Issues Under Fire: Iran-P5+1 Talks Extended, But for How Long?

Issues Under Fire: Iran-P5+1 Talks Extended, But for How Long? 

Since observing the intensely dramatic events surrounding Iran's P5+1 nuclear negotiations has been exceedingly entertaining, it was anti-climatic to say the least, when an extension was announced. Considering all the lying, spying and efforts to sabotage the process, it was a major disappointment to see the talks fizzle with no sizzle. After all, today's headlines should've shouted, a deal was reached or all hell would be breaking loose in the very near future.  

Apparently, the negotiations must have hit just a minor snag, requiring only fine tuning some of the fine print, because President Obama is on record for being against anymore extensions. On Feb. 9th, President Obama said the U.S. won't approve another extension of Iran nuclear talks if negotiations remain at a substantive impasse.  

"We are at a point where they need to make a decision, he said." 'We know enough that the issues are no longer technical. The issues now are does Iran have the political will and desire to get a deal done?" The President went on to say, U.S. options in the absence of a deal are narrow and unattractive, hinting at the possibility of military engagement in the future. 

With reading between the lines of statements from negotiators killed at deflecting direct questions, being the only way to gage progress, one can only presume or speculate over the duration of this delay. With Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov jetting back to the talks after leaving during the final hours, indicating he'd return only when conditions were favorable to an agreement, many saw his arrival back in Switzerland was a positive sign. 

When RT.com reported Lavrov stating "We can quite certainly say that on all the key aspects of the final settlement of this problem, the ministers have reached principle consent that will be, hopefully in the next hours, maybe a day, put on paper.", many found the remarks encouraging. Granted, the devil is always in the details, the international community is still anxiously awaiting the final draft. 

Bottom line: Most experts monitoring Iran's negotiations with the P5+1agree, the longer these talks linger, the less likely an agreement will be reached, let alone accepted by hard liners in the West.

With House Speaker, John Boehner leading another delegation of GOP legislators to Israel for marching orders and talking points, while Israel lobby less than loyal Democrats to create a bipartisan backlash against the Obama administration's efforts, time is of the essence. Podcast Below!