US secretary of state says talks over Iran's nuclear programme are not an 'interminable process' while calling for patience

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

US secretary of state John Kerry said Sunday that the door remained open for a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear ambitions but that talks could not go on forever.

A day after the latest round of negotiations ended without agreement, Kerry said the White House remained hopeful of a peaceful end to the standoff. But he added that negotiations were not an "interminable process".

It comes amid growing calls in Israel for the setting of a deadline for Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium or face military action.

Yuval Steinitz, Israeli strategic affairs minister, said Sunday that such an armed response should be taken within "a few weeks, a month" if Tehran refused to comply with demands that it cease its nuclear programme.

But Kerry, speaking in Turkey at the start of a 10-day trip to Europe, the Middle East and Asia, called for patience over the talks. "Diplomacy is a painful task," he said at a news conference in Istanbul.

Just how painful was seen yesterday, when talks in Kazakhstan between Iran and six world powers concluded with seemingly little progress.

Both sides remained "far apart on substance" said Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief and lead negotiator at the discussions.

Attended by delegates from the US, Russia, China, France, the UK and Germany, the two-day talks were the latest attempt to draw heat away from Iran's nuclear standoff with the west.

But hopes of a breakthrough were quickly dashed on Friday when it became apparent that both sides remained far apart on the main issues of sanctions and enrichment.

Western diplomats had offered limited relief on sanctions on Tehran. In return they had asked for a commitment by Iran to abandon its higher-grade uranium enrichment, stopping short of 20% enrichment – a threshold that is just a technical step away from making the material weapons-grade.

But Tehran has argued that it is entitled to enrichment at that level in order to convert the material into fuel for a medical research reactor. It has also called for greater relief from damaging international sanction, that have blocked oil exports, restricted its banks and hit its economy.

Iran has always denied it is seeking nuclear weapons, saying it is seeking enrichment for civilian purposes.

On Sunday, a senior Iranian lawmakers indicated that Tehran had no intention of ending its nuclear programme.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who heads a parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, did, however, describe the talks in Kazakhstan as a step forward and called for a fresh round of negotiations.

Likewise Kerry left the door open for further discussions. "It is important to continue to talk and to try and find common ground," he said. "We remain open and hopeful that a diplomatic solution can be found."