Nuclear talks with US enter 'critical phase'

Talks between Iran and the US were due to enter a "critical phase" on Sunday with tensions rising just three days before a deadline to nail down a deal to thwart any Iranian nuclear arms drive.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Sunday that a last-minute deal between Iran and world powers on Teheran's nuclear program was still possible.

She made the remarks after US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart appeared to have made little headway when they returned to the negotiating table in Vienna on Saturday.

"Obviously we are at a critical stage now," a Western diplomat said. "It's become more tense in the final days. But that was always likely to happen."

Global powers known as the P5+1 group - China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - are seeking to flesh out the final details of a historic accord to curtail Iran's nuclear program.

They are seeking an accord by Tuesday's deadline, building on guidelines set by a framework deal agreed in Lausanne on April 2.

Kerry told reporters that although he remained "hopeful", there was still "a lot of hard work to do".

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif agreed, saying negotiators "need to work really hard in order to be able to make progress and move forward".

But his deputy, Abbas Araghchi, suggested parts of the Lausanne framework no longer apply because other countries have changed their positions.

"In Lausanne we found solutions to many things, but some issues remained unresolved," he told Arabic-language Iranian television channel Al-Alam.

"And now some of the solutions found in Lausanne no longer work, because after Lausanne certain countries within the P5+1 made declarations ... and we see a change in their position which complicates the task."

Officials have acknowledged that Tuesday's deadline may slip by a few days, but several diplomats have categorically ruled out any further formal monthslong extension of the talks which have dragged on for almost two years.

With diplomatic pressure growing, other ministers from Britain, China, Germany and Russia are due to follow Mogherini to Vienna.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who flew in on Saturday, said at least three "indispensable" demands remained unresolved.

AFP - Reuters

(China Daily 06/29/2015 page10)