French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that Iran is demanding 24 days notice before international inspections of suspected nuclear sites, Reuters reported Wednesday.

When asked whether there had been some progress since April, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who has been perceived as the most demanding in the talks, said the negotiations now had to discuss the deal’s annexes, which was not the case yet….

“What happens if Iran doesn’t comply. How much time will we have to check? In the current text, it’s 24 days, but in 24 days a lot of things can disappear,” Fabius said….

“There has to be concrete commitments on the enrichment activities allowed for length of the accord, including a phased reduction in the number of centrifuges at the underground site of Fordow and an efficient mechanism to restore sanctions if Iran does not respect its commitments,” Fabius said.

Representatives of the P5+1 nations and Iran are currently working on details of an emerging nuclear deal in Vienna. The Iranian demand for 24 days notice before inspections of suspected nuclear facilities, along with yesterday’s declaration by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruling out interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists or access to Iranian military sites, are obstacles to the goal of negotiating a transparent and verifiable nuclear deal. When President Barack Obama announced the continuation of negotiations with Iran last month, he said that a deal must have “transparency” and be “verifiable.”

[Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office / Flickr ]