Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday that it was "not the fear" for the U.S. and other world leaders that Iran was again playing for time under the guise of nuclear negotiations while simultaneously developing its program.
News broke Saturday that no deal had been reached during nuclear weapons talks in Geneva between Iran and six world powers, with the French delegation balking at an agreement they deemed too weak.
Host David Gregory challenged Kerry on that notion of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani being a "wolf in sheep's clothing," noting the background of Iran's tricks with the West, but Kerry alluded to the supposedly "moderate" reputation of Rouhani in expressing confidence that wasn't the case this time, saying circumstances had changed since the election there. However, Middle East experts have called Rouhani anything but a moderate.
"That is not the fear around the table, and I'd say a number of nations, not just the French, but ourselves and others, wanted to make sure that we had the tough language necessary, the clarity in the language necessary to be absolutely certain that we were doing the job and not granting more or doing something sloppily that could wind up with a mistake," Kerry said.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been publicly dubious of Rouhani due much in part to his checkered past as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator with the West, also sternly warned against what he foresaw as "very, very bad deal" in which Iran had sanctions relieved against it while giving up nothing in return.
Full exchange:
DAVID GREGORY: The bottom line goal here is to prevent Iran from producing or requiring a nuclear bomb. You said that in the interim you want a complete halt on a weapons program. Clearly there is not a deal yet. They are not in a position to give in to that demand. Is that a fair statement?
JOHN KERRY: No. I think it's a question, David, of working out the modalities by which it will be done, by which it can be verified, the ways in which you have a set of guarantees that make absolutely certain that the goal of the president, to make certain that Iran never has a nuclear weapon, can be achieved. The first effort is to try to achieve it, obviously, peacefully, and you try to use an exhaust diplomacy in order to do that, but the president has taken no option off the table no matter.
GREGORY: But it sounds like something broke down here, because there was such anticipation that you were very close to a deal. The reporting is that the French thought it wasn't tough enough on the Iranians. And you know the history. As the Israeli prime minister called Rouhani as a wolf in sheep's clothing, that this is what they do, they double play, they play for time, while they keep producing. They try to win the confidence of the West, and they can play games. Is there fear around the table that's what they're doing now?
KERRY: No, that is not the fear around the table, and I'd say a number of nations, not just the French, but ourselves and others, wanted to make sure that we had the tough language necessary, the clarity in the language necessary to be absolutely certain that we were doing the job and not granting more or doing something sloppily that could wind up with a mistake. This is serious business, and I think every country came there, this is the first time that the P-5 had come together with this kind of a serious set of possible options in front of it, with a new Iranian government. Remember that this has changed since the election. This is a new overture, and it has to be put to the test very, very carefully, so I think there was unity there, David, with respect to getting it right. And we always said, President Obama has been crystal clear. Don't rush, we're not in a rush, we need to get the right deal. No deal is better than a bad deal, and we're certainly adhering to that concept.