Negotiators Announce Preliminary Outline of a Possible Framework for Tentative Pending Agreement on Iran Nuke Program
Posted: April 2, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Diplomacy, War Room, White House | Tags: Beau-Rivage Palace, European Union, Iran, John Kerry, Lausanne, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Mohammad Javad Zarif, Nuclear program of Iran, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, United States Leave a comment
Iran nuclear talks extend beyond deadline
International negotiators on Thursday announced a preliminary agreement on Iran’s nuclear program sketching the framework for a final deal, capping days of exhaustive and tense talks that blew past their original deadline.
At a press conference in Switzerland, negotiators unveiled the framework that would guide the next phase of talks. The U.S., Iran and five other world powers plan to continue working on a deal, in hopes of striking a final agreement by a June 30 deadline.
President Obama plans to speak about the framework in the Rose Garden Thursday afternoon.
Secretary of State John Kerry, earlier, tweeted that all sides have the “parameters to resolve major issues” and will soon get back to work on a “final deal.”
“Big day,” he tweeted.
Reading out a joint statement, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the seven nations would now start writing the text of a final accord. She cited several agreed-upon restrictions on Iran’s enrichment of material that can be used either for energy production or in nuclear warheads. She said Iran won’t produce weapons-grade plutonium.
Crucially for the Iranians, economic sanctions related to its nuclear programs are to be rolled back after the U.N. nuclear agency confirms compliance.
The apparent breakthrough comes after days of talks that went into overtime after missing a March 31 deadline, raising doubts on whether the negotiators could reach any agreement at all.
But the German Foreign Office tweeted Thursday: “Agreement on framework for final agreement reached.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also said they found “solutions” on key issues and would start “immediately” on drafting a deal to finish by the June 30 deadline.
In the search for a comprehensive deal, the U.S. and five other countries hope to curb Iran’s nuclear technologies that it could use to make weapons. Tehran denies such ambitions but is negotiating because it wants a lifting of sanctions imposed over its nuclear program.
The talks have been on shaky ground…(read more)
