The real story of the talks is not the two sides’ demands, but whether the pro-diplomacy side in Iran can sell any deal to the IRGC, which is effectively in control, which Ravid did not investigate.
To credibly claim his remarks as the only, or even the most important, factor in Iran’s decision-making requires more evidence than the impression of yet another anonymous “person familiar with” the situation, which CNN failed to provide.
If BBC Swahili, BBC Turkish, BBC Indonesia, and BBC Hausa could provide an informative profile of Iranian negotiator Mohammad Ghalibaf – in some cases two weeks before the talks in Islamabad – then the corporation’s English-language services should surely have been able to follow suit.
