Setbacks and progress as Iran, six powers meet to end nuclear impasse

The foreign ministers of Iran and six world powers met yesterday in a final push for a preliminary nuclear accord less than two days before their deadline as Tehran showed signs of backing away from previous  compromise offers. For days Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China have been seeking to break an impasse in negotiations aimed at stopping Tehran having the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb in exchange for an easing of international sanctions that are crippling its economy. But officials at the talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne said attempts to reach a framework accord could yet fall apart. A Western diplomat said there are three major sticking points that must be resolved if Iran and major powers are to secure a framework deal before a self-imposed end-March deadline and it is unclear whether those differences will be bridged. The diplomat said the most difficult issues were related to the duration of any limits on Iranian enrichment and research and development activities after an initial 10 years, the lifting of UN sanctions and restoring them in case of non-compliance by Iran. “It seems that we have an accord for the first 10 years, but with regard to the Iranians the question of what happens after is complicated,” the official said on condition of anonymity, adding: “I can’t say  what the final result will be.” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said there had been “some progress and some setbacks in  the last hours.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s spokeswoman said he was returning to Moscow later yesterday though officials said he would return to Switzerland if there was something to announce. The Russian Foreign Ministry said there had been “considerable progress” and that Lavrov urged all sides to be ready  to compromise. In addition to US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Steinmeier and Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and China’s Wang Yi gathered at a 19th-century hotel overlooking Lake Geneva.