Talks between the United States and Iran over the development of its nuclear program resume Tuesday in Vienna, Austria. On Monday, the U.S. voiced disappointment with Iran's engagement thus far with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation into its nuclear research, reported Reuters.
Negotiators from France, China, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union will join the U.S. and Iran in Vienna Tuesday in an attempt to finally settle disagreements regarding how Iran will proceed with its atomic program, said Reuters.
As the self-imposed Nov. 24 deadline approaches, Iran must improve cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) investigation, Western officials said.
A Nov. 7 IAEA report found that Iran might have worked at some point on designing an atomic bomb, but Iran denies such claims and maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
The top Russian negotiator said over the weekend that he sees no sign of evidence that the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal prior to the deadline, reported Bloomberg.
"We have no evidence that the necessary decisions have been taken in the major capitals," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. "There was progress in Oman but it wasn't enough to say that there was a decisive breakthrough."
The last set of talks occurred in Oman Nov. 9-10.
The negotiations involve the West requesting to extend Iran's "breakout time," which is the time it would take the country to achieve nuclear capabilities, and Iran asking the U.S. and its allies to lift economic sanctions currently in place. Iran is also seeking approval to continue enriching uranium for non-military programs, reported NPR.
However, lawmakers in Washington are preparing for battle, as any negotiations reached between the countries must stand up to pro-Israel lawmakers in Congress who will be ready to dismantle it.
As Newsweek reports, there are a significant number of Senate Democrats who share GOP concerns that President Barack Obama will make a deal that will leave Iran with the ability to become a nuclear threat. While Obama would likely veto such legislation, there is a good chance a two-thirds majority could be reached to override it.
