SHOCK! – IRAN NUKE TALKS DIFFICULT – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  The newest round of nuclear talks between the West and Iran have ended.  Guess what.  There were no breakthroughs.  Please don't faint at that news.  From The New York Times:

Iran and the group of six major powers negotiating a permanent agreement to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute concluded a two-day round of talks in Vienna on Wednesday, asserting that “a lot of intensive work” remained to complete a draft accord by their self-imposed deadline in three months.

The lead negotiators, the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Catherine Ashton, the top foreign policy official of the European Union, made the assertion in a joint statement that said the next round of talks would be held May 13. The statement suggested that both sides were still struggling with extensive disagreements and described the further negotiations as an attempt to “bridge the gaps in all the key areas.”

The talks took place against rising tensions surrounding Iran’s estranged relations with the West, punctuated by new flare-ups with both the United States and the European Union on nonnuclear issues. The Americans have objected to Iran’s choice for a new United Nations ambassador, contending that he participated in the seizure of American hostages in Tehran in 1979. Iran has expressed anger at European criticism of the country’s human rights record.

The tensions have been further complicated by the crisis in Ukraine, which has alienated the West from Russia, a member of the six-nation group negotiating with Iran, raising questions about Russia’s commitment to the success of the nuclear talks. The other five members of the group are Britain, China, France, Germany and the United States.

COMMENT:  The bottom line is that Iran has no intention of giving up its nuclear-weapons program.  My own sense – and this is informed speculation – is that Obama will arrange for the talks to extend beyond our November midterms, and then cave in, giving Iran a very good deal and calling it peace.  We've been there, done that.

April 10, 2014