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Kerry, Zarif Continue Nuclear Talks

by Pamela Dockins March 03, 2015

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are meeting for a second day in Switzerland to discuss the status of Tehran's nuclear program.

Kerry and Zarif met for two hours Tuesday morning in the resort city of Montreux. After a midday break, they launched an afternoon session.

During their break, a reporter asked Zarif how the talks were proceeding. He responded, 'We're trying, we're trying.'

Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, the so-called P5 + 1, are working against a self-imposed March 31 deadline aimed at finding a framework agreement. Negotiators have until July 1 to reach a final agreement.

The P5 + 1 is seeking a deal that limits Iran's uranium enrichment capabilities and its resources for developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, is seeking relief from international sanctions.

'If the P5+1 are able to reach a long-term resolution, that would represent a step in the right direction and may present an unprecedented opportunity for positive change in the Central Region,' General Lloyd Austin, Commander of U.S. CENTCOM said Tuesday during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

The committee is currently holding a hearing on President Obama's proposed authorization for the use of military force against Islamic State and U.S. policy, strategy, and posture in the Greater Middle East.

According to Iranian state media reports, Zarif said Tuesday that Iran entered the talks with "ultimate sincerity" but would not yield to the "greedy and illogical demands of the parties involved in the talks."

The IRNA news agency said Zarif was referring to comments that President Barack Obama made, on Monday.

President Obama told Reuters that Iran needed to commit to a 'Verifiable freeze' of at least 10 years on sensitive nuclear activity in order for an agreement to be reached.

In comments to reporters on Monday, Kerry said sanctions alone would not be enough to ease Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

"What needs to happen is that Iran needs to provide a verifiable set of commitments that its program is in fact peaceful," said Kerry.

The prospect of an agreement with Iran has rankled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who addressed a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday about threats from Iran.

Netanyahu says that while the United States and Israel agree on preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, they disagree on how to reach that goal.