‘No deal is better than a bad deal’

US Secretary of State John Kerry says the window for diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear program is ‘cracking open,’ but that ‘no deal is better than a bad deal.’

The former Massachusetts senator made the comments in a speech Sunday via satellite from London to a foreign policy conference in California by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel lobbying organization in the United States. 

 The State Department released excerpts of Kerry’s prepared remarks. Earlier Sunday, Kerry and European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, held talks on Iran, Syria, Egypt, the Mideast peace process and other matters. The focus on Iran’s program comes before the start of negotiations with UN Security Council members.