Iran says nuclear deal possible by June 30
Foreign Minister Zarif says pact can be reached ahead of deadline, despite others warning they won’t rush an agreement
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ATHENS — Iran’s foreign minister is holding out hope that a “sustainable, mutually respectful” deal can be struck with world powers in talks over his country’s nuclear program before the current deadline of June 30.
Mohammad Javad Zarif said an agreement with negotiators from the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany is possible provided “people have their foot in reality, not in illusions.”
But he warned that “excessive demands” would make an agreement hard to envisage, even without a deadline. Zarif spoke after talks in Athens Thursday with his Greek peer, Nikos Kotzias.
His words struck a different tone than those of his deputy foreign minister on Tuesday, Abbas Araqchi.
“We are not bound by the schedule. We are trying to have a good agreement with all the details meeting our expectations,” Araqchi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency, describing the efforts to draw up a final text as “hard work.”
Araqchi’s words apparently prompted State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke to iterate the US isn’t considering an extension and that the goal remains to make progress toward an agreement by the end of June deadline.
The proposed deal would freeze Iran’s nuclear program for a decade, in return for sanctions relief. Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, while the West fears it could allow it to build nuclear weapons.
The Times of Israel Community.