US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday he believed a nuclear deal with Iran was still in sight, despite a deadlock in talks just six weeks before a final accord is due. "I don't believe it's out of reach, but we have some tough issues to resolve," Kerry said of the deal meant to reduce fears Iran's nuclear programme could be used to make atomic weapons, in exchange for lifting harsh Western economic sanctions.
Kerry is due to hold talks in Vienna on Wednesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif six weeks before a November 24 deadline for Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany to agree the accord. "We need to continue to have some serious discussions, which we will, and we'll see where we are. And I just think I'll let the negotiation process speak for itself at this point in time. I don't think anything is served by a lot of speculation at this point in time," Kerry said after talks in Paris with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
He said Washington and Moscow remain "deeply committed to the diplomatic effort to try to reach an agreement that assures the international community of the fact that the Iranian nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful". After months of intense negotiations which saw the parties push back an original July 20 deadline, the two sides appear far apart, particularly over the key issue of uranium enrichment, leading to speculation of another extension.