Iran’s failure to meet a Nov. 24 deadline for a nuclear deal would “drastically” reduce the chances for an agreement, a top White House official said.
Philip Gordon, the Middle East counselor on the National Security Council, said on Nov. 10 that gaps remain in the talks between Iran and the major powers.
“There are gaps because they are trying to preserve some things that we are simply not prepared to accommodate,” Gordon said, without elaborating. “It is not, however, impossible to close those gaps. What we are focused on is getting it done by Nov. 24 — anything after that dramatically reduces the chances for a deal.”
Reports have suggested in recent weeks that the sides may seek to extend the talks, which have been underway since January and already were extended once, in July.
Top lawmakers in the incoming GOP-led Senate have said that they will advance new sanctions legislation if talks are extended beyond the deadline. They also said they want to approve any deal.
Asked about the prospects of such legislation, Gordon cautioned against any actions that would disrupt the close coordination between the United States and its five partners in the talks—Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
“If we were to insist on things that our partners didn’t agree with, we might have a problem,” he said.
Citing that need for unity with other major powers, Gordon suggested that Israel’s demand that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear program was unrealistic, although he said the United States was sympathetic to it.
Instead, he said, with increased inspections, the dismantling of a plutonium reactor and the substantive reduction of Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity, the United States hoped to expand Iran’s breakout time to a nuclear weapon to a year, which would give the United States more time to stop it. — jta