Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is meeting Monday in Switzerland with his counterparts from the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, as the two sides try to beat their deadline for agreeing to an outline of a long-sought deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

By the end of Tuesday, the diplomats want a framework that would ensure Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that have harmed the country’s economy.  A final version of the deal would be due by the end of June.

A senior U.S. State Department official said Monday there was no decision yet on the issue of how Iran’s existing stockpile of enriched material would be disposed of, after reports that Iran indicated a willingness to send the material abroad.

The official said shipping the stockpile was one of several “viable options” the two sides have been discussing during months of talks.

“The metric is ensuring the amount of material remaining as enriched material will only be what is necessary for a working stock and no more,” the official said.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said Sunday that sending the material to another country was not an option. 

Another way to leave Iran with enough material to conduct medical research and generate power but not build a nuclear weapon is to dilute the current stock to lower levels of enrichment.

Ahead of Monday’s high-level talks, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini chaired a meeting of ministers from the so-called P5+1 group, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The delegation did not talk publicly about their discussions, but earlier Sunday German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he expected “intense and serious negotiations.”

“There are several elements missing that will bring us to the necessary security needed,” Steinmeier said.  “For that we need flexibility, mainly from the Iranian side, and that is not given yet. That has to be negotiated. But, with Iran I have the impression that they are ready to bring the negotiations to an end.”

Iran is also seeking an immediate end to the economic sanctions, while the international powers have said they want a phased withdrawal.  French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Saturday that there is concern about how to monitor whether Iran is complying with limits on its nuclear activity.

Iran has long denied wanting to build a nuclear weapon and insists its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes.
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