Iran's FM, world powers set to hold full session on nuke program

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ministers from six world powers are expected to hold their first full session on Monday, March 30, with Iran's foreign minister over its nuclear program, BBC News reports.

The deadline for reaching an agreement is Tuesday.

The essence of an emerging deal is to keep Iran at least one year away from being able to produce enough nuclear fuel for a single weapon.

Representatives from the U.S., Germany, France, the UK, China and Russia are at the talks in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The two sides have explored compromises in areas including the number of centrifuges used to enrich uranium that Iran could operate, and its nuclear enrichment work for medical research.

At their meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the other representatives will be aiming to agree on a political framework by Tuesday night that would set the stage for technical talks.

U.S. officials said all parties have agreed to a "step by step approach" to reaching a deal, but sticking points remain.

The world powers, known as the P5+1 group - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - want to ensure that Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is aiming to build nuclear weapons and is hoping that a deal will lead to the lifting of international sanctions that are affecting its economy.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said there had been "some progress and some setbacks in the last hours".

"I can't rule out that there will be further crises in these negotiations," he told reporters in Lausanne.

Potential sticking points in the nuclear talks are thought to include how long the deal will last and how much of Iran's nuclear facilities will be open to inspection.

Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again warned against a deal with Iran, describing it as worse than his country had feared. On Sunday he told a cabinet meeting "this deal, as it appears to be emerging, bears out all our fears, and even more than that".

He gave no details, but noting advances by Iran-backed forces in Yemen and other Arab countries, he accused Iran of trying to "conquer the Middle East" while pursuing nuclearisation.