US Secretary of State, John Kerry, points as he walks back to the talks venue after a lunch break during the Iran nuclear program talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, March 30, 2015. Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program entered a critical phase on Monday with differences still remaining less than two days before a deadline for the outline of an agreement. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)
Representatives of world powers meet to pin down a nuclear deal with Iran, on Monday March 30, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program entered a critical phase on Monday with substantial differences still remaining less than two days before a deadline for the outline of an agreement. (AP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski, Pool)
A member of the Iranian media walks on an open air chess board at the site of negotiations about Iran's nuclear program, between Iran officials and representatives of the world powers, Monday March 30, 2015 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program entered a critical phase on Monday with substantial differences still remaining less than two days before a deadline for the outline of an agreement. (AP PHOTO / POOL, Brendan Smialowski)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, jogs during a break of the new round of talks on Iran's nuclear program, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, March 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, leaves the hotel during a break of the new round of talks on Iran's nuclear program, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, March 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)
Centrifuges. Sanctions. Nuclear research. Sticking points remain on some of the most basic issues as negotiations between world powers and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program hit crunch time.
Tuesday is the deadline for the two sides to finalize a framework agreement. That deal, if it can be reached, is supposed to be the basis for a final accord by the end of June detailing steps for Iran to scale back its uranium enrichment and other technology that could be used to make nuclear arms.
In return, Tehran would be rewarded with the easing of crippling economic sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have done most of the top-level negotiating in recent months. But the talks formally remain between Iran and six nations — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — and the foreign ministers of six of those seven countries are now in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
As they try to bridge remaining gaps, here is a look at where the talks stand.
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THE LATEST
Officials in Lausanne say the sides are advancing on points that discuss cuts and limits to aspects of Iran's enrichment program. Over the past weeks, Iran has moved from demanding that it be allowed to keep nearly 10,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, to agreeing to 6,000. Tehran may now be ready to accept even fewer but is said to be pushing back on how long it must limit the technology it could use to make atomic arms.
It also insists that sanctions be lifted immediately as part of a deal. The Obama administration wants to suspend or remove them more slowly.
The United States says any deal will stretch the time Iran would require to make a nuclear weapon from the present two-to-three months to at least a year. But critics question that, and object that such an agreement would keep Tehran's nuclear technology intact.
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WHERE ELSE IS THERE PROGRESS?
Iran and the six powers at the table have moved close on what to do with a nearly built reactor that was also a proliferation concern because it would have produced enough plutonium for several nuclear bombs a year. The facility would be re-engineered to generate only a fraction of the material.
Officials say the sides also are seriously discussing turning a formerly secret underground uranium enrichment plant into a facility that would make isotopes for medical, industrial and scientific uses.
If used for uranium enrichment the bunker would be a concern, because it is thought impervious to air attack — an option neither Israel nor the U.S. have ruled out should diplomacy fail. But — although it would not be enriching uranium — the facility would use the same technology as for uranium enrichment, and critics say that leaves potential bomb-making infrastructure intact.
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WHERE ARE THE GREATEST PROBLEMS?
The sides differ sharply on how and when to lift sanctions that started to be imposed nearly a decade ago in attempts to force Iran to curb its atomic activities.
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