John Kerry: We Have Made Real Progress in Vienna Nuclear Talks

While negotiations over Iran's nuclear program continue in Vienna, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stated on Thursday, July 9, "We are not here just to negotiate. We are here because we believe we are making real progress toward a comprehensive agreement." According to the Associated Press, however, the U.S. Secretary of State emphasized in response to a question: "But as I have said many times before and mentioned in a conversation with President Barack Obama last night, we cannot sit at the negotiating table forever." The negotiations between Iran and the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany, known as the P5+1, began 13 days ago in Vienna and have had their deadline for reaching a final agreement extended twice so far. The deadline for reaching an agreement ends on Friday, July 10. Previous reports indicated that one of the contentious issues is Iran's missile and arms sanctions. However, John Kerry said on Thursday, "We should not leave the negotiating table simply because the clock strikes midnight. I want to emphasize that given the discussions at this stage are very technical and the importance of the issues being discussed is very, very high, we are not rushing and will not rush in any aspect of these negotiations." The U.S. Secretary of State clarified: "We are focusing all our attention on the quality of the agreement." John Kerry added, "If we can reach an agreement at the end of the negotiations, it must withstand the tests and challenges ahead. Not over days, weeks, or months, but challenges for decades. That is our goal here." He also stated, "Despite all the real progress we have made so far, some difficult issues remain unresolved. We know that difficult decisions will not become easier over time, so such decisions must be made soon." The U.S. Secretary of State continued to refer to the tireless efforts of the negotiating teams in Vienna and stated that negotiations will continue to resolve difficult issues and whether an agreement is achievable. John Kerry, in response to a question about how long he would stay in Vienna, said, "This negotiation is not time unlimited. If difficult decisions are not made, we are fully prepared to end this process." Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday evening about the status of the negotiations that "we will continue negotiations as long as necessary to reach a result." According to the state news agency IRNA, he responded to the question of how long he would be in Vienna, saying, "As long as necessary." The Iranian Foreign Minister, when asked if he is optimistic about an agreement, said, "If I were not, I would not be here." At the same time, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, also stated on Thursday in an interview with CNN, "We are very close (to an agreement), but if a significant political decision is not made in the coming hours, there will be no agreement."