Iran rejects 10-year freeze on nuclear program
Iran rejects 10-year freeze on nuclear program
Eli Leon, Israel Hayom Staff and News Agencies March 4, 2015
(So much for the ‘sunset’ clause. Iran can’t wait for nukes but has plenty of time to talk. – LS)
As PM Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif in Switzerland • Zarif: Iran will not accept excessive and illogical demands • Kerry: We’re working away, productively.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met in Switzerland for a second day of negotiations. Zarif rejected President Barack Obama’s demand that Iran freeze sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years as “unacceptable,” but said Iran would continue talks on a deal, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.
Kerry and Zarif met a day after Obama told Reuters that Iran must commit to a verifiable halt of at least 10 years on sensitive nuclear work for a landmark nuclear deal to be reached.
“Iran will not accept excessive and illogical demands,” Zarif was quoted by Fars as saying.
“Obama’s stance … is expressed in unacceptable and threatening phrases,” Zarif was reported as saying, adding that talks with Kerry in Switzerland would nonetheless carry on.
Kerry and Zarif met for more than five hours on Tuesday in the Swiss lakeside town of Montreux.
Despite the tough tone of Zarif’s remarks quoted by Fars, the Iranian foreign minister struck a more conciliatory note when he spoke to reporters after his morning talks with Kerry.
Asked if the two sides had reached an agreement, Zarif replied: “We’ll try, that’s why we are here. … The only way to move forward is through negotiations.”
Kerry told reporters: “We’re working away. Productively.”
The two sides have set a deadline of late March to reach a framework agreement and of June for a comprehensive final deal.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said while there were still differences to iron out, the U.S. was “hopeful, realistic” that the sides would meet the March target for a framework deal. “We certainly still believe we can. Absolutely,” she told a daily briefing.
While the United States has played the lead role in the talks with Iran, it is representing five other major powers: Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — a group collectively known both as the P5+1 and the E3+3.
Speaking in Geneva, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier sounded an upbeat note.
“The talks between the E3+3 and Iran are also advancing well,” he told the U.N.-backed Conference on Disarmament. “I would even go so far as to say that in 10 years of negotiations, we never achieved as much progress as we have made this year.”
Regarding Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, Zarif said Tuesday, “I don’t think trying to create tension and conflict helps anyone.” And in Tehran, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson called Netanyahu’s speech a “deceitful show.”
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WarSclerotic 
March 4, 2015 at 10:20 PM
The timing of the rejection, just hours before Bibi’s speech was interesting.
I think Hussein was pushing for an answer for Iran, hoping they would accept so he could present Bibi with a fait accompli, prior to the speech.
Iran had no reason to accept the offer as the “interim deal” is already the “deal of the century” as Bibi put it.
As Iran rejected the offer, now Hussein is trying to tell us the March deadline is meaningless so he can play for even more time.
March 4, 2015 at 10:23 PM
Iran also likely calculated (correctly in my view) that they can play for more time by extending the interim deal infinitely.
Had they accepted the 10 year deal, Israel might have taken immediate military action.
It’s up to Israel now to decide when time has finally run out.