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Outline of Iran Nuclear Deal Sounds Different from Each Side
(New York Times) Michael R. Gordon - After marathon nuclear talks in Switzerland on Thursday, the only joint document issued publicly was a statement from Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, and Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, containing seven paragraphs listing about a dozen "parameters" that are to guide the next three months of talks. The U.S. and Iran have also made public more detailed accounts of their agreements, and a careful review shows that there are some noteworthy differences - which have raised the question of whether the two sides are entirely on the same page. "Those differences in fact sheets indicate the challenges ahead," said Olli Heinonen, the former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The starkest differences between the American and Iranian accounts concern the pace at which economic sanctions against Iran are to be removed. The Iranian text says that when the agreement is implemented, the sanctions will "immediately" be canceled. American officials have described sanctions relief as more of a step-by-step process tied to Iranian efforts to carry out the accord. "I think it is a troubling development," said Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "They will exploit all ambiguities with creative interpretations."