IRAN TALKS ON THE BRINK – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  The Iran nuclear talks are supposed to end tomorrow with an agreement, but they won't.  It's now assumed they'll go past the deadline because there are still major disagreements.  The Iranian foreign minister has gone home.

There is substantial worry among grown-ups in Washington that Obama will make last-minute concessions that will turn any agreement into a farce.  From The Hill: 

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said on Sunday that he worries Iran has more momentum than the U.S. heading into final talks over Tehran’s nuclear arms research.

“I would actually fear that the Iranians have the upper hand right now,” Hayden told “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace.

“I would hope this is not the final round of talks,” he added.

Hayden argued on Sunday that the proposed deal does not do enough in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“We get them out of the penalty box for their nuclear activities,” Hayden said.

“Then they’re free and empowered to do all their other activities in the region,” he added.

A senior U.S. official told reporters that negotiators will push back a self-imposed June 30th deadline.

“Now we’re down to brass tacks,” Hayden said. “What it is they say has to be what they actually agreed to.”

Hayden added that anytime, anywhere inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities are the most important concession the U.S. could secure in any final bargain.

COMMENT:  Even a group of former Obama advisers warned last week that they feared we would agree to provisions that fall short of minimum standards.  We're getting very little information out of the talks that's definitive, so it's hard to say precisely where we are.

I've seen some very good ideas from Dennis Ross and others that we simply extend the talks for months, not days, and go for a better deal.  The Iranians need this more than we do. 

June 29, 2015