Official Cites ‘Progress’ in Nuclear Talks
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Expert-level talks between Iran and world powers aimed at clearing the path toward a nuclear deal will be held Wednesday and Thursday in Vienna, a top Iranian official said.
Iran and the P5+1 group of nations (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany) are seeking a comprehensive agreement over Tehran's nuclear program by a November 24 deadline.
However the talks have been hit by disputes over what limits should be placed on Iran's nuclear energy program, particularly its enrichment of uranium, and on the process of lifting U.S., UN and European sanctions.
"Negotiations between experts from Iran and the P5+1 will be held Wednesday and Thursday in Vienna," Iranian negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
The date of the next meeting between the Iranian delegation, the United States and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is shepherding the negotiations, will be announced later, according to Araqchi.
The deal being sought is meant to resolve a decade of standoff. To do this, the P5+1 wants Iran to scale down dramatically the scope of its nuclear activities, offering in return relief from sanctions.
In months of discussions since an interim agreement struck last November took effect in January, some progress has been made.
Many analysts believe that the November deadline may be extended, as happened with an earlier target date of July 20.
But Araqchi said the extension of nuclear talks beyond the November deadline is not on the agenda of either negotiating side.
"Neither of the negotiating parties is interested in the extension of the talks. All sides are determined to achieve an agreement prior to the deadline. Therefore, extension is not on the agenda of any of the parties,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction with the "considerable” progress in the process of the talks, noting, "We hope that we can achieve agreement by the appointed deadline, namely November 24.”
Sources close to the Iranian negotiating team say the main stumbling block in the way of resolving Western disputes over Iran's nuclear program remains to be the removal of all sanctions and not the number of centrifuges or the level of enrichment.
Tehran wants sanctions entirely lifted while the U.S., under pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby, insists that at least the UN-imposed sanctions against Iran should remain in place.
Lower-level talks continued Thursday in the Austrian capital between Iran and six world powers, European Union spokesman Michael Mann said in a written statement. Meanwhile, six-hour round of talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif and the EU foreign-policy chief, Catherine Ashton, produced no breakthrough.
Technical experts will convene again within two weeks, and another round is planned with Kerry and Ashton before the end of next month, Zarif said, without identifying where the talks would continue, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. Technical solutions to resolve some disputes gained traction, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be named in line with diplomatic rules.
Iranian diplomats and former U.S. officials have said an extension of the talks may be warranted if the sides can’t bridge their gaps before a self-imposed Nov. 24 deadline. Araghchi said before this round began that the deadline "definitely won’t” be reached without progress this week in Vienna.
Kerry said Oct. 14 in Paris that the November deadline isn’t out of reach. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting in Paris with Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that a compromise can be achieved for a deal, though there’s no guarantee it would be reached by next month.
Iran and the P5+1 group of nations (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany) are seeking a comprehensive agreement over Tehran's nuclear program by a November 24 deadline.
However the talks have been hit by disputes over what limits should be placed on Iran's nuclear energy program, particularly its enrichment of uranium, and on the process of lifting U.S., UN and European sanctions.
"Negotiations between experts from Iran and the P5+1 will be held Wednesday and Thursday in Vienna," Iranian negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
The date of the next meeting between the Iranian delegation, the United States and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is shepherding the negotiations, will be announced later, according to Araqchi.
The deal being sought is meant to resolve a decade of standoff. To do this, the P5+1 wants Iran to scale down dramatically the scope of its nuclear activities, offering in return relief from sanctions.
In months of discussions since an interim agreement struck last November took effect in January, some progress has been made.
Many analysts believe that the November deadline may be extended, as happened with an earlier target date of July 20.
But Araqchi said the extension of nuclear talks beyond the November deadline is not on the agenda of either negotiating side.
"Neither of the negotiating parties is interested in the extension of the talks. All sides are determined to achieve an agreement prior to the deadline. Therefore, extension is not on the agenda of any of the parties,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction with the "considerable” progress in the process of the talks, noting, "We hope that we can achieve agreement by the appointed deadline, namely November 24.”
Sources close to the Iranian negotiating team say the main stumbling block in the way of resolving Western disputes over Iran's nuclear program remains to be the removal of all sanctions and not the number of centrifuges or the level of enrichment.
Tehran wants sanctions entirely lifted while the U.S., under pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby, insists that at least the UN-imposed sanctions against Iran should remain in place.
Lower-level talks continued Thursday in the Austrian capital between Iran and six world powers, European Union spokesman Michael Mann said in a written statement. Meanwhile, six-hour round of talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif and the EU foreign-policy chief, Catherine Ashton, produced no breakthrough.
Technical experts will convene again within two weeks, and another round is planned with Kerry and Ashton before the end of next month, Zarif said, without identifying where the talks would continue, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. Technical solutions to resolve some disputes gained traction, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be named in line with diplomatic rules.
Iranian diplomats and former U.S. officials have said an extension of the talks may be warranted if the sides can’t bridge their gaps before a self-imposed Nov. 24 deadline. Araghchi said before this round began that the deadline "definitely won’t” be reached without progress this week in Vienna.
Kerry said Oct. 14 in Paris that the November deadline isn’t out of reach. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting in Paris with Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that a compromise can be achieved for a deal, though there’s no guarantee it would be reached by next month.