Iran nuke talks set to miss deal deadline

A senior US official acknowledged that Iran nuclear talks will go past tomorrow’s target date, as Iran’s foreign minister prepared to head home Sunday for consultations before returning to push for a breakthrough.

Iranian media said Mohammed Javad Zarif’s trip was planned in advance. Still, the fact that he was leaving the talks so close to the Tuesday deadline reflected his need to get instructions on how to proceed on issues where the sides remain apart – among them how much access Tehran should give to UN experts monitoring his country’s compliance to any deal. The US insists on more intrusive access than Iran is ready to give.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius are in Vienna, and their Russian and British counterparts were to join later. China was sending a deputy foreign minister.

For weeks, all seven nations at the negotiating table insisted that tomorrow remains the formal deadline for a deal. But with time running out, a senior US official acknowledged that was unrealistic.

“Given the dates, and that we have some work to do... the parties are planning to remain in Vienna beyond June 30 to continue working,” said the official, who demanded anonymity in line with State Department practice.

Asked about the chances for a deal, Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s top diplomat, said: “It’s going to be tough... but not impossible.”

Steinmeier said: “I am convinced that if there is no agreement, everyone loses.

“Iran would remain isolated. A new arms race in a region that is already riven by conflict could be the dramatic consequence.”

Both sides recognise that there is leeway to extend to July 9. As part of an agreement with the US Congress, lawmakers then have 30 days to review the deal before suspending congressional sanctions.

But postponement beyond that would double the congressional review period to 60 days, giving both Iranian and US critics more time to work on undermining an agreement.

Arguing for more time to allow the US to drive a harder bargain, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – a fierce opponent of the talks – weighed in against “this bad agreement.”

He said: “It is still not too late to go back and insist on demands that will genuinely deny Iran the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons.”

The goal of the talks involving Iran and the US, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia is a deal that would crimp Tehran’s capacity to make nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran insists it does not want such arms but is bargaining in exchange for sanctions relief.