On 9th Day, Kerry Says Iran Nuke Talks Could go Either Way

Mike Harris, a financial editor at Veterans Today, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Sunday while commenting on US Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement in which he said “genuine progress ” has been made during negotiations in Vienna.

He said that while he agrees with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that the sides have never been closer to reaching a deal, there are still several outstanding issues.

Any agreement will be analyzed by experts “and none of us are going to be content to do something that can’t pass scrutiny”, Kerry said. “If the hard choices get made in the next couple of days, and made quickly, we could get an agreement this week”, Kerry said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to join the talks later in the day, as said by a foreign ministry source.

On one of the thorniest issues – choreographing the nuclear steps to be taken by Iran in exchange for reciprocal sanctions relief – a compromise may be emerging, at least among experts thrashing out the complex final accord. We also see commentaries inside Iran arguing that not only President Obama’s legacy, but also the outcome of the 2016 USA presidential election hinges on whether or not Obama succeeds in securing a deal with Iran.

Corker, a Tennessee Republican who leads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the talks have been “going on a negative trend for some time”.

“It seems that the nuclear talks (with) Iran have yielded a collapse, not a breakthrough”, he said as stated by remarks released by his office, saying the deal would pave the way to Iran making nuclear bombs and increasing regional aggression.

“This negotiation could go either way”, Kerry said.

Kerry stressed that despite progress “we are not yet where we need to be on several of the most difficult issues”. “That’s our goal, and we’re gonna put every bit of pressure possible on it to try to do so”, he said. “I mean, I think they look at this as a legacy issue”.

Meanwhile, the top United Nations nuclear watchdog raised hopes about the talks on the controversial question involving Western demands that Tehran reveal its past nuclear activities before a final comprehensive deal is reached.

“At the end of the day, a nuclear deal with Iran has to be airtight because they lie and cheat”, he said, as stated by an account in The Hill.

There was a few progress this week, as Rowhani came to a general agreement Thursday with global Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano on an investigation of nuclear weapons technology projects that allegedly were conducted in the past.

Meanwhile, USA officials note that the Obama administration has continued to expand its own blacklist over violations of separate USA sanctions, and to condemn Iranian human rights violations.