Given the unpalatable options, Iran nuclear talks may be extended
Negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran may be extended if an agreement cant be reached by the Nov. 24 deadline, a senior Iranian official said Friday, offering the strongest signal yet that Tehran and world powers may prefer a continuation of inconclusive diplomacy to a risky collapse of talks.
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an appearance in the Iranian city of Masshad that everything, including an extension, is possible if we cannot reach an agreement, according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency.
Iran and six world powers remain deadlocked on key issues in the talks. The negotiations aim to produce a deal that would ease economic sanctions on Iran if it agrees to halt its disputed nuclear program short of bomb-making capability.
Negotiators for the group have so far remained vague on what would happen if the deadline is not met, but some diplomats and outside experts have urged them not to abandon talks that have offered hope for a resolution of one of the worlds top security issues.
Advocates for the talks argue that continuing the current interim nuclear agreement, which took effect at the beginning of this year, would preserve important limits on Irans nuclear activities.
The interim deal prevents Iran from resuming production of higher-grade uranium and from working on advanced centrifuges, the machines that can produce material for bomb fuel.
In return, the United States and other world powers agreed to roll back some economic sanctions against Iran. Those concessions are relatively minor and largely keep the most severe penalties in place, Western officials say.
By contrast, a halt in negotiations would allow Iran to resume greater uranium enrichment at higher levels and would raise the risks of war at a time when the Middle East is already embroiled in multiple crises, supporters of the talks say.
The option of simply throwing in the towel and calling it quits is not something that appeals to any of the parties, said Robert Einhorn, a former top administration official who is with Brookings Institution. Clearly, the Iranians, from Araqchis comments, are anticipating extending the talks.
Representatives of the U.S., part of a group of powers that also includes France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China, have been vague on what they will do if the talks do not produce a deal in November. But they have not ruled out an extension.
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Given the unpalatable options, Iran nuclear talks may be extended