Obama Says 'Significant Gaps' Remain in Iran Nuclear Talks
U.S. President Barack Obama warns that "significant gaps" remain with Iran over its disputed nuclear program, as a deadline for a deal looms large.
Iran and world powers, including Washington, engaged Sunday in a diplomatic blitz less than 36 hours before the cutoff time for an agreement, with officials on both sides insisting they were still pulling out all the stops in the Vienna talks.
Speaking to ABC News in comments broadcast Sunday, Obama said an interim deal with Tehran had been a success.
"Well, so, now the question is, can we get to a more permanent deal? And the gaps are still significant," Obama said in the interview carried out Friday, before the talks intensified in Vienna.
Obama added that Tehran was isolated.
"The difference is I've got the entire international community on my side, and they're sort of on their own," he said.
The so-called P5+1 -- permanent U.N. Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany -- have been locked in talks with Iran since February to turn the interim Geneva accord into a lasting agreement.
Such a deal is aimed at easing fears that Tehran could develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian activities. The Islamic republic denies it wants to build an atomic bomb and insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Obama said the nuclear talks, if successful, could ultimately have a far-reaching benefit.
"What a deal would do is take a big piece of business off the table and perhaps begin a long process in which the relationship not just between Iran and us but the relationship between Iran and the world, and the region begins to change," he said.
"I think ultimately that would be good for the people of Iran. You know, it's a big country with a lot of talent, a lot of sophistication."
Source: Agence France Presse
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