CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    SCIENCE
    • Hunt for the Cure
    • Rabbit Hole
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      HALF-FULL
        CULTURE
        • Power Trip
        • Fashion
        • Books
        • Royalist
        TECH
        • Disinformation
        SCOUTED
        • Face Masks
        • Clothing
        • Technology
        • Bedroom
        • Kitchen
        • Home
        • Fitness
        • The Case For
        • I'm Looking For
        • New Kids On the Block
        COUPONS
        • Adidas Promo Codes
        • DoorDash Promo Codes
        • H&M Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • Wine.com Discounts
        • Vitacost Coupons
        • Spanx Promo Codes
        • StubHub Promo Codes
        Products
        NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
        FOLLOW US
        GOT A TIP?

        SEARCH

        HOMEPAGE

        There Is No Iranian Nuclear Deal

        Nuclear Nonsense

        For all the applause over the recent "deal," what's actually happened is astonishingly inconclusive.

        Matt Lerner

        Updated Jul. 11, 2017 6:02PM ET / Published Nov. 26, 2013 2:00PM ET 

        ARASH KHAMOOSHI / AFP / Getty Images

        Early Sunday morning, the real details of the U.S.-Iranian negotiations came to light. It is cloak-and-dagger stuff: American and Iranian delegations have, for the last year, been meeting in Oman under the auspices of Sultan Qaboos, the country's aging, understated leader. The negotiations were heavily compartmentalized, the teams hand-picked, the stakes high.

        At first blush, this is a triumph of backroom diplomacy, a deft escape from the influence of clients who have sought to undermine rapprochement. It was with fawning adoration that the New York Times ran the story on Monday: “Nuclear Accord With Iran Opens Diplomatic Doors in the Mideast.” It was with predictable disdain that the Weekly Standard published a piece by John Bolton accusing the administration of “Abject Surrender.”

        What this is, really, is a triumph of narrative engineering. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif's so-called “historic tweet” set the tone for the applause that followed: “We have reached an agreement” — this is a message that is conclusive by virtue only of concision. There is certainly no room in Twitter's 140 characters for the cavalcade of caveats that trail the so-called “agreement.”

        For starters: as Josh Rogin points out, President Obama has lost some credibility when it comes to enforcing “red lines.” After the administration's slipshod response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, conceptual boundaries such as that one carry little weight. The deal gives Iran and Western powers six months to work out a final agreement; the White House's press release establishes that the current agreement “does not represent an acceptable end state” to the showdown.

        That the phrase “kicking the can down the road” has not yet been deployed to describe the current state of affairs surely evidences either newfound restraint or newfound creativity on the part of the American media.

        There also appears to be some confusion with regard to the actual contents of the vaunted agreement. The Iranian press release announces the end of U.S. sanctions on everything from petrochemicals to gold to metals; meanwhile, the U.S. statement claims that “the overwhelming majority of the sanctions regime … remains in place.” The White House says that Iran has promised to neutralize its stockpile of 20%-enriched uranium, while Iran is careful to maintain that half of the 20% uranium will be retained as uranium dioxide—oxide fuel, the release says, for the Tehran Research Reactor. This is somewhat different than neutralization, although turning the uranium dioxide fuel into weapons-grade material would require the construction of large additional facilities that Iran does not currently possess.

        Perhaps the most salient takeaway from this temporary accord is the fact of how it was presented: an historic agreement, a diplomatic victory. It could be true that what's been sorely needed is not an actual contract so much as a simple thaw in relations. It could be true that this secret, yearlong process was not important for all its wrangling over technical details and complex legalese, but for the simple fact that it happened. Kabuki diplomacy, conducted in front of the eyes of the world at some international crossroads, has been so thoroughly fetishized that it might now be void of utility. Covert meetings in a small Gulf state: this, then, is real effort.

        Nevertheless, there is no final deal. The White House has said precisely as much, and the Iranians have peppered their short statement with so many references to the six-month deadline that the reader is left with the impression that the time limit is the single pertinent detail of the agreement.

        READ THIS LIST

        DAILY BEAST
        • Podcasts
        • Cheat Sheet
        • Politics
        • Crime
        • Entertainment
        • Media
        • Covid-19
        • Half Full
        • U.S. News
        • Scouted
        • Travel
        • Subscription
        • Crossword
        • Newsletters
        • Podcasts
        • About
        • Contact
        • Tips
        • Jobs
        • Advertise
        • Help
        • Privacy
        • Code of Ethics & Standards
        • Diversity
        • Terms & Conditions
        • Copyright & Trademark
        • Sitemap
        • Coupons
        © 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC