Kerry: Iran nuclear deadline extended 7 months

Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program will be extended seven months, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Monday after it became clear world powers could not reach an accord by a midnight deadline.

The timeline for a deal over Tehran's nuclear capabilities has been pushed back four months, with the final details to be worked out three months later.

A long-sought deal could end a 12-year standoff with the West that has raised the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and Israeli military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the talks will resume in December, and about $700 million in frozen Iranian assets will be unblocked each month while negotiations continue. Hammond said negotiators remain far apart on how many centrifuges Iran should be allowed and how much uranium it can enrich for what it says is peaceful energy production.

Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill praised the Obama administration for continuing talks with Iran past Monday's deadline for an agreement.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she supports continuing the talks and urged her colleagues to be patient because, she said, Iran is further from getting nuclear weapons now than before negotiations began.

"These talks are the only way to peacefully ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon," Feinstein said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said that going forward he expects "to see demonstrable progress toward a robust deal that blocks all potential pathways to a bomb and lays out a comprehensive inspections and verification regime, with no ambiguity on the consequences should Iran cheat."

Others said the talks so far have been a failure by allowing Iran to continue work on a nuclear weapons program.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, said the negotiations "have done little to advance the security of the United States and our allies, but they have benefited Iran."

Iran continues to enrich uranium, is free to pursue nuclear-related research and development on advanced and more efficient centrifuges, and has gained access to previously frozen assets and an easing of sanctions, Rogers said.

At the same time, Iran has not provided United Nations weapons inspectors full access to its military research facilities, has not fully disclosed its past activities and continues its work on ballistic missiles, he said. And restrictions Iran has agreed to so far are easily reversible, Rogers said.

"While the White House longs for a deal, Iran strengthens its hand," Rogers said. "It's time for the administration to reconsider its entire approach to Iran."

Republicans, who run the House and are set to gain control of the Senate in January, have said they aim to pass a bill to increase sanctions on Iran if it fails to commit to an agreement.

The White House said Monday such an effort would be a mistake.

"We continue to believe that adding on sanctions while negotiations are ongoing would be counterproductive," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "Layering on additional sanctions could leave some of our partners to believe that the sanctions are more punitive than anything else, and it could cause cracks in that international sanctions regime to appear."

Earnest said there's been progress on inspections, which are "unlike any access we've had to the Iranian nuclear program in history."

He said Obama continues to believe that no deal is better than a bad deal. "Enough progress has been made to warrant giving the Iranian regime more time," he said.

Contributing: Gregory Korte in Washington. Follow @OrenDorell on Twitter.