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| Amid Final Talks on Iran Nuclear Deal, Obama Calls Strict Verification Crucial | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| VIENNA — As a high-level team of Iranian officials flew here on Tuesday for what appears to be an intensive final week of negotiations for a comprehensive nuclear accord, President Obama issued a warning that he was prepared to walk away from any agreement with a verification regime that consisted of “a few inspectors wandering around every once in a while.” | VIENNA — As a high-level team of Iranian officials flew here on Tuesday for what appears to be an intensive final week of negotiations for a comprehensive nuclear accord, President Obama issued a warning that he was prepared to walk away from any agreement with a verification regime that consisted of “a few inspectors wandering around every once in a while.” |
| The return here of Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, was notable because it followed high-level consultations in Tehran. He was accompanied by Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, who has been ill but played a pivotal role in previous rounds of talks. | The return here of Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, was notable because it followed high-level consultations in Tehran. He was accompanied by Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, who has been ill but played a pivotal role in previous rounds of talks. |
| Hossein Fereydoun, a younger brother of President Hassan Rouhani, who has appeared here at other turning points, was also on Mr. Zarif’s plane. | Hossein Fereydoun, a younger brother of President Hassan Rouhani, who has appeared here at other turning points, was also on Mr. Zarif’s plane. |
| “I am here to get a final deal, and I think we can,” Mr. Zarif said after a one-on-one meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry. | “I am here to get a final deal, and I think we can,” Mr. Zarif said after a one-on-one meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry. |
| As a first step in what the parties hope is a final push to an agreement, Iran and the six world powers in the talks extended to July 7 an interim nuclear accord that was set to expire on Tuesday. | As a first step in what the parties hope is a final push to an agreement, Iran and the six world powers in the talks extended to July 7 an interim nuclear accord that was set to expire on Tuesday. |
| The interim agreement, called the Joint Plan of Action, freezes much of Iran’s nuclear program in return for modest sanctions relief. | The interim agreement, called the Joint Plan of Action, freezes much of Iran’s nuclear program in return for modest sanctions relief. |
| American officials have said for some time that they hoped to finish the agreement by July 9, in time to submit it to Congress, which would then begin a 30-day review period. | American officials have said for some time that they hoped to finish the agreement by July 9, in time to submit it to Congress, which would then begin a 30-day review period. |
| If an accord is finished later this summer, the review period would double because of Congress’s summer recess, giving critics in both countries more time to mobilize opposition. | If an accord is finished later this summer, the review period would double because of Congress’s summer recess, giving critics in both countries more time to mobilize opposition. |
| Mr. Obama’s comments followed objections by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, to highly intrusive inspections and came at a moment when the White House was trying to respond to criticism by Republicans, and a few Democrats, that it was too eager to get the accord. | Mr. Obama’s comments followed objections by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, to highly intrusive inspections and came at a moment when the White House was trying to respond to criticism by Republicans, and a few Democrats, that it was too eager to get the accord. |
| Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who wrote the congressional review legislation, has said it is vital that the deal provide for intrusive verification, and he said that the administration should take as much time as necessary. A bipartisan group of Iran experts, including some of Mr. Obama’s former top aides, made a similar appeal last week. | Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who wrote the congressional review legislation, has said it is vital that the deal provide for intrusive verification, and he said that the administration should take as much time as necessary. A bipartisan group of Iran experts, including some of Mr. Obama’s former top aides, made a similar appeal last week. |
| Mr. Obama, coming off a week of historic, confidence-building victories at home, made a point at a news conference in Washington of stressing his determination to get an effective deal. | Mr. Obama, coming off a week of historic, confidence-building victories at home, made a point at a news conference in Washington of stressing his determination to get an effective deal. |
| “Given past behavior on the part of Iran, that simply can’t be a declaration by Iran and a few inspectors wandering around every once in a while,” he said. “That’s going to have to be a serious, rigorous verification mechanism. And that, I think, is going to be the test as to whether we get a deal or not.” | “Given past behavior on the part of Iran, that simply can’t be a declaration by Iran and a few inspectors wandering around every once in a while,” he said. “That’s going to have to be a serious, rigorous verification mechanism. And that, I think, is going to be the test as to whether we get a deal or not.” |
| In Tehran, Mr. Rouhani said that it was up to the United States to keep its word. While he, too, was talking tough, the promise that got him elected — a vow to get Western-led sanctions against Iran lifted — hangs in the balance in the next few days. | In Tehran, Mr. Rouhani said that it was up to the United States to keep its word. While he, too, was talking tough, the promise that got him elected — a vow to get Western-led sanctions against Iran lifted — hangs in the balance in the next few days. |
| “If we reach a deal, both sides should be committed to it,” Mr. Rouhani said, the state news agency IRNA reported. “If the other side breaches the deal, we will go back to the old path, stronger than what they can imagine.” | “If we reach a deal, both sides should be committed to it,” Mr. Rouhani said, the state news agency IRNA reported. “If the other side breaches the deal, we will go back to the old path, stronger than what they can imagine.” |
| The latest round of negotiations began last week under a cloud after Ayatollah Khamenei appeared to back away from central elements of a preliminary accord reached two months ago in the Swiss city of Lausanne. | The latest round of negotiations began last week under a cloud after Ayatollah Khamenei appeared to back away from central elements of a preliminary accord reached two months ago in the Swiss city of Lausanne. |
| After the United States and its negotiating partners insisted that the Lausanne framework must remain the basis of an agreement, Mr. Zarif flew to Tehran on Sunday night for consultations. With American officials looking for signs that he had returned with more flexible negotiating instructions, Mr. Zarif insisted that nothing had changed. | After the United States and its negotiating partners insisted that the Lausanne framework must remain the basis of an agreement, Mr. Zarif flew to Tehran on Sunday night for consultations. With American officials looking for signs that he had returned with more flexible negotiating instructions, Mr. Zarif insisted that nothing had changed. |
| “I didn’t go to get a mandate,” Mr. Zarif said. “I already had a mandate to negotiate.” | “I didn’t go to get a mandate,” Mr. Zarif said. “I already had a mandate to negotiate.” |
| Any final accord would constrain Iran’s program for more than a decade in return for lifting, and ultimately revoking, the network of American, European and United Nations sanctions that have hobbled Iran’s economy. The talks involve the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia. | Any final accord would constrain Iran’s program for more than a decade in return for lifting, and ultimately revoking, the network of American, European and United Nations sanctions that have hobbled Iran’s economy. The talks involve the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia. |
| In a Twitter post on Tuesday that raised Iranians’ hopes an accord might finally be at hand, Ayatollah Khamenei praised his negotiators as “trustworthy, committed, brave and faithful.” That seemed to be a signal to his right-wing critics and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps not to criticize Mr. Zarif and his team. | In a Twitter post on Tuesday that raised Iranians’ hopes an accord might finally be at hand, Ayatollah Khamenei praised his negotiators as “trustworthy, committed, brave and faithful.” That seemed to be a signal to his right-wing critics and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps not to criticize Mr. Zarif and his team. |