FOX News: While US Secretary of State John Kerry says the negotiations are making progress, Iran still wants to enrich more uranium that the US thinks is necessary.
Reporter: Secretary of State John Kerry says extending the negotiations will give all side the best chance of reaching a “good agreement”. But some Republicans say Iran is benefiting from the delay more than the US. Iran initially claimed it wanted to expand its uranium enrichment program from 20,000 centrifuges to 190,000 centrifuges over 8 years. Secretary Kerry said he made it quote “crystal clear” to the Iranians that that was not going to happen, and he said this is not the time to walk away from talks. Kerry said in a statement, “Diplomacy takes time, and persistence is needed to determine whether we can achieve our objectives peacefully. To turn our back prematurely on diplomatic efforts when significant progress has been made would deny ourselves the ability to achieve our objectives peacefully, and to maintain the international unity that we have built.”
US officials say the Obama administration agreed to unfreeze $2.8 billion in Iranian assets because Iran has met some obligations and continues to negotiate. This is on top of $6 billion of assets previously made available to Iran.
Republican Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says this is not a smart step.
He said, “I don’t see an extension of funding to Iran as progress. It looks like the Iranians won extra time with a good cop – bad cop routine, backing off the Supreme Leader’s absurd claim for 190,000 centrifuges. This tells me Iran, with centrifuges spinning, thinks time is on its side.”
Republican Senator Bob Corker the Obama administration needs to insist to Iran in these negotiations that there would be quote “no more extensions”.