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US-Iran Talks Remain Secret

After U.S. and Iranian negotiators passed the Wednesday “deadline” for agreement on a pact to restrict Tehran’s development of nuclear weapons, they kept talking. Presumably, that means some progress had been made. President Barack Obama says so, anyway.

But outside the small circle of diplomats involved, no one knows exactly what that progress was or what type of agreement is being discussed.

U.S. officials insist they would love to talk about the negotiations but are being held to secrecy by the Iranians.

Maybe. Maybe not. Criticism of the U.S. negotiating stance, which could grant Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons within a year, makes secrecy a boon for Obama’s administration as well as for Iran.

Now, the end of June is being referred to as the deadline for conclusion of the negotiations.

Obama has made it clear he wants to conclude a pact with Iran without any messy complications such as gaining approval from Congress. But the Constitution requires treaties to be confirmed by the Senate.

Secrecy on what is being discussed gives lawmakers of both parties even more reason to prevent Obama from an end-run on accountability.

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History shows the danger of appeasement – allowing a dangerous country to build up its arsenal even while claiming it is not doing so. The United States is dangerously close to doing just that with Iran.

Negotiators from this country, Iran and several other nations have been meeting in an attempt to agree on a plan that would ease economic sanctions in exchange for modest concessions from Tehran.

President Barack Obama is asking little enough. The White House has said a deal would prolong the time needed for Iran to make nuclear weapons from the present two or three months to a year.

But Wednesday is the deadline for the talks, and serious differences remain between Iran and the United States.

That may be a blessing. U.S. negotiators should stick to their guns in the hope Iranian officials walk away, perhaps setting the stage for a new, more meaningful round of talks.

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