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Fabius: Iran nuclear accord only at 'last moment'

Speaking to reporters in Washington, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said, “For the time being, there is no proposal of strikes” on Syria while calling for a UN Security Council vote on a French resolution to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (R) gestures as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (3rd L) watches, after a ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva November 24, 2013.  Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough agreement early on Sunday to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief, in a first step towards resolving a dangerous decade-old standoff. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15QNG

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on May 13 that a nuclear agreement with Iran could only be reached if it deals seriously with the scale of Iran’s centrifuge program and answers questions about the alleged past military dimensions of its nuclear work. Speaking to a small group of senior American journalists in Washington as talks resumed in Vienna on a long-term nuclear agreement with Iran, Fabius said he could not forecast whether the negotiations would succeed by the July 20 expiration of the current interim accord.

“If it is possible to reach agreement, okay. If not possible, also okay,” Fabius said. “We have to be firm, very serious and clear cut.” If Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) do manage to reach agreement, he added, “It will be at the last moment.”

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