Rising Complexity of Iran Nuclear Pact Delays Its Conclusion

The rising page count and complexity of the nuclear accord being negotiated between Iran and six world powers has made it impossible to conclude the document on Sunday, according to four officials at the talks.

In the last week, the draft has swollen to about 100 pages from 80, according to two of the officials, who asked not to be named in line with diplomatic rules. Even if final language is reached Sunday night, the accord would still need to be reviewed in capitals, diplomats said.

“We are working hard, but a deal tonight is simply logistically impossible,” said Iranian spokesman Alireza Miryousefi in a statement on Twitter that also confirmed the document’s length.

Diplomats cloistered in Vienna’s Palais Coburg for the past 16 days worked into the early hours on Sunday trying to bridge gaps over a United Nations arms embargo and other issues that have rendered an agreement elusive. They’ve given themselves through Monday to clinch a deal after blowing through three deadlines.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he and his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, had a “very good” meeting and voiced hope an accord was within reach.

“I think we’re getting to some real decisions,” Kerry said. “So I will say -- because we have a few tough things to do -- I remain hopeful. Hopeful.”

An accord would lift sanctions that have hobbled Iran, holder of the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves and second-biggest natural gas stockpile. In exchange, Iran’s ability to pursue nuclear weapons, should it decide to do so, would be verifiably restricted.

Jovial Photographs

The upbeat tone reversed several tense days in which diplomats threatened to walk out of the talks or blamed the other side for a possible breakdown. Iranian media posted jovial photographs of Zarif and his team smiling over stacks of documents. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov returned to the Austrian capital on Sunday, according to a ministry official, having said last week that he’d rejoin talks should compromises be reached.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, said negotiations were headed in the right direction.

“I am partly in the know that some challenges remain but overall I believe that it’s moving forward and in the current context an outcome can be reached,” Larijani said when asked about the next 24 hours of talks by state-supported Iranian Students News Agency. https://www.mql5.com/en/signals/111434