White House: Negotiations with Iran May Extend Beyond Tuesday

While an Iranian source stated after the meeting of the foreign ministers of the 1+5 group with Iran's foreign minister that the differences are 'serious,' White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday, July 6, one day before the deadline for reaching an agreement, that it is 'certainly possible' for these negotiations to continue beyond the set deadline. According to Reuters, in response to a question about whether the Obama administration expects these negotiations to extend beyond the deadline, he stated: 'At this stage, I’m not saying that such an expectation exists... but I am saying that such a thing is certainly possible.' The deadline for these negotiations was supposed to end on July 1, but it was extended for a week. This deadline will end on Tuesday, July 7. Meanwhile, the meeting of the Iranian foreign minister with his American, British, French, Russian, Chinese, and German counterparts, members of the 1+5 group, was held for the first time in this round of negotiations on Monday in Vienna, with the presence of the EU's foreign policy chief. In this context, an Iranian source close to the negotiating team reported 'serious differences' between the two sides after the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Islamic Republic and the 1+5. This unnamed Iranian source told IRNA: 'Today’s negotiations showed that the differences are serious, but the determination of both sides to resolve the differences is also serious. Another meeting is scheduled for tonight.' Meanwhile, according to this report, it has been decided that the deputies and other members of the Iranian team will continue working on the 'texts.' Earlier, Western media reported that Iran, in the negotiations on Monday, demanded the lifting of the UN Security Council's military sanctions and the prohibition on the sale of weapons. A Western official told Reuters that the Islamic Republic's diplomatic team in the nuclear negotiations has requested the lifting of sanctions related to its ballistic missile program and the lifting of the ban on the export of other weapons to Iran. Since the Iranian nuclear file was transferred from the International Atomic Energy Agency to the UN Security Council, the council has issued six resolutions imposing sanctions against Iran. According to these resolutions, Iran's missile program and the export and import of weapons have also been sanctioned. With only one day left to the deadline for reaching a comprehensive agreement in the nuclear negotiations in Vienna, a survey indicates that over 83% of journalists present to cover the Vienna nuclear negotiations predict that an agreement will be reached, and 44% of them believe that the agreement will be announced on Wednesday. The Tasnim news agency, which conducted this survey, states that in a survey conducted 'among 189 journalists present at the negotiation site (as a sample available), it indicates that in total, over 83% of respondents (journalists) predict that an agreement will be reached, slightly over 12% have stated that no agreement will be reached (the negotiations will fail), and only slightly over 3% believe that the negotiations will likely be extended again.' In this context, a Western official: Iran wants its missile program sanctions lifted. Zarif: Some differences still remain. Zarif: The outcome of the nuclear negotiations is still uncertain. Mogherini: We are very close to a nuclear agreement. John Kerry: The negotiations could take any fate under the current conditions. Araqchi: Several important issues regarding the lifting of sanctions remain.