Reuters: Kerry says unclear whether interim Iran deal within reach
(Reuters) - On the eve of fresh talks with Iran, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it was unclear whether an interim agreement over its nuclear power program was within reach.
"I can't tell you whether or not we can get a deal, whether we are close," Kerry told a news conference on Saturday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he attended an Egyptian investment summit.
"The purpose of these negotiations is not just to get a deal, it is to get the right deal," he added.
WNU Editor: These talks and its details are being kept secret .... so it is hard to comment on something that is still not being made public. But if I was to hazard guess .... the big problem/obstacle will be the clause(s) involving verification and inspections. The Iranians have been consistent in their demand that certain military installations must be exempted from international inspectors .... and as long as that condition remains, I have trouble seeing the White House being able to sell this deal to the Israelis and other Middle Eastern countries.
More News On U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's Comments That He Is Unsure If An Interim Iran Deal Is Within Reach
Kerry cautious ahead of new Iran talks, cites 'important gaps' standing in way of nuclear deal -- AP
Kerry says ‘important gaps’ remain in Iran nuclear deal -- AFP
Kerry: ‘Important gaps’ stand in way of Iran nuclear deal -- PBS Newshour
'Important Gaps' Remain In Nuclear Talks With Iran, Kerry Says -- NPR
US secretary of state remains cautious about Iran deal but cites progress -- The Guardian
Kerry: Unclear If Iranian Nuclear Deal Will Be Reached -- VOA
Kerry Says It's 'Unclear' Whether Iran Nuclear Deal Deadline Can Be Met -- Radio Free Europe
1 comment:
We keep hearing that the Gulf States are "privately" concerned about the deal. If this is such a bad deal as I think it likely is, I wish they would go public with their concerns. If they did, we might get some traction to actually oppose this thing. As it is, with them being quite about it this would make it seem all but certain that whatever deal with whatever terms Iran wants will go through.
After all the P5+1 are all either enemies of America or view America as a strategic competitor. As such, they are unlikely to go along with anything that might weaken Iran or help America. In such a negotiating environment, even someone like John Bolton would likely have a very difficult time getting anything good out of this!!
At the very least, I'd have thought nations such as Saudi Arabia given their vast oil wealth could have ensured themselves a seat at the negotiating table. I'm puzzled as to why they did not do this. Perhaps they enjoy seeing America humiliated more than they care about their national security. After all 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from there.
If team Obama gets the deal they want, this will only further the hatred of us among the Gulf Arab states who already hate us and it will embolden our strategic competitors in the UK, Germany, and France and give inspiration to die hard enemies of America such as Russia and China, as well as Iran. In such an environment, these nations might all decide to "go for the jugular" so to speak against America.
At the very least, the elected representatives in the American Congress need to be kept in the loop on this and need to be allowed to offer constructive critiques on this. Failure to do so is to do a grave disservice to the American people.
As stated earlier, this would be a very tall order for any American negotiators to get anything good out of this. After all everyone at the negotiating table except for possibly America is either friends of Iran, enemies of America, views America as a strategic competitor or all of the above!! In such an environment, the best approach for America probably would have been to stay out of it!!
Had we done so I suspect 1.)the Israelis possibly working with the Gulf Arab states would have taken care of this problem, or 2.)without America to focus Iranian hatred there's likely less incentive for them to build such a weapon. Either way problem solved. Unfortunately either through malevolence or sheer stupidity team Obama has made things worse!!
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