REX AT WORK – AT 11:58 A.M. ET:  Rex Tillerson gets no respect.  He works hard, is reshaping the State Department as a modern institution, and works doggedly on our behalf.  From Reuters: 

WARSAW - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Saturday that working groups on fixing what the US sees as flaws in the Iranian nuclear deal have already begun to meet, trying to determine the scope of what is needed and how much Iran needs to be engaged in it.

Tillerson, ending a week-long European trip in Warsaw, said that he had secured support from Britain, France and Germany - all parties to the 2015 agreement - to work on the deal that President Donald Trump has warned he will walk away from unless changes are made.

"It's always darkest before the dawn," Tillerson told journalists. "The working groups have already begun to meet on efforts to agree principles, what is the scope of what we attempt to address and also how much we engage Iran on discussions to address these issues," he said.

The nuclear deal gave Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief in return for curbs on its atomic program.

Trump vowed to stop waiving US sanctions unless the Europeans agreed to strengthen the deal's terms by consenting to a side agreement that would effectively eliminate provisions that allow Iran to gradually resume some advanced atomic work. Trump also wants tighter restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile program.

COMMENT:  This will be tough going, especially with the Germans, who see Iran as a large market.  But President Trump is increasingly being seen as a serious international leader, and a man determined to win.  The will to win, and the power behind it, tend to move mountains. 

January 27, 2018