NOTHING TO SEE; THIS IS SO LAST MONTH – AT 12:38 P.M. ET:   Remember Iran?  There's still this matter of the Iran nuclear deal, which depends on rigorous inspections.  Not going so well, we think.   From Reuters: 

VIENNA A U.N. report on whether Iran has in the past carried out work related to nuclear weapons will not reach a definitive conclusion on the subject, the chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday.

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is required under a landmark deal between major powers and Iran, which provides for a lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.

A clear verdict that weapons-related work occurred would have made it difficult for the deal to proceed, but diplomats have said for weeks that they do not expect the report to be clear-cut, which IAEA chief Yukiya Amano confirmed on Thursday.

"The report will not be black and white," Amano told a news conference when asked about the final assessment of possible military dimensions, or PMD, file which is due next week.

In November 2011, the IAEA issued an annex to a regular report on Iran, listing twelve issues which could indicate Iran might have had a nuclear weapons program.

Iran denies these allegations, but the IAEA, which says it takes no information at face value, has described the intelligence from its member states which formed the basis of the PMD file as "overall credible".

COMMENT:  Sounds awfully vague, and very political, to me.  The powers that be want this deal to proceed.  Some will adjust their "conclusions" accordingly.  It is Obama's crowning "achievement" in foreign policy, even though it may not achieve anything.  The next president will have to look at this very closely, if he or she wants to prevent a catastrophe.

November 28, 2015