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Despite differences, a nuclear deal is possible between Iran and the West

Iran Nuclear Talks Produce Possible Framework for Deal Chinese Envoy Says Negotiations This Week Made Progress But Main Issues Unresolved y
WSJ, LAURENCE NORMAN  June 20, 2014 VIENNA—With one month to go until a July 20 deadline, the odds of a high-stakes nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers appeared finely balanced, with senior diplomats saying this week’s talks had shown “progress” but warning that gaps may prove too wide to resolve.

After five days of discussions in Vienna, top Iranian and U.S. officials demanded major concessions from the other side and there was no pretense of any sudden breakthrough.

However, the negotiating teams departed Friday with a working document in hand—the first concrete advance in months. Diplomats said all sides appear committed to reach an accord and they left with plans to return July 2 for a mammoth negotiation session that could run through July 20.

The climax to the decade-old Iran talks comes at a time of flux in the long frozen relationship between Tehran and Washington. The Obama administration has suffered multiple foreign policy setbacks in recent months, and Iran has been shaken by the offensive by extremist Sunni groups in its neighbor, Iraq. On Monday, senior U.S. and Iranian officials discussed the Iraq crisis in Vienna.

It’s not yet clear whether that development could help pave the way for a nuclear deal, which could be a rare foreign policy win for the U.S. administration and reward Iranian President Hasan Rouhani for the diplomatic outreach he instigated when he took office last summer.

Iran and the six powers—the U.S., the U.K., China, Russia, Germany and France—are seeking an accord that would settle international concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions in return for lifting tight energy and financial sanctions on Tehran…….

Russia’s top negotiator at the talks, Sergei Ryabkov, said earlier this week that while the differences between Iran and the U.S. on centrifuge numbers remain a “big problem,” this issue was always likely to be settled “at a very late stage.” http://online.wsj.com/articles/iran-nuclear-talks-produce-possible-framework-for-deal-1403273321

June 21, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general