Iran nuclear talks near deadline, differences remain

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) waits prior to the start of a world powers representatives meeting, to pin down a nuclear deal with Iran, March 30, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland. [Photo/IC]

"There is a little more light there today, but there are still some tricky issues," Kerry said. "Everyone knows the meaning of tomorrow."

Kerry and others at the table said the sides have made some progress, with Iran considering demands for further cuts to its uranium enrichment program but pushing back on how long it must limit technology it could use to make atomic arms. In addition to sticking points on research and development, differences remain on the timing and scope of sanctions removal, the officials said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Iran's expectations from the talks are "very ambitious" and not yet acceptable to his country.

"We will not allow a bad deal," he said. "We will only arrive at a document that is ready to sign if it ... excludes Iran getting access to nuclear weapons. We have not yet cleared this up."

In particular, Steinmeier said the question of limits on research and development that Iran would be allowed to continue was problematic.

Other officials said the issue of the scope and timing of sanctions relief was also a major sticking point.

In a tweet, Gerard Araud, the French ambassador to the United States, said that "very substantial problems remain to be solved."

In a sign that the talks would go down to the wire on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left, just a day after arriving, to return to Moscow. His spokeswoman said he would will return to Lausanne on Tuesday only if there was a realistic chance for a deal.

Meanwhile, Iran's deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Iranian state television that the talks were not likely to reach any conclusion until "tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

"We are not still in the position to be able to say we are close to resolving the (remaining) issues but we are hopeful and we'll continue the efforts," he said.