Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 26, 2015

Philip Gordon, Politico: The Iran Endgame

The problem of the Ayatollah’s bathroom and other sticking points.

As Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers head to Vienna for what is supposed to be the final week of talks before a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran, it is still far from clear that such an agreement will be reached. Both sides clearly have a strong interest in getting to yes.

By agreeing in the April 2015 Lausanne framework to difficult points like reducing the size of their fissile material stockpile by 97 percent, cutting by two-thirds their number of installed centrifuges and dismantling their plutonium producing heavy water nuclear reactor at Arak, the Iranians have shown they are willing to make painful concessions in the name of a deal, and President Hassan Rouhani—who campaigned on a platform of fixing the economy—would have trouble explaining to Iranians why he walked away from sanctions relief if he overplays his hand this week and the deal falls apart.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 26, 2015

Real Deadline for Iran Deal Is July 9 -- Josh Rogin, Bloomberg

Growing Alarm Over Obama’s Iran Deal -- Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times

Lebanon pivotal to Iran's reach across Middle East -- Kevin Connolly, BBC

Coordinated or not, attacks show Islamic State's growing reach -- Mark Hosenball and Mark Trevelyan, Reuters

Vulnerabilities Exposed, Islamic State Is Evolving Again -- Jeff Seldin, VOA

Washington’s Strategy in Iraq Has Failed -- Peter Van Buren, The Nation

The deadlock in Yemen -- Abdulrahman al-Rashed, Al Arabiya

Analysis: What's Next for Yemen? -- Mohamed Elshinnawi, VOA

China's Hackers Gain Access to Sex Secrets -- Peter Foster, The Telegraph

Russia's Pivot to China Is Real -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Vladimir Putin isn’t breaking a sweat over US tanks -- Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe

The Cold War Never Really Ended -- David Frum, The Atlantic

IMF Would Be Other Casualty of Greek Default -- Mohamed A. El-Erian, Bloomberg

Greece's rich: insulated against an EU exit -- John Hooper, The Guardian

What Would A Saudi-Russian Partnership Mean For World Energy? -- Gaurav Agnihotri, OilPrice.com

Iran Deal’s Sanction Plan Could Affect Oil Prices -- Time