This article is from the source 'nytimes' 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.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-talks.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Iran Nuclear Talks Are Nearing a Deal, Diplomats Say Iran Nuclear Talks Are Nearing a Deal, Diplomats Say
(35 minutes later)
VIENNA — Negotiators from Iran and six world powers are getting closer to a landmark agreement that would limit Tehran’s nuclear ability for more than a decade in return for sanctions relief, diplomats said on Sunday. VIENNA — Negotiators from Iran and six world powers are down to a small number of remaining disputes for a historic deal that would limit Tehran’s nuclear capability for more than a decade in return for sanctions relief, diplomats said on Sunday.
Although the talks adjourned for the day with no agreement, negotiators said they would renew their efforts on Monday.Although the talks adjourned for the day with no agreement, negotiators said they would renew their efforts on Monday.
“We still have got work to do tomorrow,” the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said from his balcony at the Coburg Palace hotel. “No deal today.” “We still have got work to do tomorrow,” the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said from his balcony at the Coburg Palace hotel, where just a day before he had predicted a deal by Sunday. “No deal today.”
Earlier in the day, Secretary of State John Kerry sounded an unusually optimistic note, saying that his negotiations late Saturday night with Mr. Zarif had been fruitful. Earlier in the day, Secretary of State John Kerry sounded an unusually optimistic note, telling reporters that his negotiating session late Saturday night with Mr. Zarif had been fruitful.
“We had a very good meeting,” Mr. Kerry said as he left to attend Mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. “Positive. I think we’re getting to some real decisions. So I will say, because we have a few tough things to do, I remain hopeful. Hopeful.”“We had a very good meeting,” Mr. Kerry said as he left to attend Mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. “Positive. I think we’re getting to some real decisions. So I will say, because we have a few tough things to do, I remain hopeful. Hopeful.”
Mr. Kerry’s tone was strikingly more upbeat than on Thursday, when he warned that the United States would not be rushed into an agreement and might even walk away from the talks if headway was not made.Mr. Kerry’s tone was strikingly more upbeat than on Thursday, when he warned that the United States would not be rushed into an agreement and might even walk away from the talks if headway was not made.
Maneuvering on the crutches he has been using since breaking his leg in late May, Mr. Kerry walked later in the day to Mozarthaus, where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once lived.Maneuvering on the crutches he has been using since breaking his leg in late May, Mr. Kerry walked later in the day to Mozarthaus, where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once lived.
Sunday was Mr. Kerry’s 16th consecutive day at the talks, and after convening the rest of the United States negotiating team, he met with Mr. Zarif in the early evening.Sunday was Mr. Kerry’s 16th consecutive day at the talks, and after convening the rest of the United States negotiating team, he met with Mr. Zarif in the early evening.
In recent rounds of talks, negotiators have wrestled with what limits to set on Iran’s nuclear research, the pace of sanctions relief, and, recently, whether to maintain the arms embargo on Iran and, if so, for how long. In recent rounds of talks, negotiators have wrestled with what limits to set on Iran’s nuclear research, the pace of sanctions relief and, most recently, the terms of a new United Nations Security Council resolution that would endorse the accord and provide a legal framework for lifting sanctions. The agreement, Iranian officials have said, is more than 80 pages long.
An Iranian spokesman said that it was unlikely the accord, which, including annexes, is more than 80 pages long, could be finalized by Sunday. Yet after weeks of brinkmanship, Iranian officials have made encouraging statements about the prospects for an accord. Progress has made on numerous nuclear issues.
“Technical discussions are almost over, and the text regarding the technical issues with their annexes is almost finished,” Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students’ News Agency. “Technical discussions are almost over, and the text regarding the technical issues with their annexes is almost finished,” Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students News Agency.
Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, and Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, are expected to rejoin the talks soon, another indication of progress. The chief diplomats from the other five nations involved in the talks are already here. But the fact that other obstacles still remain was not a surprise. Since the deadline for an accord passed 12 days ago, every time an agreement has seemed near issues once thought resolved have reappeared. At various points the Iranians have charged that the United States has raised new issues, while the Americans have argued that there are merely new trade-offs discussed in an effort to find creative ways to seal a deal.
“I hope, I hope, that we are finally entering the final phase of this marathon negotiation,” said Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister. The question of when to lift the arms embargo against Iran has been among the vexing considerations. The Iranians see the embargo, imposed in several United Nations Security Council resolutions since 2006, as part of the “nuclear-related” sanctions, and expected them to be lifted under the fundamental trade off of this nuclear deal: that in return for limits on Iranian nuclear activity for 10 to 15 years, all United States, United Nations and European sanctions would be lifted on a carefully negotiated schedule.
A State Department official sought somewhat in vain to put an end to the speculation that the talks were finally in the endgame. But the United States and the Europeans fear that with access to arms and billions of dollars in newly available oil revenues, Iran’s ability to project power and support President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, along with militant groups in the region, would be greatly expanded. So the question has been how many years the embargo would last under a new United Nations resolution, even if it is currently regularly violated by Iran and its suppliers.
After his meeting Sunday with Mr. Zarif, Mr. Kerry joined other diplomats from the United States’s negotiating partners for a working dinner. Among the foreign ministers at the session was Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who arrived Sunday night.
“I hope, I hope, that we are finally entering the final phase of this marathon negotiation,” Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said earlier in the day.
A State Department official sought earlier, somewhat in vain, to put an end to the speculation that the talks were finally in the end game and might yield an accord on Monday.
“We have never speculated about the timing of anything during these negotiations, and we’re certainly not going to start now — especially given the fact that major issues remain to be resolved in these talks,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under the agency’s protocol for briefing reporters.“We have never speculated about the timing of anything during these negotiations, and we’re certainly not going to start now — especially given the fact that major issues remain to be resolved in these talks,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under the agency’s protocol for briefing reporters.