By Geoff Dyer in Washington, James Blitz in London and Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
November 10, 2013
"Three days of intense negotiations in Geneva failed to reach an interim agreement to freeze Iran’s nuclear programme, despite the optimistic predictions that had accompanied the talks.
High-level talks between Iran and six world powers are due to resume on November 20, but the continued differences in Geneva underlined the considerable obstacles in reaching a lasting agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Diplomats remained locked in talks past midnight as they tried to hammer out the first major agreement over Iran’s nuclear ambitions in a decade, but were unable to conclude the much-anticipated deal.
Lady Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, told a press conference at the conclusion of the talks that there had been a lot of “concrete progress but some differences remain”.
John Kerry, US secretary of state, said after the talks closed that “we are closer now than when we came.” He added: “With good work and good faith, we can in fact secure our goal.”
The talks appeared to falter in part because of objections raised by France, which alongside the US, UK, Germany, China and Russia, is one of the countries involved in the negotiations with Iran.
Indeed, it was Laurent Fabius, French foreign minister, who first announced the failure of the talks ahead of a joint press conference by Lady Ashton and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian foreign minister.
“The meetings in Geneva have made it possible to move forward,” Mr Fabius said. “But we have not yet managed to conclude, because there are still some questions remaining to be dealt with.”
Earlier in the day, Mr Fabius said that France did not want to be part of a “fool’s game”.
The near two-week gap before the next talks could prove uncomfortable for the US and Iranian negotiators, who both face considerable opposition at home to their efforts at diplomacy.
The Obama administration’s critics in Congress, who are already pushing for tougher sanctions on Iran, could well be emboldened by French criticism of the deal US diplomats appeared ready to support.
At the same time, Mr Zarif’s apparent last-minute failure to secure some relief from tough international sanctions could encourage those in Iran who say the regime cannot trust the west. At the press conference, Mr Zarif said the diplomats had had a “very productive three days” and that the talks were “something we can build on”.
The diplomats were discussing an interim deal to buy time for more detailed negotiations about a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, which many western governments believe is fast approaching a point where it could make the final steps towards building a nuclear bomb in a short period of time.
The broad outline of the proposed deal involved Iran halting key parts of its nuclear programme in return from some modest relief from the tough regime of international sanctions that it faces.
One of the two main sticking points at negotiations in Geneva was the Arak heavy water reactor south east of Tehran. Western diplomats have long feared that the reactor could produce enough plutonium to give Iran a nuclear bomb at a later date unless its operations are halted.
A second sticking point is Iran’s stockpile of more highly enriched uranium, which is close to weapons grade. Iran has said that it will stop production of more highly enriched uranium at the 20 per cent concentration. But it is unclear whether it is prepared to convert its stockpile of 20 per cent uranium into a form that could not be used to make a nuclear weapon.
Before the break-up of the talks, some diplomats suggested that France might be playing “bad cop” to the US “good cop” in a bid to extract final concessions from Iran.
France has long been regarded as the most hawkish of the four western powers that negotiate with Iran over its nuclear programme. That hawkishness has been a feature of all recent French presidencies and reflects the country’s deep-seated political commitment to the principle of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Romain Nadal, French foreign ministry spokesman, pointed to “rather large cohesion”’ among the negotiators, and said France wanted “the international community to see a serious change in the climate” of talks with Iran.
“There have been years of talks that have led to nothing,’’ Mr Nadal said, alluding to the need for tough terms on Iran.
Another bone of contention may have been the limited willingness of western powers to remove sanctions in return for Iran’s commitment to halt key aspects of its program.
“Countries should know that any agreement should be based on mutual respect and take into consideration the rights of Iranian nation, otherwise it would not be sustainable,” Mr Zarif said."
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