Iran, P5+1 Enter Final Stage of Nuclear Agreements

November 16, 2014

2 min read

Iran and world powers are moving into the final phase of nuclear negotiations this week as the November 24 deadline looms close.

Representatives of the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 (United States, Germany, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom) are set to meet in Vienna on Tuesday to finalize a permanent agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

“There’s still a big gap. We may not be able to get there,” US President Barack Obama warned last week.

Reaching an agreement would introduce improved relations between the West and Iran. For the last 35 years, western powers have imposed heavy sanctions on Iran. During negotiations, the US and other world powers have eased sanctions on the Islamic Republic as a sign of goodwill.

Should negotiations fail, Iran may head into renewing and expanding its nuclear program while the West may be forced to take military action.

US chief negotiator Wendy Sherman told the media that it is “time to finish the job,” referencing the first missed deadline of July 20. Her Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, stated that failure to reach an agreement would be a “dangerous scenario for the entire world.”

Israel has been a constant and vocal critic against negotiating with Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated in the past that with Iran making publicly known that it wishes to annihilate Israel, access to nuclear technology would allow Iran to build nuclear weapons used to destroy Israel.

 

Netanyahu is expected to urge German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday not to accept any deal with Iran that will allow it to become a nuclear threshold state. Steinmeier is scheduled to meet with the prime minister in Jerusalem on Sunday and his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Liberman.

Israel has said that any deal reached with Iran must include the full dismantling of any nuclear facilities that enrich uranium. Last week, Netanyahu called for stiffer sanctions against Iran to force the country to dismantle its nuclear facilities.

The prime minister also discussed Iran’s nuclear program with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday when the two met in Jordan.

“The secretary made it clear that our position has not changed and that we are working to close off all possible pathways to a nuclear weapon for Iran in order to ensure the peace and security of the international community, including Israel,” US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.

“We will continue to keep all of our friends and allies informed of what we are going to be doing in the days ahead,” she added.

Kerry stated on Thursday, “Our No.1 priority on Iran is making sure that they don’t get a nuclear weapon.”

“The question now is whether Iran will make the choices required to close the final gaps and provide assurances that they can’t develop and won’t develop a nuclear weapon,” he added.

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