LONDON (Reuters) Mar 22, 2015 – U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview with the Huffington Post that Iran had not yet made the necessary concessions for a deal to get completed.
“What is going to have an effect on whether we get a deal done is, number one: is Iran prepared to show, to prove to the world, that it is not developing a nuclear weapon, and can we verify that in an intrusive, consistent way?” Obama said.
“And frankly, they have not yet made the kind of concessions that are I think going to be needed for a final deal to get done. But they have moved, and so there’s the possibility,” Obama added in the interview conducted on Friday and published on Saturday.
After 2-1/2 hours of talks in London, the Western ministers said in their joint statement: “Any solution must be comprehensive, durable and verifiable. None of our countries can subscribe to a deal that does not meet these terms.”
The stress on unity seemed designed to counter the impression of a split between Washington and Paris.
U.S. officials have privately bristled at France’s outspoken criticism of the negotiating process and its demands for more stringent restrictions on the Iranians. Officials have expressed concerns that the French might block a deal at the United Nations.
France’s envoy to Washington, Gerard Araud, has been especially vocal, tweeting that setting a March 31 deadline for a framework deal was “a bad tactic” and “counterproductive”. The target date for a full agreement is June 30.
The full six-power group is due to resume negotiations with Iran next week in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The West suspects Iran of seeking the ability to produce atomic weapons and the United Nations has imposed stringent economic sanctions on Tehran. Iran says its program is intended only for peaceful purposes, such as medical technology and nuclear energy, and wants the swift lifting of sanctions.
Iran’s Khamenei, who has the last word on all matters of state, reiterated in a speech that Tehran would not be pressured into giving in to Western demands.
“What the Iranian people don’t want is imposition and bullying from America,” he said, at one point repeating the phrase “Death to America” after it was shouted from the crowd.