President Barack Obama said an extension in nuclear talks with Iran was unlikely and that an agreement depended on the “political will” of Iran’s government.

“I don’t see a further extension being useful if they have not agreed to the basic formulation and the bottom line that the world requires,” Obama said Feb. 9 at a joint news conference with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.

Germany and the United States, together with Britain, Russia, France and China, are the major powers in talks with Iran aimed at swapping sanctions relief for guarantees Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon.

Obama in his news conference acknowledged differences with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran.

“I don’t want to be coy; the prime minister and I have a very real difference around Iran, around sanctions,” he said.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address Congress on March 3 to make his case that the talks are headed for a bad deal. Like most Republicans and some Democrats, Netanyahu wants the United States to increase sanctions on Iran. Obama has said he will veto them. — jta