By Carol E. Lee And Jay Solomon
WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama suggested on Friday that Iran
could receive significant economic relief immediately after
concluding a deal to curb its nuclear program, a gesture towards
one of Tehran's key demands.
Mr. Obama said such a move would depend on the final accord
allowing international sanctions to be quickly re-imposed if Tehran
violated the agreement it is now negotiating with global powers.
The administration has said the U.S. prefers sanctions would be
lifted in phases as Iran meets certain requirements.
"Our main concern here is making sure that if Iran doesn't abide
by its agreement that we don't have to jump through a whole bunch
of hoops in order to reinstate sanctions," the president said at a
news conference. "It will require some creative negotiations," Mr.
Obama said, adding, "I'm confident it will be successful."
Such solutions could potentially include a faster timetable for
lifting sanctions and also freeing up tens of billions of dollars
in Iranian oil revenue that has been frozen, though Mr. Obama made
no reference to that money.
Later, seeking to clarify the president's comments, a White
House official said Mr. Obama "will not accept a deal without
phased sanctions" relief.
How sanctions would be lifted under is becoming a flashpoint as
Iran and the West try to move from a preliminary agreement made
earlier this month to a final deal by a June 30 deadline.
Mr. Obama, at the news conference, which came after meeting with
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, said the level and timing of
sanctions relief are less important to the U.S. than the measures
that will determine how quickly sanctions can be re-enacted if Iran
breaks any final agreement.
On both the lifting of sanctions and the "snap back" provisions
that put them back in place if Iran is in violation, Mr. Obama said
U.S. negotiators will be seeking "formulas that get to our main
concerns while allowing the other side to make a presentation to
their body politic that is more acceptable."
The president's comments follows defiant statements from Iran's
leaders over the past week insisting that a final agreement lift
sanctions immediately. Mr. Obama appeared to offer a roadmap for
satisfying demands by both Iran and U.S. lawmakers who are
skeptical over the talks.
In Iran's ongoing talks with the U.S., the U.K, France, Germany,
China and Russia, the structuring of sanctions relief, as well as
the provisions for inspecting Iran's nuclear infrastructure, was
left unclear in the framework agreement.
Opponents of the Iran deal on Capitol Hill have become
increasingly concerned that the White House could soften its
position in response to Iranian demands, a fear exacerbated by the
president's comment.
"Throughout the negotiations, we've lost ground, and Iran in
every step of this negotiation has gained ground," said the
chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ed Royce (R.,
Calif), in an interview on Friday. "The idea that they will have
snap backs...is not a credible argument."
U.S. allies in the region, particularly Israel, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates, have voiced concern that Iran will use
any economic windfall to strengthen its regional influence.
The Obama administration estimates Iran has between $100 billion
and $140 billion of its oil revenue frozen in offshore accounts as
a result of sanctions. U.S. officials said they expect Tehran to
gain access to these funds in phases as part of a final deal. Iran
could receive somewhere between $30 billion and $50 billion upon
signing the agreement, said congressional officials briefed by the
administration.
Complicating negotiations, U.S.-ally Saudi Arabia has repeatedly
charged in recent weeks that Iran has provided significant funding,
arms and training to Shiite insurgents in Yemen who gained control
of the country's capital, San'a, and forced the country's president
to flee. Iran has denied these allegations. Iran also is a major
supporter of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, the Assad regime in
Syria and a group of Shiite militias fighting in Iraq.
"The Iranians, last time I checked, did not have a border with
Yemen," Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir
said this past week. "There is no reason for Iran to be involved.
There is no reason for Iran to be supporting one faction against
the other."