John Kerry: A Long Way to Go for a Nuclear Agreement

John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, said on Monday, March 2, that progress has been made in nuclear negotiations with Iran, but there is still a "long way" to go to reach an agreement, and "time is passing quickly." According to Reuters and the Associated Press, Kerry, speaking at a press conference in Geneva, also warned about the selective disclosure of information related to the nuclear negotiations, emphasizing that this makes reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran more difficult. On Monday evening, Kerry will meet and discuss with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Montreux, Switzerland, while a new round of bilateral negotiations between the two countries, involving the deputies of the foreign ministers of Iran and the U.S., will begin a few hours earlier. In this round of negotiations, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, and Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy, will also participate. These two Iranian and American officials joined the talks for the first time in negotiations held earlier in March in Geneva, Switzerland. Salehi announced afterward that "significant steps" have been taken in these negotiations and "good results" have been achieved. Helga Schmidt, Deputy Coordinator for Foreign Policy of the European Union, will also be present in the negotiations on Monday. Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Zarif stated in Geneva that if the United States and other Western countries have the political will to resolve the dispute and agree to lift sanctions, a conclusion could be reached regarding the nuclear agreement this week. The Iranian Foreign Minister remarked: "Our negotiating partners, especially the Western countries and the United States, should once and for all try to understand that the combination of sanctions and agreement is not compatible." He added: "If they want an agreement, sanctions must be lifted... We believe that all sanctions should be removed." According to him, Iran has shown its political will to reach an agreement by sending its highest-ranking officials to the negotiations and that there is nothing more they could do. Zarif ultimately referred to the negotiations this week with global powers, stating: "We have made progress since previous negotiations, and if there is political will to accept that agreement and sanctions are not compatible, we can reach an agreement this time." It has been previously reported that Iran and the 1+5 group, consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany, aim to reach a political understanding by early April. Following that, nuclear negotiations will continue to reach a comprehensive agreement.