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US Secretary of State John Kerry threatened to walk away from nuclear talks as he signalled that diplomats won't conclude an agreement with Iran over the coming hours another delay that this time could complicate American efforts to quickly implement any deal. The Iranians immediately fired back, accusing the US and its European allies of causing the deadlock.
Kerry and other Western officials said Iran still hadn't made the tough political decision to roll back its nuclear programme. But a senior Iranian official said it was the Americans and their partners who were backtracking on several key commitments related to Iran's permitted level of nuclear activity and definitively ending economic sanctions against Tehran.
"This is not open-ended," Kerry told reporters yesterday outside the 19th-century Viennese palace hosting the negotiations. "We can't wait forever for the decision to be made. If the tough decisions don't get made, we are absolutely prepared to call an end to this process."
It was the strongest indication yet of US frustration with Iran, and vice versa, coming two days after President Barack Obama vowed a similar response to Iranian intransigence and suggesting patience was running out as the current round of talks headed into its 14th day.
Yesterday's latest delay for a comprehensive deal is significant. Iran is demanding prompt easing of economic penalties for nuclear concessions, and the longer it takes world powers to make good on their promises, the longer they'll have to wait for the Iranians to scale back their nuclear programme.
Under US law, the seven nations negotiating in Vienna have to complete the accord before the end of Thursday in Washington to avoid invoking a 60-day congressional review period during which President Barack Obama cannot waive sanctions on Iran. If they meet the target, the review would only be 30 days.
The spectre of prolonged public relations campaigns for and against the pact also may not work in Obama's favour. The delay could imply that the US, Iran and other negotiating powers may end up having to push off the talks until September when any deal would again only amount to a 30-day review period.
"We will not rush and we will not be rushed," Kerry said.
"We would not be here continuing to negotiate just for the sake of negotiating. We're here because we believe we are making real progress toward a comprehensive deal," he said. But, he added: "We are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever.
