(JNi.media) Sputnik cites a source in the Iranian foreign ministry as saying “the talks did not fail. They are working on the text.”
By “they,” the source meant the P5+1 group and the Iranians, who are trying to reach a deal by July 12.
“They are working very hard, they are trying to reach the deal until tomorrow or Monday,” the source said.
On the other hand, President Hassan Rouhani said that even if the on-going nuclear negotiations fail, the world will acknowledge Iran’s logical behavior at the talks.
That’s what he called it. Logical.
Addressing a meeting of local cultural and arts figures on Saturday evening, he said, according to IRNA, “And if by Almighty’s grace and the nation’s prayers we become victorious, the world would know that Iranians are skillful people who manage to settle their problems with logic.”
Incidentally, Iran is only one of four countries who run public executions, hanging people convicted of stealing the equivalent of $20.
When you’re logical, the world knows.
On Friday, Ehud Yaari, Middle East affairs commentator for Israel’s Channel 2 News, said the deal “is done. It is done,” and will be signed “early next week.”
According to Sputnik, the text of the comprehensive nuclear deal between world powers and Iran will contain 100 pages and will include technical and legal issues.
The US Congress will be guaranteed 60 days in which to pick through those pages, because the July 9 deadline has not been met.
According to Yaari, the American side has “made a series of capitulations over the past two to three weeks in almost every key aspect that was being debated.”
That’s not a big surprise.
Yaari noted that even the Democrats would have to “admit that it is worse than they thought.”
The question is, of course, would the Democrats—most notably the next minority leader, the senior Senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, be ready to hand President Obama a whopping defeat on this deal.
In a Friday press briefing with State Dept. Deputy Spokesperson Mark C. Toner, a reporter asked, “Why even say we’re not going to negotiate forever, we’re prepared to walk away, unless the US truly believes that the Iranians are not negotiating in good faith? Why even put that threat out there?”
Toner responded, “Look, the emphasis here is on working through these tough issues that remain, and we’ve been very upfront about saying that there are issues that remain unresolved, and we have to work through them. So we’re going to continue to do that.
“But, as we’ve continually said throughout this process, we’ve got to get the best possible deal, one that passes scrutiny, one that prevents Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon or acquiring a nuclear weapon, and we’re going to keep at that.”
What happens if there isn’t an agreement on Monday?
“We’ve said this numerous times,” Toner answered, “We’re not going to be driven by deadlines. We’re rather going to be driven by getting the best possible deal we can.”
So why even mention postponing the deadline to Monday, if it could also be extended to Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday?
To which Toner responded: “Look, the parties are all there, they’re engaged, they’re working through some tough issues, there’s still work that needs to be done, but they’re going to continue working through the weekend. They’re going to be working at this every day. They’re working on it right now as we speak, or as I speak. But the emphasis here is on getting the best possible deal we can, and the Secretary said as much yesterday when he said, ‘I’m willing to stay here and negotiate, but also willing to walk away.’”