On Sunday morning, Zarif flew home to Iran.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said as he joined the talks with USA Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers that the six powers were prepared to walk away if needed.
“Some of the solutions found in Lausanne no longer work, because after Lausanne certain countries within the P5+1 made declarations… and we see a change in their position which complicates the task”, he told Al-Alam television. In a short statement to the press, Moghreni said that if necessary, the sides would have to extend the negotiations beyond the June 30 deadline in order to reach an agreement. “All claims made within the worldwide community about how [Hassan] Rohani’s election [as president] changed the character of the Iranian regime are firmly answered by this report”, Netanyahu said.
“There are a number of different areas where we still have major differences of interpretation in detailing what was agreed in Lausanne”, Hammond told reporters.
In addition to Iran and the United States, the talks include Britain, China, France, Germany and Russian Federation.
Officials have acknowledged the June 30 deadline may slip by a few days, but several diplomats have categorically ruled out any further formal months-long extension of the talks, which have dragged for nearly two years now.
Netanyahu added that there was no reason to hurry to sign the deal with Iran, which he said was “getting worse by the day”.
It is hoped a deal would end a standoff dating back to 2002 which has threatened to escalate into war and poisoned Iran’s relations with the outside world.
The United States, Israel and some Western nations fear that Iran has been trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability, but Tehran says its program is for peaceful purposes only.
In return Iran, which denies seeking the bomb, will see painful sanctions lifted.
“In recent days it has become obvious that when it comes to the question of how… we can be sure that what we agree really is adhered to, there has been some discussion”, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters. We are now at high altitude with the summit before us.
The main differences are on the pace and timing of sanctions relief for Iran and on the nature of monitoring mechanisms to ensure Tehran doesn’t cheat on any agreement.
