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| Iran nuclear talks: EU and Iran announce breakthrough – live updates | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 6.49pm BST18:49 | |
| The United States, Iran and five other world powers say they’ve reached an understanding that will direct them toward achieving a comprehensive nuclear agreement within three months. | |
| Reading out a joint statement, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said a “decisive step” had been achieved. | |
| US secretary of state John Kerry tweeted there was a deal “to resolve major issues on nuclear program. Back to work soon on a final deal.” | |
| 6.42pm BST18:42 | |
| Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif and the EU’s foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini have taken the stage and are now reading the announcement. | |
| Updated at 6.44pm BST | |
| 6.39pm BST18:39 | |
| Watch the live stream of the joint statement at the top of the page by hitting refresh. | |
| 6.39pm BST18:39 | |
| Many Iranians are anxiously waiting to see the results of Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne as it will affect the lives of ordinary people across the country, writes our Iran correspondent Saeed Kamali Dehghan: | |
| Iranian families anxiously waiting for the result of Iran nuclear talks: pic.twitter.com/Yv0YU0aUCe via @farentaghizadeh #Lausanne | |
| They hope that a possible agreement, if reached, would end years of international isolation, economic hardship under sanctions and avert the threat of war. | |
| Any good news from Switzerland especially will delight Iranians as they celebrate the final days of Nowruz new year holidays. But today newspapers, the bazaar and state institutions are all shut and there won’t be a knock-on reaction on the country’s currency market. | |
| But if the announcement is positive, Iran’s currency, the rial, which dropped dramatically against the dollar at the height of the sanctions regime in 2012, is likely to benefit from it almost immediately when markets open next week. | |
| Updated at 6.41pm BST | |
| 6.30pm BST18:30 | |
| Abbas Aslani (@abasinfo on Twitter), world editor at Tasnim News, has a first look at the deal: | |
| #BREAKING: Over 1000 centrifuges will be operating in Fordo facility. #IranTalks | |
| #BREAKING: More than 5000 centrifuges will continue to enrich 3.67% in Natanz . #IranTalks | |
| #BREAKING: Duration of CJPOA re Iran's nuclear enrichment will be 10 years. #IranTalks | |
| 6.25pm BST18:25 | |
| A statement from Barack Obama at the White House looks imminent, reports the Guardian’s Paul Lewis from Washington: | |
| The president was scheduled to leave the White House on a scheduled trip to Kentucky more than an hour and a half ago. Instead, he’s stayed put. No word yet from White House officials about the timing of any statement but it looks likely. The Obama administration faces stiff opposition in Washington to the Iran nuclear deal, and will be poised to vigorously defend any agreement the moment it is made public. | |
| Updated at 6.28pm BST | |
| 6.16pm BST18:16 | |
| Both Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani and foreign minister Javad Zarif have claimed a breakthrough in negotiations on Twitter: | |
| Found solutions. Ready to start drafting immediately. | |
| Solutions on key parameters of Iran #nuclear case reached. Drafting to start immediately, to finish by June 30th. #IranTalks | |
| Some commentators have noted, however, the irony of Iran’s leader announcing the news on Twitter, a social media site banned in Iran ... | |
| #Iran FM, President Rouhani broke news of drafting of #IranTalks statement on social media sites that are banned in #Iran. #Filternet | |
| Updated at 6.32pm BST | |
| 6.12pm BST18:12 | 6.12pm BST18:12 |
| A joint statement between the P5+1 and Iran is being finalized, and is expected to be read out shortly at the Lausanne Technical Institute’s Rolex Learning Centre. It was due at 7pm local time / 1pm ET, but things seem to be running slightly behind schedule ... | A joint statement between the P5+1 and Iran is being finalized, and is expected to be read out shortly at the Lausanne Technical Institute’s Rolex Learning Centre. It was due at 7pm local time / 1pm ET, but things seem to be running slightly behind schedule ... |
| The statement will be issued by Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the EU’s foreign affairs and security chief, Federica Mogherini, officials have said. | |
| After the joint statement, there will be a separate Iranian press conference by Zarif; followed by a separate news conference by US secretary of state John Kerry, who is expected to disclose further details of the framework and future agreement. | |
| Updated at 6.16pm BST | |
| 6.04pm BST18:04 | 6.04pm BST18:04 |
| Welcome to our live coverage of the framework deal to be announced on Iran’s nuclear programme. | Welcome to our live coverage of the framework deal to be announced on Iran’s nuclear programme. |
| Iran and the six powers involved in the Lausanne talks are expected to agree on a final accord after years of on-off negotiations that extended beyond a midnight deadline on Tuesday into a final session on the details of the deal. | Iran and the six powers involved in the Lausanne talks are expected to agree on a final accord after years of on-off negotiations that extended beyond a midnight deadline on Tuesday into a final session on the details of the deal. |
| Israel condemned the deal before it had even been agreed. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The concessions offered to Iran in Lausanne would ensure a bad deal that would endanger Israel, the Middle East and the peace of the world.” | Israel condemned the deal before it had even been agreed. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The concessions offered to Iran in Lausanne would ensure a bad deal that would endanger Israel, the Middle East and the peace of the world.” |
| The Guardian’s diplomatic editor Julian Borger (@julianborger) is in Lausanne where he is tweeting regular updates. | The Guardian’s diplomatic editor Julian Borger (@julianborger) is in Lausanne where he is tweeting regular updates. |
| Background | Background |
| The Financial Times’s world affairs podcast World Weekly provides a good primer to the talks. | The Financial Times’s world affairs podcast World Weekly provides a good primer to the talks. |
| Its foreign editor Roula Khalaf said the the prospect of rehabilitating Iran to the international community through an agreement would be “transformational for politics of the region”. | Its foreign editor Roula Khalaf said the the prospect of rehabilitating Iran to the international community through an agreement would be “transformational for politics of the region”. |
| The New York Times has a useful explainer, with graphics to set out some of the technical issues. | The New York Times has a useful explainer, with graphics to set out some of the technical issues. |
| And in a backgrounder to the talks it points out that because of the length of the negotiations, US secretary of dtate John Kerry has now spent more time with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, than any other foreign minister. | And in a backgrounder to the talks it points out that because of the length of the negotiations, US secretary of dtate John Kerry has now spent more time with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, than any other foreign minister. |
| It also explains the difficulties for both the US and the Iranian negotiators. | It also explains the difficulties for both the US and the Iranian negotiators. |
| As much as the American team would like to treat the negotiations as a way to contain a dangerous proliferation threat, they have to deal with a Congress that sees them as a proxy for containing Iran as it flexes its muscles in the Middle East, from Iraq to Yemen to Syria. | As much as the American team would like to treat the negotiations as a way to contain a dangerous proliferation threat, they have to deal with a Congress that sees them as a proxy for containing Iran as it flexes its muscles in the Middle East, from Iraq to Yemen to Syria. |
| For the Iranians, the negotiations are a first test of whether the United States, still sometimes called the Great Satan, can learn to accommodate Iran’s re-emergence as a Persian power ... | For the Iranians, the negotiations are a first test of whether the United States, still sometimes called the Great Satan, can learn to accommodate Iran’s re-emergence as a Persian power ... |
| Mr Kerry needs shutdown and dismantlement numbers because Congress demands them. If he and [Energy Secretary Ernest] Moniz cannot make a specific case about how to measure Iranian compliance with the deal, and how to calculate whether there is now “one-year breakout time to a bomb,” there is a reasonable argument that more sanctions will follow. | Mr Kerry needs shutdown and dismantlement numbers because Congress demands them. If he and [Energy Secretary Ernest] Moniz cannot make a specific case about how to measure Iranian compliance with the deal, and how to calculate whether there is now “one-year breakout time to a bomb,” there is a reasonable argument that more sanctions will follow. |
| Despite the difficulties, both the US and Iranian nuclear negotiators wanted a deal, the Guardian’s Simon Tisdall points out: | Despite the difficulties, both the US and Iranian nuclear negotiators wanted a deal, the Guardian’s Simon Tisdall points out: |
| Iran wants a deal because sanctions – despite official denials – are hurting its economy and damaging crucial oil and gas export industries. Iranian businessmen and workers interviewed in Tehran last year were unanimous in their hope that relations will be normalised. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, knows a deal would revive his so far lacklustre presidency and confound his conservative critics. | Iran wants a deal because sanctions – despite official denials – are hurting its economy and damaging crucial oil and gas export industries. Iranian businessmen and workers interviewed in Tehran last year were unanimous in their hope that relations will be normalised. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, knows a deal would revive his so far lacklustre presidency and confound his conservative critics. |
| John Kerry, a serial under-achiever as US secretary of state, has a lot riding on these talks. A deal would be a rare personal success in a sea of diplomatic failures reaching from Syria and Palestine to Crimea. Likewise, Barack Obama could certainly use a foreign policy breakthrough. His recent Nowruz address, aimed at Iranians, made clear he is not simply looking to resolve the nuclear standoff. | John Kerry, a serial under-achiever as US secretary of state, has a lot riding on these talks. A deal would be a rare personal success in a sea of diplomatic failures reaching from Syria and Palestine to Crimea. Likewise, Barack Obama could certainly use a foreign policy breakthrough. His recent Nowruz address, aimed at Iranians, made clear he is not simply looking to resolve the nuclear standoff. |
| Updated at 6.15pm BST | Updated at 6.15pm BST |