What's the deal between Iran and the US?

But no; it won't happen tomorrow. Rouhani was forced to clarify it. And on top of it Iranian officials were adamant; Tehran won't sell itself to the EU on the cheap. So much for Rouhani "betraying" Iran. As if the guidelines issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei could be simply trampled over; Iran will not, by any means, curb its nuclear capabilities in exchange of vague promises.

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And then, buried in the whole Daesh controversy, is what else, the energy angle. No one in Tehran has any illusions about the Obama administration's war via the back door on "Assad must go" (remember; that's Obama's own red line issued over three years ago). At play is still the control of Syria's unexplored reserves of natural gas. And the fate of yet another "Pipelineistan" soap opera; either the Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline -- fiercely opposed by the US -- or a GCC equivalent, with gas supplied by Qatar.

Daesh happens to be blocking exactly the pipeline route from Iraq to Syria -- so once again Daesh is doing the US's bidding; that explains to a great deal that innocuous US bombing of tracts of desert, while Daesh keeps annexing territory close to the Syrian-Turkish border.

Still, "Pipelineistan" in Syria could eventually intersect with the Iranian nuclear dossier. Iranian officials have not let the cat out of the bag -- but rumors remain insistent; Tehran might contemplate abdicating further strands of its civilian nuclear program, while earning Washington's acceptance to getting privileged access as a prime EU gas supplier. All this to hurt Gazprom.

Far-fetched as it may seem, that's a certified Obama administration carrot, dangled to theoretically speed up the end of sanctions -- at least from the EU side.

The fact remains Washington needs Moscow -- as well as Beijing -- for a nuclear agreement with Iran to be enshrined on November 24. There's no evidence so far Tehran will renounce its political clout -- and nuclear energy independence -- just to trade with the West. And there's no evidence Moscow will allow itself to be undercut by Tehran.

In fact mutual cooperation is the norm. President Rouhani just met President Putin during the fourth summit of the heads of state bordering the Caspian Sea -- that perennial target of American energy avidity (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are the other Caspian Sea nations, apart from Russia and Iran). In Astrakhan, Rouhani emphasized the Caspian should become a symbol of cooperation and peaceful development.

So no pitting of Tehran against Moscow -- much to Washington's displeasure. Yet the stakes could not be higher. Place your bets for the next few weeks -- and be prepared to change them in a flash.