US Says Iran Nuclear Deal Not Imminent

State Dept sets out current status of Iran talks

A solid month of expectations have said that the Vienna talks should lead to a new Iran deal any day now. It’s always contingent on one thing going right, and so far, its always something that doesn’t happen or is quickly replaced with a new issue.

US State Department officials are laying out where they view the situation, and it’s as it has been for weeks. The US is less optimistic than anyone, and continually preparing the idea that things might fall apart.

The State Department says a deal is “neither imminent nor certain,” a stark contrast from what everyone else has been saying, that the deal is imminent, and if not certain, all but certain.

Negotiations have been going for awhile, and while not everything is public about them, the indication is that the deal is virtually finalized, just waiting for everyone to sign off on a few minor issues.

And even though the US seems to not be trying to echo that narrative, they too are saying the onus of the final deal is on Iran, once again giving the impression that the final deal is there to be had.

Saying that the onus is down to one country is mostly a way to preemptively blame one side for any upcoming failure, with the US wanting to blame Iran, Iran wanting to blame the US, etc. Its not clear that there are any issues that remain stumbling blocks to finalization.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.