The remarks were met by a stiff rebuke from his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who accused the USA and its partners of backtracking on past commitments.
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“Now, they have excessive demands”, he said of the powers’ negotiating position.
Mogherini’s spokeswoman quickly retweeted the Iranian diplomat’s message, apparently acknowledging the olive branch that had been extended shortly before most foreign ministers from the sextet were scheduled to meet with Zarif Thursday.
If the administration misses that target, the congressional review period will double from 30 to 60 days, possibly delaying the sanctions relief that the U.S. would have to give to Iran under the terms of an agreement. President Obama made it very clear to me last night we can’t wait forever for the decisions to be made.
Western powers have been changing their positions in nuclear talks, a senior Iranian official said late Thursday, saying high-stakes negotiations in Vienna could “go either way”.
The mooted deal with the P5+1 group – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russian Federation and the United States – is aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb by scaling down its atomic activities. The United States considers Iran to be one of the world’s leading state-sponsors of terrorism.
Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the street Friday chanting “death to Israel“.
The West suspects Iran of secretly seeking to build nuclear weapons.
“That’s a bad deal for us: permanent concessions in exchange for temporary benefits, and that’s only if Iran doesn’t cheat, like North Korea did”, said Ed Royce (Republican-California), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the parties would continue negotiating overnight to try to resolve the “difficult issues” that remained in nuclear talks.
He added that Russia’s economy, which is highly dependent on the sale of crude, was ready to withstand a possible increase in oil supplies on the worldwide market once sanctions against Iran are lifted.
Officials say the negotiators in Vienna and officials in Washington are in near-constant communication.
“Iran, by all accounts, still isn’t serious about abandoning its nuclear weapons program”, Speaker of the House John Boehner said.
“Iran neither suggests extension of talks, nor rejects it. It is up to Americans if they want to leave the talks”.
Zarif said the last-ditch talks between Tehran and the P5+1 group of world powers will likely continue through the weekend, Press TV reported.
“There are hard points that remain, but things are all the same going in the right direction”, he said, adding “I hope we will be able to complete the meters that need to be run”.
On his way out of the talks early afternoon on Friday, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he still believed a final agreement was within reach but called progress “painfully slow”.
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The diplomats demanded anonymity because talks are still ongoing. “There will be centrifugal forces working against us”, he said, referring to hardliners in both Iran and the United States.
