Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- November 18, 2104

(Reuters/Nicholas Kamm)

The Iran Nuclear Talks Have A Week Left To Triumph Brilliantly Or Utterly Collapse -- Steve Levine, Quartz

With the final stretch of talks to begin tomorrow for a sanctions-lifting-and-nuclear-halting accord with Iran, the consensus is that Tehran and Western countries’ envoys will fail, and will extend their negotiations. But a small number of analysts argue differently—that, because of the stakes, especially for Iran, the likelier scenarios are starker: either a clear breakthrough, or an acrimonious collapse of the talks.

Quartz has predicted that it will be the former, with the greatest impetus for finding a resolution soon coming from Iran. This is mainly because, with the 31% plunge of oil prices since June, the consequences of protracted talks hit it hardest—sanctions already hurt, and the longer that oil prices stay relatively low, the greater the economic pressure.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- November 18, 2104

Obama’s fire sale to Iran -- Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post

Showing the Faces of Its Murderers, ISIS Shows Its Global Reach -- Tracy McNicoll, The Daily Beast

ISIS unmasked: Why the new beheading video is different -- Andre Mayer, CBC News

Can Saudi Arabia keep ISIS out? -- Holly Williams, CBS

War Against ISIS: The Picture Is Gloomy – Analysis -- Ravi Joshi, Eurasia Review

Defeating ISIS -- Max Boot, Council On Foreign Relations

Syria unleashed wave of terrorism -- Deutsche Welle

Falling Oil Prices Will Hurt Russia, Iran and ISIS -- Claude Salhani, Fiscal Times/Oilprice.com

Iran nuclear talks: what are the chances of agreement? -- The Telegraph

Will Kim Jong-un face mass crimes prosecution at The Hague? -- Peter Ford, CSM

As economic doubts grow, Japan's Abe seeks fresh mandate from voters -- Justin McCurry, CSM

Putin’s Loss of German Trust Seals the West’s Isolation of Russia -- Simon Shuster, Time

Europe, facing multiple threats, still isn’t spending on defense -- Matthew Schofield, McClatchy Foreign Staff

Louvre Abu Dhabi, A French Museum Rising In The Desert -- Laurent Carpentier, World Crunch

The leading Global Thinkers of 2014 -- Foreign Policy