End of Negotiations on Monday in Switzerland; Zarif: We Will Eventually Reach a Result

The nuclear negotiations between Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, and his American counterpart John Kerry resumed on Monday, March 16, in Lausanne, Switzerland, and concluded after more than four hours of discussions. According to Radio Farda's correspondent in Lausanne, Zarif stated after the talks, which included a separate discussion with Kerry, that 'we will eventually reach a result.' Following these negotiations, Zarif left Lausanne for Brussels to meet with Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, and three European foreign ministers. Reuters reported that the discussions between Kerry and Zarif were initially scheduled for Sunday, March 15, but U.S. State Department officials indicated that due to lengthy discussions on Sunday between the Iranian and American delegations, the foreign ministers' talks were postponed to Monday. Reports indicate that the first day of this round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in Lausanne included discussions between the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and the U.S. Secretary of Energy, along with their deputies and expert delegations, lasting about three and a half hours. Meanwhile, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported that Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister and a senior Iranian negotiator, stated on Sunday that the Islamic Republic hopes to resolve the main differences between Iran and the U.S. in this new round of nuclear negotiations. The Deputy Foreign Minister added: 'We still have serious differences with each other. In this round of negotiations, we will see whether we can tackle these issues or not. We have achieved progress in recent rounds of nuclear negotiations. In this round, we will also see if we can make progress or not.' According to Reuters, John Kerry also expressed hope on Sunday that a temporary political agreement could be reached 'in the coming days,' provided that Iran can demonstrate that its nuclear program is peaceful. Meanwhile, Reuters reported last week that officials from the U.S., Britain, France, China, and Russia, along with Germany, which make up the P5+1 group, have been negotiating to issue a resolution to endorse a potential agreement and also to lift sanctions on Iran. A Western official told Reuters that sanctions imposed by the Security Council against Iran during this time could be lifted quickly in the event of a potential agreement. According to Reuters, officials close to the negotiations have indicated that discussions are underway for a resolution to be issued by the Security Council. Issuing a resolution following a potential agreement is a significant concession that the U.S. has agreed to, which Washington had previously opposed, believing that unilateral U.S. and EU sanctions should first be lifted after a final agreement, and only then, after several years, should a resolution be issued by the Security Council. A Western official in this regard told Reuters: 'This is a complete change in the U.S. position (regarding the Iranian nuclear dispute), and we hope the Iranians will also be willing to assist the negotiation process by granting a concession in return.' This unnamed Western official added that so far in these negotiations, concessions have been one-sided, which is why the negotiation process has recently slowed down. According to Hana Kavyani, Radio Farda's correspondent in Lausanne, Zarif stated on Monday that the deputies of the foreign ministers of the P5+1 are likely to negotiate with their Iranian counterparts on Tuesday. Iran and the P5+1 have until June to reach a final agreement. Previously, it was expected that the two sides would reach a general (political) agreement by March 24.