U.S., Iran Hold Nuclear Talks in Geneva

GENEVA—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva on Sunday to hold fresh nuclear talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped up criticism of the diplomacy, saying it was “astonishing” that talks were continuing over what would be a “dangerous” deal.

Mr. Netanyahu’s comments are the latest salvo in growing tensions between his government and the Obama administration over the Iranian nuclear talks. They come ahead of Israeli elections next month and the prime minister’s visit to Washington to address Congress at the request of Republican leaders.

U.S. and Iranian officials have been meeting in this lakeside Swiss city since Friday as they try to agree at least the outline of a final nuclear agreement by late March. The self-imposed deadline for a comprehensive accord is June 30.

A deal would see tight international sanctions on Iran’s economy phased out in exchange for steps by Tehran designed to ensure it couldn’t quickly amass enough material for a nuclear weapon.

“There are still significant gaps. There is still a distance to travel,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in London on Saturday at a news conference with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

Mr. Kerry said the U.S. team and the other major powers negotiating with Iran have presented “creative ideas” to bridge the gaps. “Now we will find out whether or not Iran” is willing to demonstrate that its nuclear program is “fully peaceful,” he said.

Iran negotiates with the U.S., France, Germany, Russia, China and the U.K. on its nuclear program.

Addressing a weekly cabinet meeting, Mr. Netanyahu cited the latest report by the United Nations’ atomic agency on Iran’s nuclear program, which raised anew a series of questions about the country’s past nuclear work. Tehran says its nuclear program is—and always was—for purely peaceful purposes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has for years raised a series of questions about past Iranian work that many Western officials believe was aimed at nuclear weapons know-how. Despite Tehran’s promise to address the issue in November 2013, little progress has been made.

However, there was little new information in the IAEA’s latest quarterly report, which was sent to the organization’s members earlier this week.

“It is astonishing that even after the recent IAEA report determined that Iran is continuing to hide the military components of its nuclear program, the nuclear talks are…proceeding,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

He said the coming month is “critical” for the talks because a “framework agreement is liable to be signed that will allow Iran to develop the nuclear capabilities that threaten our existence.”

The Israeli leader has long called for a nuclear deal to strip Iran of all the infrastructure needed to enrich uranium, the process required to make fuel for a nuclear bomb. However, Western officials have accepted Iran will have some future right to continue enrichment activities under a deal. The key question in the talks is how much.

‘There are still significant gaps. There is still a distance to travel’
—Secretary of State John Kerry

Mr. Netanyahu will leave for Washington next week to make his case against a deal. Senior Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden , are set to skip the speech.

Iranian media cited Mr. Zarif saying the weekend’s talks would focus on the issue of sanctions.

Tehran wants the U.S., European Union and U.N. Security Council sanctions lifted rapidly. Western officials say some restrictions will be suspended at first and that the restrictive measures will only be fully lifted when Tehran shows it is complying with a deal.

The weekend talks included senior U.S. and Iranian energy officials, with U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Iran’s nuclear agency chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, attending for the first time. Iranian media also reported the presence of Iranian President Hasan Rouhani ’s brother and top aide.

Mr. Kerry played down the idea that Mr. Moniz’s presence signaled that negotiatiors were very close to a final deal.

“The presence of Secretary Ernie Moniz is a reflection of the fact that these talks are very technical,” he said Saturday. He said it was important that experts from both sides can sit down “at the highest level in order to try to resolve any differences that may exist.”

WSJ