WASHINGTON (AP) — Food boxes strewn across the floor. An espresso machine buzzing constantly in the background. Physicists catnapping, their heads on tables.
That was the scene at one of Switzerland’s finest hotels, where room service kept the deliveries coming as U.S. diplomats worked feverishly to achieve a landmark nuclear deal with Iran.
If the pressure wasn’t enough, Secretary of State John Kerry kept popping into the room to pull individuals aside or tell them to accelerate their efforts, according to U.S. officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about behind-the-scenes interactions.
From the start of March through Thursday’s breakthrough, Kerry spent 19 days in the Swiss cities of Geneva, Lausanne and Montreux negotiating with the Iranians.
For much of that time, the Europeans, Chinese and Russians stayed away or sent lower-level officials. Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spent more than 10 hours together in one-on-one sessions.
The last round of discussions began March 26 with the goal of wrapping up work within five days.
The U.S. would extend the talks by two days, regularly preparing the plane for departure so the Iranians would not think the talks were open-ended.
Journalists were told three times to drop off their bags, only to be instructed to extend their hotel room bookings. Plane crews kept bumping up against mandatory rest periods after 15 hours on standby.
Kerry tried to keep a clear head, taking to his bicycle during the limited down time he had. Of his three rides, two were interrupted when President Barack Obama called for an update on the status of the negotiations.
In those instances, Kerry had to rush back to Lausanne’s 19th century Beau-Rivage Palace to dial into secure calls.
When talk of physics with the Iranians got too nitty-gritty, Kerry and Zarif sent top scientists out of the room to discuss the matter fully.
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Iranian atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi, who studied at M.I.T. at the same time, would meet one on one and then report back on what they discussed.
When Kerry needed calculations or tweaks, officials described him putting his team to work and sometimes popping in to let them know they needed to move more quickly.
Kerry also got involved in details as granular as travel plans for the other foreign ministers and helping with scheduling conflicts. After Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left, Kerry persuaded him to come back.
The critical meeting with the Iranians lasted nine hours between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Emotions at times ran high as sleep deprivation kicked in.
Not everything went smoothly.
At 3 a.m. that evening, U.S. nuclear experts scribbled out some classified information on the whiteboard they were using to explore ideas. The only problem was that someone used a permanent marker by mistake.
It took 20 minutes to scrub the information off, officials said.
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Hat’s off to Kerry & Co. This is the unsung nitty gritty hard work of diplomacy that in the long-run prevents the need for wars.
Regardless if the deal comes to fruition, Kerry & Co have done an amazing job and demonstrated what quiet, persistent diplomacy can accomplish.
Many folks scoffed when ‘naive’ candidate Obama stood by his assertion we must talk with our adversaries.
I pray this deal happens. It’s so important.
Storys like this make me nostalgic for Teddy White’s Making of the President books! Why did he have to die of old age?
Just read a very interesting Politico article about Andrew Sullivan’s sub-rosa role in this diplomacy from the very beginning until the very end. Mr. Sullivan debate-prepped Hillary during the 2008 primarys and followed her to the State Department. He remained as a key member of Obama’s Iran negotiating team after she resigned. He is reputed to be a key member of candidate Clinton’s election team and is touted as the potential Secretary of State or National Security Advisor in her cabinet.
Reading the article reduces my anxiety about foreign policy drift under a Hillary administration.
Link???
EDIT: Found it, and you meant Jake Sullivan, not Andrew.