Watching Iran’s leadership in the past week talk about the prospects for reaching a comprehensive agreement on their nuclear program by the November 24th deadline has been a bit confusing. Are they optimistic? Pessimistic? Somewhere in between? Regardless, their anxiety about reaching a deal is coming through loudly and the US should be listening.
Last week, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said talks could be extended past November. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s office released an intricate infographic detailing his nearly impossible 12 redlines for negotiations on October 12th via Twitter. President Hassan Rouhani went on television on October 13th to announce a deal was certain, to be followed the next morning by his Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, cautiously saying he does not expect a breakthrough in the current round of talks, but still hopes for a final agreement.
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