US journalist: Iran nuclear deal possible

US investigative journalist Gareth Porter says a nuclear agreement between Iran and the six world powers is possible before a July 20 deadline.

“I think it’s possible,” he said in a phone interview with Press TV when asked about the deadline to complete a final nuclear deal.

“The question is how badly both sides wanted at this point. Basically it’s a question of reaching an agreement on two issues: one is the duration of the agreement and the other one is how much capacity for enrichment Iran is take to be allowed in the longer run that is beyond the immediate next few years,” said the author of “Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of Iran Nuclear Scare.”

Iran and the P5+1 resumed the nuclear negotiations in the Austrian capital city of Vienna on July 3.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry joined the talks in order to discuss the differences over Iran’s nuclear energy program.

“Obviously, we have some very significant gaps still. So we need to see if we can make some progress and I really look forward to a very substantive and important set of meetings and dialogues,” Kerry told reporters.

“It is vital to make certain that Iran is not going to develop a nuclear weapon – that their program is peaceful,” Kerry said.

The top US diplomat and the other foreign ministers are due to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif later on Sunday.

“The United States has been putting forward extreme demands with regards to the level of enrichment, demands that they knew would be unacceptable, which they’re clearly using to induce some additional concessions from Iran,” Porter said.

He concluded that however, “both sides have been positioning themselves for some sort of compromise.”