“Our negotiators have determined… that they’re going to continue these conversations tomorrow… if necessary, as long as the conversations continue to be productive,” Earnest stated.
Meanwhile, Iran and the P5+1 group — comprising the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany — are still working in Switzerland to secure a political framework for Iran’s nuclear program before the self-imposed deadline that expires at midnight on Tuesday.
[I]t also doesn’t make sense if we are getting serious engagement from the other side [Iran] to just abruptly end the talks based on this [midnight] deadline, because the fact is if we are making progress towards the finish line then we should keep going,” Earnest explained.
US President Barack Obama has been updated on the status of the talks between the P5+1 negotiators, Earnest said, and added he would “not rule out” that the US president would be in touch with the negotiating team later on Tuesday.
The P5+1 negotiators aim to secure an accord with Iran to dismantle parts of the country’s nuclear program and reduce its production of nuclear fuel as well as establish guarantees the fuel will not be used for nuclear weapons.
By Tuesday night, the two sides were expected to hammer out a political framework that will set the stage for a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear research by June 30, 2015.
The sanctions that the United Nations and some Western powers have placed on Iran have been one of the sticking points in the negotiations. Iran said it wants the sanctions lifted immediately, while the P5+1 negotiators said they want the restrictions eased over time.
