Last round of Iran nuclear talks

Leaders from Iran and the other nations involved in negotiations over Iran's controversial nuclear program ratcheted up the rhetoric on Tuesday ahead of a final round of talks in Vienna. The deadline for a solution to the 12-year-old standoff is November 24.

"If because of excessive demands ... we don't get a result, then the world will understand that the Islamic Republic sought a solution, a compromise, and a constructive agreement and that it will not renounce its rights and the greatness of the nation," Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif told Iranian media after a lunch meeting with former EU foreign affairs coordinator Catherine Ashton, who is facilitating the negotiations.

It is unclear what constitutes "excessive demands" to Zarif, but it is certain that the other side of the table, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, want Iran to slash its number of uranium enrichment centrifuges significantly before they roll back painful sanctions that have hurt the country's economy.

Iran insists that its centrifuges are aimed at creating a fleet of nuclear power reactors, and not for making weapons.

Widespread skepticism

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is also headed to Vienna, called it a "critical week," saying that he hoped the long-belabored talks would be successful but that he "can't make any predictions," about their outcome. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond called on the Iranians to exhibit "more flexibility" in proving that their intentions are entirely peaceful.

Several Iranian and Western officials have expressed doubts that any final resolution could be made this week. "There is virtually no possibility that a complete deal will be concluded by November 24,' longtime US diplomat Robert Einhorn told the AFP news agency.

Another US official who spoke to AFP insisted, however, that "an extension is not and has not been a subject of conversation at this point."

es/mkg (AFP, Reuters)