Iran nuke talks deadline extended to July 7

U.S. and other world powers gave themselves seven more days to seal the deal with Iran on limiting its nuclear program as President Obama reiterated Tuesday he would walk away from a bad agreement.

U.S. and Iranian negotiators in Vienna agreed to extend the deadline from Tuesday night to July 7 as they remained far apart on key issues. Even if a deal can be reached by the new date, differences in the interpretation of the latest interim agreement show the obstacles of executing an accord.

The deadline was extended "to allow more time for negotiations to reach a long-term solution" on the Iran nuclear issue, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.

Along with the announcement to extend the talks, a senior Western official told USA TODAY that Iran has reduced its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to 7.6 tons in compliance with an agreement it signed in November 2013. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the confidential report.

Iran's stockpile of the fuel, which can be used to fuel a reactor or processed further for weapons, had grown to 8 tons, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The State Department said the stockpile's size could fluctuate as long as Iran was under the limit by Tuesday.

The Vienna-based IAEA is expected to shortly issue a report confirming Iran reduced its stockpile to 7.6 tons, the official said.

President Obama said he will only sign an agreement with Iran if he can be assured it will prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. "I will walk away from the negotiations if in fact it's a bad deal," Obama said Tuesday at a news conference with Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.

The five original nuclear members of the United Nations Security Council — the USA, Britain, France, Russia and China — plus Germany are negotiating the deal with Iran.

Earlier, Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who returned from consultations in Tehran. Kerry had few words about the meeting, saying only "we had a good conversation," the Associated Press reported.

Zarif told reporters he has a mandate to sign a deal based on what both sides accept, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency. "Iranian officials have all noted that we are ready for rational and logical negotiations and give and take," he said.

In response to concerns by Western officials that Iran has backtracked from a framework deal reached in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 2, Zarif said "a solution will be possible" based on that accord.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that Obama "has been very clear" that if "the Iranians refuse to agree … to a final agreement that's consistent with the framework that was reached in April, then there won't be an agreement."

The differences in the White House and Iranian interpretations of the Lausanne deal could be a sign of danger ahead even if a deal is reached.

Olli Heinonen, who spent 27 years as a weapons inspector for IAEA said that the final deal is likely to be much more specific than the framework agreement but that "going back to the history (with Iran) we have seen differences in views and interpretations in the past."

The White House issued a fact sheet after the Lausanne agreement that said Iran agreed to provide the IAEA, "much greater access and information regarding Iran's nuclear program, including both declared and undeclared facilities."

U.S. officials, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and other senior Western diplomats later said that deal includes inspection of military sites where nuclear work is suspected. Both of Iran's now-declared facilities for processing uranium into fuel that can be used to power a reactor or a bomb were developed under military cover and later transferred to civilian authorities.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, said last week that military sites would be off limits to "unusual" inspections by foreigners.

The White House fact sheet also said sanctions on Iran would be suspended "if it verifiably abides by its commitments," and "after the IAEA has verified that Iran has taken all of its key nuclear-related steps."

Zarif responded in April that Iran's understanding of the deal was that all sanctions would be lifted immediately. Khamenei repeated that demand in a speech a week ago.

The White House fact sheet stated Iran would limit its research and development and capacity to produce nuclear fuel for 10 years, refrain from building new enrichment facilities for 15 years and accept "robust inspections" for 25 years. Even after that period, Iran would agree not to develop or acquire nuclear weapons and would allow continued inspections, the White House said.

Khamenei, in his speech last week, said he rejects limiting his country's nuclear advancement and research and development for as long as 10 years.

Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a skeptic of the emerging deal, says the difference in interpretations reflects fundamental gaps in American and Iranian goals, and a "time bomb (that) will explode when reality sets in" after a final deal is reached.

"You can never, in any agreement, draft language that is precise and comprehensive enough to cover any contingency," Dubowitz said. "There has to be fundamental meeting of the minds between the parties in order for an agreement to be sustainable and durable."