Obama said on verge of Mideast peace talks

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is poised to seal a deal that would allow him to announce a resumption of Middle East talks, sources told The Guardian.

The British newspaper said unnamed U.S., Israeli, Palestinian and European officials close to the discussions said the announcement of resumed talks could come soon.

A U.S. promise to take a tougher line with Iran over its nuclear weapons program is key to the deal, The Guardian said. The newspaper said the United States, Britain and France are planning to prod the U.N. Security Council into expanding sanctions to include Iran's oil and gas industry, which The Guardian said would cripple Iran's economy.

For its part, the Israeli government would be expected to impose a partial freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.

The Guardian said the details of the deal would be hammered out in London, where Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is to meet with special U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell.

The report said both Russia and France have approached the United States offering to host a peace conference.

Obama would make the announcement of resumed talks either in New York Sept. 23 or at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh the next day, flanked by Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and as many Arab leaders as he can get, The Guardian said.

The newspaper said Obama had hoped to make the announcement before the start of Ramadan, but couldn't get everyone on board in time.