IRAN TALKS NEAR THE END, WE THINK – AT 10:46 A.M. ET:  And there is no guarantee of a deal.  From Reuters:

VIENNA - A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping towards the finish line on Friday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points including questions about Tehran's past atomic research.

Iran is in talks with the United States and five other powers - Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - on an agreement to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

"We are coming to the end," said a senior Western diplomat, who added there was no plan to carry on for long past next Tuesday. "Either we get an agreement or we don't," he said, adding that the process "remains quite difficult."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Iranian state television that "a lot of progress has been made, but still various technical issues remain that need the other party's political will."

Still, all sides say a deal is within reach. U.S., European and Iranian officials, including U.S. Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Iranian deputy foreign ministers Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takhteravanchi, held a six-hour negotiating session that ended at 3 a.m. on Friday, a senior U.S. official said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Zarif were due to hold a bilateral session on Friday, though that meeting was delayed several times.

COMMENT:  My great fear is that Obama, who really controls our side, will cave at the end, or that European business interests will prevail and force the Europeans to cave.

The best outcome would be for us to walk away for a time, rattling Iran's cage.  They need this pact more than we do.  If finally convinced of our seriousness – and I'm not convinced at all – maybe they'd start to get real.

July 3,  2015