Iran Channels 2005 Paris Warning Against Pushing Too Hard

By Jonathan Tirone Jun 18, 2014 12:42 PM ET

Iran cautioned the U.S. and European powers against sticking to rigid negotiating positions that might torpedo a chance to de-escalate their nuclear dispute.

Negotiations attended by the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, Catherine Ashton, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif went into a third day in Vienna, according to an EU statement.

“We hope the past experiences will prove to be helpful in order to avoid similar mistakes,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said late yesterday in a briefing broadcast by Press TV. “It’s not clear when such a similar opportunity would emerge again for the West.”

Discord focuses on what uranium-enrichment capacity Iran should maintain under an agreement. The U.S. has sought a reduction of the 19,000 fast-spinning centrifuges Iran already has installed. The Persian Gulf country has sought to install additional machines to boost enrichment capacity.

Araghchi invoked Iran’s March 2005 proposal to European diplomats at a Paris meeting to underscore the potential costs of not coming to an agreement. At the time, Iran offered to cap the number of installed centrifuges to 3,000 until additional confidence was built, said Peter Jenkins, a former U.K. ambassador who participated in the talks.

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