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Negotiators Agree to Extend Iran Nuclear Talks, Diplomats Say Negotiators Agree to Extend Iran Nuclear Talks Four More Months, Diplomats Say
(about 3 hours later)
Iran, the United States and the five other countries negotiating over the future of the Iranian nuclear program have agreed to a four-month extension of the negotiations, giving them more time to try to bridge a major difference over whether the country will be forced to dismantle parts of its nuclear infrastructure, according to senior Western diplomats involved in the talks. Iran, the United States and the five other countries negotiating the future of the Iranian nuclear program have agreed to a four-month extension of the talks, giving them more time to try to bridge major differences over whether Tehran will be forced to dismantle parts of its nuclear infrastructure, according to a statement released early Saturday in Vienna by all seven nations.
The original deadline for an accord was July 20, though a temporary agreement that has been in effect since November envisioned a possible extension. In an interview this week Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, described a plan that would essentially freeze Iran’s operations at current levels for three to seven years, allowing it to continue limited production. But after that period the country would be free, under the Iranian plan, to produce as much nuclear fuel as it wants. The extension was expected after both Iran and President Obama signaled that more time would be needed to resolve differences; some American officials say that even the additional time may not prove sufficient. The original deadline for an accord was Sunday, though a temporary agreement that has been in effect since November envisioned a six-month extension.
The United States and its negotiating partners — Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia — have argued that Iran must dismantle major elements of its uranium enrichment program, and they envision the restrictions going on for a decade or more. It is unclear whether, in four months, the two sides can bridge that gap, though there have been some innovative proposals discussed that could significantly lengthen the time Iran would need to make bomb-grade material. This week, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, described an Iranian proposal that would essentially freeze Iran’s operations at current levels for three to seven years, allowing it to continue limited production. But after that, the country would be free to produce as much nuclear fuel as it wants.
It was not clear how the extension would affect existing sanctions on Iran, though an announcement of the details was expected soon in Vienna. The United States and its negotiating partners — Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia — have argued that Iran must dismantle major elements of its uranium enrichment program, and they envision the restrictions going on for a decade or more. It is unclear whether, in four months, the two sides can bridge that gap, though there have been innovative proposals discussed that could lengthen the time Iran would need to make bomb-grade material.
The six nations and Iran said that they would continue to implement the sanctions relief previously agreed upon by the West, and the restrictions on production and stockpiling that were part of the temporary agreement reached in the fall. There was no mention of lifting additional sanctions, or further steps by Iran to dilute its stockpile of nuclear material, during the extension, which ends Nov. 24. 
If an agreement is reached in late November, Mr. Obama would have a brief period to try to win sanctions relief on Iran from a lame-duck session of Congress. Administration officials have viewed that moment as the “sweet spot” for a vote, after congressional elections but before what is assumed to be a larger Republican majority in the House.
But more than 300 members of Congress recently signed a letter to President Obama laying out steps Iran must take to win sanctions relief — including curbs on missile development and an end to support of terror groups, including Hamas. Those issues are not part of the nuclear negotiations, so it is unclear how a final accord would incorporate a lifting of sanctions, or whether President Obama would attempt it by executive order.
But all of it presumes that the two sides can resolve a central disagreement: whether Iran needs, or can be permitted to achieve, an industrial-size capacity to produce nuclear fuel. Iran says it will not depend on outside producers for its nuclear fuel. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke last week in Tehran of needing a huge industrial capacity — one that could produce more than 10 times Iran’s current theoretical nuclear enrichment capacity — though he said it would have to be in place within five years.
So a final deal may well include delays to Iran’s industrial production.