As Iran and the 5+1 Powers seek a comprehensive nuclear agreement by July 7, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made a public appeal with a YouTube video launched on Friday.
In the 4-minute message in English, Zarif began:
I’m in Vienna to put a long overdue end to an unnecessary crisis. At this eleventh hour, despite some differences that remain, we have never been closer to a lasting outcome. But there is no guarantee.
Getting to yes requires the courage to compromise, the self-confidence to be flexible, the maturity to be reasonable, the wisdom to set aside illusions and the audacity to break old habits.
The Foreign Minister had a swipe at claimed opponents of a deal before putting out the “hope” of “reason over illusion” in a challenge to the 5+1 (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia):
Some stubbornly believe that military and economic coercion can ensure submission. They still insist on spending other people’s money or sacrificing other people’s children for their own delusional designs.
[The 5+1] have opted for the negotiating table. But they still need to make a critical and historic choice: agreement or coercion.
He then offered the incentive that agreement would open the way for Iran and the 5+1 to cooperate in the “existential battle” against the “growing menace of violent extremism and outright barbarism”.
Following a week-long extension of the deadline for a deal, there have been positive signals of advance on several issues, including Iran’s uranium stock and a timetable for the lifting of sanctions.
See Iran Daily, July 3: Tehran Makes Further Compromise For Conclusion of Nuclear Deal
Iran Special: The State of the Nuclear Talks and What Happens Next — A Reuters Global Oil Forum Discussion
Iran Analysis: 3 Signs that A Nuclear Deal Is “Within Reach”
However, gaps still remain, notably on the arrangements — if any are allowed by Tehran — for inspections of military sites after Iran’s accession to the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In a sign that the talks may be nearing the final decision for agreement, President Rouhani’s Chief of Staff, Mohammad Nahavandian, joined the discussions on Friday.
Iranian media is also highlighting the positive assessment of US Secretary of State John Kerry, “We have some tough issues, but there’s been a genuine effort by everybody to be serious about this and to understand the time constraints that we’re working under.”