Iran Talks in the press

Source: US Mission Geneva/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Round of talks in Lausanne last week

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says that progress made in nuclear talks means a final deal can be reached.

"There is nothing that cannot be resolved," although some differences still remain, Iranian state media quoted him as saying.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also said that "substantial progress" had been made in the talks.

Six world powers are negotiating a deal with Iran aimed at limiting its nuclear activity, with a late March deadline.

Source: BBC  http://ow.ly/KE6R0

The "fighting Daech-ISIS" first angle

It is sometime possible to say a little bit of something without saying it completely. That is particularly true for diplomats. Contrary to what was reported too quickly last Sunday, US secretary of state, John Kerry, has not said that United States were now accepting the fact that Bachar al Assad would stay in power for ever. Yet some wording has changed and these changes are made to help the needed Iran-US talks.

Source: France Inter http://ow.ly/KE4R0  

Along these lines, according to Fabrice Balanche, Research Director at Université de Lyon 2 (Gremmo), priorities for the US secretary of state are the following:

·      Fighting Daech; here Iran is clearly in a position to contain Daesh’s progression in Iraq via the Shiite militias http://ow.ly/KE5LC,

·      Then avoiding the collapse of Syrian institutions,

·      Then restoring justice in the country.

Source: La Croix http://ow.ly/KE7cX

  

Iran political scene

Nasser Hadian, a political analyst in Tehran, says hardliners are looking ahead. If a deal is reached, their priority will be to prevent it from paving the way for a US-Iranian rapprochement […].

With majlis elections due next year, another priority [for the hardliners] will be to limit the political benefit that would accrue to the moderate camp represented by the trio of Rouhani, Rafsanjani and Khatami. Even a partial lifting of sanctions could increase Iran’s oil sales and ease economic tensions, boosting the moderates’ chances of victory.

Source : Financial Times http://ow.ly/KE6mq