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Nuclear negotiators take time for greetings on Persian new year Nuclear negotiators take break after trading greetings on Persian new year
(about 2 hours later)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Talks aimed at deciding Iran’s nuclear future continued Friday on the eve of the Persian new year, as President Obama appealed directly to Iran’s people and leaders to seize a “historic opportunity” to settle longstanding differences. LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The latest round of talks over Iran’s nuclear future wrapped up Friday with negotiators planning to resume discussions next week in a last-ditch effort to forge an agreement by a March 31 deadline.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz met for almost an hour with Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and the head of its nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi. The teams had been considering staying through Saturday. That would have included meetings with the foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany. But those tentative plans were upended by the death on Friday of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s 90-year-old mother.
Helga Schmid, deputy secretary general of the European Union, also joined them. The Iranian envoys planned to head to Tehran to attend her funeral, as well as celebrate the opening days of the Persian new year.
Just outside the negotiating room was a table marking Nowruz, as the new year is called in Iran and elsewhere. It was laden with sweets, stuffed animals and a pot holding grass, one of the traditional seven items used to mark the holiday. Rouhani’s brother, a member of the negotiating team, left Lausanne early Friday. The rest of the Iranian team is expected to leave later in the day.
At the top of the meeting, Kerry offered his condolences to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose mother just died, and extended new year’s greetings on behalf of the United States to the Iranian people. Secretary of State John F. Kerry plans to return to Washington on Saturday, stopping on the way to consult with the European allies. He said the nuclear talks would resume Wednesday.
“We want to wish the people of Iran . . . a Nowruz Mubarak,” Kerry said, using the Farsi greeting. “We hope this is a year that can bring us prosperity and peace.” “We’ve had a series of intensive discussions with Iran this week, and given where we are in the negotiations, it’s an important time for high-level consultations with our partners in these talks,” said Marie Harf, the State Department’s deputy spokesperson.
[One point of agreement: Fighting the Islamic State]
Kerry also spoke by phone with the foreign ministers of China and Russia, Harf said. That completes the group of five negotiating partners joining the United States in talks over a possible deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing international sanctions.
Negotiators seek a general framework by the self-imposed March 31 deadline, but many fundamental issues remain unresolved.
The West and its allies fear Iran’s uranium enrichment program could eventually produce material for a nuclear weapon. Iran insists it does not seek atomic arms, and only wants reactors for energy and medical applications.
Diplomats familiar with the negotiations say that they still have not settled on ways to assure that Iran’s nuclear program is used solely for peaceful purposes.
For example, they haven’t even agreed on how many centrifuges Iran will be allowed to operate to enrich uranium. Also, it’s unclear whether Iran can use only centrifuges with outdated technology from the 1970s, or more efficient centrifuges developed by Iranian technicians but not yet in operation.
They also have not agreed on a number of non-proliferation measures, which are basis for most of the U.N. sanctions.
[Petraeus on the future challenges for the Middle East][Petraeus on the future challenges for the Middle East]
With those issues still unsettled, the United States and its negotiating partners have been reluctant to agree on the pace at which sanctions might be eased. Iran demands an immediate lifting of sanctions, said a U.S. official, while the other nations are insisting on a gradual pace linked to Iran’s willingness to open up its facilities to international inspections and comply with other elements of an agreement.
This round of talks ended on the eve of the Persian new year, which offered a moment of extra outreach on both sides.
The new year, known as Nowruz, was on everyone’s mind at the top of Friday’s first meeting.
Just outside the negotiating room was a table laden with sweets, stuffed animals and a pot holding grass, one of the traditional seven items used to mark the holiday.
Kerry offered his condolences for the death of Rouhani’s mother, and extended new year’s greetings on behalf of the United States to the Iranian people.
“We want to wish the people of Iran . . . a Nowruz Mubarak,” Kerry said, using the Farsi greeting. “We hope this is a year that can bring us prosperity and peace.”
“Nowruz is the beginning of spring, and in Farsi it means “new day,’” Zarif responded. “I hope this new day will be a new day for the entire world — a new era of greater understanding and peace.”“Nowruz is the beginning of spring, and in Farsi it means “new day,’” Zarif responded. “I hope this new day will be a new day for the entire world — a new era of greater understanding and peace.”
Kerry’s comments came on the heels of President Obama’s annual videotaped Nowruz message, this year delivered directly to Iran’s people and leaders. President Obama, in his annual videotaped Nowruz message, urged the Iranian people and their leaders to seize the “historic opportunity” offered by the nuclear talks.”
“This year, we have the best opportunity in decades to pursue a different future between our countries,” he said, noting that diplomats and scientists both Iran and the United States were engaged in the ongoing talks curbing over Iran’s nuclear program and easing sanctions.
“The days and weeks ahead will be critical,” he continued. “Our negotiations have made progress, but gaps remain. And there are people, in both our countries and beyond, who oppose a diplomatic resolution. My message to you — the people of Iran — is that, together, we have to speak up for the future we seek.”
[Decades of White House greetings for Nowruz][Decades of White House greetings for Nowruz]
If Iran’s leaders do not agree to a reasonable deal, Obama said, the country will remain isolated and sanctions will further squeeze its economy, which has suffered a double blow from falling oil prices.If Iran’s leaders do not agree to a reasonable deal, Obama said, the country will remain isolated and sanctions will further squeeze its economy, which has suffered a double blow from falling oil prices.
But if a deal can be forged, he said, Iranians will enter a world of more job opportunities, travel abroad and cultural exchanges.But if a deal can be forged, he said, Iranians will enter a world of more job opportunities, travel abroad and cultural exchanges.
“In other words, a nuclear deal now can help open the door to a brighter future for you — the Iranian people, who, as heirs to a great civilization, have so much to give to the world,” he said.“In other words, a nuclear deal now can help open the door to a brighter future for you — the Iranian people, who, as heirs to a great civilization, have so much to give to the world,” he said.
“This is what’s at stake today. And this moment may not come again soon. I believe that our nations have an historic opportunity to resolve this issue peacefully — an opportunity we should not miss. As the poet Hafez wrote, “It is early spring. Try to be joyful in your heart. For many a flower will bloom while you will be in clay.”“This is what’s at stake today. And this moment may not come again soon. I believe that our nations have an historic opportunity to resolve this issue peacefully — an opportunity we should not miss. As the poet Hafez wrote, “It is early spring. Try to be joyful in your heart. For many a flower will bloom while you will be in clay.”
Though Kerry and some European negotiators have said it is up to Iran to make a political decision to make concessions for an agreement, the Iranians suggest the choice is one for the United States to make. Kerry also issued a statement tying the nuclear talks to the hope symbolized by the Persian new year.
Zarif, who in recent days has suggested that an agreement is within reach, tweeted a message Friday saying that “Iranians have already their choice: Engage with dignity. It’s high time for the U.S. and its allies to choose: pressure or agreement.” “As I noted in my Nowruz greeting last year, the United States and Iran have endured many harsh winters,” he said in a message he also addressed to the Iranian people. “But now, with the coming of spring, we can all embrace this opportunity to move toward a better future.
The talks are expected to continue for the day. It is unclear if they will be further extended, or if the negotiators will break for a few days and return to their capitals. “It is my sincere hope that if Iran’s leaders make the right choices – the necessary choices – in the ongoing nuclear talks, that this new year and this new spring will mark a better future both for the Iranian people and for the world.”
If they do take a pause in negotiating, they are expected to return to Switzerland next week before a self-imposed March 31 deadline for a framework agreement outlining the elements of a final deal to be completed by late June. The Iranians,, however, say the onus for the tough political decisions falls on Washington and its allies.
Zarif tweeted a message in response to Obama’s Nowruz greeting, saying “Iranians have already their choice: Engage with dignity. It’s high time for the US and its allies to choose: pressure or agreement.”
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