Speaking on the This Week program, President Obama’s Senior Adviser David Axelrod again threatened sanctions against Iran and expressed hope that the international community had “come together” against them.
But Admiral Michael Mullen is expressing concern that Iran, with the year end deadline just weeks away, has become “non-responsive,” warning that it may serve to destabilize the nation.
Just two days ago Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed willingness to deal if the international community stopped its repeated threats, a sentiment later reiterated by Foreign Minister Mottaki. Neither comments was met with much eagerness from Western officials, or indeed much acknowledgement.
With the “deadline” so close, it is possible the Iranian government sees little point in seeking new rapprochement at this late hour and considers the next round of sanctions a given. Whether this defeatist attitude carries over into future negotiations remains to be seen, but at this point the prospect of a deal doesn’t look very likely.
