The 'Difficulties' of Remaining Issues on the Twelfth Day of Nuclear Negotiations

While one Western diplomat describes the remaining disputes in the nuclear negotiations with Iran as 'very difficult,' an Iranian diplomat in Vienna states that Iran has 'no flexibility' to change its red lines. This comes as there are only two days left until the new deadline set by the negotiating parties to reach a final agreement. The 1+5 group and Iran aim to end the 13-year nuclear dispute by achieving this final agreement; the latest round of negotiations, taking place in Vienna, has entered its twelfth day as of Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, an unnamed senior Western diplomat told AFP that 'the work of removing the remaining brackets [disputed items in the draft agreement] seems very, very, very hard.' He added that nevertheless, the negotiators have given themselves a few more days, believing that resolving these issues is still possible. Another diplomat, in a conversation with the news agency, mentioned that the new deadline, which is Friday, July 9, is 'the final deadline,' adding that 'either we reach a result in the next 48 hours or we do not, and there is no reason to extend the time again.' On the other hand, early Wednesday, an unnamed Iranian diplomat in Vienna told ISNA that 'there is no flexibility to change the red lines, and these lines cannot be broken; we will not cross the red lines.' He emphasized: 'We believe that Iran's red lines do not hinder an agreement.' This Iranian diplomat added: 'A few specific contentious issues remain, while many issues have been resolved.' He noted that 'Iran has made constructive proposals to resolve the disputed issues,' stating that 'there are still disagreements in the nuclear discussions and sanctions and some other important topics.' Reports indicate that the lifting of arms sanctions, which is one of Iran's demands and opposed by Washington, is among the remaining issues keeping the parties in Vienna. Meanwhile, Hana Kavyani, a Radio Farda reporter at the negotiations in Vienna, quoted a member of the Iranian negotiating team as saying that the arms sanctions issue is not the only point of contention between Iran and the 1+5 group, and there are other issues of disagreement as well. There is currently no precise news on the details of other disputed issues and discussions. Currently, the foreign ministers of China, France, and Russia have left Vienna to return to their capitals but are expected to return to the negotiation table in the coming days. In this context, the Wednesday report on the nuclear negotiations from Vienna states that the White House has said: 'As long as the negotiations are productive, we will stay at the table.' Abbas Araghchi stated that the main text of the comprehensive nuclear agreement is nearly complete, and a draft resolution by the Security Council regarding Iran 'is being prepared.'