Iran and six world powers made little progress in overcoming significant disagreements in the most recent round of nuclear talks, including on uranium enrichment, Iranian and Western diplomats close to the negotiations say.
Officials from Iran and the six countries had originally said a breakthrough in New York was unlikely on a nuclear deal to end sanctions on Tehran, although they had hoped substantial progress could be made in narrowing disagreements. That, the diplomats said, did not happen.
"On the core issues we remain pretty far apart," a Western diplomat told reporters on condition of anonymity. "On enrichment, we are not there yet. On sanctions, we are not there yet."
The diplomat said that Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China would likely meet again in the coming weeks, but no date and venue have been set. The negotiators have set a Nov. 24 deadline for an agreement.
A senior Iranian official had a similarly sober assessment of the talks, which have been taking place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York: "Despite hours of talks and meetings, there has not been progress to overcome major differences, not even one inch."
Senior foreign ministry officials from the six countries and Iran began meeting in New York last week. They are trying to hammer out a long-term deal that would gradually lift sanctions against Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters there had been "no significant advances" in the latest talks, prompting the parties to cancel a scheduled negotiating session on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif late on Thursday and again Friday to discuss next steps in the deadlocked negotiations, the Western diplomat said.
The diplomat said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who held bilateral meetings with top European officials in New York this week, had nothing to offer to move the talks forward.
"There was nothing really new from him," the diplomat said. "He said we should not miss this historic opportunity over a couple of centrifuges. And by the way, we think the same way."
Iran's enrichment program, above all the number of enrichment centrifuges Tehran would be permitted to keep for the duration of any deal, is one of the major sticking points in the negotiations.
The head of the U.S. delegation, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, said in an interview with Voice of America that "I believe we are making progress." But she added that there are "still some very crucial decisions that need to be made."
The Western diplomat echoed those remarks, saying: "We are expecting significant moves on the Iranian side" if there is to be an agreement over the next two months.
