Iran’s top man backs continued nuke talks

Iran’s supreme leader on Thursday gave guarded support for continued negotiations over his nation’s nuclear program, in a signal that could help shield the talks from the criticism of hard-liners in Tehran.

“I do not disagree with the extension of negotiations, as I have not disagreed with negotiations in the first place,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an address to the Basij militia group.

Negotiators for Iran and six world powers agreed Tuesday to extend the year-old talks by seven months because they did not reach an agreement by the self-imposed Monday deadline.

But Khamenei gave no sign that he would support the kind of flexibility that may be needed to close a deal. He praised Iran’s negotiating team because “they have been firm, have not caved in.”

Earlier this week, Khamenei said the West had tried and failed to bring Iran “to its knees” with the talks, and insisted that Tehran would stick to its demands that it be allowed to develop an industrial-scale nuclear program.

The seven countries have been seeking a deal that would lift sanctions on Iran if it agrees to restrictions aimed at preventing it from gaining a nuclear bomb-making capability.

Negotiators for the two sides said the talks had made progress in many areas. But they were unable to bridge gaps on two core issues: how much uranium enrichment capability Iran should retain and how quickly to remove international sanctions against the country.

The failure of the negotiators to reach a deal has emboldened critics of the talks in both the United States and Iran.

U.S. and Iranian officials declared at the talks’ end on Tuesday that there had been new ideas and that the negotiations might be wrapped up in a few months.