Russia Believes Iran Nuclear Deal ‘Within Reach;’ President Obama Warns Of Walkout

Russia believes that an Iran nuclear deal is quite possible, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Vienna Tuesday after meetings with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian leaders.

Lavrov said the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers was “within reach.” He was at the Austrian capital where negotiations regarding the nuclear deal had been going on. Lavrov also had a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"The situation at the talks is progressing in a positive direction,” Press TV quoted the Russian foreign minister as saying. “We have all reason to believe that results are within reach.” He added that the issues yet to be resolved were more procedural than technical.

The Russian foreign minister also said that the national representatives had instructed their deputies “to do everything possible for the agreement to be reached in the upcoming days,” Sputnik News reported. He said that the agreements needed to be formalized and presented to the U.N. Security Council.

President Obama earlier warned Iran to stick to the outline agreed to in April or he would walk away from the negotiations. He said he had made it clear that he would walk away if it turned out to be a “bad deal.”

Obama added that it would be a problem if Iranian negotiators were not able to abide by all the agreed terms. He said that his goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear power would only be achieved by following the framework agreement established in Lausanne, The Guardian reported.

Zarif held separate meetings with Kerry, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz also had a meeting with Ali Akbar Salehi, the Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, regarding technical issues for a potential final deal.

Marie Harf, Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications to Secretary Kerry, said Tuesday that Iran had agreed to extend the nuclear negotiations with Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and the United States until July 7. The U.S. State Department spokesperson added that Iran would work with six world powers so that the text of a potential deal could be finalized. The earlier deadline to finalize the deal was June 30.