U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry looks out of the window of his room at the Beau-Rivage Palace hotel during a break in Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 1. Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
Talks aimed at preventing Iran from making a nuclear bomb passed Tuesday’s deadline and continued Wednesday with some negotiators saying an accord is still within reach.
“Fingers crossed, and we hope to get there during the course of the day,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told reporters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The talks, which also involve China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, have been going on for a week.
“I think we have a broad framework of understanding, but there are still some key issues that have to be worked through,” Hammond said.
Those issues include the U.S. and its partners wanting to keep Iran from improving the performance of centrifuges that enrich uranium in order to prevent Iran from making a nuclear weapon. Iran has said its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes.
But Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Iranian television that research and development on high-end centrifuges should continue.
Without a deal, some U.S. lawmakers are considering pushing for additional economic sanctions against Iran. Congress returns from its recess in mid-April.
The negotiators currently are working on a basic framework agreement. The deadline for settling the technical details is June 30.
The post Negotiators work on crux of Iran nuclear deal as deadline passes appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
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