Iran’s Formal Response to the P5+1 Offer

Via Nouvel Obs’ Vincent Jauvert (via Reuters, via TPM) comes this .pdf link to a facsimile of Iran’s formal response to the P5+1’s last offer for negotiating a settlement to the nuclear standoff, delivered in Brussels on the 4th of July. (Who said the Iranians had no sense of irony?) Reuters is highlighting the introductory passages which are basically a diatribe against “. . .the duplicitous behavior of certain big powers. . .who interpret and apply human rights laws and rules on the basis of their self-serving interests. . .” Hmmm. I wonder who that might be. . .

A bit further down, though, there’s this:

In closing, I wish to state that the Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared to start negotiations in various fields on the basis of common areas in the two packages [Iran’s and the P5+1’s] with the aim of reaching a comprehensive agreement on the basis of the collective commitment.

So is that a yes or a no? Sounds more like diplospeak for “maybe.” As I’ve said before, diplomacy is a method, not a strategy. Results are far from guaranteed.

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