Iran nuke talks enter critical phase this weekend

The United States and Iran entered a critical phase of negotiations over Iran's disputed nuclear program this weekend, as Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif meet in Switzerland to determine if they can bridge their differences.
The talks are reaching a climax as leaders from across the world, including Israel and the U.S. Congress, watch to see if a historic deal emerges to curb Iran's nuclear program in return for a lifting of U.S. and Western sanctions. Negotiators are trying to conclude a general agreement by a self-imposed March 31 deadline, with details to be filled in by June.
Israel and many in Congress have warned that the Obama administration may grant too many concessions to get a deal that would allow Iran to violate an agreement and develop nuclear weapons once the punitive sanctions that have crippled its economy are lifted.
Congressional leaders have threatened to vote on increased sanctions if they do not like the terms. Israel has threatened military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons that could threaten the entire region.

In a sign of congressional skepticism about an agreement, the Senate voted 100-0 Thursday for a non-binding resolution that calls for new sanctions against Iran if it is caught cheating on any deal that is
reached.


Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful and that its technological quest to produce energy and medical isotopes is a sovereign right. The oil-rich nation wants the sanctions lifted so it can rejoin the global financial system and sell oil on the open market again

The United States has not changed its bottom line regarding a deal, and it is still committed to making sure Iran would need at least a year to produce enough highly enriched nuclear material for a bomb if it broke the agreement, a senior administration official told USA TODAY. The official, who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive negotiations, asked not to be identified.
On Friday, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told Mehr News that "a mutual understanding" covering much of the deal has been reached.
"A couple of technical issues are still remaining unresolved which we are working on," Salehi said. "There are difficult issues to be resolved."
Although the U.S. has taken the lead in the Iran talks, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China also are participating.
In Washington, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the parties were "better than halfway" to a deal, according to the Associated Press.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters in New York on Friday, "There has been some progress, but there are things which are not yet solved." Fabius arrived in Lausanne on Saturday. His British and Russian counterparts have said they will join the talks over the weekend as well.
Issues still to be resolved involve the number and types of centrifuges Iran can use to produce nuclear fuel, the ability of inspectors to gain access to all possible nuclear sites and Iran's willingness to discuss past efforts to produce nuclear weapons.