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John Kerry

Iran nuke talks hit major stumbling block

Oren Dorell
USA TODAY

The United States and Iran enter the critical last two days of negotiations over Iran's disputed nuclear program as Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif continue meeting in Switzerland to bridge their differences.

In a possible late complication, Iranian officials on Sunday appeared to back away from an important element of any agreement, saying they no longer agree to ship atomic fuel out of the country, The New York Times reported. Iran had tentatively agreed that it would send a large portion of its stockpile of uranium to Russia, but Iran's deputy foreign minister made a comment to Iranian reporters that ruled out an agreement that involved giving up the stockpile.

"The export of stocks of enriched uranium is not in our program, and we do not intend sending them abroad," the official, Abbas Araqchi, said according to Agence France-Presse. "There is no question of sending the stocks abroad."

Western officials confirmed that Iran was balking at shipping the fuel but said there were other ways of dealing with the material, including blending it into a more diluted form, the Times reported.

The talks are reaching a climax as leaders from across the world, including Israel and the U.S. Congress, watch to see if a historic deal emerges to curb Iran's nuclear program in return for a lifting of U.S. and Western sanctions. Negotiators are trying to conclude a general agreement by Tuesday's self-imposed deadline; details are to be filled in by June.

Although the U.S. has taken the lead in the Iran talks, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China also are participating.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Sunday that it is up to Iran to accept restrictions on its nuclear program. That way the Iranians would "live up to their rhetoric that they are not trying to acquire a nuclear weapon," he said on ABC's This Week.

Kerry canceled plans Sunday to return to the United States. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, his German counterpart, scratched planned trips to Kazakhstan, the Associated Press reported.

Israel and many in Congress have warned that the Obama administration may grant too many concessions to get a deal that would allow Iran to violate an agreement and develop nuclear weapons once the punitive sanctions that have crippled its economy are lifted.

Congressional leaders have threatened to vote on increased sanctions if they do not like the terms. Israel has threatened military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons that could threaten the entire region.

In a sign of congressional skepticism about an agreement, the Senate voted unanimously Thursday for a non-binding resolution that calls for new sanctions against Iran if it is caught cheating on any deal that is reached.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful and that its technological quest to produce energy and medical isotopes is a sovereign right. The oil-rich nation wants the sanctions lifted so it can rejoin the global financial system and sell oil on the open market again.

The United States has not changed its bottom line regarding a deal, and it is still committed to making sure Iran would need at least a year to produce enough highly enriched nuclear material for a bomb if it broke the agreement, a senior administration official told USA TODAY. The official, who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive negotiations, asked not to be identified.

Issues still to be resolved involve the number and types of centrifuges Iran can use to produce nuclear fuel, the ability of inspectors to gain access to all possible nuclear sites and Iran's willingness to discuss past efforts to produce nuclear weapons.

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