article_snippet: (CNN)A nuclear deal with international powers on Iran's nuclear program is within reach and achievable, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told reporters Saturday.
article_snippet: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said negotiators from both sides have found new common ground in recent days, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
article_snippet: Iranian President believes that "clinching a general deal is easy," according to the IRNA story, but hammering out agreements on certain details "will be a very tough and complicated job.
article_snippet: After years of basic stalemates, Iranian officials and representatives of the P5+1 have managed to reach short-term agreements as Iranian officials and representatives of the P5+1 try to strike a larger deal.
article_snippet: both sides have been working toward that end in Lausanne, Switzerland, hoping to get a framework pact in place ahead of a March 31 deadline.
article_snippet: both sides took a break Friday, but are expected to return to the negotiating table soon.
article_snippet: jibes with the progress cited recently by the Iranians' counterparts in the talks.
article_snippet: Western officials said Friday that the ongoing negotiations have led to compromises on some crucial issues that have long divided the West and Iran.
article_snippet: Specifically, the parties are coalescing around an idea that Iran could keep 6,000 centrifuges in any deal, down from the 6,500 that had been under discussion, two Western diplomats told CNN.
article_snippet: The pace of relief from sanctions is a sticking point for Iran, according to a Western official.
article_snippet: Iranian negotiators want Iranian negotiators lifted immediately, while U.S. and European negotiators prefer Iranian negotiators be phased out over several years, contingent on Iran meeting Iran end of the bargain.
article_snippet: The next week, an open letter signed by 47 Republican senators, addressing Iran's leadership, noted that any agreement made with the U.S. administration that is not approved by the Senate could be nullified by U.S. President Barack Obama's successor.
article_snippet: I believe our countries should be able to resolve this issue peacefully with diplomacy.
article_snippet: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also insisted that Removal of sanctions should be part of the negotiations, not a step that only followed the implementation of a deal.
article_snippet: Removal of sanctions should be part of any agreement.
highlights_snippet: Iranian President says getting a general deal is easy, but ironing out the details may be hard .