'Sticker shock' meeting: Wide gaps as negotiators start drafting Iran accord
The P5+1 and Iran concluded the first round of talks geared toward drafting a final deal on Iran's nuclear program without making headway.
Vienna_ The first drafting round of Iran final deal talks ended with few signs of progress Friday, but negotiators from all sides said they had expected difficult moments along the way as they got down to negotiating the tough issues involved in a comprehensive deal.
It was a “useful, but at times difficult” meeting,” a senior US administration official, speaking not for attribution, told journalists in Vienna after the conclusion of the talks Friday. “But that is not entirely unexpected.”
“We knew there would be” such difficult moments, the US official said. “We are at the beginning of the drafting process. We have a significant way to go. There are wide gaps. … We do not know if we will be able to conclude” a final deal by July 20, but that is still the goal.
The West should “overcome its illusions,” and return to the talks “with more realism,” a senior Iranian official, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor Friday night, when asked how to get the talks unstuck.
