VIENNA — Still facing significant differences between the U.S. and Iran, negotiators gave up on last-minute efforts to get a nuclear deal by the deadline Monday and extended their talks for seven more months.
The move gives both sides breathing space to work out an agreement but may be badly received by skeptics in the United States, because it extends more than a decade of diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear prowess.
International negotiators are worried that Iran is using its nuclear development program as a cover for developing nuclear weapons, and they have imposed economic sanctions on Tehran. Iran denies the charge, saying it is interested only in peaceful nuclear programs, such as producing power.
After a frenetic six days of diplomacy in Vienna, negotiators agreed Monday to nail down by March 1 what needs to be done by Iran and the six world powers it is negotiating with, and by when. A final agreement is meant to follow four months later.
Comments by key players in the talks suggested that not much was agreed on in Vienna beyond the decision to keep talking. The next negotiating round was set for early December, but the venue is unclear.
U.S.-Iran relations have warmed since Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office last year, and the thaw has extended to the nuclear negotiations, which have his strong backing. On Monday, he urged perseverance despite the setback.
“Our logic has gotten closer, many gaps have been eliminated,” Rouhani said in a statement. At the same time, he said the sides were “still some distance” from sealing a deal.
Rouhani occasionally has struggled to sell the idea of negotiating with arch-foe America to hard-liners at home, and he pledged “ultimate victory” for the Islamic Republic in securing a favorable agreement.
Monday’s decision appears to benefit Iran. Its nuclear program is left frozen but intact, without any of the cuts sought by the U.S. And while the negotiations continue, so will monthly dole-outs of $700 million in frozen funds that began under the temporary nuclear deal agreed on late last year that led to the present talks.
Past talks often have ended on an acrimonious note, with each side blaming the other for lack of a deal. But, mindful of hard discussions ahead, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry focused on praise, possibly to maintain a relatively cordial atmosphere at the negotiating table.
Kerry, who arrived Thursday and met repeatedly with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif, said Zarif “worked diligently and approached these negotiations in good faith.”
“We have made real and substantial progress, and we have seen new ideas surface,” Kerry told reporters. “Today we are closer to a deal that will make the whole world, especially our allies in Israel and the Gulf, safer.”
Members of the new Republican-controlled U.S. Congress that will be sworn in in January have threatened to impose additional sanctions on Iran and may well have enough votes to overturn an expected veto of such legislation by President Barack Obama.
New sanctions could very well derail the talks, as Iran has signaled they would be a deal breaker. Kerry said he hoped congressional skeptics would “come to see the wisdom of leaving us the equilibrium for a few months to be able to proceed without sending messages that might be misinterpreted.”
