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Iran nuclear talks reportedly close to statement on partial agreement Iran nuclear talks reportedly close to statement on partial agreement
(35 minutes later)
Foreign ministers in Lausanne are reported to be close to a joint statement on a partial agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme that would leave some difficult areas to be negotiated in the coming months.Foreign ministers in Lausanne are reported to be close to a joint statement on a partial agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme that would leave some difficult areas to be negotiated in the coming months.
According to the Associated Press, a vague declaration would be accompanied by texts outlining what has been agreed and what has not. It is unclear whether those documents would qualify as a political framework, the goal that the ministers from seven states set themselves to reach by the Tuesday midnight deadline.According to the Associated Press, a vague declaration would be accompanied by texts outlining what has been agreed and what has not. It is unclear whether those documents would qualify as a political framework, the goal that the ministers from seven states set themselves to reach by the Tuesday midnight deadline.
Related: Deadline day in Lausanne for Iran nuclear talksRelated: Deadline day in Lausanne for Iran nuclear talks
Nevertheless, any publicly declared points of agreement on important issues such as Iran’s future capacity to enrich uranium and the lifting of sanctions, would represent substantial progress at the high-stakes 18-month negotiations. Diplomats have hitherto been loth to publish details on the grounds that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”.Nevertheless, any publicly declared points of agreement on important issues such as Iran’s future capacity to enrich uranium and the lifting of sanctions, would represent substantial progress at the high-stakes 18-month negotiations. Diplomats have hitherto been loth to publish details on the grounds that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”.
If such a framework is announced, negotiators would then have until the end of June to produce a detailed agreement complete with technical annexes.If such a framework is announced, negotiators would then have until the end of June to produce a detailed agreement complete with technical annexes.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, who left the talks on Monday afternoon to fly to Moscow, announced on Tuesday morning he was returning to Lausanne, where he said “the chances are great, but you can never be 100% confident”.The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, who left the talks on Monday afternoon to fly to Moscow, announced on Tuesday morning he was returning to Lausanne, where he said “the chances are great, but you can never be 100% confident”.
Related: At last a nuclear deal with Iran is in sight. The chance must not be spurned | Simon TisdallRelated: At last a nuclear deal with Iran is in sight. The chance must not be spurned | Simon Tisdall
He said a deal could probably be done “as long as none of the participants in the negotiations tries to raise the stakes to get something extra instead of maintaining a balance of interests”.He said a deal could probably be done “as long as none of the participants in the negotiations tries to raise the stakes to get something extra instead of maintaining a balance of interests”.
In remarks that highlighted the remaining gaps, not just between the six-power negotiating group and Iran but within the group itself, Lavrov said that all UN sanctions should cease to function after a final deal is signed in June. The US and its western allies want UN sanctions to be lifted in steps.In remarks that highlighted the remaining gaps, not just between the six-power negotiating group and Iran but within the group itself, Lavrov said that all UN sanctions should cease to function after a final deal is signed in June. The US and its western allies want UN sanctions to be lifted in steps.
Lavrov had broken away from the nuclear negotiations reportedly to attend a meeting in Moscow with the foreign minister of Vanuatu, a Pacific island state that has provided diplomatic support to Moscow in the past, even recognising the independence of the pro-Russian enclave of Abkhazia in Georgia.Lavrov had broken away from the nuclear negotiations reportedly to attend a meeting in Moscow with the foreign minister of Vanuatu, a Pacific island state that has provided diplomatic support to Moscow in the past, even recognising the independence of the pro-Russian enclave of Abkhazia in Georgia.
Diplomats who stayed in Lausanne negotiated through much of the night. Some technical experts got just one hour’s sleep, in the race to produce texts. It is not clear whether the detailed documents will be published with Iranian consent. The country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has said he wants a one-step deal, to be completed in June, not a two-step agreement.Diplomats who stayed in Lausanne negotiated through much of the night. Some technical experts got just one hour’s sleep, in the race to produce texts. It is not clear whether the detailed documents will be published with Iranian consent. The country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has said he wants a one-step deal, to be completed in June, not a two-step agreement.
If there is a joint declaration, a possible venue is Lausanne’s technical university on the western side of the town.If there is a joint declaration, a possible venue is Lausanne’s technical university on the western side of the town.
Diplomats had said that the principal sticking point before the final day of negotiations was the issue of UN security council sanctions on Iran. The Iranian team had stuck by Khamenei’s demand for all sanctions to be lifted at once in return for Iranian acceptance of restrictions on its nuclear programme over a period of at least 10 years.
The six-nation group is offering several relief measures, lifting the EU oil embargo and removing banking restrictions in moves synchronised with the suspension of corresponding US sanctions. But it has insisted that some UN sanctions must stay in place until Iran has convinced the international community it has no intention of pursuing a weapons programme, a task that could take many years.
European diplomats had said the final day of talks would show whether Iran’s seemingly immovable stance on UN sanctions was a hardball negotiating tactic, or whether Khamenei had left them no negotiating space.
Another longstanding hurdle to an agreement, the question of Iranian research and development, has been partially resolved. Iran has accepted strict limits on its development of new super-efficient centrifuges during the first 10 years of a deal, but there are disagreements on what would happen afterwards.
The six-nation group wants restrictions to extend for a further five years, wary that new centrifuges could drastically reduce Iran’s breakout time (the period it would need to build a bomb, should it make that decision). Iran rejects such prolonged curbs on its centrifuge development, saying it would render the country dependent on foreign technology.
A third problem seems to have been largely resolved in the past few days. Iran wanted to keep some centrifuges spinning at its underground enrichment plant in Fordow. The six powers negotiating with Tehran proposed a compromise in which a few hundred centrifuges spin but do not process uranium. They would purify other elements used for medical and scientific purposes.