Vienna Nuke Talks: Zarif, Ashton on Extension

November 24, 2014

            Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton issued a joint statement on November 24 explaining the decision to extend negotiations over Iran's nuclear program by seven months. The extension, according to Ashton and Zarif, will allow negotiators to "build on the current momentum" and reach an agreement in the "shortest possible time." The full statement is below, followed by Zarif's remarks to the press.

            Since we agreed to the Joint Plan of Action one year ago in Geneva, we, together with the Foreign Ministers and Political Directors of the E3+3 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States), have been engaged in intensive diplomatic negotiations aimed at reaching a comprehensive solution.
 
            We once again express our appreciation to the Austrian Government for their most generous support in hosting these negotiations in Vienna.
 
            Based on the strong commitment by all sides to reach a mutually-agreed long-term comprehensive solution, we have held ten rounds of negotiations and numerous meetings during the past months. Some ideas have been developed, but given the technical nature of this effort and the decisions needed, more work is required to assess and finalize them as appropriate.
 
            We would have preferred to finalize a comprehensive solution here in Vienna. But we remain convinced that, based on the progress made and on the new ideas which continue to be explored, there is a credible path through which a comprehensive solution can be reached.

            We, together with the Foreign Ministers of the E3+3, have therefore agreed to continue our diplomatic efforts. We have decided to extend the measures of the Joint Plan of Action to allow for further negotiations until June 30th. We intend to build on the current momentum in order to complete these negotiations within the shortest possible time, up to four months, and if necessary to use the remaining time until the end of June to finalize any possible remaining technical and drafting work. 
           
            Iran and the E3/EU+3 reaffirm that they will continue to implement all their commitments described in the Joint Plan of Action in an efficient and timely manner. The IAEA will be asked to continue monitoring the voluntary measures under the Joint Plan of Action.
 
            The next meeting to continue our work will happen in December.
 

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

             “I do not believe that anybody any longer questions Iran’s enrichment program. We believe that right of Iran to peaceful nuclear energy, including uranium enrichment, is enshrined in the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), which does not require anybody’s recognition. The right is there. What is important is for Iran to be able to implement that right, to exercise that right without the threat of sanctions and pressure which are, in our view, illegal.”
            “I’m confident that any final deal will have a serious and not a token Iranian enrichment program coupled with removal of sanctions. This is the objective that we’re working on and this is the objective we will achieve.”
             “We have always said that Iran has no strategic interest in nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons don’t serve our strategic interests. Nuclear weapons are against every principle of our faith and our beliefs.”
             “A non-issue has become a crisis of international proportions,” Zarif said. “Iran has increased the number of its centrifuges and at the same time sanctions have been imposed on Iran, so nobody can claim victory for what has happened in the last 10 years because of that zero-sum approach.”
             “We seek to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.”
             “The sanctions are not only misguided… but are totally ineffective. Sanctions do not resolve the problem.”
             “Only, and I stress, only a negotiated resolution” can solve the dispute.
             “We believe that a negotiated resolution is within reach.”
             “My delegation has shown extreme flexibility and reasonableness. It’s not that our hands are tied. Of course all of us have national security considerations, have considerations about our rights, our dignity, our respect, which is not for negotiation.”
             “We consider it in our interest to defuse and to defeat all these Iranophobic attempts to securitize the Iranian peaceful nuclear program,” Zarif said. “We believe that this securitization process is intended to serve objectives that have nothing to do with non-proliferation, because probably the most serous violators of the international nonproliferation regime are the strongest voices against this agreement and the strongest voices that create fear and phobia in the international community against the Iranian nuclear program.”
             Nov. 24, 2014 to the press in Vienna (via Press TV and BuzzFeed)

 
            A few hours before Ashton and Zarif read their statement, John Kerry commented on the extension as well. The following is a video of his remarks.