Although a June 30 deadline was agreed upon by all parties as part of the P5+1 nuclear talks with the Iranian regime, officials announced Tuesday that July 7 is now the official deadline for a final agreement.
The P5+1 world powers (US, UK, China, Russia, France, Germany) and Iran have been engaging in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear weapons program, hoping to find a diplomatic solution to stop Tehran’s race to the bomb.
A senior State Department official said that the July 7 deadline will “allow more time for negotiations to reach a long-term solution.”
Diplomats said that a new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report will show proof that the negotiations have been successful. The UN agency’s report is expected to show that Tehran has not enriched uranium to an unacceptable level over the past 20 months, Fox News reports.
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who returned to the talks on Tuesday, said that negotiations have reached a “very sensitive stage.”
Secretary of State John Kerry would not elaborate much regarding his conversation with the Iranian Foreign Minister, only saying, “We had a good conversation.”
The White House continues to insist that President Obama will not sign a bad agreement with the Iranian regime.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that the President will only sign an agreement that is “consistent with the framework that was reached in April.”
Bloomberg reported on Friday that the hard deadline for a nuclear deal is July 9, not July 7. Colin Kahl, a national security advisor to President Obama, reportedly told a Friday conference that July 9 is the real deadline for a deal. He explained to the Truman National Security Project conference that a deal submitted to Congress by July 9 gives legislators 30 days to approve of the agreement, instead of 60 days if submitted after July 9.
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