French say accord must include transparency on Tehran’s future nuclear activities
LAUSANNE, Switzerland—Several European foreign ministers arrived in Switzerland for nuclear talks with Iran on Saturday, with Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier saying the negotiations were now entering the endgame, Wall Street Journal reported on March 28, 2015.
Officials said it remained unclear, however, if Iran and the six-power group with which it negotiates would be able to meet a March 31 deadline to reach a political understanding on the main parameters of a nuclear deal.
 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had already held two days of talks in this Swiss lakeside city with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and other top officials. A senior U.S. official described those talks on Friday as tough and very serious.
Failure to reach a political deal on time would pile pressure on the Obama administration in Washington, where lawmakers from both parties have threatened to advance legislation increasing sanctions on Iran, when Congress returns from recess. Such a situation could trigger a major crisis in the diplomatic efforts.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Friday that any political deal may simply be a political statement with a narrative about the main points. Mr. Hammond suggested meeting the March 31 deadline could be challenging and said the current Congressional break gave the negotiators some extra leeway to seal a political deal.
A final, detailed nuclear agreement is due to be sealed by June 30.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday outside the luxury hotel where the talks are taking place, Mr. Fabius said: “I come here with the wish to advance towards a robust accord.”
“The discussions have been long, difficult. We advance on some points and on other points not enough,” he added.
Mr. Fabius said that what is very important is the transparency Iran agrees to for overseeing its nuclear activities and the “controls, to be sure that the commitments made are respected.”
Germany’s Mr. Steinmeier struck a brighter tone as he headed into an afternoon of meetings with Mr. Kerry, Mr. Fabius and Zarif. He said that after 12 years of nuclear talks with Iran, negotiations have entered the end game. However, he said the final steps to be taken “are the most difficult but also the decisive ones.”
Mr. Fabius has adopted a strong line in the Iran talks in recent weeks, with France appearing at odds with the U.S., at times, over what a final nuclear agreement must contain.
French officials have stressed several specific points in recent weeks. They want to be sure there are real constraints on Iran’s nuclear research work to ensure Tehran cannot advance toward more sophisticated technology that would allow them to produce nuclear fuel much more quickly.
They have also said they want to ensure Tehran addresses long-standing questions about its past nuclear work that western officials believe was aimed at gaining nuclear weapon know-how.
Western officials have said the two sides need to have a clear understanding of the main parameters of an accord under a political deal.
However the negotiators have left themselves significant wiggle-room. The details of any agreement are unlikely to be made public and it is not yet clear if there will even be a single, agreed text between Iran and the six powers setting down the resolved issues.