Iran and the 5+1 Powers face another deadline on Tuesday for a resolution of the debate over Tehran’s nuclear program.

In an interim agreement in November 2013, Iran and the 5+1 (US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China) set a deadline of June 30, 2014, for an agreement. This was subsequently pushed back to November and, at that point, to June 30, 2015.

Last week the two sides, in eight rounds of talks in Vienna since a nuclear framework was announced on April 2, gave themselves a further seven days for conclusion of an agreement.

On Monday, Iran and the 5+1 held two sets of plenary talks. No details were given of the discussions, including on key issues such as the dispute over inspections of Iranian military sites and the timing of the removal of UN, European Union, and US sanctions.

An unnamed Iranian negotiator damped down recent statements by Tehran’s officials, including Zarif, saying that “serious differences” still remain over the final text. However, he added, “The two sides are also firmly determined to settle the differences.”

A member of the Iranian team indicated earlier that the deadline was likely to be passed, with a resolution envisaged late Wednesday or early Thursday:
July 7, July 8 or July 9. We do not consider these dates as one in which we have to finish the job.

Even if our job is not done by July 9, it would not be the end of the world. We need to reach a good agreement.
At the same time, the diplomat said that a long extension of the deadline was “in no one’s interest”: “If there is a need that we stay in Vienna for a few more days, it would be better for us to stay here than go back to our country and return later.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest echoed that the deadline could “slip”, telling journalists, “I would say that it’s certainly possible,” although “this is the deadline that we continue to operate against, and that reflects the rather aggressive pace of the negotiations that are underway right now”.

By EA WorldView