This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/09/iran-nuclear-negotiations-extended-john-kerry
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Iran negotiations extended but John Kerry insists talks are 'not open-ended' | Iran negotiations extended but John Kerry insists talks are 'not open-ended' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| John Kerry has said nuclear negotiations in Vienna would continue past a congressional deadline on Thursday night, insisting that they could not be rushed. | John Kerry has said nuclear negotiations in Vienna would continue past a congressional deadline on Thursday night, insisting that they could not be rushed. |
| Related: Think the Iran nuclear talks are taking forever? Wait until Congress sees a deal | Related: Think the Iran nuclear talks are taking forever? Wait until Congress sees a deal |
| The US secretary of state was speaking a few hours before a deadline set by the US Congress to complete long-running negotiations with Iran on the future of its nuclear programme. Failure to meet the target of midnight Washington time will mean that the legislature has two months instead of one to review any agreement, giving time for its opponents to rally. | The US secretary of state was speaking a few hours before a deadline set by the US Congress to complete long-running negotiations with Iran on the future of its nuclear programme. Failure to meet the target of midnight Washington time will mean that the legislature has two months instead of one to review any agreement, giving time for its opponents to rally. |
| Diplomats in Vienna said the extension would not be fatal to the negotiations, which have already gone past several previous self-imposed deadlines. | Diplomats in Vienna said the extension would not be fatal to the negotiations, which have already gone past several previous self-imposed deadlines. |
| Talking to reporters outside the Vienna hotel venue for the talks, Kerry said: “We shouldn’t give up and leave because the clock strikes midnight … We will not be rushed.” But in the same remarks, Kerry insisted that the talks were “not open-ended” and said Barack Obama had told him his negotiating team could not stay there forever. | Talking to reporters outside the Vienna hotel venue for the talks, Kerry said: “We shouldn’t give up and leave because the clock strikes midnight … We will not be rushed.” But in the same remarks, Kerry insisted that the talks were “not open-ended” and said Barack Obama had told him his negotiating team could not stay there forever. |
| Just before Kerry spoke, the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, emerged from the same hotel to declare that “the last hundred metres of a marathon were the hardest”. | Just before Kerry spoke, the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, emerged from the same hotel to declare that “the last hundred metres of a marathon were the hardest”. |
| “There are difficult points that remain, but things are all the same going in the right direction,” Fabius told reporters. “Due to these conditions, I have decided to stay and work tonight and tomorrow morning. I hope we will be able to complete the metres that need to be run. There are good things, but there are difficult things that still need to be worked on.” | “There are difficult points that remain, but things are all the same going in the right direction,” Fabius told reporters. “Due to these conditions, I have decided to stay and work tonight and tomorrow morning. I hope we will be able to complete the metres that need to be run. There are good things, but there are difficult things that still need to be worked on.” |
| His Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, broadcast a similar message of determination to stay at the negotiating table. “We’re working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done. Mark my words; you can’t change horses in the middle of a stream,” the foreign minister tweeted. | His Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, broadcast a similar message of determination to stay at the negotiating table. “We’re working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done. Mark my words; you can’t change horses in the middle of a stream,” the foreign minister tweeted. |
| We're working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done. Mark my words; you can't change horses in the middle of a stream. #IranTalksVienna | We're working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done. Mark my words; you can't change horses in the middle of a stream. #IranTalksVienna |
| The horse reference appeared to refer to Iranian perceptions that a package offered on Wednesday by the US had been withdrawn after a video conference on Wednesday night between the US negotiating team and Obama. | |
| Diplomats said that some of the most heated arguments this week have been over the question of whether the UN arms embargo on Iran should be lifted along with economic and financial restrictions in return for accepting curbs on its nuclear programme. | Diplomats said that some of the most heated arguments this week have been over the question of whether the UN arms embargo on Iran should be lifted along with economic and financial restrictions in return for accepting curbs on its nuclear programme. |
| The debate split the six-nation group negotiating with Iran, with Russia and China siding with Iran against the US, UK, France and Germany. “The arms embargo on Iran must be one of the first sanctions to be lifted … Especially since Iran is persistently supporting the fight against Isis [Islamic State] and the elimination of this threat in the region,” the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said, according to tweets from his ministry. Lavrov said he expected to return to the talks late on Thursday or early Friday. | The debate split the six-nation group negotiating with Iran, with Russia and China siding with Iran against the US, UK, France and Germany. “The arms embargo on Iran must be one of the first sanctions to be lifted … Especially since Iran is persistently supporting the fight against Isis [Islamic State] and the elimination of this threat in the region,” the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said, according to tweets from his ministry. Lavrov said he expected to return to the talks late on Thursday or early Friday. |
| The UK foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, and the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, are also in Vienna and expected to stay for late-night talks on Thursday. | The UK foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, and the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, are also in Vienna and expected to stay for late-night talks on Thursday. |
| The arms embargo row came to a head on Tuesday when the EU foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, reportedly threatened to return to Brussels if there was not greater flexibility from the Iranians. Her Iranian counterpart Zarif is said to have replied: “Go if you wish. But do not threaten an Iranian.” Lavrov chimed in: “Do not threaten a Russian either.” | The arms embargo row came to a head on Tuesday when the EU foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, reportedly threatened to return to Brussels if there was not greater flexibility from the Iranians. Her Iranian counterpart Zarif is said to have replied: “Go if you wish. But do not threaten an Iranian.” Lavrov chimed in: “Do not threaten a Russian either.” |
| At another point in the talks, Zarif said he could take his interlocutors to international court for the west’s support of Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. | At another point in the talks, Zarif said he could take his interlocutors to international court for the west’s support of Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. |
| Diplomats said the row was soothed relatively quickly. Zarif invited Mogherini to a Persian meal on Wednesday evening. However, the air conditioning in the hotel where the talks are being held suffered a breakdown, ratcheting up the tension and discomfort of marathon negotiating sessions. | Diplomats said the row was soothed relatively quickly. Zarif invited Mogherini to a Persian meal on Wednesday evening. However, the air conditioning in the hotel where the talks are being held suffered a breakdown, ratcheting up the tension and discomfort of marathon negotiating sessions. |