NYTimes.com
VIENNA — Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, faced with an imminent deadline for an agreement with the West on the future of the country’s nuclear program, said in an interview on Monday that Iran could accept a deal that essentially freezes its capacity to produce nuclear fuel at current levels for several years, provided it is then treated like any other nation with a peaceful nuclear program.
The proposal, which Iran said was conveyed to the United States and five other world powers during closed-door negotiating sessions in Vienna, would effectively extend a limited series of concessions Iran made last November as part of a temporary deal to get negotiations started on a permanent accord. In return, Iran wants step-by-step relief from sanctions that have substantially weakened its economy.
Offering a rare glimpse into the secret talks, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, described a proposal that sought to satisfy Washington’s aim to verifiably limit the amount and purity of nuclear fuel that Iran can produce for a still-undetermined number of years. Mr. Zarif is also trying to satisfy a military and clerical leadership in Iran that is determined not to dismantle existing facilities and intent on resuming unhindered production in future years.
