While their nuclear talks with the US continue in Switzerland, Iran’s officials have turned their criticism onto Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following his speech to the US Congress on Tuesday.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had led the sniping against President Obama, deriding his remarks that negotiations had agreed a 10-year freeze on Iran’s nuclear program but that they were still unlikely to succeed. Yesterday, he moved to Netanyahu: “He’s trying to [disrupt talks]. But I don’t think trying to create tension and conflict helps anybody.”

Zarif was backed by the European Union’s foreign policy chief, as he continued his talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Montreux. Federica Mogherini, who spoke by phone to Zarif and Kerry on Tuesday, warned against “spreading fears” over a final nuclear deal, sought by a July 1 deadline:
At this crucial stage of the negotiations, the EU is fully committed to facilitating the talks to reach a comprehensive deal. We should not miss this historic opportunity.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister restated that — while Iran has reportedly made concessions over its capacity for enrichment, its
stock of uranium, and the duration of an agreement — it will not move from insistence on a quick lifting of US-led sanctions.

Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said she was quoting Zarif, “No final deal will be made until all issues on the agenda of the talks are agreed upon….Iran has always rejected excessive demands in the nuclear talks.”

Zarif said in Switzerland, “we’re starting to move forward, but it’s a lot of work.”

By EA WorldView