Iran, backed by Russia on Tuesday, November 12, blamed friction among Western powers for the failure of Geneva talks that came tantalizingly close to a landmark deal on its nuclear program. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed claims by US Secretary of State John Kerry that Iran had balked at the deal on offer from the six powers in last week’s talks. He said it was French objections to the draft thrashed out by Tehran and Washington that had scuppered an agreement, echoing criticism of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in the Iranian media. “Mr Secretary, was it Iran that gutted over half of US draft Thursday night? And publicly commented against it Friday morning?” Zarif asked on Twitter. Zarif spent nearly seven hours with Kerry in Geneva as both sides worked on the draft text of an agreement. Kerry denied that differences between the Western powers had led to the talks between Iran and the P5+1 – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany – ending inconclusively early on Sunday, November 10. “The P5+1 was unified on Saturday when we presented our proposal to the Iranians… But Iran couldn’t take it,” Kerry said in Abu Dhabi on Monday, November 11.
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