Iran: Headway in tough nuke talks with 6 world powers
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Iran and six world powers are making progress in talks aimed at ending a decade-long nuclear stand-off between Tehran and the West, but the discussions are “tough,” Iran’s foreign minister said yesterday.
Mohammad Javad Zarif made the comment after a first session in the two-day negotiations in Geneva, which are seeking to build on a diplomatic opening after the June election of Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, as Iran’s new president.
The powers hope to reach a “first step” deal to ease concern over Tehran’s nuclear program, which the West fears may be aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability, though both sides say a breakthrough is far from certain.
Iran, which says its nuclear programme is a peaceful energy project, wants the West to start lifting tightening sanctions that are severely damaging the OPEC producer’s economy.
Both sides have limited space for compromise, with hardliners in Iran and hawks in Washington likely to denounce any concession they see as going too far.
“The talks went well,” Zarif said after the morning session between Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. “I’m hopeful that we can move forward. We are making progress, but it’s tough.”
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he hoped a deal could be struck but that the sides remained far apart.
“The differences are widespread and deep. This is undeniable. And continuing the negotiations will not be an easy task, but this does not cause us to lose hope,” he said, adding he was still hopeful a “final understanding” could be reached.
A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is coordinating talks with Iran on behalf of the powers, described the morning session as “good” but declined to give details.
Michael Mann also said discussions would continue in smaller groups in the afternoon before Ashton and Zarif, who also had a breakfast meeting, were due to meet again.
“The talks are extremely complex and they are now getting into a serious phase. We very much hope there will be concrete progress here in the next couple of days,” he told reporters.
The United States and its allies say they are encouraged by Tehran’s shift to friendlier rhetoric since the election of Rouhani. Following years of hostility, Rouhani has promised to try to repair ties with the West and win relief from sanctions.
But the Western allies say Iran must back its words with action and take concrete steps to scale back its atomic work. “What we’re looking for is a first phase, a first step, an initial understanding that stops Iran’s nuclear programme from moving forward and rolls it back for the first time in decades,” a senior US official said on the eve of the talks.
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