IRAN SAYS YES, BUT, AND BUT, AND BUT - AT 7:18 P.M. ET:  Iran seems to be edging closer to a general, very general acceptance of some kind of restriction on its nuclear program, with all kinds of caveats and if-buts.  Nothing to see here, folks.  Nothing to see:

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A high-ranking Iranian official said Tuesday that even if the country agreed to a United Nations-sponsored plan to ship its enriched uranium abroad for further processing, it would not ship it all at once, Iranian news media reported.

That position, if maintained, could undermine the entire plan. The French government, a party to the deal, has made clear that the uranium must be shipped out all at once before the end of the year.

The French are tougher than we are.  The question is whether Obama, who desperately needs some kind of piece of paper to show to the American public, will cave to Iranian demands.

Iran has said it will formally respond on Friday to the proposal, which is intended to delay the country’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon for about a year and buy time for a broader diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff.

On Tuesday, Alaeddin Borujerdi, the head of the Parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said that if Iran agrees to ship its uranium abroad, “this must not happen in one go,” and that the fuel must be shipped in installments, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.

Shipping on the installment plan is unacceptable to sane people.  It's a time waster, a stall tactic, allowing Iran to replace, through production, the very uranium it is shipping abroad.

We'll wait for Friday's Iranian announcement, but don't get out the "peace in our time" signs just yet.

October 27, 2009