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Iran Nuclear Talks Resume as White House Hopes for Deal
‘We Will Not Be Rushed’ in Nuclear Talks With Iran, Kerry Says
(about 7 hours later)
VIENNA — Diplomats resumed their high-level push on Thursday to secure an accord to limit Iran’s nuclear program, just hours before the Obama administration had hoped to wrap up an agreement.
VIENNA — Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that negotiators were inching closer to a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program, and that they were “making real progress toward reaching a comprehensive deal” but that the process was not “open ended.”
The talks followed a video conference on Wednesday night in which President Obama issued instructions to Secretary of State John Kerry and Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz about how to complete an agreement “that meets our requirements,” the White House said in a statement.
Mr. Kerry said that while “some tough issues remain unresolved,” decisions had to be made, and those “must be taken very soon.”
“We’re going to resolve the last issues, if we can,” Mr. Moniz said at the start of a meeting Thursday morning with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi.
Speaking to reporters in Vienna where the talks have been held for the past few weeks between Iran and six big powers including the United States, Mr. Kerry also cautioned: “We will not rush, and we will not be rushed.”
“Hopefully, today is the last day,” Mr. Salehi added.
The White House would like to complete the accord by midnight Eastern time., the deadline for presenting the details of the pact to Congress for a 30-day review. If the agreement is reached later, the review period will double, giving opponents more time to organize against it.
When Mr. Kerry arrived here nearly two weeks ago, the Obama administration hoped to reach an accord by Thursday so it could be presented to Congress for a 30-day review. If the agreement is reached later this summer, the review period will double, giving opponents of any deal more time to organize against it.
However, the administration is equally anxious to avoid looking overeager, which could weaken its negotiating position and has already led opponents to claim President Obama is too willing to capitulate to Iranian demands.
The top American priority, however, appears to be completing an accord during the current negotiating round in Vienna, whether it ends on Thursday or a couple of days later, to avoid risking a loss of diplomatic momentum.
A senior Obama administration official told reporters this week that the American negotiating team believed there were risks in interrupting the talks because the Iranian side might be under political pressure at home to back away from elements of a prospective agreement.
“It is pretty darn hard for the Iranians to go home and deal with the politics in Iran,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under the ground rules for the briefing. “Everyone understands that once we leave here, we are in less control of what happens in this negotiation. It gets more complicated, not less complicated.”
As Mr. Moniz and Mr. Salehi tried to resolve the final issues on Thursday morning, Federica Mogherini, the foreign policy chief for the European Union, convened a separate session with Mr. Kerry and senior diplomats from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, the five other world powers that are taking part in the negotiations with Iran.
The video conference with Mr. Obama on Wednesday recalled a similar one he conducted with the American team on March 31, which preceded a framework nuclear agreement two days later.
After receiving “guidance” Wednesday night from Mr. Obama, as the White House put it, Mr. Kerry appeared to be working on Thursday to coordinate the American position with his negotiating partners before he met in the morning with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister.
Mr. Kerry had dinner with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s top diplomat, on Wednesday night and met with Laurent Fabius, France’s foreign minister, on Thursday morning. Mr. Kerry also spoke by phone Thursday morning with Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, who is at a diplomatic meeting in the Russian city of Ufa.
The foreign ministers from China and Russia are the only top diplomats among the six world powers negotiating with Iran who are not in Vienna, but they are expected to return to the city if an accord is reached.
