[Reports
in the Iranian news media suggested that the talks might continue into the
weekend and could end with the arrival of Secretary of State John Kerry and the
foreign ministers of other world powers if a deal appeared close. But whether
the remaining issues can be resolved was unclear.]
By Michael R. Gordon
But the day ended without reports of a breakthrough and
with a warning by a leading American lawmaker that he was prepared to introduce
legislation next month that would impose new economic sanctions on Iran .
The talks on Thursday between Catherine Ashton, the
European Union’s top foreign policy official, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran ’s foreign minister, were described by a spokesman for Ms.
Ashton as “intense” and “substantial.”
Reports in the Iranian news media suggested that the talks
might continue into the weekend and could end with the arrival of Secretary of
State John Kerry and the foreign ministers of other world powers if a deal
appeared close. But whether the remaining issues can be resolved was unclear.
At issue is an interim agreement that the United States and five other world powers are seeking to halt progress
in Iran ’s program for six months so negotiators could pursue a
more comprehensive agreement.
President Obama has told lawmakers that the United States was prepared to provide $6 billion to $7 billion in
sanctions relief as part of the interim accord.
Adding to the drama was a starkly anti-Zionist speech on
Wednesday by Iran ’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Politicians in Israel expressed outrage not only about Ayatollah Khamenei’s
description of Israel as “the rabid dog of the region,” but also about the mild
condemnation that the speech elicited from the United States and much of Europe .
Hilik Bar, the deputy speaker of Israel ’s Parliament and a member of the opposition Labor Party,
wrote to Mr. Kerry and Ms. Ashton insisting that they “stand up against the
dark, racist statements and incitement.”
Asked about Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments by Senator Marco
Rubio, Republican of Florida, during Mr. Kerry’s testimony to the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, the secretary of state expressed his
unhappiness with the speech, though he appeared to temper his response to avoid
unsettling the talks.
“It’s inflammatory, and it’s unnecessary,” Mr. Kerry said.
“I don’t want to exacerbate it now sitting here, but our good friends in Israel know full well that we defend their concerns.”
Leading members of Congress were less constrained. Senator
Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, introduced legislation on Thursday that
would give the White House 60 days to conclude an interim agreement. If such an
accord were achieved and Mr. Obama were later informed that the Iranians were not
in compliance with some of its provisions, the president would have no more
than 15 days to reverse the sanctions relief that he had granted Iran.
Mr. Corker’s legislation would also give the White House no
more than 180 additional days to conclude a more comprehensive agreement that
the Obama administration says it is seeking or any sanctions that had been
relaxed would be reimposed.
The aim of the legislation is to prevent the Iranians from
dragging out the talks and making an initial agreement the final one.
It also would set more stringent terms for a comprehensive
deal than Iran is currently prepared to accept by demanding that Tehran end uranium enrichment.
Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, said on Thursday
that he was prepared to move ahead next month with legislation that would
toughen economic sanctions if Iran continued with its nuclear efforts.
“While I support the administration’s diplomatic effort, I
believe we need to leave our legislative options open to act on a new,
bipartisan sanctions bill in December,” Mr. Reid said.
Jodi Rudoren contributed reporting from
Jerusalem, and Thomas Erdbrink from Tehran
VOTE FRAUD IS CLAIMED BY MAOISTS IN NEPAL
[But Maoist threats to end participation in this Himalayan country’s fledgling democracy could prove troublesome. A bloody 10-year insurgency ended in 2006, and the 2008 elections were considered a triumph in part because of Maoist inclusion.]
By Gardiner
Harris
“Serious national and international forces are behind this,
and we demand a suspension to vote counting,” said the Maoist leader, Pushpa
Kamal Dahal, the head of the United Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist).
Mr. Dahal said that election workers had smashed ballot
boxes and accepted false ballots. He called for an independent investigation
and warned that his party might rejoin hard-line Maoists and refuse to
participate in the Constituent Assembly if his demands were not met.
“We will not join” the assembly, he declared, as Maoist
party members marched outside the party’s headquarters, shouting, “We are ready
to fight!”
In a Constituent Assembly with more than 600 members, Mr.
Dahal’s party was leading in just 19 constituencies on Thursday, compared with
75 for the Nepali Congress, a right of center party, and 48 for the Unified
Marxist-Leninists, according to preliminary results released by Nepal ’s Election Commission.
Mr. Dahal’s own attempt to win a Katmandu constituency appeared headed for defeat, as did that of Hisila Yami, a Maoist leader and the wife of a
former prime minister. Mr. Dahal was also competing in another constituency,
which he appeared likely to win.
But Maoist threats to end participation in this Himalayan
country’s fledgling democracy could prove troublesome. A bloody 10-year
insurgency ended in 2006, and the 2008 elections were considered a triumph in
part because of Maoist inclusion.
Neel Kantha Uprety, Nepal ’s chief election commissioner, promised to continue the
vote count despite Maoist complaints. The first phase of counting is expected
to be completed early next week, followed by a two-week process to determine
each party’s proportional representation.
“There is no alternative but to accept the people’s
verdict,” Mr. Uprety said.
Independent election observers largely dismissed the
Maoists’ assertions of fraud and declared that the elections were well
conducted.
“I am very disappointed to hear of the U.C.P.N. (Maoist)
rejection of the counting process and withdrawal of their party agents,” said
former President Jimmy Carter, one of the observers. “I trust that they will
respect the will of Nepali voters as expressed on Election Day.”
Experts had predicted some erosion in the Maoists’ dominant
position in the assembly, following claims of corruption and mismanagement
while in power. But few foresaw the rout that seems to have taken place. One
crucial change may have been efforts by Nepal ’s Election Commission to cut down on voter fraud by
issuing identification cards with fingerprints and photographs.
The new identity demands pared the voter rolls to 12.2
million from 17.6 million and were intended to prevent the kind of obvious
irregularities that led former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to win his
constituency in 2008 with more votes than there were voters.
Mr. Dahal said efforts to combat such irregularities may
have cost his party the election.
“We were aware of the changes in voter rolls, which
defeated us,” he said.
More than 70 percent of Nepal ’s eligible voters participated despite an election boycott
and transportation strike by a coalition of 33 parties, including hard-line
Maoists.
The new assembly is charged with writing the country’s
constitution, an effort the previous assembly was unable to complete after it
became deadlocked over whether to adopt a parliamentary or presidential system
of government, and whether ethnicity or geography should be used to divide the
country into states.
It was hoped that the election would help fix Nepal ’s political paralysis, which has afflicted its economy and
forced many young Nepalese to emigrate.
Bhadra Sharma contributed reporting from Katmandu ,
Nepal
