TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Representatives from Iran and six other states are pushing for a resolution on Iran's controversial nuclear program to be signed before the deadline, which is due on Monday, November 24, 2014 at 23.00 local time.
The United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Russia, China, France, and Germany are attempting to get Iran to abandon its nuclear program by promising to lift the sanctions that has been imposed on it by the United Nations (UN).
The deadline for the talks, which is being held in Vienna, Austria, is about to expire, yet many observers have said that a deadline extension is highly likely to be agreed upon by the participating states.
"We are focusing on this last push, and we hope that we can come up with a resolution before the deadline passes. Should we fail to produce a resolution, then we'll have to figure out what to do next," said the UK's Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Phillip Hammond, as quoted by the BBC on Monday, November 24, 2014.
A senior US official told the press that such delays were quite common, and that the looming deadline would force officials to move faster to produce an outcome. "That said, an extension to the deadline is a feasible outcome," said the unnamed official.
The world's major nuclear powers have harbored suspicion on Iran's nuclear program since it began decades ago. Last November, Iran agreed to dismantle a part of its nuclear program if the West could agree to ease their sanctions on Iran. However, final negotiations on the details broke down in July and all parties agreed to extend the deadline to November 24, 2014.
To date, Iran has vehemently defended its nuclear program, saying that the development of Iran's nuclear capacity is solely aimed at meeting its energy demands, and that it has no intention in developing nuclear weapons.
Currently, the entire negotiation rests on the degree to which the UN is willing to ease the sanctions, provided that Tehran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment program.
BBC | ROSALINA
