Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday told reporters in Vienna that “very real gaps” remain between Iran and the P5+1 global powers as the parties work to reach an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program ahead of the July 20 expiry of the interim Joint Plan of Action (JPA):
Kerry, who joined the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany on the weekend to add diplomatic muscle to the talks, said the negotiations would continue until at least Sunday. In the meantime, he said, he would consult with President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress on where the talks are if no pact is agreed on by July 20.
“There has been tangible progress on key issues,” Kerry told reporters. “However there are very real gaps on other key issues.”
Kerry’s comments come amid heightened skepticism from both members of Congress and nuclear analysts that Iran is willing to put its atomic program beyond use for weaponization and that a deal will be reached by the weekend.
Olli Heinonen, a former deputy director of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, told The New York Times that the plan proposed by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, which The Times characterized as being “just enough for both sides to propose extending the talks” past July 20, would “maintain a status quo” that fails to “open[] any avenues for a deal.”
Institute for Science and International Security Founder and President David Albright assessed that extending talks another half year only makes sense “if Iran accepts that the number of its centrifuges must be reduced and the Arak reactor converted permanently,” both of which have been ruled out by Iranian officials in recent weeks.
Iran’s Tasnim outlet conveyed statements made earlier this month by an Iranian parliament member rejecting any chances to the Arak heavy-water reactor, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week announced that Tehran hoped to increase its number of centrifuges.
Meanwhile, Reuters on Monday reported on a speech given by Khamenei last week, in which the Supreme Leader, per the outlet, “limited the ability of the Iranian delegation at high-level nuclear talks to make concessions”:
One Western diplomat said the delegation appeared “taken aback” by Khamenei’s remarks at such a sensitive time in the nuclear negotiations – just ahead of the July 20 deadline for a deal. Two Iranian sources confirmed that assessment.
“In ostensibly expressing support for the Iranian negotiating team, close scrutiny of Khamenei’s speech shows that in reality his remarks were aimed at severely curtailing his team’s room for manoeuvre, making it effectively impossible to bridge gaps with the stance of the (six powers),” according to a Western intelligence analysis of the speech seen by Reuters.
[Photo: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv / Flickr]