My Way News - Tough talk toward Iran as deadline month begins
My Way News reports: "There is no shortage of warnings that September could be a very bumpy month for Iran. What is still missing, however, are clear signals from the U.S. and its European allies on what specific new sanctions they could seek if Iran snubs their deadline to begin talks over its nuclear program. [...] President Barack Obama and key European allies have given Iran until this month to open negotiations on its uranium enrichment program and other aspects of the nuclear program."

My Way News - 6 nations meet on Iran's nuclear program
My Way News reports: "Six countries trying to address concerns about Iran's nuclear program met Wednesday to review developments, and a German official urged Iran to agree to talks before the U.N. General Assembly meets later this month."

Comment: As Iran prepares to challenge the Western consensus it remains to be seen if all we have in our toolbox is harsher and harsher words. At some point, our diplomats will be forced to realize that threatening harsher sanctions at every turn is futile. Obama, in particular, has painted himself into a corner and violated one of the first rules of statecraft: never issue an ultimatum unless you are prepared to back it up.