Watching the P5+1 talks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the final scene of the classic movie Some Like it Hot. Remember it? Jack Lemmon has spent much of the film dressed as a woman, and as a result, has inadvertently won the affections of a smitten Joe E. Brown. Trying to back out of this entanglement, Lemmon gives Brown reason after reason why they can’t be married. The trouble is, nothing Curtis says is able to put Brown off. Desperate, Curtis finally removes his wig and shouts, “I’m a man!” But Brown simply smiles and says, “Well, nobody’s perfect.”

America’s stance in the P5+1 talks has had more than a bit of the Joe E. Brown about it.

“I’m not a natural blonde,” says Lemmon, but Brown replies, “It doesn’t matter.” (“Khamenei calls ‘Death to America’ as Kerry hails progress on nuke deal” ran theTimes of Israel headline.)

“I smoke. I smoke all the time,” Lemmon points out. “I don’t care,” says Brown. (“Iran isn’t providing needed access or information, the nuclear watchdog IAEA says,” warned the Washington Post headline, to no avail.)

When Lemmon says, “I can never have children,” Brown is unconcerned. “We can adopt some,” he says. (“IRGC Chief Says Jordan Is Next Target for Conquest,” ran a report only days ago, referring to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, with no impact on the negotiations.)

And then that wonderful final line. Lemmon pulls off his wig and shouts “I’m a man!” But Brown remains unmoved: “Well, nobody’s perfect.”

Has America’s “nobody’s perfect” moment arrived? In a scoop for the New York Times, we learned that Iran has pulled a heavy-handed, last-minute bait and switch. Having bargained up their centrifuge numbers to more than 6,000 with the promise that they’d ship out the enriched material—hey, why should we care how much uranium they enrich to 3.5 percent if it won’t be around to be enriched further?—they have now said … they won’t ship out the material.

Read the article in full at World Affairs.