Kerry in Vienna for fresh talks with Iran

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry returned to Vienna Wednesday, Oct 15, for a fresh push with his Iranian counterpart to jumpstart stalled talks over Tehran's nuclear program, with six weeks left to forge a deal, AFP reports.

Iran and six world powers have until Nov 24 to strike a comprehensive accord meant to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons under the cover of its civilian atomic program.

Kerry, who attempted a similar mission in Vienna before a July deadline which was then pushed back, said Tuesday there was still hard work to be done but that a deal remains achievable.

"I don't believe it's out of reach, but we have some tough issues to resolve," Kerry told reporters in Paris after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Kerry refused to be drawn on whether -- as suggested by many experts -- Iran and the six powers might push back the target date.

"We need to continue to have some serious discussions, which we will, and we'll see where we are," he said, according to AFP. "I don't think anything is served by a lot of speculation at this point in time."

A senior U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that pushing back the target date was not even being discussed.

"We're not talking about an extension," the official said. "There is still time to get this done... if everyone can make the decisions they need."

But Lavrov, whose country together with the US, China, Britain, France and Germany forms the P5+1 group, said Tuesday in Paris that the November deadline was not "sacred".

"We aspire to get a result by that date but I am convinced by the principle that it is not artificially-set deadlines but the essence of the deal, the quality of the deal (that counts)," Lavrov said, according to Interfax.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif too appeared to indicate that another extension might be needed in order to discuss what he called "serious and innovative" -- but unspecified -- "new methods".

"These talks will take time... and it is possible that more time might be needed to discuss these solutions," he told state television late Tuesday after talks with US and EU negotiators.

Iran, reeling from sanctions pressure, denies seeking to build the atomic bomb and says it wants to expand its nuclear program in order to generate electricity and help cancer patients.