President Barack Obama’s schedule this week has been largely cleared in hopes that negotiators will reach an Iran deal.  

Press Secretary Josh Earnest acknowledged that the president’s schedule was freed up, given the potential of news “from Vienna” — where negotiators are racing to beat the clock on yet another deadline. Typically, Obama will schedule a trip or two or three — but this week is just slated to hold meetings at the White House.  

The latest talks have already blown a June 30 deadline, with negotiators setting up a new deadline of July 7 and also talk that the administration wants to wrap up work by Thursday to avoid a 60-day review period in Congress, which would potentially cause the whole issue to linger into September.  

That caused a bit of humor at today’s briefing, when Earnest was asked how firm the June 30 deadline was.  

“July 7,” he corrected the reporter, with a smile on his face.  

Earnest declined to say that was a drop-dead deadline, deferring to negotiators. The test would be whether negotiators felt Iran was ultimately willing to make the decisions they need to make to assure the world that they will never develop a nuclear weapon.  

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