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| Kerry on Iran nuclear talks: ‘We have the opportunity to do this right’ | Kerry on Iran nuclear talks: ‘We have the opportunity to do this right’ |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Saturday that now is the time to make "hard decisions" over Iran's nuclear future, as he left the latest round of talks for consultations before next week's a final push at an agreement over Iran’s nuclear future. | |
| Kerry said progress had been made over five days of talks in Lausanne and that a comprehensive agreement is within reach. | |
| “We have not yet reached the finish line,” he said. “Make no mistake. We have the opportunity to do this right. It’s a matter of political will and tough decision-making. It’s a matter of choices. And we must all choose wisely in the days ahead.” | “We have not yet reached the finish line,” he said. “Make no mistake. We have the opportunity to do this right. It’s a matter of political will and tough decision-making. It’s a matter of choices. And we must all choose wisely in the days ahead.” |
| Speaking in an auditorium at the Olympic Museum, Kerry began by thanking his fellow negotiators, including the Iranians and the Swiss government that has hosted multiple rounds of talks in Geneva, Montreux and most recently in Lausanne. His remarks sounded at times like the culmination of the past 16 months of negotiations, though one more round remains before a March 31 deadline for an agreement outlining the elements of a final deal. | Speaking in an auditorium at the Olympic Museum, Kerry began by thanking his fellow negotiators, including the Iranians and the Swiss government that has hosted multiple rounds of talks in Geneva, Montreux and most recently in Lausanne. His remarks sounded at times like the culmination of the past 16 months of negotiations, though one more round remains before a March 31 deadline for an agreement outlining the elements of a final deal. |
| “The stakes are high,” he said. “The issues are complicated, highly technical and interrelated. We don’t want just any deal. If we had, we could have announced something a long time ago.” | “The stakes are high,” he said. “The issues are complicated, highly technical and interrelated. We don’t want just any deal. If we had, we could have announced something a long time ago.” |
| Acknowledging that significant differences remain, Kerry said: “We recognize that fundamental decisions have to be made now, and they don’t get any easier as time goes by. It is time to make the hard decisions. We want the right deal that would make the world, including the United States and its closest partners, safer and more secure. That is our test.” | Acknowledging that significant differences remain, Kerry said: “We recognize that fundamental decisions have to be made now, and they don’t get any easier as time goes by. It is time to make the hard decisions. We want the right deal that would make the world, including the United States and its closest partners, safer and more secure. That is our test.” |
| Kerry stopped in London to coordinate strategy with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, as well as the foreign policy chief of the European Union. Underscoring the sense of urgency as the deadline approaches, the envoys all met in a VIP lounge at Heathrow Airport, rather than go to more formal surroundings in central London. | |
| He has already spoken by phone with the foreign ministers of Russia and China. All are negotiating partners of the United States in the Iran talks, a group collectively known as the P5 plus 1. | |
| Iranians seemed to be getting mixed signals on the talks, however, | |
| President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that negotiators in Lausanne made some headway that can be the basis of a final deal Iran can live with. | |
| In remarks on the presidential Web site and reported by the official IRNA news agency, Rouhani cautioned that differences remain but said none was impossible to resolve. | In remarks on the presidential Web site and reported by the official IRNA news agency, Rouhani cautioned that differences remain but said none was impossible to resolve. |
| However, the final say is up to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And he publicly criticized the United States in a speech Saturday, marking the Persian new year, Nowruz. | |
| As people in the crowd in the northeastern city of Mashhad shouted, "Death to America," Khamenei accused the United States of using "bullying tactics" and economic pressure in an attempt to get Iranians to reject Islamic rule, according to a Reuters report from the city. | |
| "Of course, yes, death to America, because America is the original source of this pressure," he said. "They insist on putting pressure on our dear people's economy. What's their goal? Their goal is to put the people against the system." | |
| Khamenei also accused President Obama of dishonesty for saying in a videotaped Nowruz message to Iranians that some people in both Iran and the United States oppose a nuclear deal with Iran. | |
| "There is no one in Iran who opposes settlement of the nuclear issue," according to an account in the I ranian news agency Tasnim. "givin in to the U.S. bullying and imposition (of its will)." | |
| The next round of nuclear talks is scheduled to begin Thursday in Lausanne. | The next round of nuclear talks is scheduled to begin Thursday in Lausanne. |