To prevent Congress from voting on new Iran sanctions that critics believe would cause the collapse of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security council plus Germany (P5+1), President Barack Obama has urged Congress to delay the vote until the end of March, according to sources speaking on condition of anonymity.

The March deadline would allow the Obama administration to work toward a “political framework” with Iran that would be then used to achieve a comprehensive deal by June 30, the deadline from November interim deal between Iran and P5+1.

But in his latest speech, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who has final say on the nuclear program, made two significant statements about the nuclear negotiations.

Khamenei said that he would agree to a “good agreement” and that just like the United States, he believes that no deal is better than a bad deal. This news was highlighted by Reformist media and media in favor of resolving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program as being a positive sign. They also happen to be some of the most optimistic statements by the supreme leader regarding the nuclear negotiations.