Iran Deal Very Close, Rouhani: Nuclear Negotiators Victorious
Local Editor
Iran and major powers will seek Monday to put the finishing touches to a historic nuclear deal, with both sides saying an accord ending a 13-year standoff lies tantalizingly within reach.
The talks, the latest set of which have dragged on for more than two weeks, aim to nail down a nuclear agreement.
There had been optimism that a deal would be clinched over the weekend, but finalizing a framework accord struck in April has proved difficult, with talks stumbling on the exact timing of sanctions relief and Iran's desire to have a UN conventional arms embargo lifted.
"We have come a long way. We need to reach a peak and we're very close," President Hassan Rouhani said in Iran Sunday, quoted by the ISNA news agency on a 16th day of talks in Vienna.
In parallel, Rouhani confirmed that Iran's negotiating team will come out victorious in the nuclear talks with P5+1 states.
The Iranian president made the comments while speaking to a group of women and family rights activists in Tehran on Sunday.
"The country, people, and the negotiating team have carried out their responsibilities towards the talks," he said.
Rouhani further added: "Currently, we are very close to the peak (of the nuclear talks) but there are still steps left to reach this peak. With the help of God, Iranian negotiators will emerge victorious from this difficult and complicated battle."
Earlier in the day, Rouhani called for implementation of a law aimed at safeguarding Iran's nuclear rights and achievements after the conclusion of talks.
According to Fars News Agency, Rouhani ordered Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to enforce the law.
In accordance to the law, any conclusion reached during the ongoing nuclear talks with the P5+1 should include the "complete" removal of sanctions against Tehran, implemented on the day of reaching an agreement.
It also calls for Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to report on the process of "the implementation of the agreement" to the Iranian Parliament.
It further states that the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] is allowed to only conduct "conventional inspections" at nuclear sites and will not be granted access to other sensitive or military sites.
A German diplomatic source warned the talks "could yet fail".
"But we really are nearly there. The decisive moment has arrived. If Tehran is ready to take the final steps then things can go very quickly," the source said late Sunday.
Foreign ministers from all seven countries - with the possible exception of China - were expected to be present in Vienna on Monday.
"I hope we are finally entering the final phase of these marathon negotiations. I believe it," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who cancelled a trip to Africa to stay at the talks, said Sunday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov returned to the Austrian capital on Sunday, joining U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif, Fabius, Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who left Vienna on Sunday afternoon, was expected back on Monday morning. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Vienna on Sunday, the country's official Xinhua news agency reported.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
