Kerry told reporters in a brief press conference Sunday afternoon that he is prepared to leave town without a deal that has been viewed as the Obama administration’s biggest foreign policy priority. “This is something that the world will analyze”, he said, adding that “none of us … intend to do something that can’t pass scrutiny”.
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“At this point, the negotiation could go either way”, he said, putting the onus on the Iranians to make tough decisions quickly.
Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday some differences still remained between Iran and six powers over the country’s disputed nuclear programme ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for a final agreement to end a 12-year-old dispute.
The sides are hoping to reach a deal by Tuesday, but the deadline has been moved back repeatedly.
“The atmosphere is constructive, positive”, Mogherini told reporters as she arrived at the Palais Coburg where the closed-door negotiations are being held.
“So our teams remain very hard at work”.
“These negotiations began 12 years ago and now we are 72 hours away from the moment when they should conclude. We want to get an agreement”.
The United States is nine days into intense nuclear negotiations with Iran with no end in sight, and according to a report from CTV News, the discussion is still completely up in the air.
Corker said he had spoken to Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday to urge patience. Just before Mr Kerry spoke, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, accused the USA of preparing a “bad deal” and offering more “concessions” to Iran.
Kerry said the deadline could be met “if hard choices get made in the next couple of days”.
In Vienna Sunday, Kerry said “difficult issues” remain to strike a deal, and that the U.S.is “willing to walk away” if Iran doesn’t compromise.
The Iranian government insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and is demanding relief from the punishing global sanctions that have crippled its economy.
“The referral of the nuclear case to the Security Council will facilitate issuing resolutions against Iran”, he stated.
Coupled with more stringent United Nations inspections, this will give ample time to stop any such “breakout” attempt, the powers believe, while keeping a modest civilian nuclear programme in place in Iran.
And if we are ready to have a deal, if a deal is possible, it’s now.
The United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany have been trying to bridge differences with Iran on a range of issues, including the pace of sanctions relief for Iran and how much access U.N. inspectors will have to Iranian sites suspected of engaging in nuclear-related work. Any deal struck in Vienna won’t be final until it’s passed through US and Iranian legislatures, he said.
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Another obstacle in talks is Iran’s demand to be allowed to do research and development on advanced centrifuges that purify uranium for use as fuel in power plants or weapons.
