U.S. negotiators are headed to Geneva for a new round of talks Thursday with Iranian officials under pressure to get at least the framework for a deal limiting Tehran’s nuclear program before the end of March.
The State Department said Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, would lead the delegation in bilateral meetings with Iranian officials ahead of a formal resumption of the talks.
Negotiators from the United States and its partners — Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — are working under a self-imposed March 24 deadline to create a framework to replace a November 2013 interim deal that was supposed to last six months, with an eye toward signing a permanent agreement with Iran by June 30.
That deadline has taken on new importance as officials in both Washington and Iran have discounted the possibility of another extension and lawmakers in both countries lose patience with the pace of the talks.
Senate Democrats holding up bipartisan legislation to impose new sanctions on Iran say they won’t keep up their delaying efforts past March 24 if there is no progress in the talks. And Iran’s parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, said Monday that it’s time for the U.S. and its partners to show the “political will” to reach a deal.
But even if the talks lead to an agreement, it’s a open question whether the deal would pass muster in Congress, where many lawmakers mistrust President Obama’s negotiating strategy, fearing that he would be willing to make too many concessions to get Tehran to sign.
That concern prompted congressional Republicans to extend their controversial invitation for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Iran at a joint meeting of Congress on March 3.
Though Israel is not a party to the talks, meeting its concerns about ensuring that Iran is not able to build a nuclear weapon is a high priority for Congress, if not the administration as well. But in the latest sign of Iran-related tension between Netanyahu’s government and the White House, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki acknowledged Wednesday that U.S. officials were withholding from Israel some information about the negotiations.
The New York Times reported earlier that U.S. officials were concerned Netanyahu’s government was selectively leaking details about the negotiations in an attempt to sabotage them.
“I think it’s safe to say that not everything you’re hearing from the Israeli government is an accurate reflection of the details of the talks,” Psaki told reporters.
