Reuters – July 12, 2015 – The technical aspects of a possible nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers are nearly complete, the head of the Tehran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday.
“Technical discussions are almost over and the text regarding the technical issues with their annexes is almost finished,” he was quoted as saying by Iran’s students news agency ISNA.
Diplomats close to the nuclear negotiations in the Austrian capital say that the most difficult remaining issues in the talks are political, not technical.
After more than two weeks of marathon negotiations, Iran and six world powers were close to nailing down an historic nuclear deal that would bring sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s atomic programme, diplomats said on Sunday.
But Iranian and Western officials said it was unlikely they would be able to finalise an agreement on Sunday, saying the earliest an agreement could be ready was more likely Monday.
“We are working hard, but a deal tonight is simply logistically impossible,” Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for the Iranian delegation, said on Twitter. “This is a 100-page document, after all.”
A Western official said Tehran and Washington would need time to consult their capitals once an agreement was reached.
US secretary of state John Kerry cautioned that some difficult issues remained on the 16th day of ministerial negotiations between Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
“I think we’re getting to some real decisions,” Mr Kerry told reporters in the Austrian capital. “So I will say, because we have a few tough things to do, I remain hopeful. Hopeful.”
Several diplomats said an agreement that would end more than a year and a half of negotiations was so close that it could come as early as on Sunday. In a sign that something might be in the works, both Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi were also due to join the talks on Sunday.
French foreign minister Laurent said he hoped the high-stakes negotiations were finally drawing to a close. “I hope, I hope, that we are finally entering the final phase of this marathon negotiation,” Laurent Fabius told reporters.
“I believe it,” he added. “France’s position has been one of constructive firmness and I hope it will allow us to reach the end now, quickly, for a satisfying result.” A senior Iranian official also said an agreement was close.
“Some 99 per cent of the issues have been resolved and the agreement is ready,” said an Iranian diplomat. “With political will, we can finish the work late tonight and announce it tomorrow. But still there are at least two issues to be resolved.”