VIENNA
(AP) — Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program entered their 17th —
and possibly last — day in Vienna on Monday as diplomats continued to
haggle over details ahead of the expiration of an interim accord.
With
the temporary deal set to expire at midnight Monday Vienna time (6 p.m.
ET), diplomats said they were planning to complete and announce a final
agreement before day's end. But, they warned there was no guarantee
with several issues still unresolved. The deadline for the end of the
current round of negotiations has already been extended three times and
the diplomats said there was little appetite for a fourth.
Iran's
deputy foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi, told reporters in Vienna that
the talks are at their "final breathtaking moments (but) certain issues
still remain.
" In Brussels, French President Francois Hollande said the
sides are near agreement but "a gap" remains.
The foreign
ministers of Russia and China, who had left the talks last week, both
returned to the Austrian capital late Sunday, and most other foreign
ministers of the seven nations at the table also were in Vienna by
Monday, in place for any announcement.
"The foreign ministers are
gathered to bring negotiations to a conclusion," said Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi. "We believe there could not be further delay."
After
more than two weeks of see-saw developments, including threats from
both the United States and Iran to walk away, senior officials at the
talks began expressing optimism that a deal was in reach on Sunday.
U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry said twice that he was "hopeful" and met
again with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday
evening. After that meeting, foreign ministers and senior officials from
the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany
held a group dinner.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told
reporters on Sunday that he believed the negotiations were entering
their "last phase."
In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said an
agreement was close, but not quite done, describing the negotiations as
"still steps away from reaching the intended peak."
Movement
toward a deal has been marked by nearly a decade of wearying
negotiations. The pact is meant to impose long-term, verifiable limits
on nuclear programs that Tehran could modify to produce weapons. Iran,
in return, would get tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
Diplomats
familiar with the talks said most of the nuts and bolts of implementing
the deal have been agreed upon. But over the past week, issues that
were previously on the backburner have led to new disputes. Among them
is Iran's demand for a lifting of a U.N. arms embargo and its insistence
that any U.N. Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be
written in a way that stops describing Iran's nuclear activities as
illegal.
A diplomat familiar with the negotiations said
disagreements also persist on how long some of the restrictions on
imports of nuclear technology and other embargos outlined in any new
Security Council resolution will last. The diplomat, who demanded
anonymity because the diplomat wasn't allowed to discuss the
confidential talks, said restrictions will last for years, not months.
(c) AP
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