IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS

Iran and P5+1 intensified their diplomatic efforts on Sunday ahead of a new Monday deadline to reach a deal to end a 13-year standoff with the Islamic republic. As the discussions entered a 16th day, there were glimmers of hope that a breakthrough might finally be in sight after the so-called P5+1 group -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- talked deep into the night.

The P5+1 group is pressing for restrictions that will extend the amount of time it will take Iran to build a nuclear weapon — the so-called “breakout time” — from the current 2-3 months to a year. To do that, the P5+1 is pushing to reduce the number of centrifuges Tehran can use to enrich uranium into fuel for a nuclear weapon, as well as cut its stockpiles of enriched uranium. Meanwhile, the U.S. and its partners are demanding monitors to continuously inspect Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran insists that it has the right to nuclear capabilities for energy and medical purposes and is unwilling to scrap its nuclear resources altogether. As part of its climbdown, it agreed that Fordow, its second enrichment facility (its main one is at Natanz), will cease all enrichment and be turned into a physics research centre. It will not produce or house any fissile material for at least 15 years.

Iran has said it will reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium (which can be spun further into weapons-grade material) from 10,000kg to 300kg for the next 15 years. Iran’s alternative plutonium path to a bomb also appears to have been satisfactorily dealt with. The heavy-water reactor at Arak will be redesigned and its original core, which would have produced significant quantities of weapons-grade plutonium, will be removed and destroyed.

No other heavy-water reactor will be built for 15 years. The prospective agreement is to be achieved based on the 24 November 2013 Geneva agreement. The parties agreed to extend their talks with a first extension deadline on 24 November 2014, and a second extension deadline on 1st July 2015 and the third on July 13th.