The New York Times, 30 Jun 2015
The United States warned Iran on Monday, in both English and Persian, that a preliminary agreement reached two months ago in Switzerland must remain the basis for a final nuclear deal.
The warning appeared to reflect concerns among American and European negotiators that Iran’s supreme leader, Khamenei, has been attempting to backtrack on some crucial elements of the April agreement that was forged in Lausanne, the lakeside resort near Geneva.
“We do see a path forward to get a comprehensive agreement that meets our bottom lines,” said a senior United States official, who could not be identified under the ground rules for briefing reporters. “This path forward has to be based on the Lausanne parameters. Period.”
In a sign that the talks will intensify in coming days, the Iranian news media reported that Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s atomic energy organization who has been ailing, would be accompanying Mr. Zarif when he returns to the negotiations here.
The senior American official discounted reports that the United States was seeking to renegotiate arrangements it agreed to in Lausanne that would allow Iran to use the underground installation it has built at Fordo for research instead of shutting it. Those provisions allow Iran to keep 1,000 centrifuges in that installation, but only a small portion can be operated in cascades to produce isotopes and none can be used to enrich uranium for at least 15 years.
Previously, Iranian officials had said they would never ship the material out of the country, but it now looks like they may have no other choice, officials say.