Uncertainty, ambiguity surround Iranian nuclear negotiations

VIENNA, July 12 (UPI) -- Uncertainty surrounds reports that a deal in the Iranian nuclear negotiations could be announced as another deadline looms.

Both the U.S. Department of State and Iran's nuclear negotiation delegation shot down reports that a deal could be announced by Monday's deadline, according to The Washington Post.

"We have never speculated about the timing of anything during these negotiations, and we're certainly not going to start now -- especially given the fact that major issues remain to be resolved in these talks," a senior State Department official said.

An Iranian official in Vienna, Austria, said it was "too optimistic" to predict that a deal would be completed by Sunday's end.

"Even if an agreement is finalized, it will take hours to check and clean up all the paperwork," the official said. "It only requires political will at this point."

Language surrounding the negotiations remains equivocal, leaving those not within the room during the closed-door negotiations with more questions than answers. Negotiations were extended until Monday after already being extended past two deadlines.

"As I have said many times and as I discussed with President Obama last night, we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever," Secretary of State John Kerry said at a press conference on Thursday. "We shouldn't get up and leave simply because the clock strikes midnight."

Although many members of Congress see the repeated deadline extensions as a sign that Iran is gaining more leverage during negotiations, President Barack Obama previously said that he would "walk away from the negotiations if, in fact, it's a bad deal."

The talks to end the 12-year dispute over Iran's nuclear program by limiting the country's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting U.S. and international economic sanctions have extended far beyond the initial June 30 deadline.

The failure to turn the framework agreement into a solid final agreement by Friday means Congress will now take 60 days instead of 30 to decide whether to accept or reject any agreement, possibly keeping sanctions in place until then.

Western officials want Iran to suspend the most sensitive nuclear work for more than 10 years. The number of centrifuges allowed for Iran's nuclear program is also part of the negotiations; Iran originally insisted on keeping 10,000 operational, but dialed back to as low as 6,500.