Iran Nuclear Talks at ‘Tipping Point,’ Negotiators Say
Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator said that a nuclear deal with the world powers is “closer than ever.” The comments by Ali Bagheri Kani were echoed by US and other negotiators on Wednesday.
“After weeks of intensive talks, we are closer than ever to an agreement,” Kani tweeted on Wednesday. He continued: “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, though.”
“Our negotiating partners need to be realistic, avoid intransigence and heed lessons of past 4yrs. Time for their serious decisions,” the tweet continued.
Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Wednesday in Washington that the nuclear negotiations have reached the “very final stages.”
“This is a decisive period during which we’ll be able to determine whether a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA is in the offing or if it’s not,” Price said, referring to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his country’s parliament that the negotiations have reached the “tipping point.”
It’s not a matter of weeks; it’s a matter of days,” he said Wednesday. “Political decisions are needed from the Iranians. Either they trigger a serious crisis in the coming days, or they accept the agreement which respects the interests of all parties.”
Iran and the world powers are currently taking part in a ninth round of negotiations in Vienna to reinstate the 2015 nuclear deal; the negotiations first began in April.