As we predicted last week, the Obama administration seems hell-bent on getting a nuclear agreement inked with Iran – any agreement, no matter how unsatisfactory to U.S. interests. Over the weekend, a deal that seemed all but final was de-railed at the last moment by – of all things – French objections, and to that we heartily say Dieu merci!

The proposed deal, according to all reports, would have left Iran’s nuclear program not only fully intact, but also in operation. No halt in uranium enrichment, no halt in construction of the heavy water reactor at Arak, no halt in the installation of additional centrifuges, and no enforcement mechanism for whatever alleged concessions Iran was going to make. In return Iran would have received some relief from the sanctions that have hobbled its economy over the last four years. In other words, the U.S.-led effort would largely have removed its most effective means of coercion, while receiving nothing but Iranian promises.

The Obama team, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, attempted to put lipstick on this pig by claiming that an interim deal was needed on the way to a final deal, but you can judge the truth by who complained the loudest when the deal fell through. That would be the Iranians: “The French government raised issues on behalf of the Zionist regime and the U.S. during the negotiations in Geneva,” Vice-Chairman of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mansour Haqiqatpour said. When Iran plays the Zionist card, you can be sure they are truly angry.

Iran continues to play the game with its usual skill and cynicism. This week the IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano arrived in Tehran and promptly signed a joint declaration on future cooperation with Iran on resolving outstanding concerns. The Iranians agreed to let IAEA inspectors visit the Arak facility, something they have refused since 2011. As we have said before, this is a meaningless public relations effort that costs Iran nothing in exchange for complimentary IAEA press reports. With the next round of talks due to start in one week, it will give Iran another talking point with which to paint itself as an innocent victim of U.S. bullying. Stay tuned, and hope that our amis français stick to their guns.