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 The meeting in Geneva is the first substantive talks since Iran
and the six world powers - Britain, France, the United States,
Russia, China and Germany - struck an interim deal on April 2.
Among the issues still to be resolved is the push by the world
powers for international access to Iran's military sites and its
team of atomic experts. For its part, Tehran wants sanctions to be
rescinded immediately after a deal is reached.
A senior U.S. State Department official said there had been
substantial progress in talks in Vienna in recent weeks on drafting
a political agreement and three technical annexes on curbing
Tehran's nuclear program.
The United States has said it will not extend the talks beyond the
June 30 deadline. "We really do believe we can get it done by (June)
30th and we're not contemplating an extension. We just aren't," the
official told reporters traveling with Kerry to Geneva.
But France, which has demanded more stringent restrictions on the
Iranians, has indicated talks are likely to slip into July. Iran's
senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi also warned that the
deadline might need to be extended.
"We are on a good track right now to make progress and we absolutely
believe it is possible we can get this done by June 30," the senior
State Department official said, adding that Kerry's schedule for
June had been cleared to focus on the Iran talks.
"A lot of the decisions (left) are at the political level. You will
see more involvement at (Kerry's) level for that reason," the
official said, adding that the talks would likely occur in Vienna.
Zarif, when asked at the start of the talks on Saturday whether the
deadline would be met, replied: "We will try."
INSPECTIONS
One Western diplomat said inspections of military sites by U.N.
nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and
access to Iran's scientists were critical to monitoring and
verifying whether Iran was pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons
program.
"If the IAEA can't have access to (the scientists) or the military
sites then its a problem," the Western diplomat said. "The IAEA
needs sufficient access quickly to those sites to ensure things
don't just disappear."
The State Department official took a similar view, saying without
access "we're not going to sign" a deal.
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Iran denies any ambition to develop a nuclear weapon and says its
program is purely peaceful. Its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, has said Tehran will not accept "unreasonable demands" by
world powers.
"The issue of interviews with nuclear scientists is generally off
the table as well as the inspection of military sites," Araqchi told
reporters as he arrived for the talks with Kerry. "How additional
protocol would be implemented is still a matter of disagreement that
we are still talking about."
Iran's demand that sanctions be rescinded immediately after a deal
is also among the issues holding up a settlement as the powers' have
said they can only be lifted in phases depending on Tehran's
compliance with the terms.
Tehran-based analyst Saeed Laylaz said he expected a deal to be
finalised despite resistance from opponents in Iran and the United
States.
"Neither America nor Iran have a choice but to reach a deal," he
told Reuters. "Failure to reach a deal will fuel tension in the
region."
Mark Fitzpatrick, a former State Department official now at the
International Institute for Strategic Studies, said an agreement was
likely some time in July.
"The most difficult compromises have already been made," he said.
"But the Iranians could overplay their hand on the incorrect
assumption that Obama needs a deal more than they do."
(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Ankara, John Irish in
Paris and Lou Charbonneau at the United Nations Editing by Pravin
Char)
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