Diplomacy

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Top U.S. Diplomats Head to London, Vienna Ahead of November 24 Nuke Deal Deadline

Washington’s representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna told reporters on Monday that the administration was “disappointed” in Iran’s failure to cooperate with nuclear investigators from the United Nations watchdog.

Ambassador Laura Kennedy is one of several U.S. diplomats in Vienna this week — Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to join a team that includes Acting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and former Deputy Secretary of State Williams Burns — as Western negotiators meet with Iranian officials ahead of the November 24 deadline for the P5+1 global powers to reach a deal with the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

The New York Times this weekend conveyed assessments from presidential national security advisers, who put “the chance of reaching an agreement this month at 40 to 50 percent.” The outlet noted that the parties standing against a final deal between Iran and the West include “not just Mr. Khamenei and the country’s hard-liners, but newly empowered Republicans, some of [President Obama’s] fellow Democrats, and many of the United States’ closest allies.”

Roll Call reported last week that lawmakers were in the process of preparing a series of steps aimed at reasserting Congressional oversight over the final contours of a nuclear deal between the P5+1 global powers and Iran, with Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) telling reporters that “there will be a desire very quickly after the first of the year for Congress to weigh in on the topic in some form or fashion.” The Roll Call report came weeks after leaked audio revealed that the Obama administration has been planning for almost a year to circumvent the House and Senate in structuring the agreement.

[Photo: AFP News Agency / YouTube]