Iranian negotiator: Nuclear deal ‘doable’
Iran’s lead negotiator said Sunday that a deal between Tehran and several western nations, including the United States, over its nuclear program was “doable,” but a few issues remained.
“Getting to an accord is doable. Solutions have been found for numerous questions. We are still working on two or three issues. … The talks are in their final phase and are very difficult,” Abbas Araqchi told reporters in Switzerland on Sunday, according to Agence France-Presse.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said earlier Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that he believed the U.S.-led group could secure a framework agreement by Tuesday’s self-imposed deadline if a deal was “doable.”
“Ultimately, the president believes that we should be able to … reach an agreement by the end of March if one is doable,” Earnest said.
Secretary of State John Kerry is with his counterparts from Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia in Lausanne, Switzerland, to hammer out the final details before Tuesday.
Araqchi said Sunday that Iran did “not intend” to send its stocks of nuclear material abroad, a demand of U.S.-led negotiators.
Some have suggested the talks be extended, though U.S. officials have not signaled whether they consider that a possibility.
Many expect a framework of a political agreement to be presented this week, ahead of a potential deal by June.
“I think we can in fact make the necessary progress to be able to resolve all the issues and start writing them down in a text that will become the final agreement,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday, according to the BBC.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
