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| Foreign ministers arrive amid crucial weekend for Iran nuclear talks | Foreign ministers arrive amid crucial weekend for Iran nuclear talks |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Diplomats from Germany and France joined the United States in frenetic talks with Iran on Saturday, amid indications that negotiations were foundering with only days left before a deadline for an agreement. | LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Diplomats from Germany and France joined the United States in frenetic talks with Iran on Saturday, amid indications that negotiations were foundering with only days left before a deadline for an agreement. |
| The French and German foreign ministers arrived around midday, in time for a working lunch with Secretary of State John F. Kerry. He updated them on the state of negotiations since he convened the latest round of talks Thursday, officials said. The foreign ministers of Britain, Russia and China were expected to arrive sometime Sunday. | The French and German foreign ministers arrived around midday, in time for a working lunch with Secretary of State John F. Kerry. He updated them on the state of negotiations since he convened the latest round of talks Thursday, officials said. The foreign ministers of Britain, Russia and China were expected to arrive sometime Sunday. |
| With only three days remaining until the deadline for an agreement, Kerry canceled his plans to be in Boston for the dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. He was back in talks with the Iranians Sunday morning. Negotiators should be finalizing the last details for an agreement scaling back Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for easing international sanctions. Instead, they are far from bridging substantive disagreements. | |
| The negotiators met Saturday, and then regrouped for more meetings in varied configurations — the United States and Iran, then the United States and the Europeans, then the Europeans and the Iranians, then all the parties together. In early afternoon, Kerry took a break for a bike ride. | |
| Kerry hinted at the large amount of work to be done. Before he and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz met for a third day with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iran’s nuclear energy chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, Kerry said they would be working into the evening. | Kerry hinted at the large amount of work to be done. Before he and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz met for a third day with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iran’s nuclear energy chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, Kerry said they would be working into the evening. |
| Zarif, on the other side of the table, chimed in, “Evening, night, midnight, morning.” | Zarif, on the other side of the table, chimed in, “Evening, night, midnight, morning.” |
| Later in the day, Zarif tweeted that Iran was ready to make a deal and suggested that the other parties were not compromising enough for Tehran’s satisfaction. | Later in the day, Zarif tweeted that Iran was ready to make a deal and suggested that the other parties were not compromising enough for Tehran’s satisfaction. |
| “In negotiations, both sides must show flexibility,” he wrote. “We have, and are ready to make a good deal for all. We await our counterparts’ readiness.” | “In negotiations, both sides must show flexibility,” he wrote. “We have, and are ready to make a good deal for all. We await our counterparts’ readiness.” |
| U.S. negotiators were cautious, striking a tentative tone about the potential for an agreement. | |
| “The serious but difficult work continues,” said a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the nature of the negotiations. “We expect the pace to intensify as we assess if an understanding is possible.” | |
| The French and German diplomats made clear that they had come to Lausanne not just to formalize an agreement but also to help salvage negotiations. | The French and German diplomats made clear that they had come to Lausanne not just to formalize an agreement but also to help salvage negotiations. |
| “I am coming here with the desire to move towards a robust agreement,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters on his arrival. “We have made progress on certain issues but not enough on others.” | “I am coming here with the desire to move towards a robust agreement,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters on his arrival. “We have made progress on certain issues but not enough on others.” |
| “Iran has the right to civil nuclear power,” he added, “but the atomic bomb, no.” | “Iran has the right to civil nuclear power,” he added, “but the atomic bomb, no.” |
| German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the talks are in their decisive endgame. | German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the talks are in their decisive endgame. |
| Comparing the job ahead with scaling the snowcapped Alps rising from the far side of Lake Geneva, where the talks are being held, he added that “the final meters are the most difficult but also the decisive ones. That’s what has to be done here in the coming hours and days.” | |
| Hopes for a deal have been raised after months of talks, particularly between Iran and the United States. At almost every round, negotiators have reported making progress. | Hopes for a deal have been raised after months of talks, particularly between Iran and the United States. At almost every round, negotiators have reported making progress. |
| Though Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, many in the West and in the Middle East fear that Tehran is intent on building nuclear weapons some day. So the negotiators are trying to ensure a one-year “breakout” period, the time they estimate it would take to build up enough material to construct a bomb. | |
| As far back as last November, Iranian news sites reported that Tehran had agreed to operate 6,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges, fewer than a third of the centrifuges it has on hand. But that number is just one factor in determining the breakout time, and it is subject to change. | |
| The negotiators also have been discussing how much research and development Iran can conduct for more modern, faster centrifuges; the future use of uranium enrichment facilities at Fordow and Natanz; and the pace at which sanctions would be lifted. | |
| But Zarif told reporters that the parties were still making progress and predicted that they would reach an agreement. | But Zarif told reporters that the parties were still making progress and predicted that they would reach an agreement. |
| “We’re moving forward,” he said. “I think we can, in fact, make the necessary progress to be able to resolve all the issues and start writing them down in a text that will become the final agreement.” | |
| Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report. | Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report. |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| Iran isn’t providing needed access or information, nuclear watchdog says | Iran isn’t providing needed access or information, nuclear watchdog says |
| Israel seeks an ally in France to oppose Iran deal | Israel seeks an ally in France to oppose Iran deal |
| Officials: U.S. considers letting Iran run nuclear centrifuges at fortified underground bunker | Officials: U.S. considers letting Iran run nuclear centrifuges at fortified underground bunker |
| Eager investors await open door to Iran | Eager investors await open door to Iran |