While the Obama Administration drones on about seeking a diplomatic solution the Department of Defense has been tasked with designing weapons for a war with Iran. In the event of a bombing campaign in Iran redesigned “bunker buster” bombs will be the stars of the show.

Former Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry has been chosen to serve as Secretary of State, according to a Chicago Sun-Times columnist who heard it from an unidentified White House source.

This doesn’t exactly come from left field. Kerry, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was rumored to be on the short list for the job, along with UN Ambassador Susan Rice. Rice took herself out of the running this week.

The White House is denying a report in the New York Times claiming that they will conduct one-on-one talks with Iran over their nuclear program. The bilateral negotiations, the fruit of a secret back-channel process according to the Times, would not occur until after the Presidential election, at the Iranian’s request, so they can have a sense of the identity of their negotiating partner.

But the White House fairly categorically denied it.

In addition to the tragic situation in Libya, another international incident simmered last night, on the subject of Israel and Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a speech claiming that the US had “no moral right” to intervene in a potential Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, unless they too set a “red line” for the nuclear program.

A military intervention short of a regime overthrow would not actually divert the path of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, if they actually seek one. In fact, while currently it’s ambiguous whether or not Iran will ever want a nuclear weapon – the Supreme Leader claims there are Islamic prescriptions against it, and the consensus of the US intelligence community is that Iran has no active nuclear weapons program – striking at the country militarily will almost certainly push them in that direction. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just take a look at this quote from former Bush-era CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden…

Diplomatic talks between Iran and Western powers have basically ended. The sanctions are in place and they continue to constrict the Iranian economy. Neoconservatives who view every potential international crisis as an opportunity for more bomb-dropping will certainly put together the stalled talks and this report as a signal that Israel must strike and that the US must back them. We’re closing in on some very dangerous territory.

There’s a report out today from the current deputy Prime Minister of Syria that they would be “ready to discuss” the resignation of Bashar al-Assad and the transition to a new government. That the statement came while the deputy PM was in Russia for talks adds some significance. Upon closer inspection, however, it looks more like a tactic than anything.

Allowing Assad, who has murdered at least 10,000 of his own people in the past year or so, to receive clemency would be a gut-wrenching outcome. But if it ends the carnage, it could be seen as a positive step.

With significant factions on both sides rooting for failure in the Iranian nuclear talks, it should come as no surprise that they came up short after wrapping up last night. There isn’t much of a way forward at this point. Nuclear experts from the two sides will meet in Instanbul in early July to discuss the technical issues surrounding the negotiations. After that, some deputy-level talks may ensue, but the principals have no future timetable.

A new round of talks on the Iranian nuclear program opened in Moscow today, and Iran has already made an opening bid. Western powers show no signs to agreeing to allow Iran to become a nuclear power.