Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The world powers and Iran continue marathon nuclear talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna into the extended July 7 deadline.

The foreign ministers of Iran and the member countries of the group P5+1 - the U.S, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany started their third plenary meeting to settle the last hurdles blocking a final nuclear deal.

Although the possibility of reaching an agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group has increased compared to the past, the sides have yet to bridge the gaps on major issues of disagreement. Officials from both sides aren’t ruling out the extension of the talks for a few more days after the July 7 deadline.

James Dorsey, the senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies told AzerNews that the sides still have the chance to iron out the differences.

He believes that the sides are interested in such a deal.

“The odds are in favor of reaching a deal. Both the United States and Iran have a vested interest in achieving an agreement. The last mile is always the most difficult and all parties have domestic critics to contend with. Of course, there's no deal till there's a deal, but I would bet in favor,” Dorsey said.

The deal under discussion is aimed at curbing Tehran's most sensitive nuclear work for a decade or more, in exchange for relief from sanctions that have slashed Iran's oil exports and crippled its economy.

However, the failure of the talks is also possible because the current issues of disagreement are the last and the most important issues for both sides.

In case of failure, the consequences will be harder for Tehran, which for many years has experienced great hardship as a result of the international sanctions. After the Geneva interim deal with P5+1, the sanctions-plagued country’s economy began to emerge from recession. The tentative Lausanne agreement last April, raised hope for success in the talks and the removal of the cruel sanctions. Iran’s business ties have seen revival, as foreign companies voiced their intent to return to the country. A portion of the Islamic Republic’s frozen assets was released after the agreements.

Dorsey said the West would likely attempt to increase pressure on Iran by tightening sanctions to make them even more painful.

“It would obviously put the blame on Iran, possibly questioning it's sincerity from the outset. It would also constitute a setback for U.S. President Barack Obama and Republicans would argue that their criticism has been vindicated. It would also significantly undermine Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and strengthen Iranian hardliners. The question is whether it would push Iran to developing a nuclear weapon primarily to be used as a political rather than a military weapon,” Dorsey said.

In any case, the sides still have time to remove the differences to reach a final nuclear deal. If they are still determined to end nuclear dispute, then a final deal is not far from reach.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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