Iran nuke deal likely to be reached early Tuesday, diplomats say, after day of seesaw changes
VIENNA (AP) — An Iran nuclear agreement appeared likely within hours, diplomats said late Monday after a day in which American and Iranian negotiators appeared to be struggling to clear final obstacles and looking like they’d miss their fourth deadline in less than two weeks.
Three diplomats familiar with the talks said the announcement could come early Tuesday, possibly during pre-dawn hours in Vienna. One said some of the top officials involved in the negotiation needed to leave Austria’s capital in the morning, thus hastening the declaration.
The diplomats weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the status of the negotiations and demanded anonymity. Their reports of a breakthrough capped a seesaw day of developments that started with high hopes for an accord. The mood soured as vexing questions including the future of a U.N. arms embargo on Iran proved troublesome.
As a midnight target for a deal approached in Vienna, diplomats said the nuts and bolts of the written nuclear accord had been settled days ago. And Iranian President Hassan Rouhani briefly raised expectations of an imminent breakthrough by proclaiming on Twitter: “Iran Deal is the victory of diplomacy & mutual respect over the outdated paradigm of exclusion & coercion. And this is a good beginning.”
Minutes later, Rouhani’s tweet was deleted. He then retransmitted it, adding the word “If” in front of “Iran Deal” to reflect that negotiators weren’t there yet. The proposed pact would impose long-term and verifiable limits on Iran’s nuclear program and provide the Islamic Republic tens of billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions.
Pentagon announces plan aimed at lifting ban on transgender individuals in military
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the Pentagon’s current regulations banning transgender individuals from serving in the military are outdated, and anyone willing to serve the country should be able to do so.
Carter is creating a working group to do a six-month study on the impact of lifting the ban. Carter says the group will begin with the presumption that transgender people should be able to serve openly.
The plan, which was first reported by The Associated Press, gives the services time to work through questions about health care, housing, physical standards, uniforms and costs associated with the change.
During that time, transgender individuals would still be unable to join the military, but decisions to force out those already serving would be referred to the Pentagon’s acting undersecretary for personnel.
Coup or salvation? Greece strikes deal with eurozone, avoiding financial collapse, euro exit
BRUSSELS (AP) — After grueling, often angry negotiations that tested the limits of European unity, Greece struck a preliminary rescue deal with its creditors Monday that should avert an imminent financial catastrophe but also guarantees years more hardship and sacrifice for its people.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras flew home to sell the bailout plan to skeptical lawmakers and political allies, some of whom accused him of selling Greece out. Panos Kammenos, leader of the junior partner in Tsipras’ coalition government, denounced the deal as a German-led “coup.”
“This deal introduced many new issues … we cannot agree with it,” he said after meeting with Tsipras.
Other Greeks rallied Monday night before Parliament in Athens, urging lawmakers to reject the new demands.
To close the deal with his partners in the euro currency, Tsipras had to consent to a raft of austerity measures, including sales tax hikes and pension and labor reforms — measures he had campaigned vociferously against over the last five years of Greece’s financial crisis.
Son of Boston police captain charged in terror plot to use pressure-cooker bombs at university
BOSTON (AP) — The son of a Boston police captain has been arrested in an FBI sting and accused of plotting to commit terrorist acts in support of the Islamic State group, including the setting off of pressure-cooker bombs at an unidentified university and the slaughter of students live online.
Alexander Ciccolo’s own father alerted authorities last fall that the younger man had a long history of mental illness and was talking about joining the Islamic State, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details.
Ciccolo, 23, of Adams, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Monday with illegal possession of a firearm for receiving four guns July 4 from a person cooperating with the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force. Because of a drunken driving conviction, Ciccolo was barred from having a gun.
Ciccolo’s father, Robert Ciccolo, is a 27-year veteran of the Boston police force.
“While we were saddened and disappointed to learn or our son’s intentions, we are grateful that authorities were able to prevent any loss of life or harm to others,” Ciccolo’s parents said in a statement.
Walker reminds voters of union, recall victories as he joins crowded 2016 Republican field
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared his candidacy for president on Monday, casting himself as a “fighter” who muscled through an aggressive conservative agenda in a state that typically supports Democrats.
The second-term governor becomes the 15th high-profile Republican to enter the GOP presidential contest, yet he says he occupies a unique space in the congested field.
“In the Republican field, there are some who are good fighters, but they haven’t won those battles. And there are others who’ve won elections, but haven’t consistently taken on the big fights. We showed you can do both,” Walker said in a video released by his campaign. “I am running for president to fight and win for the American people.”
Walker is highlighting his clashes with labor unions as the foundation for his candidacy. His late-afternoon announcement is set in the same convention hall where he hosted his victory party after winning a union-backed recall election.
The 47-year-old governor enacted policies weakening organized labor’s political power and became the first governor in U.S. history to defeat a recall election. Now, he’s working to remind Republican voters about the four-year-old fight and the recall election sparked by his efforts to weaken unions — and a series of lesser-known triumphs he says set him apart from the crowded Republican field.
