White House: ‘We’ve Never Been Closer to Agreement with Iran’

The White House said today that the United States and its partners have “never been closer” to an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program, but U.S. negotiators should come home if Tehran is unwilling to resolve sticking points.

“The president has indicated to his negotiating team that they should remain in Vienna and they should continue to negotiate as long as the talks continue to be useful,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest at a news briefing on Friday. (Reuters, 10 July)

“And if it becomes clear that Iran is not interested in engaging in a constructive way to try to resolve the remaining sticking points, then the negotiators should come home,” Earnest added.

IAEA inspection of sensitive sites suspected of work on nuclear weapons and the issue of possible military dimensions (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear program and an early end to UN arms embargo on Iran are reportedly among those sticking points.

Senior U.S. officials involved with the talks, including Secretary of State John Kerry, continue saying that significant progress has been made but tough issues remain. Maybe yes, maybe not!