France urges Iran to make necessary choices for nuclear deal

French officials said on Monday that Iran must make "necessary choices" in order that a complete and credible nuclear agreement be found in the "5+1" talks that are due to wind up on November 24.
Bilateral talks between the US and Iran have been taking place in Oman and the broader consultations are due to resume Tuesday in Oman and then later this month in Vienna, but there appears pessimism about the potential for an accord within the deadline.
US President Barack Obama said on Sunday that there was still a wide gap between the two sides and he was unsure if an accord could be reached in time.
Asked by KUNA, French officials squarely laid the responsibility for moving forward on the Iranian side.
"The question today is to know if Iran is ready to make the necessary choices to arrive at a complete, lasting and credible agreement before November 24," Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexandre Giorgini said in answer to KUNA questions.
"We, on our side, with our partners...are more than ever mobilised in the negotiation," he added.
Reports said that the major stumbling block remained the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges Iran would keep after an agreement. The "5+1" says this number should be in the hundreds but Iran is insisting on keeping many thousand centrifuges that it says will be necessary for its civil nuclear programme.
Many Western countries have said they suspect Iran has experimented with a military component within its civil programme and want strict limits on Tehran's ability to enrich uranium.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and also denies having developed any military programmes but it has also failed to be fully transparent on certain "sensitive activities," according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's Vienna-based nuclear watchdog.