Kerry and Zarif Launch New Round of Talks
March 3, 2015Top diplomats from Iran and the United States launched a new round of marathon talks on a nuclear deal late Monday, AFP reported.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met twice in a Swiss lakeside hotel at the start of a series of sessions which are scheduled to stretch into Wednesday afternoon, the report said.
They were accompanied by American Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi, who according to the Iranian news agency IRNA had first met earlier for about 90 minutes.
Iranian negotiators Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi also held talks with U.S. Under Secretary Wendy Sherman as well as the EU’s deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid, IRNA added.
Iran and six world powers reached an interim deal in November of 2013, under which Iran committed to limit its uranium enrichment to five percent and is gradually winning access to $4.2 billion of its oil revenues frozen abroad and some other sanctions relief.
The talks were supposed to continue in order to turn the interim deal into a permanent one. However, the talks have stalled and two deadlines for a final deal have been missed, with a third one looming on July 1 and an initial deal needing to be worked out by March 31.
“We are all focused simultaneously on the need to elicit from Iran answers to questions about their nuclear program –- not just answers for today, but answers that are capable of lasting well into the future,” Kerry told reporters in Geneva on Monday, according to AFP.
He stressed that global powers, grouped under the P5+1, were not seeking “a deal at any cost” but wanted to ensure that the “four pathways to a nuclear bomb have been closed off.”
“We hope we can get there, but there is no guarantee,” Kerry added.
Kerry and Zarif first met for about 50 minutes Monday evening, and after a short break, held a second 25-minute meeting before calling it a night.
They are due to resume their talks early Tuesday, and American officials said the talks would likely be “a flowing meeting that runs into another.”
Kerry and Zarif have met frequently in past weeks in European cities, and officials said that some progress was made but added much work still needed to be done.
Similar posts
-
Israel Is Held To A Higher Standard Than Any Country
April 25, 2024In the intricate tapestry of global affairs, one nation stands out for enduring scrutiny and condem...
-
Israel Has The Most Moral Military In The World
April 10, 2024In the heart of a region often riddled with conflict, Israel stands out not only for its technologi...
-
The Resilience of the Israeli People
April 2, 2024Visitors from around the world have seen Hamas's October 7th Massacre's destruction in southern Isr...
-
Israel: Small Size, Big Impact
March 21, 2024Nestled along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is a land of immense historical sig...
-
Israelis Are Fighting For Their Lives
February 21, 2024By Jonathan S. Tobin The world looks a lot different from Kibbutz Kfar Aza than it does in the U...
-
Over 2 Million Arabs Live In Israel
January 23, 2024In the complex landscape of the Middle East, where diverse cultures and identities intersect, Israe...
-
'Fauda' Star Idan Amedi Injured Fighting in Gaza
January 8, 2024Despite the severity of his injuries, Amedi's father assured Israeli news channels that his life is...
-
Israel Is A Great Country To Live In
December 28, 2023Nestled at the crossroads of the Middle East, Israel stands as a vibrant and dynamic nation, offeri...
