Iranian President's Apparent Mis-Tweet Casts Doubt Over Nuclear Deal

VIENNA — -- Now you see it, now you don't.

With all sides eager to declare victory here in Vienna as the sun sets on the 17th day of the latest round of Iran nuclear negotiations, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani apparently jumped the gun, tweeting: "#IranDeal, victory of diplomacy and mutual respect over outdated paradigm of exclusion and coercion. And is good beginning."

With little information trickling out of official channels, Twitter diplomacy reigns here in Vienna, journalists dissecting every word. Minutes later, the president's tweet was deleted and another tweet appeared changing one "is" to "if" and another "is" to "will be," placing the inevitability of a deal back in doubt.

If #IranDeal, victory of diplomacy and mutual respect over outdated paradigm of exclusion and coercion. And this will be good beginning.

— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) July 13, 2015

Tweeters pounced on the gaffe as a sign of desperation, or wishful thinking by Rouhani's team. As the Boston Globe's Matt Viser noted, maybe the tweet wasn't intended for public consumption?

The account run by those close to the Iranian president also re-tweeted Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the lead negotiator here, writing: "triumph of diplomacy means we all will have won when we all could have lost."

If #IranDeal, victory of diplomacy and mutual respect over outdated paradigm of exclusion and coercion. And this will be good beginning.

— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) July 13, 2015

Tweeters pounced on the gaffe as a sign of desperation, or wishful thinking by Rouhani's team. As the Boston Globe's Matt Viser noted, maybe the tweet wasn't intended for public consumption?

The account run by those close to the Iranian president also re-tweeted Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the lead negotiator here, writing: "triumph of diplomacy means we all will have won when we all could have lost."