Vienna – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry signaled Thursday that diplomats won’t conclude an Iran nuclear agreement by early Friday morning, conceding another delay that this time could complicate American efforts to quickly implement any deal.
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Under U.S. law, the seven nations negotiating in Vienna have to complete the accord before the end of Thursday in Washington to avoid invoking a 60-day congressional review period during which President Barack Obama cannot waive sanctions on Iran. If they meet the target, the review would only be 30 days.
The extended time period is significant as Iran is demanding prompt easing of economic penalties for nuclear concessions. And the longer world powers cannot make good on their promises, the longer they’ll have to wait for the Iranians to scale back its enrichment of material that can be used in atomic warheads and halt other parts of their nuclear program.
The specter of prolonged public relations campaigns for and against the pact also may not work in Obama’s favor. The delay also could imply that the U.S., Iran and other negotiating powers will push off the current talks in Austria’s capital, already in their 13th day, until September when any deal would again only amount to a 30-day review period.
“We will not rush and we will not be rushed,” Kerry told reporters, citing “tough issues” remaining. He insisted the negotiations would not become “open-ended” and that if tough decisions aren’t made, he was “absolutely prepared to call an end to this process.”
Kerry spoke after discussing the state-of-play with other world powers for almost an hour Thursday evening. That conversation followed a flurry of other closed-door meetings at the 19th-century palace hosting the negotiations, including a 45-minute session between Kerry and his Iranian counterpart.
“We’re working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done,” Zarif tweeted.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he would remain in Austria’s capital for negotiations into Friday morning, citing “good things, but there is still work to do.”
The current round of talks has already been extended twice since it started on June 27, as has an interim nuclear accord with Iran that these negotiations are meant to finalize. The preliminary deal was due to expire on June 30, then July 7 and then Friday. It would have to be renewed a third time if the talks go beyond Friday.
At an economic summit in Russia, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said his nation was preparing for a “post-sanctions” era, suggesting a deal may be in sight to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Kerry spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was also in Russia and voiced optimism, saying he was prepared to return to Vienna.
And in what was widely seen as a hint that the talks might soon wrap up, the White House late Wednesday issued a brief statement saying President Barack Obama had conferred with the U.S. negotiating team through a secure video call.
The last time Obama held a secure conference call with his negotiators on the road was shortly before the framework for a final accord was reached on April 2 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kerry, nursing a broken leg, has been in Vienna since June 26, while Zarif has made one short trip to Tehran for consultations. Other foreign ministers have come and gone. All but the top diplomats from Russia and China were present at Thursday’s meetings.
When the talks missed their second deadline it raised new questions about the ability of world powers to cut off all Iranian pathways to nuclear weapons through diplomacy.
And new difficulties also have surfaced over the past few days. Iran is pushing for an end to a U.N. arms embargo on the country but Washington opposes that demand.