Nothing left to give

The negotiations between the superpowers and Iran -- scheduled to end on June 30, postponed until July 7, and given yet another extension -- will reach their deadline on Friday. On one hand, officials in Vienna are saying there will not be another extension if a deal cannot be reached. However, other sources are saying that if the differences cannot be bridged the talks will go on -- without a deadline. Never-ending negotiations? We should be so lucky.

The nuclear talks were revived by the Obama administration, in October 2009. At first, the Americans were quite opposed to it. The European troika of France, Germany and Britain was managing the negotiation with the Iranians. Those were different days, when Iran was part of the axis of evil, Washington was waging war in the Middle East and the Islamic State group had still not taken the stage. At the time, the West made it clear that under any deal Iran would be prohibited from enriching uranium.

In the meantime, 12 years have passed. The Middle East has changed considerably, and not for the better. The West folded in every new round of talks: once in Switzerland, then in Turkey, again in Kazakhstan. The Iranians even dragged world powers to more talks in Baghdad. Now in the home stretch in Vienna, the West is out of concessions to make -- yet the Iranians remain intransigent. After all, following the interim deal signed in November 2013, it was clear that sanctions would be lifted, centrifuges would be preserved, and Iran would still be able to enrich uranium.

The negotiations have gone on like a marathon. After 42 kilometers we have reached the final 150-meter stretch -- but, after all the Iranian lies and all the hypocrisy and lack of vision from everyone else, we are a little fatigued from following the West's surrender. The Iranians are dictating the pace of the talks. If they want to sign a deal tomorrow -- there will be a deal. If they do not -- we will wait until someone decides the show is over.

If the Iranians do decide to sign, they will return to Tehran, where they will take part in the traditional Jerusalem Day parade always held on the last Friday of Ramadan. They will have a great view of the missiles on display at the military exhibit; and, as in every year, the same target will be clearly spelled out on those missiles: "The Zionist entity."

Meanwhile, back home we will take solace in the notion that Iran's nuclear project doesn't have a "military dimension," because the one thing these negotiations have reinforced is that age-old adage: Happy is he who believes.

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