BICOM

US Secretary of State John Kerry continued talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif in Vienna yesterday as the two sides appeared to bridge some of the gaps standing in the way of a long-term accord on Iran’s nuclear development.

Iran and the P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) agreed a framework to a comprehensive nuclear deal in April. This paved the way for negotiations towards a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which was to be concluded by 30 June. However, with the deadline having passed, it was agreed that talks will continue up until tomorrow. It is thought that any deal will need to be completed and submitted to US Congress for review by 9 July. Should it be submitted any later, Congress will be permitted 60 days to consider an agreement rather than 30, potentially holding back its implementation.

Over the weekend, Kerry and Zarif met several times. Foreign ministers from the other P5+1 countries were expected to jet in to Vienna yesterday, in anticipation of a final push towards tomorrow’s deadline. Kerry said that “genuine progress” had been made on some of the key issues, but that the talks “are not yet where we need to be on several of the most difficult issues.” Kerry reiterated Washington’s stance on the negotiations, emphasising, “If we don’t have a deal and there is absolute intransigence and unwillingness to move on the things that are important [for] us, President Obama has always said we’re prepared to walk away.”

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that specifically, “Many of the issues related to sanctions have been resolved, and there are four or five issues that remain.” According to AP and Reuters, these include details over inspections and Iran’s ongoing nuclear research and development.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the apparent progress is “not a breakthrough, it’s a breakdown,” which would allow Iran “to produce the cores of many atomic bombs.”