Obama plunges ahead toward Iran nuclear deal

WASHINGTON -- On the eve of new talks, President Barack Obama is plunging ahead in search of a nuclear agreement with Iran despite outright opposition from American allies in the Middle East and deep skepticism, if not open hostility, from Congress.

Iran is pressing ahead in its own way, trying to make a deal more likely to ease painful economic sanctions without losing its own hard-liners at home.

Obama's willingness to embrace a pact that falls short of UN Security Council demands for Iran to halt uranium enrichment has pushed his administration's relationship with Israel to the brink, strained ties with Gulf Arab states and exacerbated tensions with members of Congress.

In the run-up to the new talks in Geneva today, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani conceded a long-standing demand that Iran's right to enrich uranium must be recognized in any deal. That incited opposition from hard-liners in his country. Also, speaking to reporters in Rome while en route to the negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif accused Israel of trying to "torpedo" a possible agreement.

Obama, along with Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice, personally appealed to senators in a White House meeting to hold off on seeking additional sanctions in order to test Iran's seriousness in addressing concerns it is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

"We have the opportunity to halt the progress of the Iranian program and roll it back in key respects, while testing whether a comprehensive resolution can be achieved," the White House said in a statement after the two-hour meeting yesterday.

Some in Congress, however, appeared unconvinced. A group of Republican senators introduced an amendment that would keep penalties in place, and toughen them, unless Iran freezes its nuclear program completely. Led by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), the senators called Obama's plan a "well-intentioned but deeply naive diplomatic strategy" that "is doomed to fail."

The amendment is not likely to be voted on until after Thanksgiving, which gives the U.S. negotiating team in Geneva some flexibility.