Expected nuke deal worse than feared

Iran and six major powers were exploring possible compromises to break an impasse in nuclear negotiations yesterday, but officials cautioned they were unable to move on several sticking points.

The news came as Israel said the details of a possible agreement emerging from talks in Lausanne, Switzerland were worse than it feared.

"This deal, as it appears to be emerging, bears out all of our fears, and even more than that," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu referred to advances made by Houthi rebels allied to Tehran in Yemen, and accused the Islamic republic of trying to "conquer the entire Middle East".

"The Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis is very dangerous to humanity, and must be stopped," he said.

In a significant development in talks aimed at securing a preliminary nuclear deal, several officials told Reuters Tehran had indicated a willingness to accept fewer than 6,000 nuclear centrifuges and to send most of its enriched uranium stockpiles for storage in Russia.

Western powers, on the other hand, were considering the idea of allowing Iran to conduct limited, closely-monitored enrichment-related work for medical purposes at an underground facility called Fordow, the officials added on condition of anonymity.

The six powers have an end-March deadline for a political framework agreement, which officials close to the talks say could result in a brief document of several pages. That would form the basis of a comprehensive deal, including all technical details, to be agreed by June 30.

Officials say there is no guarantee they will get a framework agreement this month or, if they do, a final one in June.