Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Iran, US say some headway made in 'difficult' nuclear talks

Published 10/16/2014, 10:50 AM
Updated 10/16/2014, 10:50 AM
© Reuters Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif walks down an aisle at the 69th United Nations General Assembly in New York

© Reuters Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif walks down an aisle at the 69th United Nations General Assembly in New York

By Parisa Hafezi and Fredrik Dahl

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran and the United States said they made some progress in high-level nuclear talks but much work remained to clinch a breakthrough deal by a late-November deadline.

Both sides said they still aimed to meet the self-imposed Nov. 24 date, despite doubts among many experts that they can reach a full agreement to end a decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme with just a few weeks remaining.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry left Vienna early on Thursday after six hours of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton the previous day, but his officials remained to continue the talks through Thursday.

"It was very difficult, serious and intensive ... but instead of focusing on problems, we discussed solutions as well," Zarif told Iranian media on Thursday, sources who were present told Reuters. "There was progress in all the fields."

The U.S. side also said progress was made.

Zarif said he would next meet Kerry and Ashton in three to four weeks' time though not in Vienna, Iranian state television reported. Ashton coordinates talks with Iran on behalf of the six other countries involved, including the United States.

Ashton and Zarif met on Thursday with senior officials from the six - the United States, France, Germany, China, Russia and Britain - before the Iranian foreign minister left Vienna.

Relations with the West have thawed since Hassan Rouhani was elected president last year seeking to end Iran's international isolation, and the talks are aimed at easing concerns about Tehran's atomic activities in exchange for lifting sanctions.

But Western officials say there are still gaps in the positions, especially over the future scope of Iran's production of enriched uranium, which can have civilian and military uses.

One of Iran's chief negotiators, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, last week raised the possibility the talks could be extended, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that the deadline was not "sacred".

But Zarif said none of the parties believed in extending the talks, IRIB said. A senior U.S. official said an extension was not discussed, adding: "You never say never, but today we are focused on Nov. 24 and Nov. 24 only."

Western governments want Iran to cut its uranium enrichment capacity so that it would take a long time to purify enough uranium for an atomic weapon. Tehran, which says all its nuclear work is for peaceful ends, has rejected demands to significantly reduce the number of enrichment centrifuges below the 19,000 it has now installed, of which roughly half are operating.

© Reuters. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif walks down an aisle at the 69th United Nations General Assembly in New York

The U.S. official said gaps in negotiating positions must be narrowed in a way that "ensures that all of the pathways for fissile material for a nuclear weapon are shut down."

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.