REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON - Iran will be widely seen to be responsible if a comprehensive deal to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief is not reached, the top US negotiator said on Thursday.

US Under-Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also said major powers negotiating with Iran have offered it ideas that are "equitable, enforceable and consistent with Tehran's expressed desire for a viable civilian nuclear program."

Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States are seeking to reach a deal with Iran by Nov. 24. Sherman said Iran's best chance to escape economic sanctions was to strike an agreement before that deadline.

In a speech, Sherman said the United States and the other major powers were prepared to reach an agreement and suggested it would ultimately be seen to be Iran's fault if one did not materialize.

"We hope the leaders in Tehran will agree to the steps necessary to assure the world that this program will be exclusively peaceful and thereby end Iran’s economic and diplomatic isolation and improve further the lives of their people," she told a conference organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

"If that does not happen, the responsibility will be seen by all to rest with Iran," Sherman added.

Iran's best chance to have sanctions relief is to strike a deal with major powers in the next month that ensures its nuclear program cannot yield a bomb, she said. "This is the time to finish the job."

It is unclear whether the deadline, which has already been extended once, from July 20, will be met.

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