Iranian president reaches out to Obama as deadline nears

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reached out directly to President Obama and other world leaders on Thursday as negotiators near a deadline on talks over his country’s nuclear program. 

U.S. negotiators in Lausanne, Switzerland, received a letter from Rouhani to Obama, National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said. The details of the letter are not known.

{mosads}The Iranian leader also sent letters to the leaders of five other countries participating to the nuclear talks “explaining Iran’s position on nuclear issues,” he wrote on Twitter. In addition, Rouhani spoke on the phone with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President François Hollande.

Rouhani told the British and French leaders that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and “all unjust sanctions” against his country need to be lifted. He also brought up the Saudi-led military offensive against rebels in Yemen.

Negotiators have until Tuesday to agree to an outline of a deal to limit Iran’s ability to create a nuclear weapon.

Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Thursday for the latest round of talks.

Obama administration officials have expressed hope all sides can come to an agreement by the end of the month, with a final deal to be done by June 30. But significant obstacles remain.

Contrary to Rouhani’s wishes, Western nations want sanctions on Iran to be rolled back gradually so that they can be snapped back into place if Iran violates the terms.

Another sticking point has been the number of nuclear centrifuges Iran is allowed to operate. The U.S. may allow Iran to have hundreds of the devices in a fortified, underground bunker, according to The Associated Press.

There are also concerns that the conflict in Yemen could make it more difficult to reach a deal. The U.S. is providing logistical and intelligence support to Saudi-led airstrikes against Shiite rebels that are aligned with Iran.

The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China are the other nations involved in the talks. The countries are hoping for a 10-year deal that would restrict the size of Iran’s nuclear program in order to prevent it from quickly creating a nuclear weapon.