Obama Leaves Open Possibility of Extended Iran Talks

President Barack Obama said gaps in the Iran nuclear negotiations remain significant and left open the possibility of extending the talks if no deal is reached before Monday night’s deadline.

Obama, in an interview with ABC that aired on Sunday, said it remained unclear whether a deal would be reached, but he deemed the process successful, saying that an interim agreement had stopped Iran’s nuclear program from advancing.

“Now the question is: Can we get to a more permanent deal?” Obama said in the interview, which was taped on Friday. “And the gaps are still significant.”

Iran, the U.S. and its negotiating partners are working to forge an agreement that would constrain Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions.

“Our goal is to solve a particular problem here, which is making sure Iran doesn’t trigger a nuclear arms race, can’t threaten the United States, can’t threaten allies like Israel,” Obama said.

U.S., European and Iranian officials have raised the possibility of extending the diplomatic process. Obama said he would wait to see what emerges from this weekend’s negotiations.

Source: MarketWatch