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Gaps “are still serious” in Iran nuclear talks eight weeks before November 24 deadline

A senior US State Department official said gaps “are still serious” with just eight weeks to go before a November 24 deadline.

“We do not have an understanding on all major issues, we have some understandings that are helpful to move this process forward and we have an enormous number of details still to work through,” the official told reporters.

“The fault lies mainly with Iran”

An editorial published in The New York Times said on Saturday: “With top leaders attending the United Nations General Assembly, this is the moment to break the logjam on a comprehensive deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program. But so far there has been no real sign of movement, much less a breakthrough, despite negotiations among Secretary of State John Kerry; Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif; and Catherine Ashton, the European negotiator. The fault lies mainly with Iran.”

Unclear prospect as deadline approaches

Los Angeles Times reported that the latest round of talks over Iran’s nuclear program limped toward a close Friday without the breakthrough that many hoped could be delivered during the annual gathering in New York of the United Nations General Assembly.

“Some fear it is unlikely, in the absence of a breakthrough this week, that lower-level officials will be able over the next two months to resolve disagreements they have debated repeatedly since January.”

“Even if lower-level negotiators can overcome the major hurdles, it is unclear that they will have time to resolve the many complicated secondary issues that must by addressed by the Nov. 24 deadline. The negotiators already had given themselves a four-month extension on their original deadline.”

The report added: “There is less agreement now than there was in July on some issues, such as how Iran will limit output from the heavy-water nuclear facility at Arak. The two sides disagree not only on sticky political issues, but also on matters of basic nuclear physics, said one participant in the negotiations.”

Reuters, LA Times, NY times