Barack Obama puts odds of Iran deal at ‘less than 50-50’

By: American Decency Staff

President Barack Obama pegged the chances of a nuclear agreement with Iran at “less than 50-50,” even as he worked to reassure Senate Democrats that he won’t accept a bad deal, according to a U.S. senator who attended a gathering at the White House.

During something of a working cocktail party Tuesday night, the president sounded a fresh note of pessimism as the nuclear talks in Vienna missed yet another self-imposed deadline — and as his administration has sought to refute accusations that it is desperate for a deal.

“He said the chances, he thought, were less than 50-50 at this point and that he wouldn’t agree to something he thought was weak or unenforceable,” Sen. Dick Durbin said in an interview with POLITICO on Wednesday. “But if he comes up with an agreement and it meets his standards, he wanted us to take an honest look at it and not prejudge.”

Read More

---