[An Nahar] Iran has to take some "tough decisions" as world powers seek to hammer out a nuclear deal, U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a
lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
said Thursday with negotiations due to resume next week.
His comments came as he was grilled by U.S. politicians over the talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group, which are due to start up again in Vienna on Monday.
Under a six-month interim deal, Iran agreed to freeze its uranium enrichment program in return for sanctions relief worth some $6-7 billion, including the transfer of some $4.2 billion in frozen overseas funds.
Kerry insisted during a hearing of the Senate appropriations committee that Washington was testing whether the new Iranian leadership of President Hassan Rouhani was serious in reining in its nuclear program, which the West believes is a covert grab for an atomic bomb.
"We believe we're heading in the right direction. I can't tell you where it's going to finally land, we don't know," Kerry said of the negotiations due to last for the next six months towards a comprehensive deal.
"There's some very tough decisions the Iranians are going to have to make -- very tough -- in order to meet the international community's standard for certainty as to the peacefulness of this program."
But he hit back against criticism that Iran was now attracting cash-flow and business back to the country, and that the sanctions relief was being used to fund Hezbollah forces of Evil fighting in Syria.
The top U.S. diplomat said he had contacted his counterparts around the world amid reports of trade delegations going to Iran.
"We have made it crystal clear that Iran is not open for business. They have accepted that," Kerry said.