US negotiating team meets with Iranian counterparts for nuclear talks
US negotiating team meets with Iranian counterparts for nuclear talksReuters

World powers were meeting for Iranian nuclear negotiations on Tuesday morning, for the final day of talks in Lausanne, Switzerland.

A morning session of the talks ended earlier than scheduled, after just 35 minutes, without results. 

Reports from Lausanne say that the talks may not end in a framework agreement, as had been hoped, but rather with a joint statement that outlines the points of agreement and disagreement between the sides. This. supposedly, would make it possible to continue the talks for another two months. 

Citing officials who demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to comment, the AP reported that the joint statement will be accompanied by technical documents. One of the officials told the news agency that differences remain between the sides.

Powers involved include the US, Russia, Britain, China, Germany, and France.

The main issues include how long restrictions on nuclear proliferation should be in effect; how gradually they are lifted; how long United Nations (UN) sanctions will be in effect; how gradually they will be lifted; and disagreements over a potential non-compliance clause. ]

The first meeting for Iran talks' "D-Day" convened at dawn local time, according to the Telegraph, and was followed by the world powers holding a 25-minute meeting to confirm their positions before being joined by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who briefly left the talks Tuesday and is returning before the midnight deadline, predicted in comments to reporters that the chances of success are high. 

“The prospects of this round of talks are not bad, even good I would say,” Lavrov stated in Moscow Tuesday morning. “The chances are high. They are probably not 100 per cent but you can never be 100 per cent certain of anything."

"The odds are quite 'doable' if none of the parties raise the stakes at the last minute," he added.

Iran and the six world powers are trying to turn an interim agreement signed in 2013 into a permanent one.

On Sunday, reports emerged that a provisional agreement on key elements of Iran’s nuclear program had been reached, but Iran denied those reports.

Meanwhile, the US has also denied that Iran backed out of an apparent deal in the works to ship nuclear material out of its country as part of a permanent agreement. US officials stated Monday they were still negotiating with their Iranian counterparts on how to dispose of Iran’s nuclear stockpile and said shipping the atomic fuel out of the country was still a possibility. On Sunday, however, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, clarified that Tehran does not intend to send stockpiles of enriched uranium abroad.