuges to move from making nuclear fuel to produce warhead-grade material. Iran insists it only seeks reactors for energy and medical applications. The negotiators also have not settled on a time frame for an accord. France is holding out for an agreement in which Iran’s nuclear program would be tightly constrained for 15 years and strictly monitored for a decade after that, the European official said.
In Washington, the State Department’s No. 2 official, Antony Blinken, declined to give specific details of a possible nuclear deal, but told lawmakers that it would impose the most intense inspection and monitoring requirements than “anytime and anywhere in the world.” The issue of international sanctions, a top priority for Iran, is still being debated.
Speaking to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Blinken said the proposed U.N.-directed oversight would cover “cradle-to-grave” aspects of Iran’s nuclear, military and research capabilities, including access to armed forces facilities and uranium mines. Sanctions imposed by the United Nations will be the most difficult to ease, because most are related to the threat of nuclear proliferation, such as bans on transferring technology. U.S. officials say they are likely to be among the last lifted, though some sanctions on the sale of conventional arms could be eased sooner.
He said the goal seeks to create a “storehouse of knowledge” about Iran’s military and nuclear programs that would allow inspectors to quickly notice any violations that could move toward development of atomic weapons. President Obama can waive virtually all of the dozens of U.S. sanctions, even those mandated by Congress. But Congress, now under Republican control, would have the final say on terminating sanctions, and a pending bill would require a congressional vote on any nuclear deal with Iran.
But he warned that the West and its allies must accept that Iran possesses the technology to enrich uranium, which he said could accelerate without a possible nuclear accord. A U.S. official who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity because the talks are in flux said negotiators have advised Iran that many sanctions can be suspended as soon as it meets its commitments under an agreement, such as allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency to step up inspections of Iranian facilities.
“Like it or not, Iran has mastered the [nuclear] fuel cycle,” said Blinken, a former national security adviser to President Obama. “We can’t bomb that away, we can’t sanction that away.”’ Negotiations are tentatively scheduled to break Friday so Kerry can return to Washington for a scheduled meeting with the Afghan president and the Iranian delegation can go home to celebrate the Persian new year. It has not been determined whether they will delay their departures to keep talking.
At the same hearing, Acting Treasury Undersecretary Adam Szubin said international and U.S. sanctions would only be gradually eased after Iran shows compliance in rolling back enrichment work and opening to greater inspections. The consequence for violations, he told lawmakers, would be more intense and far-reaching economic isolations.
He described Iran as currently struggling in a “$200 billion hole” – the amount he estimated has been lost from sanctions, cuts in oil exports and declining oil prices since 2012.
Though the deadline is still 12 days away, the negotiators have tentatively planned to leave this round of talks on Friday. Kerry has a meeting with the Afghan president on Monday, and the Iranian delegation wants to return to Tehran for the beginning of two weeks of festivities for the Persian new year, Nowruz, which begins this weekend.
However, diplomats from several countries have said this round of talks may be extended another day or two if they make enough progress. One diplomat put the odds of staying beyond Friday was 50-50.
Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.
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