VIENNA // The United States and five other nations trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran on Sunday began internal discussions on extending the talks, diplomats said.
The decision came ahead of a deadline at midnight on Monday for a deal to cap Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting sanctions on the Islamic republic.
Formal discussions with Iran to extend the talks had not yet begun, two western diplomats said.
But the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany started talks among themselves on approaches they could present to Tehran. At the same time, formal talks with Iran on bridging the differences were continuing.
“It is only natural that less than 48 hours from the deadline we are discussing a range of options,” a third western diplomat said. “An extension is one of those options. It should come as no surprise that we will also engage in a discussion of the options with the Iranians at some point as well.”
Beyond assurances that the Iranians are not just talking for the sake of winning time, the US administration wants to show to sceptical legislators at home that there is sense to further negotiations.
Should such a plan be agreed upon, one possibility for a resumption of talks would be the first week in December when the US secretary of state John Kerry plans to return to Europe for a previously scheduled Nato foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, and an international conference in London.
Diplomats familiar with the negotiations said sizeable gaps remained between the US and Iran on the key issue of how deeply Tehran would have to reduce nuclear activities that could be turned to making arms.
Iran denies any interest in such weapons, but is negotiating because it wants an end to nuclear-related international sanctions.
A deal in Vienna could transform the Middle East, open the door to ending economic sanctions on Iran and start to bring a nation of 76 million people in from the cold after decades of hostility with the West.
But sources confirmed on Sunday what officials close to the talks have been predicting privately for weeks: that a final deal is still too far off to hammer out by the deadline.
“Considering the short time left until the deadline and number of issues that needed to be discussed and resolved, it is impossible to reach a final and comprehensive deal by November 24,” Iran’s Isna news agency quoted an unidentified member of the country’s negotiating team in Vienna as saying.
“The issue of extension of the talks is an option on the table and we will start discussing it if no deal is reached by Sunday night,” the official said.
The official said the sides “were trying to reach a framework accord on major issues like ... the number of centrifuges, enrichment capacity and the timeframe of lifting sanctions.”
A European official said: “To reach a comprehensive deal seems physically impossible. Even if we were to get a political agreement the technical annexes are not ready.”
Some western officials describe two possible options for a rollover if Monday’s deadline is missed. Under one scenario, the talks would simply break off and experts from the two sides would reconvene in a few weeks for another attempt at a comprehensive deal. A lengthier option would be a formal extension into next year, adding new elements to an interim agreement from last year.
* Associated Press and Reuters
