US secretary of
state John Kerry returned from Vienna to brief President Obama on delicate
state of nuclear negotiations with Iranians
Paul Lewis in
Washington and Saeed Kamali
Dehghan in London
theguardian.com, Thursday 17 July
2014 01.00 BST
 |
US Secretary
of State John Kerry speaks to the media after closed-door nuclear talks on Iran
taking place in Vienna. Photograph: Ronald Zak /AP
|
US President Barack
Obama has signalled he may be willing to extend the nuclear talks with Iran
that, while temporarily halting Tehran's nuclear program, have not yet produced
the kind of historic agreement they hoped would be possible in the short term.
Obama raised the
prospect of extending the talks on Wednesday, in a tacit admission that the
negotiations are unlikely to yield a historic agreement by the end of this
week, when a previously agreed deadline falls due. He made the remarks shortly
after meeting with his secretary of state, John Kerry, who had returned to
Washington from Vienna, where negotiations are ongoing.
Diplomats told the
Associated Press that Iran and other world powers involved in the talks –
Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia – have tentatively decided to extend
the talks beyond the original deadline that falls this Sunday.
"There are
still significant gaps between the international community and Iran and we have
more work to do," Obama said in a statement from the White House. "So
over the next few days, we'll continue consulting with Congress, and our team
will continue discussions with Iran and our partners, as we determine whether
additional time is necessary to extend our negotiations."
Obama administration
officials have in recent days been stressing the advances made during the
temporary, six-month agreement in which Iran halted its nuclear program in
exchange for some sanctions relief, as a condition of the current talks. Obama
struck a similar tone. "It is clear to me we've made real progress in
several areas, and that we have a credible way forward," he said.
"Over the last six months, Iran has met its commitments under the interim
deal we reached last year, halting the progress of its nuclear program,
allowing more inspections and rolling back its most dangerous stockpile of
nuclear material," he said.
Earlier on
Wednesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest conceded that much remained
to be done. "Part of secretary Kerry’s consultations with the president
will involve a discussion about the path forward, which reflects the fact that
some gaps remain here, just four days before the preset deadline for these
negotiations to end."
Iranian journalists
accompanying Tehran's diplomatic delegation in Vienna reported on Wednesday
that ongoing nuclear talks will draw to a close this Friday but will be
extended for a few months, citing an unnamed official.
"It is not
clear for how much time the negotiations will be extended for," the
semi-official Fars news agency reported. "Talks are currently under way
about the period of an extension and the conditions under which it will be
allowed." Fars, which is affiliated with Iran’s elite Revolutionary
Guards, said the completion of the talks this week did not mean negotiations
had failed.
Similar reports were
published by other Iranian news agencies, including the state news agency Irna,
which said the Islamic republic had not yet officially consented to the
extension.
Isna, another
Iranian news agency reporting from Vienna, quoted an anonymous Iranian official
as saying that talks will finish, for now, on Friday. "Negotiations
between Iran and P5+1 will be extended for a few months so that we can work on
drafting a comprehensive agreement,” Isna quoted the official as saying.
According to the
unnamed Iranian official, differences about Tehran's enrichment capacity have
been the sticking point preventing diplomats from reaching a final deal.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/16/obama-kerry-path-forward-iran-nuclear-talks
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