Iran nuclear talks stall as US accused of moving goalposts
THE Iran nuclear talks have turned from talk of progress to a blame game, with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accusing the United States of shifting its demands.
He dismissed a warning that the US is ready to quit the negotiations as counterproductive.
Hours after his comments, Zarif met again US Secretary of State John Kerry for another try at resolving differences standing in the way of a landmark deal that offers Iran sanctions relief in exchange for long-term and verifiable curbs on nuclear programmes which Tehran could turn to making weapons.
The tougher rhetoric mirrored the frustrations felt by both sides as the current round of talks entered its 14th day. After blowing past two extensions, negotiators had hoped to wrap up the talks by yesterday, but Zarif’s comments cast doubts that agreement was near.
The sides had hoped to seal a deal before the end of Thursday in Washington in attempts to avoid delays in implementing their promises.
By missing that target, the US and Iran now have to wait for a 60-day congressional review period during which President Barack Obama cannot waive sanctions on Iran. Had they reached a deal by then, the review would have been only 30 days. Iran is unlikely to begin a substantial rollback of its nuclear programme until it gets sanctions relief in return.
The talks are formally between Iran and six world powers but have devolved into Usiranian negotiations over recent months, with diplomats saying the other nations were ready to accept terms agreed to by Tehran and Washington. Disagreements have since surfaced recently between the US and Russia. Moscow supports Iranian demands for at least a partial lifting of the conventional arms embargo as part of any deal which is something Washington opposes.
The scope of access to UN inspectors monitoring Iran’s nuclear programme remains one of the sticking points. The Americans want no restrictions, whereas Iranian officials say they are concerned that unrestricted monitoring could be a cover for western spying.