Epigraph:

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
…
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:7-9)

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during the negotiations

Lausanne, Switzerland (CNN) [Breaking news update, 1:40 p.m.]

A “broad political agreement with some specifics” will be announced in a joint statement from the parties involved in Iran’s nuclear program talks, a Western diplomat told CNN. The agreement puts significant curbs on Iran’s nuclear program, but leaves much of it intact, the diplomat said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sent a tweet saying that “parameters to resolve major issues” have been reached.

[Previous story, published at 1:25 p.m.]

Significant agreements have been reached regarding Iran’s nuclear program, according to tweets by officials ahead of a planned joint statement.

“Found solutions,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted. “Ready to start drafting immediately.”

“Solutions on key parameters” reached, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Twitter. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, tweeted, “Good news,” regarding the talks.

The flurry of tweets basically amounted to a leak of the upcoming statement. The message: expect a breakthrough from the marathon talks in Lausanne.

Mogherini is expected to make a statement, which will also be read in Farsi by Zarif.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is also expected to make a statement.

The goal had been to agree on a framework for a future final nuclear agreement by Tuesday. The talks stretched well past the original deadline.

The statement will mark the end of a round of talks that started last week.

Earlier Thursday, as Zarif was walking back to the hotel where the negotiations were being held, he told reporters that a statement was in the works.

Issuing a statement sounds like something less significant than the framework of understanding that the parties were aiming for.

“What we expect today is a statement and the fact that we have all reached common understanding on how to resolve the issues,” Zarif said. “But the agreement, a written agreement, is something that needs to be drafted by all participants and agreed upon in a multilateral process. And that would take, hopefully, three months, to finalize, and hopefully less.”

Asked if an understanding has been reached on all issues, Zarif replied, “that’s what we think we have, but nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”

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