Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in Geneva to discuss Tehrans nuclear program.[/caption]U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Switzerland Sunday for another round of talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Jawad Zarif, in an attempt to reach an interim deal with Iran on its nuclear power program by a March 31 deadline.
Kerry, speaking Saturday at an international investor conference in Egypt, said "some progress" has been made in the talks, but "there are still gaps, important gaps, and important choices that need to be made by Iran in order to be able to move forward."
Kerry said one obstacle in the negotiations could be the open letter that 47 Republican U.S. senators sent to Iranian leaders warning that the next U.S. president could revoke a deal at any time. He called the letter a "direct interference" that could possibly jeopardize reaching an accord with Iran.
When asked if he would apologize for the letter when he meets with Zarif in Lausanne, Kerry said "I'm not going to apologize for an unconstitutional, un-thought out action by somebody who's been in the United States Senate for 60-something days." He said, "That's just inappropriate."
The United States and five other major powers are attending the negotiations with Iran in Lausanne.
The United States and its partners in the P5+1 group -- Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany -- have an end-of-March deadline to reach a framework deal for Iran to cut back on its uranium enrichment program in exchange for lifting sanctions that have badly damaged its economy.
Republican opponents of the deal say Iran cannot be trusted.
Iran insists it has no plans to build nuclear weapons and that its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes
The letter from the Republicans in Congress prompted denunciations from the White House and Democrats, and even a punchy retort from Irans supreme leader, who said it showed the destruction of the American establishment from within.
Kerry said he would assure Iranian negotiators and Europeans allies during the upcoming talks that Congress did not have the authority to change the deal.
As far as we're concerned, Congress has no ability to change an executive agreement,'' Kerry said.
If the framework deal is reached this month, the two sides would then seek to negotiate by June 30 a final agreement to would curb Iran's most sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years. In exchange, sanctions on the Islamic Republic would gradually end.
By VOA
