Kerry, Zarif see hard work ahead as N-talks begin

VIENNA: Senior US and Iranian officials said hard work was still needed as they met in Vienna on Saturday for what could be their final negotiations to bridge significant differences on an agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
With a self-imposed deadline approaching on Tuesday, both sides emphasized that major obstacles remained to finalizing a deal under which Iran would cut back its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
“We have a lot of hard work to do. We have some very tough issues,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said according to a State Department draft transcript.
“I agree. Maybe not on the issues. But on the fact that we need to work really hard in order to be able to make progress and move forward,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was cited as saying in the transcript.
Nonetheless, Kerry also said he was “hopeful” of a successful outcome. His meeting with Zarif ended after 90 minutes.
The US delegation must present the deal to Congress by July 9 if a mandatory congressional review period before President Barack Obama can begin suspending sanctions is to be limited to 30 days. After July 9, the review will last 60 days, according to a law passed recently by US legislators.
Negotiators involved in the talks fear that such a lengthy delay, which would also hold up the cancelation of United Nations nuclear-related sanctions by the UN Security Council, would be too long and would create the opportunity for any deal agreed in Vienna to unravel.