Kerry, Rouhani say that a deal is still possible
Despite failure to reach an agreement American and Iranian officials raise hope that a deal could be reached.
4 min read
It could see painful sanctions on Iran lifted & silence talk of war
US secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, speaking separately, said that real progress had been made in Vienna talks despite failure to reach an agreement.
Kerry, speaking in Vienna, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, speaking in Tehran, raised hopes that a deal could eventually be sealed.
"This path of negotiation will reach a final agreement," Rouhani said on state television.
"Most of the gaps have been removed," he said.
In their second extension this year, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, known as the P5+1, will seek to strike an outline deal by March and to nail down a full technical accord by July 1, officials said.
"These talks aren't going to suddenly get easier just because we extend them," Kerry said as he and other officials conceded a midnight Monday deadline would be missed.
"But in these last days in Vienna we have made real and substantial progress and we have seen new ideas surface. And that is why we are jointly, the P5+1 six nations and Iran, extending these talks for seven months.
No sooner had the extension been announced in Vienna and US Secretary of State John Kerry implored US lawmakers not to "walk away" from the negotiations by slapping punitive sanctions on Iran, that several lawmakers advocated just that, setting up a potential White House-Congress clash next year.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will seek to strike an outline deal by March 1 and to nail down a full technical accord by July 1, officials said.
"We have had to conclude that it is not possible to get to an agreement by the deadline that was set for today (Monday) and therefore we will extend... to June 30 2015," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in Vienna.
The conditions set by last November's interim deal will remain in place until July, including a continued freeze by Iran of contentious parts of its nuclear activities.
In return, Iran will keep receiving around $700 million in frozen funds per month, Hammond said.
Tough talks
In the best chance to resolve the 12-year dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, the so-called P5+1 world powers have been for months seeking to turn an interim deal with Iran that expires at midnight (2300 GMT) into a lasting accord.
Talks aimed at easing fears that Tehran will develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian activities, an ambition it strongly denies and lift painful sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.
In an interview with ABC News US President Barak Obama said that a sealed deal could begin a process in which the "relationship not just between Iran and us but the relationship between Iran and the world, and the region, begins to change."
Plan 'B'
The talk about plan B by Iranian and US officials started late Sunday as it became increasingly clear that ministers have failed to bridge the remaining major differences.
We have discussed an extensions but there is nothing detailed yet," an Iranian source told AFP. This came after Kerry met his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif for the sixth time since Thursday but again apparently failed to break the deadlock.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said however that the parties would still make a “Big push” for a deal. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in the Austrian capital early Monday, completing the line-up of all the six powers' foreign ministers. This included Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a key player in the talks.
"The first option would be foreign ministers entering some agreement. The second option is that due to technical difficulties, we may need more time," Wang told reporters.
Gaps
Diplomats on both sides say that despite some progress, the two sides remain far apart on the two crucial points: uranium enrichment and sanctions relief.
Enriching uranium renders it suitable for peaceful purposes like nuclear power but also, at high purities, for the fissile core of a nuclear weapon. Tehran wants to massively ramp up the number of enrichment centrifuges, in order, it says, to make fuel for a fleet of power reactors that it is however yet to build.
The West wants them dramatically reduced which together with more stringent UN inspections and an export of Iran's uranium stocks would make any attempt to make the bomb all but impossible.
Iran wants painful UN and Western sanctions that have strangled its vital oil exports lifted, but the powers want to stagger any relief over a long period of time to ensure Iran complies with any deal.
Kerry, speaking in Vienna, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, speaking in Tehran, raised hopes that a deal could eventually be sealed.
"This path of negotiation will reach a final agreement," Rouhani said on state television.
"Most of the gaps have been removed," he said.
In their second extension this year, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, known as the P5+1, will seek to strike an outline deal by March and to nail down a full technical accord by July 1, officials said.
"These talks aren't going to suddenly get easier just because we extend them," Kerry said as he and other officials conceded a midnight Monday deadline would be missed.
"But in these last days in Vienna we have made real and substantial progress and we have seen new ideas surface. And that is why we are jointly, the P5+1 six nations and Iran, extending these talks for seven months.
No sooner had the extension been announced in Vienna and US Secretary of State John Kerry implored US lawmakers not to "walk away" from the negotiations by slapping punitive sanctions on Iran, that several lawmakers advocated just that, setting up a potential White House-Congress clash next year.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will seek to strike an outline deal by March 1 and to nail down a full technical accord by July 1, officials said.
"We have had to conclude that it is not possible to get to an agreement by the deadline that was set for today (Monday) and therefore we will extend... to June 30 2015," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in Vienna.
The conditions set by last November's interim deal will remain in place until July, including a continued freeze by Iran of contentious parts of its nuclear activities.
In return, Iran will keep receiving around $700 million in frozen funds per month, Hammond said.
Tough talks
In the best chance to resolve the 12-year dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, the so-called P5+1 world powers have been for months seeking to turn an interim deal with Iran that expires at midnight (2300 GMT) into a lasting accord.
Talks aimed at easing fears that Tehran will develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian activities, an ambition it strongly denies and lift painful sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.
In an interview with ABC News US President Barak Obama said that a sealed deal could begin a process in which the "relationship not just between Iran and us but the relationship between Iran and the world, and the region, begins to change."
Plan 'B'
The talk about plan B by Iranian and US officials started late Sunday as it became increasingly clear that ministers have failed to bridge the remaining major differences.
We have discussed an extensions but there is nothing detailed yet," an Iranian source told AFP. This came after Kerry met his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif for the sixth time since Thursday but again apparently failed to break the deadlock.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said however that the parties would still make a “Big push” for a deal. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in the Austrian capital early Monday, completing the line-up of all the six powers' foreign ministers. This included Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a key player in the talks.
"The first option would be foreign ministers entering some agreement. The second option is that due to technical difficulties, we may need more time," Wang told reporters.
Gaps
Diplomats on both sides say that despite some progress, the two sides remain far apart on the two crucial points: uranium enrichment and sanctions relief.
Enriching uranium renders it suitable for peaceful purposes like nuclear power but also, at high purities, for the fissile core of a nuclear weapon. Tehran wants to massively ramp up the number of enrichment centrifuges, in order, it says, to make fuel for a fleet of power reactors that it is however yet to build.
The West wants them dramatically reduced which together with more stringent UN inspections and an export of Iran's uranium stocks would make any attempt to make the bomb all but impossible.
Iran wants painful UN and Western sanctions that have strangled its vital oil exports lifted, but the powers want to stagger any relief over a long period of time to ensure Iran complies with any deal.
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