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 The negotiators ended talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne in the
early morning hours with an air of chaos, disunity and cacophony as
delegations scrambled to get contradictory viewpoints across.
The six powers - the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia
and China - aim to stop Iran from gaining the capacity to develop a
nuclear bomb in exchange for easing international sanctions that are
crippling its economy. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
France's foreign minister, often seen as making the most stringent
demands of Iran, returned to Paris because things had not advanced
enough for "immediate deal".
But as top negotiators from the powers met Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif again on Wednesday, Russia and Iran expressed
optimism that an initial agreement was within reach.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond sounded a note of caution.
"I think we have a broad framework of understanding, but there are
still some key issues that have to be worked through," he told the
BBC.
 Western diplomats said Iran had on Tuesday reaffirmed its "nuclear
rights", suggesting the talks were again getting bogged down as they
entered their seventh day.
Officials cautioned that any agreement would probably be fragile and
incomplete.
"We hope to wrap up the talks by Wednesday night ... We insist on
lifting of financial, oil and banking sanctions immediately ... for
other sanctions we need to find a framework," senior Iranian
negotiator Abbas Araqchi told state television. "We insist on
keeping research and development with advanced centrifuges," he
said.
Zarif said the talks had been "very good", though he acknowledged
that there were issues to be smoothed over.
A preliminary deal would be a major milestone toward a final accord,
with an end-June deadline, that could end a 12-year standoff between
Iran and world powers and reduce the risk of another Middle East
war.
The United States threatened on Tuesday to walk away if the current
talks yield no political framework accord.
The talks have stalled on the issues of Iran's nuclear centrifuge
research, the lifting of U.N. sanctions and their restoration if
Iran breaches the agreement.
RUSSIA SAYS KEY DETAILS AGREED
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who returned to Moscow, said
negotiators had reached a general accord on "all key aspects."
But a diplomat close to the talks denied that such an agreement had
been reached, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius left saying
he would only return if it was "necessary".
"Things have progressed, but not enough ... that we can reach an
immediate deal," Fabius told reporters in Paris. "We are firm. We
want a robust deal with detailed checks."
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China warned of failure and urged all sides to meet each other half
way.
"If the talks are stuck then all previous efforts to resolve Iran's
nuclear standoff with the six major powers will have been wasted,"
said the rare statement issued by the Chinese delegation after
Foreign Minister Wang Yi left Lausanne.
The U.S. administration of President Barack Obama had committed to
meeting an end-March deadline for the outline political
accord.Negotiators have a tentative agreement on the rough outline
of a possible public statement on the progress they have made so far
that would also highlight areas of disagreement, diplomats close to
the talks said. But they have not agreed on all the key details
central to a political framework that would form the basis of a
future nuclear agreement, the diplomats said.
Some parts of any understanding reached by the parties will likely
remain confidential.
Failure to agree a detailed preliminary accord would add to
scepticism in the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress over an
emerging deal. Congress has warned it will consider imposing new
sanctions on Iran if there is no agreement this week. A Democrat,
Obama has threatened to veto any such sanctions moves.
Lavrov said the possible agreement included the International Atomic
Energy Agency's monitoring of Iran's nuclear program as well as
steps to lift sanctions. Experts would work out technical details by
end-June.
"One can say with enough confidence that ministers have reached a
general agreement on all key aspects of a final settlement to this
issue," Lavrov said. "It will be put down in writing over the next
few hours, maybe during the day."
A senior Iranian negotiator said Tehran was willing to negotiate
until the deadlock was resolved. "Iran does not want a nuclear deal
just for the sake of having a deal, and a final deal should
guarantee the Iranian nation's nuclear rights," the negotiator,
Hamid Baidinejad, told reporters.
(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Lausanne, Gabriela
Baczynska in Moscow and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris; Editing by Giles
Elgood)
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