Deal or no deal in the Iranian nuclear talks, Tehran is already behaving like it's made a killing. Sure, U.S. and international sanctions inflicted staggering damage on Iran's economy, convincing the longtime American foe to join talks aimed at limiting its nuclear program.

Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers could continue right up to Tuesday’s deadline, U.S. officials said Sunday, as the two sides sought to hammer out the outlines of a final deal. The officials pointed to several unresolved issues in the negotiations, including the phasing of suspension and then lifting of United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran, and the activities Tehran will be able to engage in during the final years of an agreement, which is now expected to last 15 years. 

While American negotiators maintained tight secrecy at the nuclear talks here, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran took to Twitter late Thursday to describe a letter he sent to President Obama and other world leaders justifying Iran’s positions.

A report on EU-Russia relations by a UK House of Lords committee admits that the EU totally miscalculated Moscow’s reaction to the developments in Ukraine because of a lack of Russian experts, says Lord Peter Truscott. Britain's House of Lords has been debating a report suggesting relations between the EU and Russia have reached a critical level. 

The EU’s sanctions on Russia are not having their desired effect. At least in the short term, they even appear to be reinforcing Russia’s position. The EU policy approach to the Ukraine situation needs to factor in the mainstream Russian media narrative. Doing so suggests that the EU should be using more soft power.

Australia and Russia have been engaging in a war of words over the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. The rhetoric is of course a minor part of the larger ongoing propaganda war over the way in which the crisis in Ukraine is perceived globally. Still, in addition to sanctions, Russia and Australia have continued to trade some particularly pointed remarks in recent weeks. 

Japan imposed new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday that were more limited than those announced last month by the United States, a move that analysts said illustrates Tokyo’s conflicting desires to show solidarity with Washington while also keeping the door open to improving ties with Moscow.

While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry agreed on Saturday that both countries will use their influence on the two sides of the Ukraine conflict to end hostilities, Moscow said it would retaliate against Washington’s most recent sanctions over Ukraine by denying entry to several U.S. citizens.