White House: Interim Iran deal may be extended again

Negotiations between Iran and six world powers will continue if a final deal cannot be reached before a looming deadline, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday.

{mosads}Earnest told reporters that an interim nuclear agreement with Tehran would be extended again to allow for more time for talks in Vienna.

The parties “have made genuine progress,” Earnest said. But he acknowledged “there are some sticking points that remain unresolved.”

The White House spokesman’s comments are the latest indication there is no firm deadline for a final agreement to be reached, meaning they could last days or weeks longer.

If negotiators do not reach an agreement by Monday, it would be the third time the parties blew through a deadline since the original cutoff on June 30. Each time, the interim agreement has been extended.

Earnest said there are no plans for Secretary of State John Kerry and the U.S. negotiating team to leave Vienna. He said they would remain as long as “conversations remain useful.”

Several sticking points are splitting the two sides, including whether to lift a United Nations embargo on conventional weapons. Earnest declined to say whether the U.S. would agree to ease arms restrictions on Tehran.

“A rather long list of differences has slowly, but steadily narrowed,” he said. “That is an indication we are making progress toward an agreement.”