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Iran, West Race to Try to Seal Initial Nuclear Deal

Iran, West Race to Try to Seal Initial Nuclear Deal
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Παρ, 8 Νοεμβρίου 2013 - 17:44
Iran and world powers raced in an effort to seal an initial deal Friday to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for some easing of sanctions, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and several European foreign ministers arriving in Geneva to narrow differences.
Iran and world powers raced in an effort to seal an initial deal Friday to curb Iran 's nuclear program in exchange for some easing of sanctions, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and several European foreign ministers arriving in Geneva to narrow differences.

Even as talks continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the possible compromise and said Israel would not be bound by the accord.

Western and Iranian officials said Friday while there had been significant advances, a deal was not nailed down yet. Among the key questions was what additional sanctions easing the West would offer Iran short of dismantling its core financial and energy sanctions and how far Iran would go in curbing its enrichment activities and allowing greater inspections of its nuclear sites as part of an initial deal.

In a sign that the discussions were reaching a critical point, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived to push the talks ahead. Mr. Kerry was due to arrive Friday afternoon after cutting short a Middle East visit.

"I have come personally to Geneva because these are difficult negotiations but they're important for regional security and international security," said French Foreign Minister Fabius as he arrived in Geneva . "There have already been advances, but at the moment that I'm speaking, nothing is yet secured."

Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement that Mr. Kerry was coming "in an effort to help narrow the differences in negotiations."

Iran negotiates on its nuclear program with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany , the P5+1 group. The Russian and Chinese foreign ministers were not expected to attend.

President Barack Obama described the emerging agreement Thursday in an interview with NBC News, saying that if Iran doesn't live up to its end, "we can crank that dial back up" on sanctions.

The two sides were jointly preparing a draft agreement ahead of a likely announcement, said Iranian and Western officials, although the plan could still unravel. The White House already faces major opposition both from its allies in the Middle East and members of Congress. Israel , in particular, has been deeply skeptical.

Late Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told CNN "it is possible to reach an understanding for an agreement before we close these negotiations tomorrow evening." He said there is "a window of opportunity now that...needs to be seized."

Mr. Kerry is flying to Geneva from Israel where he had met with Mr. Netanyahu.

"They wanted relief of sanctions after years of a grueling sanctions regime. They are paying nothing because they are not in any way reducing their nuclear-enrichment capability," Mr. Netanyahu told reporters.

" Israel is not obliged by this agreement and Israel will do everything it needs to do to defend itself."

The movement is also likely to unsettle U.S. lawmakers, who have been preparing to impose new sanctions against Iran 's oil exports and financial sector. The Obama administration has urged lawmakers to wait.

U.S. officials view the agreement as the first phase in a broader diplomatic process that aims, over the next six months, to reach a permanent deal on reining in Iran 's nuclear activities.

Iran , under this initial deal, would freeze the most advanced aspects of its nuclear program, including its production of near-weapons-grade fuel, in return for the U.S. and Europe easing some of the crippling financial sanctions they have imposed over the past five years, according to diplomats involved in the process.

The Obama administration is also seeking to constrain the numbers and capacity of the centrifuge machines Iran uses to enrich uranium and to prevent Tehran from commissioning a heavy water nuclear reactor capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium by the end of next year.

Mr. Obama said the agreement is "greatly preferable to us ratcheting up that conflict." He said the U.S. will provide "very modest" sanctions relief in the initial phase of an agreement but would keep the broader "sanctions architecture" in place as a threat if Tehran doesn't comply.

But American and European officials were extremely cautious about declaring success. In late 2009, then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government agreed in Geneva to ship Tehran 's entire stockpile of enriched uranium to a third country in exchange for economic incentives.

The deal collapsed days later because of opposition from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran , according to American and European officials.

Mr. Kerry was due to meet Friday afternoon with Mr. Zarif and Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief who chairs the P5+1. It will be the latest in a rapid series of moves toward detente between Washington and Tehran since Iranian President Hasan Rouhani took office in August. Mr. Rouhani had a 15-minute phone call with Mr. Obama in late September, the first conversation between an American and Iranian president in three decades.

Iranian officials want a significant roll back of the U.S.-led sanctions campaign in return for it freezing parts of its nuclear program.

Iranian oil exports have been cut in half over the past 18 months and officials have acknowledged they need quick access to some of the country's foreign-exchange reserves that they are unable to repatriate from overseas banks.

One idea being explored to help Tehran in the short term is to establish a financial mechanism to help Iran unfreeze as much as $50 billion in oil export revenue that has been frozen, U.S. and European officials have said. The mechanism would amount to one-time relief from the banking and oil sanctions, leaving them broadly in place.

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