US Seeks to Blame Possible Collapse of Nuclear Talks on Iran

A top Iranian cleric warned on Friday that Washington has sought to blame Tehran for any possible failure of the diplomatic negotiations for clinching a final agreement over Iran's nuclear energy program.

Addressing a large congregation of worshippers here in Tehran on Friday, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said the recent news about a shift in the positions of Americans during the Vienna nuclear talks backs up the notion that the US is not trustworthy.

The US has sought to cite "pressures on Iran" as the factor behind a possible final nuclear agreement, the top cleric explained.

He also pointed to the US scenario for a possible collapse of the talks, saying Washington has already planned to put the onus on Iran for creating obstacles to a long-awaited deal.

Ayatollah Khatami underlined that any possible failure of the talks should be blamed on "the excessive demands of the US and its allies".

In relevant comments early on Friday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the nuclear talks have been hindered since certain parties have started to change positions and make excessive demands.

"Unfortunately, we are witnessing both shifts in the positions and excessive demands, and we are also witnessing that a number of countries in the (Group) 5+1 have different stances, and this has made the situation difficult," Zarif said in Vienna.

Diplomats from Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are in Vienna to hammer out a long-awaited deal over Tehran's peaceful nuclear program.

They have signaled that an extension to a deadline set to complete long-running negotiations would not be fatal to the talks, which have already gone past several previous self-imposed deadlines.

The negotiators have given themselves until the end of the day on Friday. But if a deal is not reached by 6:00 a.m. in Vienna (0400 GMT), the Republican-led US Congress will have 60 days rather than 30 days to review it.



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