The Heat discusses impact of delay in Iran nuclear talks

The Heat

Former European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, left, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif, right, address the media after closed-door nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria, Monday, Nov. 24, 2014. Facing still significant differences between the U.S. and Iran, negotiators gave up on last-minute efforts to get a nuclear deal by the Monday deadline and extended their talks for another seven months. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

The much anticipated Nov. 24 deadline for Iran and six countries to reach a nuclear deal came and went without an agreement. Instead, the nations agreed to extend the deadline to June 2015. The Heat examines what the delay will mean for the future of regional security and international diplomatic efforts.

Despite high-level negotiations between Iran, the U.S., U.K., China, Russia, France, and Germany, an agreement is still a long way off.

“These talks aren’t suddenly going to get easier just because we extend them. They are tough, they have been tough and they will stay tough,” said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Meanwhile, Iranian Prime Minister Hassan Rouhani expressed optimism about the progress made so far.

“We still have the opportunity to negotiate over the next few months to reach the final goal of a final agreement,” he said. “This is what everyone has in mind/I have no doubts over the success of this approach and for the world community there is no other alternative path to negotiations.”

CCTV America correspondent Jack Barton spoke to the Heat from Brussels about the latest in the negotiation process.

The Heat interviewed experts about what the talks mean from an Iranian perspective:
* Professor Mohammad Marandi, the dean of faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran.
* Jamal Abdal, policy director at the National Iranian American Council here in Washington D.C.

For the U.S. perspective of the talks, the Heat interviewed Robert Einhorn, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and formerly with the U.S. State Department where he played a leading role in nonproliferation issues and forming U.S. foreign policy on Iran’s nuclear program.