Six powers unified on nuclear deal with Iran: Kerry
Iran Press TV
Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:48PM GMT
US Secretary of State John Kerry says the six major world powers were "unified" on a nuclear deal with Iran in recent talks in Geneva but claimed that the Iranian negotiators were unable to accept it.
Speaking at a joint news conference with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Kerry claimed that Washington and its negotiating partners were unified when the proposal was presented to the Iranian negotiating team.
'The French signed off on it, we signed off on it, and everybody agreed it was a fair proposal. There was unity, but Iran couldn't take it at that particular moment, they weren't able to accept that particular thing,' Kerry said.
His comments came in contrast to what actually happened during the three grueling days of high-level negotiations, at the end of which France spoiled a deal.
Iran and the six powers -- the US, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany -- discussed Iran's nuclear issue behind closed doors in Geneva, Switzerland, earlier this week. The intensive talks kicked off on November 7 and stretched into an unscheduled third day.
The two sides could not reach a deal over Tehran's nuclear energy program in Geneva, but they stressed significant progress had been made and expressed optimism about the prospect of achieving a deal.
Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will continue their nuclear negotiations in Geneva on November 20.
On November 9, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in Geneva that the Israeli regime's "concerns" must be taken into consideration in the course of the nuclear talks, adding that there is "no certainty" whether Iran and six powers will reach an agreement at the current stage.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, diplomats at the talks were furious with the role of the French foreign minister whom they accused of breaking ranks.
They also criticized Fabius for revealing details of the negotiations as soon as he arrived in Geneva on Saturday morning, and then breaking protocol again by declaring the results to the press before schedule.
The paper added that "some Western officials accused France of sabotaging the hopes of a deal to curry favor with Israel and the [Persian] Gulf Arab states."
The United States, Israel and some of their allies falsely claim that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with the US and the European Union using the unfounded allegation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions on Iran.
Tehran strongly rejects the claim against its nuclear energy program, maintaining that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
SF/HGH
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