VIENNA (Reuters) Nov 23, 2014 – World powers and Iran struggled on Saturday to overcome the differences preventing them from ending a 12-year standoff over Tehran’s atomic ambitions, raising the prospect of another extension to the high-stakes talks.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said “big gaps” remained with two days to go before a self-imposed Nov. 24 deadline for an accord, despite signs of some headway. A European source said the chance of a final deal by Monday was “very small.”
Diplomats said a framework accord was still possible, but that weeks or months would then be needed to agree on the all-important details of how it would be implemented.
They said continuing the negotiations – which have dragged on for more than a year, accompanied by a partial easing of sanctions – was preferable to letting them collapse and risking renewed tension. However, some said an extension could push the talks into a never-ending cycle of rollovers with few prospects of a final deal.
Despite the differences, a senior U.S. State Department official said: “We are continuing to take steps forward.”
“The focus of discussions remains on an agreement, but we are discussing both internally and with our partners a range of options for the best path forward,” the official added, without elaborating on whether these included a possible extension.
The European source said there had been “no significant” progress on the main stumbling blocks – Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity and the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program.
“The chances of reaching a deal in the next 48 hours are very small,” the source said. “Our feeling is that they (Iran’s negotiators) don’t have a lot of flexibility.”
Western officials say Iran is refusing to countenance curbing uranium enrichment, an activity that can have both civilian and military uses.
Another stumbling block is sanctions, which Iran wants ended swiftly and not, as the West wants, suspended and then scrapped progressively as Iran fulfills the terms of a final deal.