Officials from Iran and world’s six major powers did not report any significant progress after holding talks in Oman. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton for more than 10 hours on November 9 and 10. But Kerry and Zarif only offered reporters a few words about their meetings. When asked if they were making progress, Zarif replied, “We will eventually.” Kerry said, “We are working hard. We are working hard.”
#Iran's FM #Zarif handshakes with his U.S counterpart at the start of #NuclearTalks in #Muscat, #Oman. #IranTalksOman pic.twitter.com/sYux17MZtj
— Nuclear Talks (@NuclearTalks) November 9, 2014 The State Department described the talks as “tough, direct and serious.” And Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the two sides had neither made progress nor suffered a setback during the first two days of talks. “But we are optimistic that we can reach an accord” before November 24, said Araghchi, according to the Iranian Students News Agency.
On November 11, following the trilateral session, Iran’s deputy foreign ministers Araghchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanchi met with their counterparts from P5+1 to discuss remaining issues on the table, including the removal of sanctions and limiting Iran's uranium enrichment. Officials made few comments on these discussions, but German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier noted that "we have never been this close to an agreement...this point is either the point of victory or defeat."
The final round of nuclear talks will begin on November 18 in Vienna. The following are comments from U.S. and Iranian officials on the recent round of diplomacy in Oman.
Iran
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
“If the Western side can trust that our aim is peaceful and they don’t have political motives, now is a good time to set the framework of the agreement.”
Nov. 8, 2014, according to the press
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always had a peaceful nuclear program and in line with the religious decree issued by the Leader banning use and stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction, WMD has no place in our defense doctrine.”
“If Western countries are ensured that our nuclear program seeks peaceful ends and if they abandon political adventurism, this is a propitious time to hammer out a deal.”
“There are some strong solutions, and what prevented an agreement were political reservations by the P5+1 negotiators; we still hope to reach a solution with all these technicalities.”
Nov. 9, 2014 according to the press
“It is important for the West to understand that sanctions have never contributed to the resolution of this issue, sanctions are not a part of a solution, sanctions are the most important part of the problem, they're illegal in nature, they must be removed, they have not produced any positive result.
“The only thing that sanctions have produced for the West are about 19,000 centrifuges.”
Nov. 10, 2014, according to the press
“The issue of sanctions and its margins will fail to overshadow the will of the Iranian nation to preserve their rights in using peaceful nuclear energy.”
Nov. 11, 2014, in a meeting with Omani Deputy Prime Minister Fahd bin Mahmoud
Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araghchi
“After hours of discussions, we are not still in a position to say whether we have made progress, nor are we in the position to say there has been a setback.”
“Every subject being mooted, entails lateral issues and complications like the technical, legal and political issues.”
“We will keep making our efforts and the positive point is that all sides are serious and the demand to reach the deal is serious for all parties.”
Nov. 10, 2014, according to the press
“Negotiations and discussions during the past two days were very useful. But we are not still in a position to say that we have made progress. It’s yet to be done in the coming days. We would be available as much as needed here in Oman or in any other places before the deadline of November 24. We are still hopeful.”
A deal will require “lots of goodwill by all parties and of course readiness to make difficult decisions.”
“It’s a fact that based on a possible comprehensive solution all the sanctions should be lifted. Iran would certainly continue its enrichment, but the question is the capacity of this enrichment which should be determined based on our practical needs and that would be something we are very hopeful to come to at the end of these negotiations.”
Nov. 10, 2014 to Press TV
“All parties are serious about the talks and we intend to hold as many meetings as needed by the deadline.”
Nov. 12, 2014, according to Mehr News
Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi
"We definitely are at a critical stage. There is not very much time left before Nov. 24 and the issues remain more or less the same."
"If we cannot come to a conclusion by Nov. 24, I am sure that those who are performing an objective analysis of the situation definitely will not blame Iran for the possible lack of progress, because Iran has shown its determination to finish the job."
"Enrichment is one [of the main points of contention], of course, and the sanctions, but we also talk about [the] Arak [research reactor] and a number of other things about which we have to come to an agreement. In our judgment the Americans do not want to appreciate what's happening on the ground in Iran as far as the nuclear capabilities and capacities are concerned. We have about 20,000 centrifuges, almost half of which are producing nuclear material, the other half are only spinning. We can't just turn back the clock and say, "now we are in 2005" and are offering what we have offered then."
"You have to keep the status quo! But we are ready to accept some limits to our activities for a specific period of time. And after that specific time we need to be treated like any other member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)."
Nov. 10, 2014 in an interview with Spiegel Online
"If we cannot come to a conclusion by Nov. 24, I am sure that those who are performing an objective analysis of the situation definitely will not blame Iran for the possible lack of progress, because Iran has shown its determination to finish the job."
"Enrichment is one [of the main points of contention], of course, and the sanctions, but we also talk about [the] Arak [research reactor] and a number of other things about which we have to come to an agreement. In our judgment the Americans do not want to appreciate what's happening on the ground in Iran as far as the nuclear capabilities and capacities are concerned. We have about 20,000 centrifuges, almost half of which are producing nuclear material, the other half are only spinning. We can't just turn back the clock and say, "now we are in 2005" and are offering what we have offered then."
"You have to keep the status quo! But we are ready to accept some limits to our activities for a specific period of time. And after that specific time we need to be treated like any other member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)."
Nov. 10, 2014 in an interview with Spiegel Online
United States
State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki
“We’re still very focused on making progress and seeing if we can get a deal done before the deadline in all of our meetings. There’s still time to do so. This was an opportunity to have follow-on discussions with Secretary Kerry, EU High Representative Ashton, Foreign Minister Zarif. They had two lengthy meetings yesterday; two today as well. The discussions have been tough, direct, and serious. And as you know, the political directors will continue to stay in Oman for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time. They’ll be reconvening, of course, for the already-announced round of meetings that are next week in Europe.”
Nov. 10, 2014 in a daily press briefing