Nuclear talks extension urged
Today is deadline for current talks
VIENNA — The U.S. told Iran Sunday that it’s time to consider extending nuclear talks, in the first formal recognition by Washington that frenzied last-minute diplomacy may not be enough to seal a deal by a rapidly approaching deadline.
A senior U.S. official said that with this evening’s cutoff date a little more than a day away, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry proposed to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Java Zarf that the two sides start discussing post-deadline talks in their latest meeting since Kerry arrived three days ago to add his diplomatic weight to the talks.
At the same time, two Western diplomats said, negotiations were continuing with Iran on trying to bridge dif- ferences on reducing Tehran’s ability to make nuclear weapons to levels acceptable to Washington while giving the Islamic republic the relief it seeks from international sanctions over its atomic activities.
The U.S. official said a number of options were under discussion. But reaching an agreement that allows for more negotiations could be difficult. Beyond assurances that the Iranians aren’t just talking for the sake of winning time, the U.S. administration wants to show to congressional skeptics that there is sense to continuing the talks. That means Washington might push the Iranians to accept at least one of their demands on the table.
Should such a plan be agreed upon, talks could resume in early December when Kerry plans to return to Europe for a previously scheduled NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, and an international conference in London.
As the clock ticked down, other foreign ministers from the six negotiating powers were converging on Vienna in a concerted effort to at least get an acceptable way to extend the talks even if the deal deadline is missed.