The President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani says that progress made in nuclear talks means a final deal can be reached. He said “There is nothing that cannot be resolved,” although some differences still remain, according to an Iranian state media:
US Secretary of State John Kerry also said that “substantial progress” had been made in the talks. Six world powers are negotiating a deal with Iran aimed at limiting its nuclear activity, with a late March deadline. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes but world powers fear it has military ambitions.
Mr Rouhani said that in the current round of talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, “shared points of view emerged in some of the areas where there had been a difference of opinion”. They could become “a foundation for a final agreement”, he said, according to state news agency Irna. Speaking separately in Lausanne, Mr Kerry said “genuine progress” had been made, although “important gaps” remained.
Both sides had “kept the commitments we have made in the joint plan [the interim deal agreed in November 2013] and we have all lived up to our obligations”, he said. The US wanted “a comprehensive and durable agreement… whose implementation is not based on trust, but based on intensive verification”.
