He has once again made a public promise to declare a state, this time by September, if a comprehensive final deal is not reached.
With enough creativity and courage, some way can still be found to give each side enough to permit a comprehensive deal.
President Clinton drew the right lines this week when he laid down the minimum conditions that any comprehensive deal with the tobacco industry must meet.
But participants in the talks remained optimistic that they would be able to strike a comprehensive deal soon.
That would also be a natural lead into a comprehensive nuclear deal that limited future enrichment to 5%.
They were pushing for a legally binding comprehensive deal by 2020.
Adjustments in one direction or another could be justified by other elements of a comprehensive deal.
Meanwhile, Obama has kept up the pressure on Iran to make a more comprehensive deal.
The final comprehensive deal is supposed to be concluded by September.
He cautioned, though, that it would be hard to reach a comprehensive deal by Friday, when the next hearing is scheduled.
