Wait ‘Till Next Week
Reuters reports that Iran will wait until next week to say yay or nay to the uranium enrichment deal.
– Ben Katcher
Still Waiting on the Enrichment Deal
The Associated Press reports that Iran has not yet accepted the uranium enrichment deal that would require Tehran to send most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia and France for enrichment by the end of the year.
The agreement was the subject of two and a half days of talks this week in Vienna among the P5+1 and Iran, and a decision from Iran is expected today.
The United States, Russia, and France all seem to be on board.
Iran’s deputy parliament speaker, Mohammad Reza Bahonar seemed to dismiss the plan on Thursday in comments broadcast by Iran’s official news agency (IRNA) – but it is unclear at this point whether Bahonar’s statements represent his personal views or those of the government.
– Ben Katcher
Let’s Get The Whole World To Stop Buying Iranian Oil
That seems to be the Obama administration’s idea of a policy toward Iran.
According to the Associated Press, the Obama administration is urging China, Japan and other countries to scale down their Iranian petroleum purchases to put pressure on Iran while the U.S. and others consider toughening economic sanctions on the regime.
Flynt and Hillary have detailed the reasons why China in particular will not go for this kind of scheme.
– Ben Katcher
Tony Karon on the Enrichment Deal
Tony Karon over at Time breaks down the Vienna negotiations.
Karon provides a smart analysis of the two sides’ positions and explains what the two sides hope to gain from the enrichment deal.
Most importantly, Karon reminds us that “as significant a confidence-building mechanism as the Vienna deal may be, it doesn’t actually begin to address the deadlock between Iran and the West over whether the Islamic Republic will continue to enrich uranium.”
You can read the entire article here.
– Ben Katcher
Quick Wrapup of Vienna Talks: No Deal Yet
CBS News has a quick 2 minute wrap-up of the negotiations in Vienna. IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei is hopeful that a final uranium enrichment deal can be reached by Friday.
– Ben Katcher