Reuters: Likelihood of Extension in Iran's Nuclear Negotiations with World Powers

Reuters, citing official Iranian and Western sources, reported that "it is unlikely that Iran and the 1+5 will reach a final agreement on the Islamic Republic's nuclear file by December 3." On Wednesday, November 21, Reuters reported that Iran and world powers are likely to reach a new "temporary agreement" that will both ease the pressure of sanctions against Tehran and allow discussions for a comprehensive agreement to continue. The temporary Geneva agreement, reached on December 3, 2013, between Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany, has been extended until December 3 of this year, and multilateral talks during this period have continued without results in reaching a comprehensive and final agreement. Reuters reported, citing an unnamed Iranian official, that "what is likely to happen is that we will reach a more limited agreement than the Geneva agreement, which will both reduce the pressure of economic sanctions on Iran and lead to the continuation of discussions." A Western official also told the news agency: "We can see the outlines of a general understanding by December 3, but we probably will not be able to reach that understanding itself." Meanwhile, two senior U.S. senators issued a statement calling for any final agreement on Iran's nuclear program to lead to the "complete destruction" of this program. According to Agence France-Presse, Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Mark Kirk, a senior Republican senator, stated in a joint announcement that a "good agreement" with Iran must mean strict limitations on the Islamic Republic's nuclear research and development path and the elimination of all potential military-nuclear aspects of Iran. According to these two senators, "gradual reduction of sanctions" should also occur only when Iran has fully implemented all provisions of the agreement. At the same time, U.S. President Barack Obama extended the national emergency regarding Iran for another year by sending a letter to the leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the letter published on November 21, it emphasized: "Since relations between Iran and the United States have not yet normalized and the process of implementing the 1981 agreement with Iran has not yet been completed, the President of the United States extends the national emergency regarding Iran." In this context, Rouhani stated: "The internal election issues of the 1+5 countries are not our concern." Russia and the U.S. have called for a quick agreement between Iran and the 1+5 group. Obama extended the national emergency regarding Iran for another year.