President Barack Obama downplayed chances for an Iran nuclear deal in a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats, participants said Wednesday, while asking them to withhold judgment until any deal is complete.
Obama also insisted that he won’t sign a weak deal, a message that won praise from senators who joined the president for wine and appetizers in the White House State Dining Room Tuesday evening.
“He was urging that we wait to see the actual terms of an agreement if there is one, and to have confidence that he would not sign a deal he viewed as flawed, ” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons added that Obama said it was uncertain whether the Iranians would go along with some of the tougher conditions, and that a deal is “at best a 50-50 proposition.”
A top focus was Iran, according to several lawmakers. Prospects are uncertain for the Obama administration to complete a deal, but if the accord isn’t sent to Congress by Thursday, its month-long review period would be doubled to 60 days.
Obama has expended significant political capital on finalizing an agreement to keep Iran from going nuclear, prompting Republicans to accuse him of making too many concessions and even some Democrats to express deep ambivalence.
“He wanted to make it perfectly clear that he is in no rush to an agreement and that he will walk away from the table if there is no good deal to be reached and that there isn’t a deal yet…,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
AP, Washington, 8 July 2015