"That does not necessarily mean that Iran has given up on its nuclear quest. [ Uhh -- make that "pigs will fly to Pluto" first -ed. ] It does mean that they cannot hope to push through their program without incurring a lot of political damage, especially with Syria coming under so much pressure to cut off Hezbollah and Hamas. With the war proceeding, the ability of Iran to resupply its one partner in the region has all but disappeared, and along with it Iran's control over the two terrorist organization's operations against Israel. Iran has made a lot of disparaging comments about Israel and their folly in responding to these provocations, but the truth is that Israel could wipe out the Islamists in the immediate region if this conflict gets any wider -- and then Iran will really stand alone against the West, with no proxies left with which to attack.

It's time for them to negotiate and get the best deal they can. It looks like they may have stopped believing their own press releases and recognized it. [ The Captain appears to think we should negotiate. Of course we will but it's no better an idea than negotiating with Hitler. They're his intellectual descendants. -ed. ] "