Scholar: Iran-US Can Reach Agreement

New York, June 16, IRNA – A professor at the Harvard University has said Tehran and Washington can reach a defendable nuclear agreement. Speaking exclusively to IRNA, Matthew Baum predicted it would be hard to reach a final deal by July 20 but reaching a limited agreement by that time is more possible. US and Iran are not necessarily obliged to reach a final deal by July 20 but can reach an agreement which can be defendable inside their countries and would prevent imposing further sanctions on Iran by US Congress, Baum said. Such an agreement, he added, can also be considered a tangible progress in Iran-US talks. After the end of the deadline, the biggest problem on the way of the nuclear talks is the US Congress, said Baum who is the Marvin Kalb Professor of Global Communications and Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Universityˈs John F. Kennedy School of Government. He added, if the two sides fail to reach some kind of agreement or prove that their talks had some progress, then the US Congress will exert great pressure to prevent continuation of talks with Iran. Such possible move by the US Congress would also face President Barack Obama with some restrictions and considerations which would, in turn, further complicate the nuclear issue, Baum added. He said the main issue in nuclear talks is not the number of Iranˈs centrifuges or removal of all sanctions, but is the existence of a firm political will and mutual trust for reaching a deal. With a political determination, said the professor, all sanctions can be removed within 24 hours./end