World powers and Iran begin 14th day of talks

Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers appear no closer to a deal, and Iran's foreign minister says the other side is to blame.

Mohammad Javad Zarif says that the countries that Iran is negotiating with are changing their conditions.  He says they are internally split, accusing them of using pressure tactics — something he says won't lead to a deal even as the current round entered in its 14th day. The sides have given themselves until Friday to come to agreement after twice missing previous target dates. 

Zarif's comments Friday came as negotiations over Iran's nuclear program lurched toward another deadline with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry telling reporters on Thursday evening that negotiators "will not rush and we will not be rushed ... through any aspect of this."

“We are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever,” Kerry said outside the 19th-century Palais Coburg Hotel in Vienna, which has been hosting the latest round of negotiations. But, he added, "we shouldn’t get up to leave because the clock strikes midnight."

On Thursday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his nation was preparing for a "post-sanctions" era, suggesting that a deal may be in sight to curb the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Meanwhile, his Zarif, opined on Twitter: "with mutual respect, anything possible."

But Zarif's tone had changed by nightfall, adding in another cryptic tweet: "We're working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done. Mark my words; you can't change horses in the middle of a stream."

On Thursday, Kerry spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is in Russia and voiced optimism, saying he was prepared to return to Vienna. "On the basis of the principles of gradualism and reciprocity, we have come close to a final agreement, it is within the bounds of the attainable," Lavrov said.

In another hint that the talks might soon wrap up, the White House late Wednesday issued a brief statement saying President Barack Obama had conferred with the U.S. negotiating team through a secure video call. The last time Obama held a secure conference call with his negotiators on the road was shortly before the framework for a final accord was reached on April 2 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The current round of talks has blown through two deadlines already and has been extended until Friday, but the Obama administration must submit an agreement to Congress before Thursday turns to Friday in Washington, D.C., if it wants to avoid an extended legislative review. If the administration misses that target, the congressional review period will double from 30 to 60 days, possibly delaying the sanctions relief that the U.S. would have to give to Iran under the terms of an agreement.

Kerry, nursing a broken leg, has been in Vienna since June 26, while Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has made one short trip to Tehran for consultations. Other foreign ministers have come and gone, however all but the top diplomats from Russia and China were present at Thursday's meetings.

When the talks missed their second deadline it raised new questions about the ability of world powers to cut off all Iranian pathways to nuclear weapons through diplomacy. Federica Mogherini, the European Union's foreign policy chief, spoke of "tense" moments, and the State Department extended the current interim nuclear arrangement with Tehran through Friday. And new difficulties also have surfaced over the past few days. Iran is pushing for an end to a U.N. arms embargo on the country but Washington opposes that demand.

Obama has said the United States would walk away from the negotiating table rather than sign a bad deal. The U.S. president reportedly told a group of senators Tuesday that the chances of reaching an agreement with Iran "were less than 50-50," a Democratic senator told Politico on Wednesday.

While congressional Republicans and Mideast allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia remain skeptical, Senate Democrats who met with Obama at the White House Tuesday night said they were confident he would only accept a "good deal."

Al Jazeera and the Associated Press