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• It points to the struggles within Iran's ruling system as it readies for the next round of talks scheduled to begin next week in Baghdad.
• Iran's Islamic leadership -- which crushed an opposition groundswell nearly three years ago and later swatted back a power grab by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- has now staked its political credibility on its ability to resist Western sanctions and hold firm to its rights under U.N. treaties to enrich uranium.
• Any concessions -- either too great or too fast -- could risk internal rifts within Iran's power structure. And that could draw powerful forces into the mix, including the Revolutionary Guard that acts as defender of the theocracy and overseer of the nuclear program. As talks deepen, so do the political considerations for an Islamic establishment that cannot afford to appear to come away empty handed.
• "Insisting on a halt to enrichment is a deal breaker," said Tehran-based political analyst Behrooz Shojaei. "It is Iran's red line."
• ___

• OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- After an improbable Nebraska primary victory, state Sen. Deb Fischer has emerged from relative obscurity to take the mantle as one of the GOP's best hopes for picking up a U.S. Senate seat -- though she'll have to beat a famous Democratic politician to do it -- popular former Sen. Bob Kerrey.
• On the presidential front, Republican Mitt Romney continued to pile up the delegates he will need to claim the GOP nomination, but he has already moved into general election mode against President Barack Obama. Romney inched closer to his all-but-certain nomination with wins in two more states.
• Romney was expected to pick up most -- if not all -- of Oregon's 25 delegates. Nebraska Republicans also picked Romney although no delegates would be allotted in a vote that amounts to a beauty contest. The state's 32 delegates to the Republican National Convention later this year will be determined at the state convention on July 14.
• Romney began the day 171 delegates short of the 1,144 needed for the nomination and was on pace to get them before the month ended.
• In Nebraska, Republicans know they need to find someone to go toe-to-toe with Kerrey in the fall and could have opted for one of two statewide office holders -- Attorney General Jon Bruning or Treasurer Don Stenberg, both of whom were better funded and better known than Fischer.

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