Iran's president signals a national referendum is possible

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani signaled that he could hold a national referendum that would bypass conservatives who control Parliament on key issues, possibly including the ongoing nuclear negotiations with the West.

CBS News State Department Correspondent Margaret Brennan told CBSN that in a speech Sunday, Rouhani said a referendum is allowed in the Iranian constitution and he would like to see the public take up such a vote.

"It will be good to, after 36 years, even for once, or even every 10 years if we implement this principle of the Constitution, and put important economic, social and cultural issues to a direct referendum instead of to the Parliament," Rouhani said Sunday, according to the New York Times.

Speaking to an economic conference in Tehran, Rouhani both countered hard-line critics worried Iran will give up too much while also attempting to signal his administration remains open to negotiation with the six-nation group leading the talks.

Brennan said that a referendum "could potentially bypass some of the clerics and conservatives who have a stranglehold on Iran's institutions and who have been opposed to this deal so it could empower some of the moderates who want to accept it."

Brennan added that ultimately Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would decide on whether to accept such a deal, but a public vote could it make it harder for him to just outright reject one. Of course, Khamenei would presumably have to approve of a referendum in the first place.

Brennan says that Rouhani has been in "an uncomfortable position from the get go."

"He's been empowered to negotiate with the West but he's been walking a very careful line and it's not clear what powers he actually has beyond helping to negotiate this nuclear deal," Brennan said. "So he's already been very careful in his political choices and it could be a costly one to push for a referendum."

On Jan. 15, Iranian negotiators will meet in Geneva with officials from the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, hoping to hammer details out of a final deal. Iran reached an interim, one-year deal with world powers in November 2013 to freeze its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of some sanctions. Negotiators later agreed to extend talks until June 30, with hopes of reaching a rough deal in March.

The West fears Iran's nuclear program could allow it to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, like power generation and medical research.

The main conflict is over uranium enrichment, which can create both reactor fuel and the fissile core of nuclear arms. In seeking to reduce Iran's bomb-making ability, the U.S. has proposed that Tehran export much of its stockpile of enriched uranium - something the Islamic Republic has long said it would not do. Two other unresolved issues are Iran's Fordo underground enrichment site and the nearly built Arak nuclear reactor.

Two diplomats in recent days told The Associated Press that Iran and the U.S. tentatively agreed on a formula about shipping its stockpile to Russia, as well as drew up a catalog outlining areas of potential accord and differing approaches to remaining disputes. On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham denied any tentative formula or catalog had been made.