by Stephen Lendman

Ending US-pressured Western sanctions on Iran is one of the thorniest issues in ongoing P5+1 talks. On July 4, AP News headlined "Tentative agreement on Iran sanctions relief," saying:

P5+1 countries and Tehran tentatively agreed on what "sanctions will be lifted and how quickly" - short of key officials signing off on final agreement terms.

Unnamed diplomats said sanctions terms were resolved this week. No details were provided. An unnamed senior US official indicated work remains to complete a final deal.

Other sticking points include inspection guidelines, Iranian advanced nuclear technology R & D, non-nuclear related sanctions, snapback of relief if Tehran violates agreement terms (true or false), as well as fabricated claims of Iranian human rights violations and involvement in regional terrorism.

Longstanding US Iran bashing is the thorniest matter of all standing in the way of treating the Islamic Republic fairly and resolving nuclear talks equitably.

Whatever is agreed on in Vienna, Congress has final say up or down - with enormous Israeli Lobby pressure to block terms Tel Aviv rejects.

In a Friday video message, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said all sides "have never been closer to a lasting outcome" than now. "But there is no guarantee" of resolving remaining sticking points.

"Getting to yes requires the courage to compromise, the self-confidence to be flexible, the maturity to be reasonable, the wisdom to set aside illusions and the audacity to break old habits."

"Some stubbornly believe that military and economic coercion can ensure submission. (E)ight years of aggression by Saddam Hussein and his patrons did not bring the Iranian nation that stood alone to its knees."

"(T)he most indiscriminate and unjust economic sanctions against my country have achieved absolutely none of their declared objectives."

Nations hostile to Iran "need to make a critical and historic choice: agreement or coercion…(B)alanced agreements (alone) can withstand the test of time."

Ongoing talks are short of resolution. An unnamed Iranian source said "nothing (is) agreed on (until) agreement (is reached) on everything."

Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister/senior negotiator Majid Takht Ravanchi said "(m)ost of the issues in the experts meetings have ended, while talks among the deputies continue, and there will possibly remain one or two issues that will need ministerial decisions."

US-led Western officials must decide if they want to resolve things equitably with Iran or continue unwarranted hostility benefitting no one but war-mongers and Israel's extremist regime.

Closer than ever to resolving differences, as Zarif explained, may end up back at square one if Washington chooses confrontation over ending fabricated claims about Iran's well-known legitimate nuclear program. The ball, as they say, is in America's court.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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