As talks over Iran's nuclear program stall just hours ahead of yet another delayed deadline, the White House is sending mixed signals about what terms could still make their way into a deal.
During the White House briefing Monday, Press Secretary Josh Earnest would not roundly reject the option of taking Iran off of the State Department's State-Sponsors of Terrorism list as part of a deal. Iran has been on the list since 1984. Sudan and Syria are also on the list and Cuba was recently removed.
Instead, Earnest tried to explain that while the ultimate goal is to prevent the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon, other behavioral problems remain. When pressed multiple times by ABC's Jon Karl, Earnest wouldn't give a "no" answer on whether Iran could be taken off the list as part of a deal.
Throughout the nuclear negotiation process, the White House has refused to put Iran's terrorism sponsorship on the table for negotiation as part of a nuclear deal despite the regime's record of sponsoring more terrorism than any other country in the world. The regime is responsible for Hezbollah, the worlds largest terror organization and sends resources and money to Hamas. Before 9/11, Hezbollah was responsible for more American killings than any other terror organization and Hamas is a constant headache for Israel. Removing Iran from the list would be an enormous and unwise concession.
This post has been updated with video, thanks to the WFB.
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