Nuclear talks hit a snag Saturday as Iran stood firm on several sticking points that could jeopardize a deal ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, senior U.S. officials and Western diplomats said.
As the negotiations entered their third day, the sources said Iran has refused to budge on key issues centering around the scope of advanced nuclear research Iran could continue to do while a deal is in effect as well as the pace of sanctions relief.
Secretary of State John Kerry met Saturday morning with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and the French and German foreign ministers arrived to try and lock in a political framework pact that places curbs on Iran’s nuclear program ahead of the March 31 deadline.
“The Iranians are being very tough on the most difficult issues,” a senior U.S. official told CNN. “We are headed toward the deadline, so in some ways we expect this, but we really don’t know if we will get there.”
One Western diplomat surmised that the Iranian delegation faced pressure after returning home to Tehran following the last round of talks and returned with a harder negotiating position.
“We spent all of yesterday pushing the Iranians,” the diplomat told CNN. “They are not moving. It’s very difficult. It is not going well. We are really at a point where the Iranians need to decide whether they want this or not.”
The talks on Friday, which the United States described as “tough and very serious,” ended with the U.S. putting the onus on Iran to make compromises in order to reach agreement.
“We’re at that point in the negotiations where we really need to see decisions being made. We will test whether that is truly possible over the next several days,” a senior U.S. official told reporters.
But Iranians pushed back on the notion that it was up to them to bridge the last gaps that remain between them and the world powers with whom they are negotiating.
“We have come here with very clear decisions that we have made, and we have expectations that our partners also would be deciding likewise on the key issues,” said Hamid Baeedinejad, a senior member of the Iranian delegation. “Now basically it is out partners that should makes those tough decisions that are necessary for concluding this part of the negotiations.”
The foreign ministers of France and Germany arrived Saturday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are also expected this weekend.
U.S. officials said they hoped the arrivals of the other ministers in the negotiations would show unity among the parties and put pressure on the Iranians.
Arriving at the Beau Rivage Hotel, where the talks are being held, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he wanted to see a “robust agreement.”
“Iran has the right to have civil nuclear program but not an atomic bomb,” Fabius said, adding that he will “insist on transparency and monitoring mechanisms to ensure the commitments taken are respected.”
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the talks had reached the “endgame, comparing the quest for a nuclear deal to trying to scale a peak in the surrounding Swiss Alps.
“As one sees the cross on the summit, the final meters are the most difficult but also the decisive ones. That’s what has to be done here in the coming hours and days,” he said. I can only hope that in view of what has been achieved over the last 12 months that the attempt for a final agreement here will not be abandoned.”
He added that a successful conclusion of the nuclear talks with Iran “could perhaps bring a bit more calm to the region.
Obama, Merkel agree ball is in Iran’s court
On Friday, President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked by phone and agreed that “Iran must make the decisions necessary to resolve the remaining issues,” according to a statement.
The comments were in contrast to the international negotiators’ optimism at the start of the talks that a framework deal would by struck by the deadline.
But even if a pact is reached, it is unclear what form it would take. A comprehensive deal including technical annexes is supposed to be concluded by June 30.
The U.S. wants the framework to be a formal written document, one that quantifies Iran’s commitments, to submit to Congress — an effort to prevent lawmakers from imposing additional sanctions on Tehran and prompting Iran to withdraw from the talks.
But U.S. and Western diplomats say the Iranian foreign minister is reluctant to sign an initial document out of concern revealing too many details could give an opportunity to hardliners who may try to scuttle a deal. Iran, Zarif has said, is looking simply for an “understanding” of what has been agreed to before a formal accord is reached.
“We do not know what form this will take if we can get there at the end of March,” a senior State Department official said. “The goal is to get as many specifics nailed down both with the Iranians and whatever we can say publicly.”