IRAN UPDATE – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:   President Obama put a little spine in his latest comments about Iran, but how stiff that spine is we'll soon find out.  From the Washington Times: 

The Obama administration and its negotiating partners blew through Tuesday’s self-imposed deadline for a major nuclear accord with Iran — prolonging for at least another week some 20 months of exhausting and convoluted closed-door talks that have capped more than a decade of brinkmanship between Tehran and the West.

While most analysts say the deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief remains in reach, the last-minute extension triggered fresh speculation that Iran’s leaders may be dragging out the talks for as long as the U.S. and its negotiating partners will allow before ultimately scuttling a final accord.

President Obama insisted again Tuesday that he was not wedded to an agreement at any cost and threatened outright to “walk away” if Iran reneges on the parameters of an April interim agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, with the so-called P5+1 negotiating group that also comprises Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.

“There has been a lot of talk on the other side from the Iranian negotiators about whether, in fact, they can abide by some of the terms that came up in Lausanne,” Mr. Obama told reporters at a White House press conference with visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. “If they cannot, that’s going to be a problem because I’ve said from the start, I will walk away from the negotiations if, in fact, it’s a bad deal.”

COMMENT:  I can't see how it can be a good deal, given the publicly stated positions of the Iranian mullahs.   Obama would be wise to walk away temporarily, putting serious heat on Iran, rather than the mush we've seen up to now. 

This will be a critical week in the talks.  If they blow past July 9th, Congress will, under law, have a full 60 days to examine any agreement.  If agreement is reached before July 9th, Congress will have only 30 days.

July 1, 2015