Russian Federation says Iran nuclear deal within reach

Talks on Iran’s nuclear program have hit a deadlock, which means they were set to miss another deadline as the Islamic Republic’s interlocutors argued over persistent differences, including lifting restrictions on arms sales.

“Iran is committed to fighting IS… and lifting the arms embargo will help it improve its ability to fight against terrorism”, Lavrov said. “Those are right who say that the talks are like ascending Mount Everest”, Ryabkov said on Thursday.

The weapons and missiles sanctions were imposed in 2006 and 2007 to pressure Iran to comply with its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful. Doing so, however, would make it more hard for U.S. President Barack Obama to win congressional approval of an Iran deal.

But Putin said he was hopeful that Iran and the P5+1 group – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russian Federation and the United States – would soon agree on guarantees for a successful resolution.

According to the Nasim news agency, Rouhani said if the talks succeeded, the world would see that Tehran had solved its biggest political problem by negotiation and logical argument. Secretary of State John Kerry met Thursday with his negotiating partners and later with Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif. But the text contains many brackets highlighting areas of dispute. “It is within reach”, he said.

Another unresolved matter is Iran’s demand for a United Nations arms embargo to be lifted as part of sanctions relief, a stance supported by Russian Federation and China but opposed by the U.S. and some Europeans.

“In my opinion, it will be found soon“, he said.

Kerry and Zarif were involved in a tense exchange of positions on United Nations sanctions on Monday night, diplomats said.

Conventional weapons have become an issue too. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and his British and German counterparts have also rejoined the negotiations. “Every country has their red line some times, it’s interesting”, the official said. But a Western official said that was “not true”.

The latest extension of the talks to Friday left open the possibility an agreement would not arrive in time to secure a 30-day review period by the Republican-dominated U.S. Congress.