Diplomats mull Iran nuclear talks extension

Diplomats mull Iran nuclear talks extension

PanARMENIAN.Net - Foreign ministers trying to reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear program are considering extending negotiations, as the deadline for a deal looms, BC News reports.

The diplomats still report "serious gaps" at the talks in Vienna, and may look to agreeing an interim framework.

The six nations - the U.S., UK, Russia, China, Germany and France - want Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of UN sanctions.

Iran says it is not seeking nuclear weapons, but wants atomic energy. It says its nuclear program is solely designed to provide peaceful, civilian projects.

On Sunday, Nov 23 evening, the so-called P5+1 group and Iranian officials said they were discussing the possibility of extending the negotiations, as a comprehensive agreement was still far away.

Significant differences reportedly remain over the scope of Iran's uranium enrichment program and the timing of sanctions relief.

A senior U.S. state department official told reporters: "Our focus remains on taking steps forward toward an agreement, but it is only natural that just over 24 hours from the deadline we are discussing a range of options... an extension is one of those options."

Earlier, an Iranian news agency quoted an unnamed member of the Iranian delegation as saying a full deal was "impossible" by Monday.

However, Iranian sources have told BBC Persian that a "political agreement" could be reached before the deadline. Diplomats have not managed to come close to a broad and comprehensive agreement, but are thought to be agreeing on a document which at best might mention parameters of a future agreement.

Representatives of the P5+1 - the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany - reached an interim deal with Iran, known as the Geneva Accord, last year. Under the agreement, Iran curbed some of its uranium enrichment in return for sanctions relief. However, the two sides failed to reach a lasting deal by July, as initially agreed, and extended the deadline until Nov 24.

U.S. President Barack Obama told broadcaster ABC that a deal could "perhaps begin a long process in which the relationship... between Iran and the world, and the region, begins to change".

However, he acknowledged that "significant" gaps between the two sides remained, and that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had "to deal with his politics at home".

"He's not the ultimate decider inside of Iran, the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] is."

Earlier on Sunday, in Tehran, officials approved a rare protest by hardliners who criticized government negotiators. The demonstrators accused President Rouhani of giving in to Western pressure.

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