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“Iran: a Deal is Within Reach By November 24”
by Arutz Sheva   
November 8th, 2014
Iran's deputy foreign minister claims his country sees no alternative to a diplomatic settlement with six world powers.
Bushehr nuclear reactor
Bushehr nuclear reactor
Reuters

Iran sees no alternative to a diplomatic settlement with six world powers on its nuclear program and believes both sides are resolved to reach a deal by a self-imposed November 24 deadline, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, was quoted by Reuters as having said Saturday.

"No middle solutions exist and all our thoughts are focused on how to reach a settlement," Araqchi, Iran's chief negotiator, told the state news agency IRNA.

"No one wants to return to the way things were before the Geneva Agreement. That would be too risky a scenario," he said, referring to the preliminary accord reached a year ago.

"Both sides are aware of this, which is why I think a deal is within reach. We are serious and I can see the same resolve on the other side," said Araqchi, according to Reuters.

Araqchi’s comments come ahead of Sunday talks in Oman between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and former EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Months of intense negotiations, including between Kerry and Zarif in mid-October in Vienna, have made some progress but appear deadlocked on the key issues of uranium enrichment and the pace of any sanctions relief.

Iran, meanwhile, has been toughening its stance in recent weeks. Araqchi recently said he sees no prospect for a deal unless the other side abandons its “illogical excessive demands”.

A senior Iranian official followed those comments by declaring that Iran will demand that all Western sanctions be lifted as part of a final deal, rejecting an American proposal of a gradual lifting of sanctions.

Kerry said Wednesday that the negotiations would get more difficult if the November 24 deadline were missed, and the powers were not - for now - weighing any extension to the talks.

Meanwhile, a report Friday by the UN’s atomic agency said that Iran is failing to answer questions about its nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran is complying with an agreement to curb uranium enrichment, but also notes it has made no progress in its investigation into possible military dimensions of the program.

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