Home
Kerry urges Iran to make ‘hard choices’, says US ready to walk
Monday, 06 July, 2015
An Iranian nuclear agreement is possible this week if Iran makes the “hard choices” necessary, but if not, the United States stands ready to walk away from the negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday.
Speaking during a break from one of his four meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday, Kerry said they had made “genuine progress” in talks over the last few days but “several of the most difficult issues” remain.
“If hard choices get made in the next couple of days, made quickly, we could get an agreement this week, but if they are not made we will not,” he said in Vienna, where talks between Iran, the United States and five other powers are being held.
Foreign ministers from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia began arriving on Sunday evening as the major powers make a push to meet Tuesday’s deadline for a final agreement to end the 12-year-old dispute.
Kerry said negotiators were still aiming for that deadline, but other diplomats have said the talks could slip to July 9, the date by which the Obama administration must submit a deal to Congress in order to get an expedited, 30-day review.
The agreement under discussion would require Iran to curb its most sensitive nuclear work for a decade or more in exchange for relief from sanctions that have slashed its oil exports and crippled its economy.
U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, which has been accused of making too many concessions by Republican members of Congress and by Israel, remains ready to abandon the talks, Kerry said.
“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,” he said.
European officials also said the onus was on Iran to cut a deal. After arriving in Vienna, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters the main question was whether Iran would make “clear commitments” on unresolved issues.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it would take courage and compromise to reach a deal. “I hope that this courage exists above all … in Tehran,” he told reporters.
The major powers suspect Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes such as producing medical isotopes and generating electricity./End/
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Monday, 06 July, 2015
An Iranian nuclear agreement is possible this week if Iran makes the “hard choices” necessary, but if not, the United States stands ready to walk away from the negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday.
Speaking during a break from one of his four meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday, Kerry said they had made “genuine progress” in talks over the last few days but “several of the most difficult issues” remain.
“If hard choices get made in the next couple of days, made quickly, we could get an agreement this week, but if they are not made we will not,” he said in Vienna, where talks between Iran, the United States and five other powers are being held.
Foreign ministers from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia began arriving on Sunday evening as the major powers make a push to meet Tuesday’s deadline for a final agreement to end the 12-year-old dispute.
Kerry said negotiators were still aiming for that deadline, but other diplomats have said the talks could slip to July 9, the date by which the Obama administration must submit a deal to Congress in order to get an expedited, 30-day review.
The agreement under discussion would require Iran to curb its most sensitive nuclear work for a decade or more in exchange for relief from sanctions that have slashed its oil exports and crippled its economy.
U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, which has been accused of making too many concessions by Republican members of Congress and by Israel, remains ready to abandon the talks, Kerry said.
“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,” he said.
European officials also said the onus was on Iran to cut a deal. After arriving in Vienna, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters the main question was whether Iran would make “clear commitments” on unresolved issues.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it would take courage and compromise to reach a deal. “I hope that this courage exists above all … in Tehran,” he told reporters.
The major powers suspect Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes such as producing medical isotopes and generating electricity./End/
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
