Iran talks in overtime as nuke deal proves elusive
Blowing through a self-imposed deadline, negotiators from Iran, the U.S. and five allied powers labored into the night trying to hammer out an outline toward a final deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programs, but Obama administration officials said talks will carry on into Wednesday in the hope that a stalemate can be broken on “several difficult issues.”
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters at the talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, that top diplomats from the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia, Germany and Iran had “made enough progress” to “merit staying until Wednesday,” past the original midnight Tuesday deadline for a deal.
While resistance to a deal has been fierce from Republicans and some Democrats in Washington, the talks have reached a make-or-break point this week after nearly 12 years of stagnation and an exhaustive push by the White House for a breakthrough that could prevent a military confrontation with Iran over its disputed nuclear programs.
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Tehran insists its nuclear operations peaceful, but Washington and its allies have for more than a decade accused Iran of running a clandestine program to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran is demanding an end to crippling international economic sanctions as its price for a deal.
Officials on the sidelines of this week’s talks have suggested that all sides are close to producing broadly-worded outline that could allow negotiations to continue toward a June 30 final deadline — but without many of the specifics that some had been hoping for.
With oil prices dropping toward $55 a barrel Tuesday, the global energy market seemed to be bracing to the announcement of a deal that could see a lifting of the U.S.-led embargo on Iranian crude. Such a development could push prices even lower as it would increase supply to the world market.
via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/1GJNEC7
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