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                      Iran Negotiations at Critical Point

   by Mary Alice Salinas

   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister
   Mohammad Javad Zarif met Sunday in Vienna at a critical point in
   negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, ahead of a gathering of more
   key delegates.

   The half-hour meeting followed late Saturday face-to-face talks between
   the two key diplomats.  Neither side has commented on the meetings.

   Experts are racing to resolve as many issues as possible as ministers
   from the six negotiating global powers finalize a comprehensive deal by
   a self-imposed July 7 deadline.

   Officials in Vienna confirmed Saturday that a tentative agreement had
   been reached on the sanctions relief issue, but a senior U.S.
   administration official warned that ministers must still approve the
   deal.

   "Even if and when issues get resolved at an experts' level, there will
   remain some open issues that can only be decided by ministers," said
   the U.S. official.

   WATCH: VOA's Mary Alice Salinas reports from Vienna

   ''Meanwhile, the top U.N. nuclear watchdog spurred optimism about
   possible progress on the controversial question involving Western
   demands that Tehran reveal its past nuclear activities before a final
   comprehensive deal is reached.

   International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Yukiya Amano, told
   reporters that "with the cooperation from Iran," he expects a complete
   report from his team within six months on "the possible military
   dimensions" (PMD) of Iran's nuclear program.

   ''Western powers believe Iran has worked to develop nuclear weapons
   technology, something Tehran has denied.

   Amano said he saw progress when he visited Iran Thursday, but that more
   work needs to be done.

   All sides say a deal is within reach. But there are several outstanding
   issues, one of which is the IAEA's stalled investigation into the PMD.

   Working on details

   ''U.S. officials in Vienna said international nuclear and sanctions
   experts are grinding through details of various issues. A senior U.S.
   State Department official said "expert groups" are taking advantage of
   time most of the top ministers involved in talks are out of town to do
   the detailed hard work involved in the process, noting that it is
   "clear that there are still big issues that are not resolved."

   In addition to Kerry and Zarif, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
   remained in Vienna throughout the weekend.

   ''

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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/iranian-negociations-at-critical-point/2849469.html