Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday defended the Obama administration’s conduct of nuclear talks with Iran, though he admitted the chances of them leading to a deal were “less than even.”
“We will not let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon, period. Period. End of discussion. It will not happen on our watch,” Biden said in a speech at the Brookings Institution’s annual forum on the Middle East. “Our strategy has been underestimated from the beginning.”
The U.S. and its negotiating partners in the P5+1 group agreed Nov. 24 to extend an interim agreement by seven months to July 1 in the hopes of overcoming differences with Iran on issues related to its nuclear program, including access for international inspectors and Iran’s uranium enrichment activities. It’s the second extension for the November 2013 agreement, which was originally set to last six months, and it means Iran will continue to receive $700 million a month in assets frozen under international sanctions as long as it continues to suspend its nuclear program.
Biden said the administration agreed to the extension because Iranian negotiators had begun to show enough flexibility on important issues to justify keeping the talks going.
“We believe that we have enough leverage to reach a comprehensive agreement,” he said.
But many lawmakers disagree, and the extension has brought a renewed push in Congress for more sanctions that may have enough support from both Republicans and Democrats to overcome a veto from President Obama.
Sen. Bob Menendez, the outgoing Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that time had run out for the talks, and called the administration’s arguments against sanctions a “non-starter.”
The New Jersey Democrat is co-author with Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois of a sanctions bill that is expected to die when the 113th Congress adjourns this month. But the two plan to try again in the next Congress, bolstered by both the incoming Republican majority in the Senate and the support of many Democrats.
Support in the House for new sanctions already is likely enough to overcome a veto.
The administration has refused to work with lawmakers on any new sanctions legislation, drawing a red line against them and insisting such a move would collapse the talks.
Biden repeated that line on Saturday.
“This is not the time to risk a breakdown when we still have the chance for a breakthrough,” he said.
