Category: Iran

Talks on Iran’s nuclear program were deadlocked and set to miss another deadline as the Islamic Republic’s interlocutors argued over persistent differences, including lifting restrictions on arms sales. Senior officials involved in the negotiations said it was too late to reach a deal by Friday morning in Vienna, the last chance to qualify for a 30-day review in the U.S. Congress. An agreement after that would be subject to 60 days of scrutiny, pushing back the date when Iran could qualify for sanctions relief, its main objective. Diplomats alternated between insisting that a deal is within reach and threatening that they are almost ready to walk out. “We are very close, but if the important, historical political decisions are not made in the next hours we won’t have an agreement,” European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told CNN late on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said […]

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Senior Iranian officials charged the U.S. and European powers with backtracking on recent commitments they made in negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, assuring a Friday congressional deadline for reaching a deal would be missed. American, European and Iranian negotiators had voiced hope in recent days that a landmark agreement to constrain Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions could be reached this week. But Iran and the U.S. on Thursday charged each other with an unwillingness to make crucial political decisions to conclude nearly two years of talks. Senior Iranian negotiators specifically accused the U.S. and its European Union partners of walking back over the past 24 hours commitments Tehran said the six world powers—the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, Germany and China—made on issues that include sanctions relief and the lifting of a United Nations arms embargo on Iran. On Thursday, Iranian President Hasan […]

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UFA, Russia — A final deal on Iran’s nuclear programme is within reach, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, adding that he is ready to return to Vienna for talks between Tehran and six major world powers to work on the agreement. "We are close to a comprehensive agreement," Lavrov told journalists on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Ufa. "It is within reach." He added that a new, permanent deal would open the road to lifting sanctions against Iran. Iran offered some new solutions to resolve the disputes in the nuclear talks on Wednesday, Iranian media reported, but Western officials suggested they had heard nothing new from Tehran. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Jack Stubbs)

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Police officers in front of the Palais Coburg where nuclear talks continue. VIENNA—Tensions in the nuclear talks between Iran and six powers have boiled over in recent days, producing heated exchanges among foreign ministers as Washington and Tehran struggled to overcome remaining hurdles to a final agreement, according to people involved in the talks. The German and British foreign ministers returned to the Austrian capital Wednesday evening as Western diplomats insisted a deal was still possible in coming days. However, time was running out for the agreement to be sealed before a deadline this week which would give the U.S. Congress an extra month to review a deadline. People close to the talks have warned that the longer Congress and opponents of the diplomacy get to pick over an agreement and galvanize opposition, the greater the political risks for supporters of the process, which aims to block Iran’s path […]

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VIENNA Iran and six major powers will keep negotiating past Tuesday’s deadline for a long-term nuclear agreement as they tackle the most contentious issues, including the continuation of a U.N. arms embargo on Iran, the big powers said. "We are continuing to negotiate for the next couple of days. This does not mean we are extending our deadline," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said outside the hotel where the talks between Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States are taking place. The spokeswoman for the U.S. delegation, Marie Harf, said the terms of an interim deal between Iran and the six would be extended through Friday to give negotiators a few more days to finish their work. "We’re frankly more concerned about the quality of the deal than we are about the clock, though we also know that difficult decisions won’t get any easier with […]

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Negotiations on a nuclear deal that could see additional Iranian oil flowing onto world oil markets within months will continue past Tuesday’s deadline to Friday July 10, State Department adviser Marie Harf said. US Secretary of State John Kerry will remain in Vienna to continue talks with other P5+1 partners, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Harf said in an emailed statement. "We’ve made substantial progress in every area, but this work is highly technical and high stakes for all of the countries involved. We’re frankly more concerned about the quality of the deal than we are about the clock, though we also know that difficult decisions won’t get any easier with time — that is why we are continuing to negotiate," she said. "To allow for the additional time to negotiate, we are taking the necessary technical steps for the […]

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Foreign ministers meet during the nuclear talks in Vienna, today. Photographer: Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images Diplomats missed another deadline for a nuclear deal with Iran and may prolong talks until the end of the week or beyond, as they spar over an arms embargo and what would happen if the accord is breached. World powers extended until July 10 the interim arrangement that freezes Iran’s most sensitive nuclear work in exchange for limited relief from sanctions. While the negotiators in Vienna are playing down talk of deadlines, the timetable for review by the U.S. Congress means that any further easing of the curbs will be delayed by at least a month if a final agreement isn’t reached by Friday morning. “We’re frankly more concerned about the quality of the deal than we are about the clock, though we also know that difficult decisions won’t get any easier with […]

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International powers negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran failed to meet another deadline on Tuesday, the second missed target in a week, raising the prospect of an open-ended diplomatic process over an issue on which President Barack Obama has staked his foreign-policy record. Senior administration officials in Vienna and Washington said progress was still being made and negotiators “have never been closer” to a comprehensive deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions. Mr. Obama has said talks would end in a deal that reflects a framework reached in April, or with no agreement at all. But with negotiations making little headway, the White House on Tuesday laid the groundwork for a third outcome: continuing talks while keeping in place a November 2013 interim agreement that provided Iran with limited sanctions relief in exchange for rolling back parts of its nuclear program. Such an outcome […]

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VIENNA—Iran is pushing for the United Nations’ arms embargo on the country to be completely lifted, as part of a final agreement to curb its nuclear program, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Monday. Tehran’s demand is among the final issues still being negotiated between Iran and six world powers—Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S.—in an effort to reach a final agreement in the Austrian capital. The Obama administration has cited Tuesday as the deadline for concluding the talks. But U.S. and Iranian officials have suggested privately in recent days that the negotiations could extend to later in the week. “What has been the reason for the inclusion of the arms embargo in the first place? This is one of the important issues we are discussing,” a senior Iranian negotiator said on the sidelines of the negotiations on Monday. “There should not be a place for the […]

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TEHRAN—Inside Tehran’s Mosalla mosque, a handful of prostrate worshipers were chanting “Death to America” in between prayers—a phrase that has come to epitomize Iran’s relationship with the West since its 1979 revolution. But outside Tehran’s main mosque recently, an argument erupted over the headline of a hard-line newspaper, the Martyrs of Islam, that read–“Mullahs Sign Agreement With Unbelievers.” “You can’t say that,” one worshiper said. He argued that the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supported talks with world powers to lift sanctions in exchange for curbs on the country’s nuclear program. “You’ll have to complain to the editor,” the newspaper seller responded. A woman walks in front the compound of the Mosalla mosque in Tehran.. A robust debate has unfolded in the cloistered Islamic Republic as negotiators in Vienna close in on a sanctions deal this week and the country veers toward an agreement that could unlock billions […]

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WASHINGTON—The White House is crafting a Middle East strategy for the remaining 18 months of President Barack Obama ’s term that would more forcefully address conflicts in Iraq, Yemen and Syria amid tensions over the conclusion of talks with Iran. U.S. and Iranian negotiators narrowed some key differences for completing a deal that would scale back Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. The talks face a Tuesday diplomatic deadline, but the two sides remained at odds on Monday over several critical elements. Any reorientation of Mr. Obama’s Middle East strategy would test the durability of his broader foreign-policy doctrine, and senior administration officials said the president is intent on cleaning up leftover messes in the region before leaving office in 2017, including relations with key allies that have been strained by the Iran talks. White House officials see the conclusion of Iran talks as a gateway […]

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VIENNA—Key elements of a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers were falling into place Sunday, but U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned there were important sticking points that may yet scuttle the deal. Mr. Kerry said the Obama administration could walk away from the negotiations if Iran proves “intransigent” on the remaining issues by Tuesday. That is the new deadline for a comprehensive agreement aimed at blocking Iran’s ability to move swiftly toward nuclear weapons in exchange for easing tight international sanctions. Senior U.S. and Iranian officials said advances have been made on two of the thorniest issues: the pace of sanctions relief for Iran and a United Nations investigation into charges that Tehran has secretly developed nuclear weapons technologies in recent decades. European Union foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini said late Sunday that a final agreement, which has taken more than a decade of diplomacy, […]

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Photo Secretary of State John Kerry, at the nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna on Sunday, said the negotiations could go either way. Credit Hans Punz/European Pressphoto Agency VIENNA — Secretary of State John Kerry warned Iran on Sunday that hard choices were still needed to seal a landmark nuclear accord, and that the United States was prepared to walk away if a sound agreement could not be reached. “We are not yet where we need to be on several of the most difficult issues,” Mr. Kerry said in a statement in front of the Palais Coburg, the Vienna hotel where the talks are being held. “This negotiation could go either way.” Mr. Kerry’s remarks came two days before a target date for wrapping up the agreement and as foreign ministers from the other world powers involved in the talks are heading here for what is intended to be […]

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A nuclear deal with Iran looks imminent after a logjam over monitoring was broken and with foreign ministers set to rejoin U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a record ninth-straight day of talks later on Sunday. Kerry began morning meetings at Vienna’s Palais Coburg with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a U.S. administration official said. The impending agreement could be announced as early as Monday, according to two Western officials who asked not to be named in line with rules. “The extension of negotiations is not a desired alternative for any of the parties,” Zarif’s deputy, Abbas Araghchi, said Saturday on state television. “All parties involved are determined to come to a conclusive end.” This is the 20th round of high-level talks since U.S. President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani opened negotiations nearly two years ago. After Kerry negotiated for eight straight days at the […]

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TEHRAN—Iran wants to double its crude exports soon after sanctions are lifted and is pushing other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to renew the cartel’s quota system, a top Iranian official said. Both developments could set up a clash with Saudi Arabia, which is scrambling to raise its own export numbers and has opposed the return of production limits on individual OPEC members. Iran’s efforts underscore how the country’s full return to the export market would upend the status quo among leading producers if Tehran clinches a deal with six world powers that would lift sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities. The latest deadline for a deal is Tuesday and officials said the elements of an agreement were falling into place over the weekend, though there were still important sticking points that could scuttle it . Should sanctions be lifted, Iran’s deputy […]

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Photo Metallic seals like this one have long been used to prevent unauthorized access to nuclear equipment. New electronic and fiber-optic seals beam back confirmation that they remain intact. Credit International Atomic Energy Agency VIENNA — On the outskirts of this graceful city, the Iran Task Force of the International Atomic Energy Agency is preparing to move quickly if American and Iranian negotiators here manage to cut a deal on Iran’s nuclear program in the coming days. The 50 or so members of the agency’s most elite inspection unit are readying an array of new surveillance gear that is far more sophisticated than anything used before in Iran. It includes laser sensors, smart cameras and encrypted networks that would let the inspectors closely monitor Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, in real time, from their command post overlooking the Danube. In many corners of the world, the agency’s nuclear sleuths went digital […]

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VIENNA A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping towards the finish line on Friday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points including questions about Tehran’s past atomic research. Iran is in talks with the United States and five other powers – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – on an agreement to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. "We are coming to the end," said a senior Western diplomat, who added there was no plan to carry on for long past next Tuesday. "Either we get an agreement or we don’t," he said, adding that the process "remains quite difficult". Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Iranian state television that "a lot of progress has been made, but still various technical issues remain that need the other party’s political will". Still, all sides say a deal is […]

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VIENNA—Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Friday Iran and six major powers are closing in on a final nuclear agreement and urged his negotiating partners to complete the agreement and turn their attention to the “common threat” of violent extremism. “At this 11th hour, despite some differences that remain, we have never been closer to a lasting outcome,” Mr. Zarif said in a video message released Friday evening, days from the July 7 deadline for the talks. “But there is no guarantee,” he said. “They have opted for the negotiating table,” he said of the six-power group, “but they still need to make a critical and historic choice: agreement or coercion.” Western officials have said the nuclear talks are making progress but have also said a number of differences remain in reaching deal that would block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon in exchange for lifting sanctions. They have […]

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Iran is pushing to accelerate U.S. and European sanctions relief with just four days left to resolve nuclear talks in Vienna, as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a lasting accord has “never been closer.” Negotiators haven’t yet agreed on the scale and speed of sanctions relief, nor have they settled all the steps Iran must take, according to four diplomats from countries participating in the negotiations. They asked not to be named in line with rules. One of the diplomats said Iran may get substantial sanctions relief by December, while others said sanctions are unlikely to be eased before 2016. “At this 11th hour, despite some differences that remain, we have never been closer to a lasting outcome,” Zarif said in a video released Friday and filmed on a terrace at the Palais Coburg in Vienna, where the talks are being held. The foreign minister earlier told Al […]

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Photo Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, at a government meeting in June. He has said repeatedly that foreigners will not be allowed to visit military sites. Credit Supreme Leader Official Website/Handout/European Pressphoto Agency VIENNA — An Iranian official signaled Thursday that Tehran was trying to bridge the gap between Western demands for inspections of any suspected nuclear-related facility and a declaration by Iran ’s supreme leader that foreigners could not enter military sites or interview Iranian scientists. That effort, described by a senior Iranian official to reporters here Thursday afternoon, came as three Western officials said Iran now appeared to concede that it would have to ship more than nine tons of low-enriched nuclear material out of the country as part of a comprehensive deal the parties hope to nail down next week. Just three months ago, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, […]

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Soldiers of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards march during an annual military parade to mark Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq in the capital Tehran, 22 September 2007. Iran today showed off a longer-range missile in public for the first time and proclaimed a string of anti-Israel slogans in a major military parade amid mounting tensions with the West. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE Alarm bells rang for Iranian businessmen in May when the elite Revolutionary Guards cancelled a conference organised by Iranians linked to the Forum of Young Global Leaders shortly before the gathering was due to take place in Tehran and Isfahan. It was a reminder to the business community that the 120,000 strong military force, known for its loyalty to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, feels increasingly insecure about what a nuclear deal could mean not just for Iran but also for its commercial empire, whose multi-billion dollar interests […]

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TEHRAN—Iran’s biggest oil shipping company has amassed the world’s largest fleet of super tankers and is in talks to sail back into western waters should the Islamic Republic strike a nuclear deal , according to senior officials. NITC, the privatized Iranian shipping company, says it has 42 very large crude carriers, known as VLCCs, after buying 20 such China-built vessels in the past 2½ years. It is the first time the company has disclosed the size of its VLCC fleet which it expanded as sanctions cut off access to European-insured vessels, “No other company in the world owns that number of VLCCs,” said Capt. Nasrollah Sardashti, NITC’s commercial director, in an interview in the Iranian capital. VLCCs can carry 2 million barrels of oil each. NITC’s biggest rivals all list fewer ships, and one London-based analyst who tracks oil-tanker fleets, said he also believes NITC has the largest fleet. […]

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VIENNA—A senior Iranian official raised the possibility of improved relations with the U.S. if a nuclear accord is reached between Tehran and world powers this month, amid signs that the negotiations were progressing slowly. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, among several top diplomats who joined the talks on Thursday, said before leaving Vienna that he would return Sunday—indicating little chance of a final agreement before next week. “There is still some work to be done, and I expect to come back to the talks Sunday evening,” he said, adding he hopes then to “be in a situation to advance toward perhaps…a robust deal.” The U.S. and Iran have been foes for almost 40 years, after radical Islamist students and political parties overthrew the pro-American Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979. But senior Iranian and American diplomats have been locked in intense, face-to-face negotiations on the nuclear issue for nearly […]

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VIENNA— Yukiya Amano, the head of the United Nations atomic agency, will visit Tehran to meet Iranian President Hasan Rouhani and other top officials on Thursday in what could be a key visit in efforts to unlock a final nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers by July 7. The agency said Wednesday discussions are expected to focus on “how to accelerate the resolution” of outstanding questions about Iran’s past nuclear work, which was widely believed to be aimed at nuclear weapons know-how. Iran denies those charges. Mr. Amano has been thrust to center-stage in the nuclear talks in recent days. He joined the negotiations in Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency is based, four days running from Saturday, meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry , Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and others. The agency will have the crucial role of monitoring and overseeing any […]

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VIENNA The Iran nuclear talks are not at a breakthrough moment yet, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told reporters on Thursday. "The work goes on. You are going to see ministers coming and going to maintain the momentum of these discussions. I don’t think we’re at any kind of breakthrough moment yet and we will do whatever we need to do to keep the momentum," Hammond said. (Reporting By John Irish and Louis Charbonneau ; editing by Arshad Mohammed )

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Photo Secretary of State John Kerry met with Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, on Wednesday at a hotel in Vienna, Austria. Credit Pool photo by Carlos Barria VIENNA — For more than a decade, the C.I.A. has closely followed the workings of one Iranian officer and his sprawling nuclear empire: Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the relentless driving force behind what Western intelligence agencies say was Iran ’s Manhattan Project, its effort to design a compact nuclear weapon that could fit atop a missile. Now, in the final push for a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran , accounting for the accomplishments of Mr. Fakhrizadeh and his team of university scientists, missile engineers and military officers is emerging as one of the last and most formidable obstacles — perhaps on a par with the question of whether inspectors will be able, on short notice, to step into any place they suspect […]

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As Iran nears a deal to ease oil sanctions after almost two years of talks, selling more crude remains a long way off. The nation’s goal of increasing exports 50 percent as soon as restrictions are lifted won’t be fulfilled, say Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Societe Generale SA. That would require an extra 500,000 barrels of daily output, which the banks say will take six to 12 months as OPEC’s fourth-biggest producer complies with terms of a deal and revives aging wells. The impact on prices will be limited, the banks predict. “They’ve got to meet the requirements of any agreement, and that’s going to take time,” Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, said by e-mail from New York on Monday. “When you shut these fields in to that significant of a degree, your ability to bring back production to previous […]

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Photo A small group of hard-liners gathered at the base of Tehran’s Freedom Tower to urge a nuclear deal with few compromises. Credit Newsha Tavakolian for The New York Times TEHRAN — In the little shade provided by Tehran’s Freedom Tower, a group of about 200 Iranian hard-liners, some with hats made of folded newspapers to protect them against the sun’s rays, sat in the searing heat Tuesday on blue plastic chairs next to blaring loudspeakers. Speakers railed against the devil, a.k.a. the United States, and its “oppressive” actions, drawing the usual chants of “Death to America” from the participants. They called for a “good nuclear deal” in the negotiations this week in Vienna, meaning one with few, or preferably no, Iranian compromises. In the distance traffic rolled by. Even during the fasting month of Ramadan, Tehran and its 12 million inhabitants are constantly on the move, on their […]

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif rejoined nuclear talks, accompanied by the president’s brother and backed by the nation’s supreme leader, as the push for an accord with world powers entered its final stage. “I am here to get a final deal and I think we can,” Zarif told reporters on Tuesday in Vienna while sitting beside U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry inside the Palais Coburg, where the majority of the negotiations are taking place. In a show of support, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei posted a picture on Twitter of Zarif and Iran’s envoys to the talks dressed in white scientists’ coats. “I recognize our negotiators as trustworthy, committed, brave and faithful,” Khamenei said in an accompanying statement. Iran, holder of the world’s No. 4 oil and No. 2 natural gas reserves, is seeking the lifting of trade and financial sanctions that have hobbled its economy. For the […]

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Momentum built toward a historic nuclear deal, with Iran and negotiators giving themselves until July 7 to draft the text of a final agreement. Following a two-hour meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Vienna, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said only “procedural” issues needed to be addressed. The U.S. and Europe formally extended the terms of their interim agreement with Iran in order win time to settle on a deal. “The situation is moving in the right direction,” Lavrov told journalists at the Palais Coburg where talks convened for a fourth day. “We have every reason to believe that the result is within reach.” For Iran, holder of the world’s fourth-biggest oil and second-biggest natural-gas reserves, an agreement would mean the lifting of trade and financial sanctions that have hobbled its economy. For the U.S. and Persian Gulf nations wary of Iran’s influence, it would restrict […]

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VIENNA Iran and world powers gave themselves an extra week to reach a nuclear accord, extending a deadline due to expire on Tuesday, while U.S. President Barack Obama said there would be no deal if all pathways to an Iranian nuclear weapon were not cut off. With talks in the final stretch, Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani also spoke out, saying his country would resume suspended atomic work if the West breaks its promises. Iran and six world powers are working towards an accord that would see Tehran halt sensitive nuclear work for at least a decade in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, potentially the biggest breakthrough in decades of hostility between Washington and Tehran. "Ultimately this is going to be up to the Iranians" to meet the requirements set out by the international community, Obama said during a news conference in Washington. Obama’s remarks were likely to […]

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TOKYO Asian imports of Iranian crude rose to the highest level this year in May, although buyers may have to curb any further increases if negotiators up against a deadline fail to reach a final deal on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. A deal between Iran and six world powers would resolve a 12-year standoff over the Islamic nation’s nuclear work in exchange for relief from sanctions, which could eventually send millions of barrels flooding into an already saturated market. Iran has as much as 40 million barrels of oil stored in tankers and aims to increase output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) within a month of sanctions being lifted and up to 1 million bpd within six or seven months. Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China reached a tentative framework for a nuclear pact on April 2 but several issues remain unresolved. They have […]

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Photo Reporters were ushered from a room where John Kerry met with Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran in Vienna on Sunday. Credit Pool photo by Carlos Barria VIENNA — The United States warned Iran on Monday, in both English and Persian, that a preliminary agreement reached two months ago in Switzerland must remain the basis for a final nuclear deal. The warning appeared to reflect concerns among American and European negotiators that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been attempting to backtrack on some crucial elements of the April agreement that was forged in Lausanne, the lakeside resort near Geneva. “We do see a path forward to get a comprehensive agreement that meets our bottom lines,” said a senior United States official, who could not be identified under the ground rules for briefing reporters. “This path forward has to be based on the Lausanne parameters. Period.” To reinforce […]

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s brother and aide, Hossein Fereydoun, will join nuclear negotiators in Vienna on Tuesday as diplomats say an accord between the Islamic Republic and world powers is within reach. Fereydoun is traveling to the Austrian capital along with Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s atomic energy agency, Fars news agency reported. Salehi returns to the talks after undergoing intestinal surgeries last month. “This is the most crucial round of this 22-month long process,” said Ali Vaez, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group. “It is not surprising that the Iranians need to have all hands on deck.” Salehi, who studied nuclear physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1970, negotiated technical details with U.S. officials in previous rounds, including with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. Salehi and Moniz’s “chemistry has so far proven extremely effective in […]

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PARIS European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Sunday it was not impossible to get a deal between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program but said tough days lay ahead as a self-imposed June 30 deadline nears. France’s foreign minister said on Saturday an accord remained elusive due to disagreements over fundamental issues, while the U.S. and Iranian top diplomats said hard work was still needed for what could be their final negotiations to bridge significant differences. "If a few days more are needed we will take them," Mogherini told reporters on arrival in Vienna. "It is going to be tough… but not impossible. It is a matter of political will," she said before meeting the U.S., British, German and French foreign ministers. The talks also include Russia and China. The deadline for a deal under which Iran would cut back its nuclear program in […]

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The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) in an announcement said the measured reserves of natural gas in Iran have increased to above 34 trillion cubic meters (tcm) which is about 1.4 tcm more than the reserves of Russia. NIGC reported the figure had been provided by BP in its 2015 Statistical Review of World Energy and puts Iran ahead of Russia whose reserves stand at about 32.6 tcm for a second consecutive year. The report further adds that Iran’s gas production saw an increase of 5.2 percent in 2014 to reach a total of 172.6 bcm.

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg For every investor who sees opportunity in a post-sanctions Iran, there are others who see the same old legal morass. The Islamic Republic is banking on a nuclear accord with world powers to unleash a flood of foreign cash into an economy crippled by decades of sanctions. Companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc and Total SA say they’re willing to invest in the OPEC member. Major investments, however, may take years as companies weigh the risk of Iran violating the agreement, which would bring sanctions back, according to analysts and former officials. Decades of hostile relations with Western powers and tight scrutiny by the U.S. Congress and Treasury could also make many investors reluctant to jump back right away. “Businesses have become terrified about doing business with Iran, and it’s not easy to un-terrify them,” says Trita Parsi, […]

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As Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Vienna Friday seeking to complete an agreement restricting Iran’s nuclear activities, two senior Obama administration officials rejected suggestions that the administration is backtracking on its demands in its eagerness for a deal. The U.S. is standing firm in insisting that Iran must grant access and transparency so that United Nations inspectors can verify that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, according to the officials, who are close to the negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity. The officials’ insistence that Iran must adhere to the strict terms of an April 2 framework for a deal is significant because skeptics of a deal with Iran have raised alarms that U.S. negotiators are backsliding on their demands. “Despite getting virtually nothing in return, the president has handed Iran concession after concession after concession,” Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio told […]

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WASHINGTON As talks on an Iran nuclear deal enter the final stretch, U.S. lawmakers are sharpening warnings against a "weak" agreement and laying down red lines that, if crossed, could prompt Congress to trip up a carefully crafted international pact. Several influential lawmakers said they do not want to see any sanctions lifted before Tehran begins complying with a deal, and want a tough verification regime in which inspectors could visit Iranian facilities anytime and anywhere. They also want Tehran to reveal past military dimensions of its nuclear program, particularly after Secretary of State John Kerry seemed to soften the U.S. stance last week by saying Iran would not be pressed on this point. "I have become more and more concerned with the direction of these negotiations and the potential red lines that may be crossed," Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told […]

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U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Lloyd’s List Intelligence, Global Trade Information Services, Eurostat, and trade press Source: Note: Values may not add to the total because of independent rounding. Note: OECD is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In early April this year, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) reached a framework agreement to guide negotiations targeting a comprehensive agreement by June 30. The comprehensive agreement could result in the lifting of crude oil-related sanctions against Iran, which in turn could result in an increase in Iran’s crude oil production and exports. However, the ultimate decision and the timing that sanctions could be lifted are highly uncertain. Sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union (EU) at the end of 2011 and during the summer of 2012, respectively, led to the displacement of more than 1.0 […]

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Five former members of President Obama ’s inner circle of Iran advisers have written an open letter expressing concern that a pending accord to stem Iran ’s nuclear program “may fall short of meeting the administration’s own standard of a ‘good’ agreement” and laying out a series of minimum requirements that Iran must agree to in coming days for them to support a final deal. Several of the senior officials said the letter was prompted by concern that Mr. Obama’s negotiators were headed toward concessions that would weaken international inspection of Iran’s facilities, back away from forcing Tehran to reveal its suspected past work on weapons, and allow Iranian research and development that would put it on a course to resuming intensive production of nuclear fuel as soon as the accord expires. The public nature of the announcement by some of Mr. Obama’s best-known former advisers, all of whom […]

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Would a nuclear deal with Iran be a transformational accord, realigning the region and bilateral relations? Or would it be a more narrow business proposition: sanctions relief in exchange for slowing Iran’s nuclear program and buying time, or so Western diplomats hope, for more fundamental change in Tehran? Speculation is risky business. But with a nuclear deal looking likely, I’m thinking a bit about what the post-agreement future might hold. Even the mullahcracy in Tehran isn’t immune to change. A year ago, few would have predicted that we’d be close to an agreement. (Yes, some will say not to count our deals before they are signed.) Still, a transformation isn’t likely, even over time, particularly in a region that rarely offers good news or quick results. Consider: Regime preservation: Iran didn’t get into negotiations over its nuclear program because it was seeking to become Switzerland–democratic, and an integral part […]

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Iran’s parliament voted Tuesday to approve a bill that sets strict limits on international inspections of Iranian nuclear sites, a hotly debated aspect of negotiations between Iran and the six world powers. The bill would prevent the Iranian negotiating team from agreeing to allow foreign access to Iranian military sites, areas deemed as strategic to Iranian security, non-nuclear facilities and Iranian scientists. The bill still needs approval from the Guardian Council, Iran’s top legal vetting body, which is charged with interpreting the constitution and approving the eligibility of political candidates. The Guardian Council is expected to approve the bill as part of a tacit negotiation between Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the parliament. As in the United States, Iran is on the cusp of an important political season. Iranians will head to the polls Feb. 25, 2016, to elect not only the 290 members of the parliament […]

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OPEN Photographs Photographs: Stress and Hope in Tehran TEHRAN — Iran ’s supreme leader appeared to stiffen his hard line Tuesday on concessions in any nuclear agreement with foreign powers, one week before the deadline for completing an accord. In a speech broadcast live on Iranian state television, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he would not abide any freeze on Iran’s sensitive nuclear work for long periods, ruled out foreign inspections of Iranian military sites and demanded that all sanctions imposed on Iran be lifted with immediate effect once an accord is signed. The ayatollah, who has the final word on nuclear matters, has repeatedly said he supports the negotiations. But his public statements have become increasingly unyielding as the talks between Iran and six major powers, including the United States, head toward a June 30 deadline. His remarks on Tuesday appeared to be the strongest yet. […]

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Photo Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in March, appeared to undercut several agreements his negotiators have reached with the West. Credit Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, via Associated Press TEHRAN — With exactly a week left before the deadline for a final agreement to limit Iran ’s nuclear program , the country’s supreme leader appeared to undercut several of the central agreements his negotiators have already reached with the West. In a speech broadcast live on Iran state television, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , demanded that most sanctions be lifted before Tehran has dismantled part of its nuclear infrastructure and before international inspectors verify that the country is beginning to meet its commitments. He also ruled out any freeze on Iran’s sensitive nuclear enrichment for as long as a decade, as a preliminary understanding announced in April stipulates, and he repeated his refusal to allow inspections of […]

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LUXEMBOURG—Iranian and Western officials said they may not seal a final nuclear deal by the June 30 deadline but insisted they are committed to trying to unblock the remaining obstacles during talks in coming days. The comments, made after talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and his counterparts from the U.K., France and Germany on the sidelines of a European Union meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, underscore recent warnings that the nuclear talks have stalled as the deadline approaches. Senior Iranian and Western officials have clashed publicly over key details of a final deal in recent days, although diplomats involved in talks have said there is little sign the negotiations could collapse. The Obama administration has long said it didn’t want the nuclear talks to drift beyond June 30, arguing that the obstacles to a final nuclear deal could grow over time. However, the U.S. does have some […]

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