WASHINGTON (JTA) — The latest round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program ended with no agreement.
Leaders on both sides said after the talks ended Tuesday night that they remained open to further talks, and that technical-level meetings were needed before further high-level negotiations could be held.
The talks between Iran and the P5+1 world powers — the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and China — were held in Moscow.
"The expert meeting could provide clear ideas for the talks," said Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief negotiator. "Today they [the world powers] are facing a great test in order to obtain the confidence of the Iranian people," he told reporters, the BBC reported.
The lower-level technical meetings were planned for July 3, after new sanctions on Iran are due to take effect.
Iran denies it is enriching uranium for nuclear weapons purposes.
“A deal may be possible on paper, but the gaps between what Iran and the United States want on enrichment and sanctions relief can’t be bridged,” Aaron David Miller, a former State Department adviser on the Middle East to Democratic and Republican administrations, told the Washington Post. “The negotiating process will remain just that because the urgency required for a deal just isn’t there from either side.”
