THE CRUNCH – AT 11:14 A.M. ET: Nuclear negotiations with Iran enter their final stage today. Tuesday is the presumed deadline for finishing a preliminary agreement. We're getting all kinds of conflicting reports, with some saying the parties are very close, others saying not so close. The French have been the toughest negotiators on our side, making up for wilful American weakness. From France 24:
Tense negotiations on reaching a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme entered a crucial phase on Saturday as France's top diplomat flew in to join talks in Lausanne.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, seen as the most hawkish representative of the so-called P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States overseeing the talks, was the first European minister to arrive in the Swiss city, joining US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"I am coming here with the desire to move towards a robust agreement," Fabius told reporters in Lausanne. "We have made progress on certain issues but not enough on others."
The stakes could not be higher. Global powers are chasing a deal to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions which have poisoned international relations for 12 years, and seal 18 months of closed-door, painstaking talks which have criss-crossed the globe and involved hundreds of experts.
The negotiating parties have set themselves a deadline of March 31 to agree a “framework” deal with Iran over its nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is only for civilian energy needs but the West fears could lead to the development of nuclear weapons.
They will then have until June 30 to reach a final agreement, which will aim to seal off Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapon in exchange for the easing of a labyrinth of international sanctions which have excluded the Islamic republic from lucrative oil markets and crippled its economy.
Kerry and Zarif have met multiple times since the dragging talks resumed in earnest in 2013. But the road to a deal has been strewn with hurdles, and even with a deadline just days away, Iran and the US Friday were still insisting the other side had to make concessions.
"We have tough negotiations and we have differences and we have to solve them," Zarif told reporters.
COMMENT: The great fear, expressed even by our allies, is that Obama will order Kerry to cave in on major points just to get a piece of paper. I hope I'm wrong on that.
Should it be a bad deal, or should there be no deal, Congress will be prepared to pass legislation giving itself a major role on the Iran nuclear issue. Obama has vowed to veto it, and, I'm sorry to say, his veto will probably be upheld. The Congressional Black Caucus, ever loyal to "the first," is already working to block a veto override. But the passage of legislation itself will send a sharp message to this useless president.
March 28, 2015 |