Negotiators at the Iran nuclear talks plan to announce Monday that they've reached a historic deal capping nearly a decade of diplomacy that would curb the country's atomic program in return for sanctions relief, two diplomats told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The envoys said a provisional agreement may be reached even earlier — by late Sunday. But they cautioned that final details of the pact were still being worked out. Once it is complete, a formal, final agreement would be open to review by officials in the capitals of Iran and the six world powers at the talks, they said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters, per The New York Times, “We had a very good meeting. Positive. I think we’re getting to some real decisions. So I will say, because we have a few tough things to do, I remain hopeful. Hopeful.”
Senior U.S. and Iranian officials suggested, however, there might not be enough time to reach a deal by the end of Sunday and that the drafting of documents could bleed into Monday. All of the officials, who are at the talks in Vienna, demanded anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly.
"We are working hard, but a deal tonight is simply logistically impossible," the Iranian official said, noting that the agreement will run roughly 100 pages.
The senior U.S. official declined to speculate as to the timing of any agreement or announcement but said "major issues remain to be resolved."
Sergey Lavrov participates in FMs working dinner of P5+1 in Vienna/Сергей Лавров участвует в рабочем ужине "шестерки" pic.twitter.com/LcuS9KPrzG— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) July 12, 2015
Despite the caution, the negotiators appeared to be on the cusp of an agreement. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who on Thursday had threatened to walk away from the negotiations, said Sunday that "a few tough things" remain in the way but added "we're getting to some real decisions."
Met with @FedericaMog and @JZarif this AM. Still have difficult issues to resolve. #IranTalksVienna— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) July 11, 2015
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was also cautiously optimistic, telling reporters Sunday: "I hope that we are finally entering the last phase of this negotiation."
In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said an agreement was close, but not quite done, describing the negotiations as "still steps away from reaching the intended peak." Zarif, according to the BBC, said that talks would not be extended past Monday.
Diplomats familiar with the talks said most of the nuts and bolts of implementing the deal have been agreed upon. But over the past week, issues that were previously on the back burner have led to new disputes. Among them is Iran's demand for a lifting of a U.N. arms embargo and its insistence that any U.N. Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in a way that stops describing Iran's nuclear activities as illegal.
A diplomat familiar with the negotiations said disagreements also persist on how long some of the restrictions on imports of nuclear technology and other embargos outlined in any new Security Council resolution will last. The diplomat, who demanded anonymity because the diplomat wasn't allowed to discuss the confidential talks, said restrictions will last for years, not months.
It seems at issue is no longer whether a @UN arms embargo will be lifted, but when it will be lifted. #IranTalksVienna— Michael Wilner (@mawilner) July 12, 2015
Meanwhile, Iranians were preparing to celebrate in the event of an agreement. Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported that deputy police chief Brigadier General Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi said the authorities are fully prepared for such celebrations.
Additional reporting by Mashable