US, Iran presidents issue warnings as nuclear talks extended
Iran and world powers gave themselves an extra week to reach a nuclear accord, extending a deadline due to expire on June 30, while US President Barack Obama said there would be no deal if all pathways to an Iranian nuclear weapon were not cut off.
With talks in the final stretch, Iran's president Hassan Rouhani also spoke out, saying his country would resume suspended atomic work if the West breaks its promises.
Iran and six world powers are working towards an accord that would see Tehran halt sensitive nuclear work for at least a decade in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, potentially the biggest breakthrough in decades of hostility between Washington and Tehran.
"Ultimately this is going to be up to the Iranians" to meet the requirements set out by the international community, US President Obama said during a news conference in Washington.
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Obama's remarks were likely to be seen as a response to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who last week seemed to place a hurdle in front of the talks by ruling out either a long freeze of sensitive nuclear work or opening military sites to inspectors.
President Rouhani, a pragmatist elected two years ago on promises to reduce Iran's international isolation, said on June 30 Tehran would resume halted nuclear work immediately if the powers failed to keep their promises under any accord.
In a positive sign for the talks, Western diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was expected to report next month that Iran had complied with a preliminary deal to reduce its low-enriched uranium stockpile.