Iran Nuclear Talks Extension Could Contribute to Derailing Progress: Expert

WASHINGTON, November 25 (Sputnik) – Extending the deadline for the P5+1 and Iran to reach a nuclear agreement until June 30 provides opponents in US Congress with more time to undermine any potential deal, an arms control expert has told Sputnik News Agency.

"With the extension it is certainly more difficult because it gives critics room to take measures that could derail the progress that has been made thus far and push the sides away from the negotiating table," Kelsey Davenport, Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, said.

Iran has fulfilled all of its commitments thus far and is not going to move towards developing nuclear weapons in the meantime, she stressed.

"The interim agreement has frozen Iran's nuclear program and has put in place stringent monitoring and verification mechanisms. And all of these measures will remain in place under the interim deal. Iran's program will remain frozen with a camera on it," Davenport explained.

Iran and the P5+1 powers agreed to extend the political deadline to March 2015, at which point they would assess if a path to a final deal existed before finalizing a comprehensive agreement by the end of June, Secretary of State John Kerry said at a press briefing in Vienna on Monday.

Iran's nuclear program has been a matter of concern for a number of countries, with the West accusing Tehran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of civilian activities, which Iranian authorities have denied.

Due to the controversy surrounding the country's nuclear program, Iran has been a target of sanctions from the UN Security Council, the European Union, the United States and several other nations.