Iranian foreign minister raises prospect of joint action against Islamic State
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Version 0 of 1. Sealing a nuclear deal will allow the west and Iran to face the common challenge of violent extremism, the Iranian foreign minister said in a video message on Friday evening. Mohammad Javad Zarif released the video at a crucial moment in long-running negotiations in Vienna aimed at concluding a comprehensive and enduring agreement on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran and six major powers, led by the US, have given themselves until Tuesday night to complete the deal. After that they could face increased intervention by the Republican majority in the US Congress, who are hostile to a compromise with Iran that would leave it with part of its nuclear infrastructure intact. “Some stubbornly believe that military and economic coercion can ensure submission. They still insist on spending other people’s money or sacrificing other people’s children for their own delusional designs,” Zarif said in the video, which was recorded on Thursday on a balcony of the Palais Coburg Hotel in Vienna where the talks are under way. “I see hope, because I see emergence of reason over illusion. I sense that my negotiating partners have recognised that coercion and pressure never lead to lasting solutions, but to more conflict and further hostility.” Zarif then pressed an increasingly important theme coming from Tehran – the possibility of joint action against Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq once the 13-year standoff over Iran’s nuclear aspirations is resolved. “We are ready to strike a balanced and good deal, and open new horizons to address important, common challenges. Our common threat today is the growing menace of violent extremism and outright barbarism,” Zarif said. “The menace we’re facing – and I say we, because no one is spared – is embodied by the hooded men who are ravaging the cradle of civilization. To deal with this new challenge new approaches are badly needed.” On Thursday, a senior Iranian official told journalists: “I can tell you that if we cut a deal on the nuclear issue, there will be opportunities in the future for both Iran and the United States.” Other foreign ministers, including Britain’s Philip Hammond and France’s Laurent Fabius, are expected to rejoin the negotiations on Sunday. Meanwhile the talks are being led by Zarif and the US secretary of state, John Kerry. Before the two men met on Friday, Kerry told journalists: “We had our teams working very, very hard and very diligently all day in order to maximize progress. And I think it’s fair to say that both sides are working extremely hard with great sense of purpose in a good-faith effort to make progress, and we are making progress. “So we have a lot of work to do, we’ve got some tough issues, but there’s a genuine effort by everybody to be serious about this and to understand the time constraints that we’re working under. So we will continue to work – tonight, tomorrow, Sunday – and we certainly both want to try to see if we can arrive at a conclusion.” A senior US official, talking to journalists after the Zarif video was aired, described the talks as being “in the end game” but said the negotiations were focuses exclusively on nuclear issues, not questions of possible future cooperation. |