Obama Hints at Extension for Iran Nuclear Talks

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/17/world/obama-hints-at-extension-for-iran-nuclear-talks.html

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WASHINGTON — President Obama said Wednesday that there had been “real progress in several areas” in negotiations with Iran over its disputed nuclear program, and he hinted that he might extend the talks beyond the deadline on Sunday in order to reach a final agreement.

“We have a credible way forward,” Mr. Obama told reporters during a short briefing at the White House, although he said there were some “significant gaps” between the two sides and more work to do before a deal could be struck.

“Over the next few days, we’ll continue consulting with Congress, and our team will continue discussions with Iran and our partners as we determine whether additional time is necessary to extend our negotiations,” Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Obama’s comments came after a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry, who had just finished three days of talks in Vienna with his Iranian counterpart. Mr. Kerry signaled in a brief news conference on Tuesday that he believed enough progress had been made to warrant an extension.

The negotiations are aimed at preventing Iran from developing a “threshold” nuclear capability that it could use to build a bomb. Mr. Kerry’s goal has been to ensure that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure remains at an early enough stage that it would take Tehran at least a year to produce a nuclear weapon should its leaders renege on any agreement.

Mr. Obama, who has been focused on his domestic economic agenda, also addressed other of what he called “pressing foreign policy challenges” during a less than eight-minute appearance in the White House briefing room, although the main topic was the new round of sanctions aimed at Russia.

Mr. Obama also said that the United States was supporting efforts led by Egypt to broker a cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians as Israel considers moving into Gaza militarily.

“The Israeli people and the Palestinian people don’t want to live like this,” the president said. “We will use all of our diplomatic resources and relationships to support efforts of closing a deal on a cease-fire.”

After nine days of Israeli aerial attacks on Gaza that have killed more than 200 Palestinians and rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, Mr. Obama called for restraint on both sides in an effort to spare civilian lives.

“Israel has a right to defend itself from rocket attacks,” he said. “But over the past two weeks, we’ve all been heartbroken by the violence, especially the death and injury of so many innocent civilians in Gaza.”