Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to delegation leaders during the Gulf Cooperation Council-U.S. summit at Camp David on May 14, 2015. Obama hosted leaders from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman to discuss a range of issues including terrorism and the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal. Kerry will be traveling to Vienna on Friday in ongoing negotiations with Iran over nuclear arms. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Vienna on Friday for final phase of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program ahead of the June 30 deadline.
The talks between Iran and six world powers -- China, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and the United States -- aim to negotiate a deal that would restrain Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions that have crippled the country's economy. The six nations want to restrict Tehran's access to nuclear weaponry for military use, although the country denies it is pursuing such weapons.
As part of an agreement, Iran must allow international inspectors to access military sites, scientists or documents, something Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stands against. Wednesday, Kerry warned, "It may be that the Iranians will not fill out the full measure of what was agreed on" in April when a framework agreement was established.
The Iranian leader also rejects 10- to 12-year limitations on the country's nuclear program and has demanded international sanctions be lifted as soon as a deal is signed, rather than being phased out.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the ongoing negotiations will continue to be difficult.
"But there continues to be a good faith effort on both sides to try to complete them in the timetable we've laid out," he said. "So, there's a reason they continue to negotiate, but I don't want to leave you with the impression that all of the difficult challenges have been resolved."
