"Potential Answers" to Some Key Nuclear Issues

The US lead negotiator at Iran’s nuclear talks has said potential solutions to some key issues in the negotiations have been identified.   

“Thus far, we can say on the positive side that our talks have been serious and that we have identified potential answers to some key questions,” US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said in a talk at Georgetown University on Tuesday, according to the website of the US Department of State.

Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) are engaged in talks on a final comprehensive deal to resolve the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, which has dragged on for over a decade. A new round of high-level talks between Iran and the six major powers is scheduled to begin in New York Today.  

“However, to get to a comprehensive agreement, we remain far apart on other core issues, including the size and scope of Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity,” she added.

She also said, “I fully expect in the days ahead that Iran will try to convince the world that on this pivotal matter, the status quo – or its equivalent – should be acceptable. It is not. If it were, we wouldn’t be involved in this difficult and very painstaking negotiation.

“The world will agree to suspend and then lift sanctions only if Iran takes convincing and verifiable steps to show that its nuclear program is and will remain entirely peaceful. We must be confident that any effort by Tehran to break out of its obligations will be so visible and time-consuming that the attempt would have no chance of success.

“The ideas we have presented to Iran uphold this standard, and are also fair, flexible, and consistent with Iran’s civilian nuclear needs and scientific knowhow.”

In addition, Sherman said, “A peaceful solution of this issue is highly desirable because, compared to any alternative, a diplomatic outcome is more likely to be permanent and less likely to generate new risks.”