All Sides Agree: Iran Nuclear Deal ‘Within Reach’

Iran Conditionally Willing to Accept New Constraints

Officials from seemingly every faction involved in the ongoing Iran nuclear talks are expressing optimism about the chances of a new framework agreement being reached in the next few days.

Iranian negotiator Abbas Araqchi confirmed that the deal is “doable” and that only two or three serious issues remain to be resolved on the framework text.

US officials similarly termed the deal “within reach,” though they typically tried to play a bit coy in hoping to coax a few more concessions out of Iran with the soft deadline just 48 hours away.

Those concessions seem to be getting accepted as well, with the most recent reports out of the talks that Iran has offered conditional support for new constraints on their civilian nuclear program, so long as those constraints are time limited.

That’s been a key for Iranian officials throughout the talks, as the nation has big plans for its fledgling civilian program, hoping to add to its energy generation capabilities to free up more oil for export. The enrichment limits will force Iran to rely on imported fuel for much of this generation for the time being.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.