With just days to go before a March 31 deadline to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, the White House says the odds of success have not improved in recent weeks.
The U.S. and its international partners have until Tuesday to reach a preliminary deal that would roll back Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for the lifting of some economic sanctions on Tehran.
President Obama has maintained that the odds of such a deal are 50-50 at best, and officials say that assessment hasn’t changed.
“Important progress has been made, but this president is not going to stop short of — this president will not accept an agreement that does not accomplish our goal, which is to cut off every pathway Iran has to acquiring a nuclear weapon,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. “The odds of success in this endeavor have not appreciably changed over the past few weeks because Iran will have to make some very serious commitments to reach an agreement.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.