IRAN TALKS DOWN TO WIRE – AT 12:16 P.M. ET:   From The Hill:

Secretary of State John Kerry said “very tough issues” remain as international negotiators hold what could be their final round of talks to get a deal over Iran’s nuclear program.

Speaking to reporters in Vienna on Saturday, Kerry said both sides are “hopeful” to reach an agreement.

“We have a lot of hard work to do. We have some very tough issues, and I think we all look forward to getting down to the final effort here to see whether or not a deal is possible,” Kerry said.

“I think that everybody would like to see an agreement, but we have to work through some difficult issues,” he added.

Kerry’s Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, struck a similar note.

“I agree maybe not on the issues, but on the fact that we need to work really hard in order to be able to make progress and move forward,” he said.

“We’re determined to do everything we can in order to be able to make this important milestone, but that depends on a lot of things and we’re going to work on them,” according to Zarif.

Iran and Western powers have given themselves until Tuesday to strike a bargain that would curb Tehran’s nuclear effort in exchange for sanctions relief.

COMMENT:  We have the worst negotiators.  We really do.  They're appeasers, working under an appeasement president.  We should pull out of the talks.  The Iranians need this agreement to get rid of sanctions.  If we pull out, the heat is on them to make some concessions and return to the bargaining table.  But Obama doesn't think that way. 

We'll see if anything is decided by Tuesday.  If not, they'll go into overtime.  No agreement at this stage could be a good one for us.  The Iranians are making clear they will not agree to our basic demands. 

June 27, 2015