2-month breather for Iran nuke deal

In return, the Foreign Ministers of Britain, France and Germany promised to provide Iran with detailed proposals by the end of July on how the EU would keep its side of that bargain, which is supposed to lead to a final deal.

‘‘The EU has offered to give Iran a detailed proposal…. We believe we could reach a final agreement within a reasonably short time,’’ said Iran’s chief negotiator Hassan Rohani. He warned that terms of Wednesday’s pact still had to be approved by the government in Tehran, which has repeatedly declared it is preparing to resume some nuclear work.

‘‘What that does is ensure that Iran continues with its suspension of processing of nuclear materials,’’ said Straw when asked to summarise the essence of the agreement reached.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told Germany’s ZDF television he was pleased no side left the table. ‘‘However, to bridge the differing positions will be everything other than easy,’’ he said.

The Iranians were equally firm that they had extracted concessions from the Europeans, saying it was the first time the so-called EU3 had committed itself to detailing a final accord, including economic and technological incentives. ‘‘This was important to us because all along one of our concerns has been that negotiations would be prolonged unduly,’’ Rohani said.

Washington reacted cautiously, reaffirming its support for the EU3 effort, but reiterating its suspicion of Iran’s motives. —Reuters