VIENNA: A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping towards the finish line yesterday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points, including questions about Tehran’s past atomic research.
Iran is in talks with the US and five other powers — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — on an agreement to curtail its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
“We are coming to the end,” a senior Western diplomat said, adding there was no plan to carry on for long past next Tuesday. “Either we get an agreement or we don’t.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a deal was close. “We are ready to strike a balanced and good deal and open new horizons to address important common challenges,” he said in a statement broadcast on YouTube, referring to the rise of Islamist militancy. “We have never been closer to a lasting outcome.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was more work to be done but parties were making an effort. “We are making progress,” Kerry said.
All sides say a deal is within reach. US, European and Iranian officials, including US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministers Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takhteravanchi, held a six-hour session that ended at 3am yesterday, a senior US official said.
Russia’s Chief Negotiator Sergei Ryabkov said the text of the agreement was more than 90 percent complete.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced confidence that the parties would reach a mutually acceptable accord.
Agencies
AFP
