Iran nuclear deal ‘is at hand’: EU foreign policy chief

Young journalists club

News ID: 6444
Publish Date: 23:54 - 25 February 2015
The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Tuesday said an Iran nuclear deal was “at hand” and urged different sides to show political will ahead of a new round of talks scheduled in Geneva next week.
"We cannot miss this opportunity,” Federica Mogherini said at Chatham House, a think tank in London.

"A good deal is at hand if the parties will keep cooperating as they did so far and if we have enough political will from all sides to agree on a good deal and sell it domestically,” AFP quoted Mogherini as saying.

"We have a series of internal domestic political dynamics we have to handle with care,” she said, listing "tensions” in the U.S. Congress, Israel’s elections and Sunni-Shiite rivalry in the Persian Gulf region.

"A comprehensive agreement would be mutually beneficial for all sides,” she said.

Writing an article in the Washington Post in late January, Mogherini, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, and Germany Foreign Minister FrankWalter Steinmeier suggesting that the great powers "can’t let the chance” for a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran "pass” them "by” or "do anything to derail” the "progress” made in more than one years of intensive talks with Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry earlier on Tuesday said world powers "had made inroads” since reaching an interim deal with Iran in November 2013.

"We expect to know soon whether or not Iran is willing to put together an acceptable, verifiable plan,” Kerry said after returning from talks in Geneva with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The so-called P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are trying to strike a final nuclear accord with Iran by June 30.


Tehran Times


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