Today’s the deadline for Iran’s leadership to embrace or reject the deal its negotiators endorsed in Vienna to ship uranium out of the country for enrichment into fuel-producing-and-not-weapons-grade material. Whether that happens or not, Laura Rozen reports an interesting Vienna backstory:

Diplomatic sources tell POLITICO that among the most interesting dynamics to emerge was increasing, direct US-Iranian contact being at the centerpiece of the talks, that brought diplomatic teams and technical specialists from Washington, Paris, Moscow and Tehran to Vienna.

Obviously getting a deal is most important. But diplomacy is also a tool to gather intelligence that can be useful down the road.