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Obama pledges to walk away from bad deal as Iran nuclear talks extended
Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) over Tehran’s nuclear development have been extended by a week. However, US President Barack Obama reiterated that he will walk away from talks rather than sign a bad deal.
Iran and the P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) agreed a framework to a comprehensive nuclear deal in April. This paved the way for negotiations towards a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which was to be concluded by 30 June. However, with the deadline having passed, the US State Department announced yesterday that talks will continue up until 7 July, “to allow more time for negotiations to reach a long-term solution.” It is thought that any deal will need to be completed and submitted to US Congress for review by 9 July. Should it be submitted any later, Congress will be permitted 60 days to consider an agreement rather than 30, potentially holding back its implementation.
Since April, the two sides have indicated differences over fundamental issues such as Iran’s use of advanced centrifuges, the pace of sanctions relief and provision for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections. Although some media reports indicate that progress has been made on these key topics, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond commented earlier this week, “There are a number of different areas where we still have major differences of interpretation.”
Talks continued yesterday between senior American and Iranian officials. However, US President Barack Obama reiterated his position, saying, “I will walk away from the negotiations if it is a bad deal,” which does not comply with April’s framework agreement and prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post cites a senior US official, saying that American negotiators have been “in continuous communication” with Israeli officials over developments in the nuclear negotiations. Apparently, this includes a secure call between senior US negotiator Wendy Sherman and Israel’s National Security Advisor Yossi Cohen several days ago.