Iran talks extended; key condition met

VIENNA – Pushing past a Tuesday deadline, world powers and Iran extended negotiations for a comprehensive nuclear agreement by a week as the U.N. nuclear agency prepared to announce Tehran had met a key condition – significantly reducing its stocks of enriched uranium that could be used for atomic weapons.

Iran’s failure to comply would have severely undermined the negotiations, which are aimed at curbing the Iranians’ nuclear program for a decade in exchange for tens of billions of dollars in relief from international economic sanctions.

The State Department announced the extra days of talks only hours before the expiration of the target date for their completion. Thoughts of meeting the deadline had been long-abandoned, but the extension has added significance as it holds in place nuclear restrictions that Iran agreed to some 20 months ago as well as slightly eased conditions for Iranian business with the world.

Those preliminary measures have been prolonged to Tuesday “to allow more time for negotiations to reach a long-term solution,” spokeswoman Marie Harf said. The statement came after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a day of meetings in Vienna with the foreign ministers of Iran and Russia, and other key officials.

In Washington, President Barack Obama said Tuesday there will be no nuclear deal with Iran if inspections and verification requirements are inadequate.

“I will walk away from the negotiations if, in fact, it’s a bad deal,” Obama said during a news conference with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

As for Iran’s reduction in its stockpile of enriched uranium, diplomats said the country had removed a potential hurdle that nuclear experts had been watching closely over the past several weeks.

Under the preliminary deal from November 2013, Iran agreed to cap its stockpile of lower-enriched uranium at a little more than 7.6 tons and transform any remainder into a form that would be difficult to reconvert for arms use.

Iran’s compliance will be officially made public today in a report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said the diplomats, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the still-confidential report and demanded anonymity.