Obama: Chances of Iran deal less than 50-50
Ynetnews /Associated Press, Ynet
Published: 07.09.15/ Israel News
The president spoke to a meeting of Senate Democrats in an attempt to reassure them that he would not accept a bad Iran deal, if a deal even happens. According to a report in POLITICO on Wednesday; President Barack Obama pegged the chances of a nuclear agreement with Iran at “less than 50-50,” even as he worked to reassure Senate Democrats that he won’t accept a bad deal.
“He said the chances he thought were less than 50-50 at this point and that he wouldn’t agree to something he thought was weak or unenforceable,” Sen. Dick Durbin said in an interview with POLITICO on Wednesday. “But if he comes up with an agreement and it meets his standards he wanted us to take an honest look at it and not prejudge.”
Obama told Senate Democrats that he will not agree to a bad nuclear deal with Iran, and asked them to withhold judgment until the deal is completed. Obama got no resistance to that message over wine and appetizers in the White House State Dining Room on Tuesday evening, participants said the next day. A testy debate over trade last month divided Obama from many in his party. Tuesday’s meeting was an opportunity for Obama and Democrats to reset their relationship in preparation for the legislative session ahead.
A top focus was Iran, according to several lawmakers. Prospects are uncertain for the Obama administration to complete a deal, but if the accord isn’t sent to Congress by Thursday, its month-long review period would be doubled to 60 days. Obama has expended significant political capital on finalizing an agreement to keep Iran from going nuclear, prompting Republicans to accuse him of making too many concessions and even some Democrats to express deep ambivalence.
Tuesday night, he asked Democrats to support him if he does reach a deal that’s good enough for him to sign onto.”He wanted to make it perfectly clear that he is in no rush to an agreement and that he will walk away from the table if there is no good deal to be reached and that there isn’t a deal yet, and so all of these reports about what is in a deal are premature,” said Sen. Chris Murphy.
Kerry Says Won’t be ‘Rushed’ into Iran Deal, Urges ‘Tough Decisions’
Naharnet 09/15/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that major world powers would not be “rushed” into a nuclear deal with Iran, adding he was prepared to walk away if “tough decisions” are not made soon. Speaking on the eve of a deadline to present a deal to the U.S. Congress, Kerry told reporters that because “the stakes are very, very high, we will not rush and we will not be rushed.””We’re here because we believe we’re making real progress toward a comprehensive deal. But as I have said many times, and as I discussed with President (Barack) Obama last night, we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever,” Kerry said. “If the tough decisions don’t get made, we are absolutely prepared to call an end to this process.” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, announcing he would stay in the Austrian capital Thursday night to continue the talks, said meanwhile that problems remain.
“Things are however going in the right directions. Under the circumstances I have decided to stay tonight and tomorrow,” Fabius told reporters. “I hope that we are going to manage the final meters (yards), but there is still work to do. In a marathon the final 100 meters are the hardest,” Fabius said. The mooted deal between Iran and the P5+1 group — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — is aimed at ending a 13-year standoff by curbing Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. If the US Congress does not receive the text by early Friday morning Vienna time — midnight in Washington — it will likely delay its implementation by doubling the review period to 60 days. But an Iranian official insisted to AFP: “For us, no date is sacred if it means sacrificing a good accord.” And Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter shortly after Kerry’s statement: “We’re working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done.”Later he shouted to reporters from the balcony of the Coburg hotel where the talks were being held: “We will stay as long as necessary.” Two deadlines have already been missed during this round of negotiations alone which have now stretched into their 13th day.
Diplomats from various delegations ruled out a deal by the end of Thursday, but when asked whether an accord would be possible Friday or Saturday, one Iranian official told AFP: “God only knows.”With the talks stuck, Fabius rejoined Kerry as well as his German and British counterparts early Thursday, alongside Chinese and Russian officials, to plot a strategy forward. Kerry also met briefly with Zarif.
– Spanner in the works –
All sides say huge progress has been made in the past days of negotiations — the final stage of marathon talks first launched in September 2013. Most of the final text is already written, along with most of five technical annexes. Some of the thorniest issues such as a time frame for lifting sanctions, a U.N. probe into allegations that Iran in the past sought to develop nuclear weapons, also appear close to resolution. But Iran’s demand that a U.N. arms embargo be lifted has thrown a spanner in the works. Western nations have balked at the idea, with Tehran still accused of fomenting violence in the Middle East. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was Thursday in the Russian city of Ufa at a summit with emerging economies, threw Moscow’s weight behind Tehran on the issue. “We are in favor of lifting the embargo as soon as possible and will support a decision made by Iran’s negotiators,” Lavrov told reporters. The U.N. Security Council arms embargo had been imposed to force Iran to negotiate, a goal that had “long been reached,” he stressed.
Resuming arms deliveries would help Iran combat terrorism and radicals from the Islamic State group, he added. There were no “insurmountable problems” left to tackle at the talks, unless somebody tried to deliberately stall the negotiations, Lavrov insisted. Kerry late Wednesday held a long video conference with Obama to review progress so far, after the American leader reportedly told senators earlier that the chances of an accord were “less than 50-50.” Agence France Presse
