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Timing of new U.S.-Iran talks unclear after Vance trip delayed · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: New route of peace talks, as I mentioned, between the
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  Speaker 1: US and Iran that we're scheduled to start in Switzerland today.
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  Speaker 2: Well they've been postponed.
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  Speaker 1: The White House is blaming what it calls logistical issues
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  Speaker 1: for Vice President JD. Vans canceling his planned departure see
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  Speaker 1: this news. Congressional correspondent Nicole Killian joins me now at
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  Speaker 1: a new location, the north flawn of the White House
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  Speaker 1: to Cole.
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  Speaker 2: Great to see you there. Catch us up on what
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  Speaker 2: we learned today.
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  Speaker 3: Well, we just heard from the President who was standing
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  Speaker 3: in front of a brand new Air Force one plane
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  Speaker 3: that was gifted to the United States by the Qatari government.
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  Speaker 3: But he did spend some time at talking more specifically
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  Speaker 3: about the latest with respect to Iran, continuing to tout
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  Speaker 3: and defend this memorandum of understanding that was signed this
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  Speaker 3: week between Iran and the United States, and also referencing
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  Speaker 3: that sixty day clock that gets underway to try to
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  Speaker 3: strike a more secure deal with respect to Arond's nuclear program. Now,
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  Speaker 3: as you mentioned, those technical talks were set to get
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  Speaker 3: underway today in Switzerland led by Vice President JD. Vance,
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  Speaker 3: but so far we have not been given any updates
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  Speaker 3: as to when the Vice President may travel there, although
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  Speaker 3: yesterday he told reporters he thought it could still potentially
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  Speaker 3: be this weekend. But we're kind of in a wait
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  Speaker 3: and see mode at this point. But the President still
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  Speaker 3: defending this deal as a good deal, obviously continuing to
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  Speaker 3: defend what he sees are perceived victories from the US
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  Speaker 3: campaign against Iran through Operation Epic Fury, once again reiterating
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  Speaker 3: how the United States has really defeated Iran militarily in
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  Speaker 3: terms of its Navy, its air force capabilities, its ballistic
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  Speaker 3: missile capabilities. But that being said, as you very well know, Major,
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  Speaker 3: there's still a lot of questions and criticisms from both
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  Speaker 3: Democrats and Republicans about this deal about whether or not
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  Speaker 3: it gives a way too much to their audience, particularly
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  Speaker 3: without negotiating some of these nuclear issues up front, and
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  Speaker 3: so that is really, you know, the devil is going
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  Speaker 3: to be in those details whenever those talks eventually take place.
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  Speaker 1: Gol Killian, thank you very much. CBS News contributor Roger
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  Speaker 1: Carstons joins me now. He's a retired lieutenant colonel with
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  Speaker 1: the Army Special Forces and most importantly spent a very
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  Speaker 1: long time and played a very important role in US
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  Speaker 1: hostage negotiations various administrations. Roger, I'm glad to have you here.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you very much. Give me your evaluation.
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  Speaker 1: You've been in tough diplomatic conversations. You know how hard
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  Speaker 1: they can be, the value, what has been achieved, if anything,
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  Speaker 1: and what is still yet to come to.
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  Speaker 2: Major First off, thanks for having me here.
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  Speaker 4: And secondly, I think the negotiations are funny in that
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  Speaker 4: there can be a lot happening just.
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  Speaker 2: Under the surface that we just don't see.
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  Speaker 4: A good example is the hostage negotiation. So we have
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  Speaker 4: currently six or more US citizens that are currently being
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  Speaker 4: held as wrongful detainees in Iran.
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  Speaker 2: Inside Iraq.
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  Speaker 4: Indeed we do, and there are some our partners and
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  Speaker 4: nollies have citizens like Ahmed resa Jalali. He's a Swedish
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  Speaker 4: scientist who was taken by the Iranians in twenty sixteen
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  Speaker 4: undergoing a death sentence. Right now, so six plus Americans,
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  Speaker 4: twenty five of our partners, no allies, they're held hostage
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  Speaker 4: and we don't know if they are part of the
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  Speaker 4: negotiation or not.
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  Speaker 2: They're not a part of the MoU. And yet when
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  Speaker 2: I talk to.
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  Speaker 4: My buddies that are still in the administration and working
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  Speaker 4: at They're like, look, we're still working at These are
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  Speaker 4: certain things that you just will not see and they're
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  Speaker 4: not going to pop on the front page of the
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  Speaker 4: Wall Street Journal nor your show.
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  Speaker 2: And yet I've been.
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  Speaker 4: Assured that these negotiations are taking place right so we.
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  Speaker 1: Can never be certain what is being talked about and
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  Speaker 1: what is being talked about but not disclosed. Yes, that's
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  Speaker 1: a key difference. But we have things that have been disclosed.
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  Speaker 1: We have a text of a memorandum of understanding. Some
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  Speaker 1: Republicans on the Hill are sort of muttering to themselves,
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  Speaker 1: is that all there is? Really, that's all we've got
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  Speaker 1: after almost one hundred days of war and a very
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  Speaker 1: stout US and Israeli joint military set of strikes in Iran,
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  Speaker 1: shouldn't we have more? Is a question they're asking.
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  Speaker 2: How would you answer that question?
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  Speaker 4: I think no, matter what happens, I think we are
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  Speaker 4: at risk right now, and that you see that in
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  Speaker 4: points four and five the straightest to be opened, and
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  Speaker 4: then if you go to points ten and eleven, they're
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  Speaker 4: actually going to be given the Iranians something before the
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  Speaker 4: negotiations reach that final point of sixty days.
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  Speaker 2: So regardless, if they.
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  Speaker 4: Start to meet and start to negotiate, we are going
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  Speaker 4: to unfreeze frozen assets. And by the text that you read,
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  Speaker 4: sanctions and waves anctious, so that means.
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  Speaker 2: They can sell billions of dollars worth of oil.
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  Speaker 4: They have free and unfettered access to banks so that
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  Speaker 4: the money can move around. And that's important because the Chinese,
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  Speaker 4: for example, have funds that the Iranians have and kind
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  Speaker 4: of like I say, storage, and if the banking systems
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  Speaker 4: open up to the Iranians, that money can be repatriated
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  Speaker 4: from China back into Iran. So there's a lot of
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  Speaker 4: money at steak, and at least by my reading of
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  Speaker 4: the text, it seems like the Iranians will kind of
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  Speaker 4: get that up front. It will be front loaded before
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  Speaker 4: the negotiations are completed.
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  Speaker 1: And that'll alarms a lot of people who are not
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  Speaker 1: necessarily hostile to this administration or to President Trump.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'd count myself as one of those.
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  Speaker 4: You know, I'm hopeful that this as things go forward,
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  Speaker 4: things start to settle out a little bit, but I
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  Speaker 4: would fear the money getting into the hands of the
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  Speaker 4: Iranians when we've not seen a behavioral change yet, because
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  Speaker 4: we still are worried about the funds going to things
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  Speaker 4: like supporting proxy armies, their missile drone complex, their strike complex,
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  Speaker 4: and also just working with proxies around the Middle East
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  Speaker 4: and Roger.
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  Speaker 1: There's also this other issue of a reconstruction fund. It's
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  Speaker 1: not US tax payer dollars, but it's three hundred billion
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  Speaker 1: dollars of neighboring nations willing to rebuild Iran after Iran
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  Speaker 1: attacked them.
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  Speaker 4: Now, I'm glad you brought that up, and that's kind
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  Speaker 4: of troubling too.
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  Speaker 1: So that tells me they're trying to get back into
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  Speaker 1: some sort of tenuous relationship with Iran because they know
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  Speaker 1: Iran has withstood this attack.
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  Speaker 2: That's exactly how I read it. And that's bad news,
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  Speaker 2: isn't it. You know? I think it is.
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  Speaker 4: If the Uranians were going through a behavioral change, that
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  Speaker 4: would be another thing, or if there was some sort
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  Speaker 4: of regime change, I would be saying other things. But
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  Speaker 4: a government that killed and murdered thirty to forty thousand
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  Speaker 4: of its own citizens in a forty eight hour period
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  Speaker 4: in January now making promises to us just like they
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  Speaker 4: have in the past, that they're going to cease their
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  Speaker 4: nuclear weapons programs.
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  Speaker 2: I just have to be a little skeptical. And I'm
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  Speaker 2: just hoping and.
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  Speaker 4: Praying and wishing the best of the negotiators from the
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  Speaker 4: United States to turn this deal into something good.
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  Speaker 2: But I think as I look at the MoU looks troubling.
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  Speaker 2: Roger Carson's great to have here. Please come back. Thank you,
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  Speaker 2: mitche I appreciate it.