The Iranian negotiations have been behaving — have been allowed by the Americans to behave — like smiling sly bazaaris in the souk. oilily promising or holding out the promise of making a very special deal, a deal only for you, effendi, because I like you so much, I even love you effendi, more than I love my father, more than I love my mother. This should have been nipped in the bud early on, and the Iranians made self-conscious and embarrassed about their non-Western style of negotiation, held up repeatedly for inspection and analysis by the American negotiators. But that didn’t happen, and right up till now the wiles and guiles have been on display. Not tolerable. 

Meanwhile, the three big questions have still not been resolved.

From Reuters:

Unclear if Iran deal can be reached now, 3 big issues remain -diplomat

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 30

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(Reuters) – There are three major sticking points that must be resolved if Iran and major powers are to secure a framework deal before a self-imposed end-March deadline and it is unclear whether those differences will be bridged, a Western diplomat [French, surely] said on Monday

The diplomat said the most difficult issues were related to the duration of any limits on Iranian nuclear activities after an initial 10 years, the lifting of U.N. sanctions and restoring them in case of non-compliance by Tehran.

“There cannot be an agreement if we do not have answers to these questions,” the diplomat said on condition of annonymity. “The feeling is that if things are to happen, it’s now that the pieces will fit together. There’s a moment when you have to say yes or no.” (Reporting by John Irish</a>; editing by Louis Charbonneau)