Kerry: ‘Up to Iran’ to show its nuclear program peaceful

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday that it was up to Iran to prove it has a peaceful nuclear program, following talks with his French counterpart in Paris.

“It is frankly up to Iran that wants this program, that asserts that it has a peaceful program… to show the world that it is exactly what they say,” said Kerry following a meeting with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius noted “progress” in talks with Iran, but said differences remained.

“There is progress in certain areas but there are also divergences that must be remedied, so there is still work to do,” said Fabius at the joint press conference with Kerry.

Kerry arrived in Paris on Saturday to brief European officials on the status of nuclear negotiations with Iran.

With an end-of-month deadline looming to produce the outlines of a deal that would curb the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, Kerry was meeting Saturday in the French capital with the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain.

Kerry’s discussions follow three days of intense negotiations with Iran in Switzerland and ahead of the next round due to begin on March 15.

He met on Thursday in Riyadh with the foreign ministers of Gulf Arab states to consult on the emerging agreement.

France has voiced its concerns on the emerging deal, saying more progress was needed for an agreement.

Fabius said Friday that “There has been progress but as regards the numbers, controls and the length of the agreement, it is still not sufficient, so there is more work to be done.”

Fabius gave no figures but key issues in the talks which began in late 2013 include the level of uranium enrichment that Iran should be allowed, the degree of international oversight of its program and how long an accord should last.

“The deadline is March 31 but in the event it could be later, although everyone wants to make progress by the end of the month,” Fabius said.

Kerry has acknowledged that he is uncertain whether a deal can be reached, warning that after months of intensive negotiations between world powers and Iran time is running out.

“We are seeking to show that Iran’s program is exclusively peaceful and that we can block all of the pathways necessary to acquire the fissile material for a nuclear weapon and then to be able to move towards the production of that weapon,” Kerry said on Thursday after briefing Gulf foreign ministers in Riyadh on the state of the talks.

“To date, we have made progress, but there do remain serious gaps, and those need to be resolved,” he stressed.

“It may be that Iran cannot say yes to the type of deal that provides assurances that the international community requires.”

“We expect soon thereafter to know whether Iran will, in fact, be able to make the tough decisions that are required to get where we need to be,” Kerry said.