Iran Says Makes New Proposal, West Unimpressed

Iran has offered “constructive solutions” to resolve disputes in nuclear talks with six major powers, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported on Wednesday, but Western officials suggested they had heard nothing new from Tehran.

Iran and the powers are in the last stretch of talks to reach a final agreement to end a more than 12-year standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. The aim is to lift sanctions in exchange for at least a decade of curbs on the program.

“Iran has presented constructive solutions to overcome the remaining differences. We will not show flexibility regarding our red lines,” an Iranian diplomat, who was not identified, told ISNA.

But Western officials indicated they had yet to see substantive new proposals. The biggest sticking points include issues such as a United Nations arms embargo, U.N. missile sanctions, the speed of sanctions relief, and research and development on advanced nuclear centrifuges.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have stayed behind in Vienna, along with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, in an attempt to break the logjam while most of the other foreign ministers returned to their capitals.

Air-conditioning systems in the luxurious Palais Coburg hotel are struggling with outside temperatures approaching 104 degrees, and some negotiators have found it hard to keep their cool during the discussions, officials say.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the July 9th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.