US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during the negotiations
Updated 5:50 AM ET, Wed April 1, 2015
Lausanne, Switzerland (CNN) International talks to reach a preliminary agreement on Iran’s nuclear program have run past their Tuesday deadline and into another day, deepening uncertainty over whether a deal will be reached.
The negotiations are seen as a crucial effort to use diplomatic means to try to ensure Tehran isn’t able to rapidly move toward building a nuclear bomb.
“We’ve made enough progress in the last days to merit staying until Wednesday. There are several difficult issues still remaining,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, would continue another day as “long as the conversations continue to be productive.”
The negotiating teams worked late Tuesday as their self-imposed deadline approached, but more time was deemed necessary to try to strike a framework agreement — a political understanding on the main principles of a deal.
Trying to overcome decades of mistrust
How long talks would continue was unclear.
The French, Russian and Chinese Foreign Ministers left the venue of the talks Wednesday morning, leaving lower ranking officials to represent them. But the ministers could return if enough progress were made to warrant further discussions.
The other nations taking part in the talks are the United Kingdom and Germany.
But the real onus is on Washington and Tehran to overcome decades of deep mistrust to reach a deal.
“You’re talking here about an institutionalized relationship of hostility between the United States and Iran,” said professor of Middle East studies at The London School of Economics.
Final deadline end of June
For Iran, which insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, a deal would mean relief from punishing economic sanctions.
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Categories: Americas, Asia, Iran, Israel, The Muslim Times, United States