Eye on Iran: Final Deal in Iran Nuclear Talks Unlikely by Deadline: Sources

Join UANI           Top Stories Reuters: "Despite nearly a year of negotiations, Iran and six major powers are unlikely to meet a Nov. 24 deadline to reach a final deal to lift international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, officials say. Western and Iranian officials told Reuters the two sides would probably settle for another interim agreement that builds on the limited sanctions relief agreed a year ago as they hammer away at their deep disagreements in the coming months. 'We could see the outline of a final deal emerging by Nov. 24 but probably not the deal itself,' a Western official said... Publicly all sides say it is still possible to reach a comprehensive agreement to end all sanctions in return for long-term limits on Iran's nuclear program to ensure it never makes an atomic weapon. Privately, expectations of what is achievable when senior foreign ministry officials begin the final week of talks next Tuesday in Vienna are much more modest. 'What is very likely is to reach a more detailed version of the Geneva agreement, enough to tackle the recession in Iran and also to extend the talks,' a senior Iranian official said, referring to the interim accord reached in Geneva a year ago which set the current talks in train... Some diplomats said a simple extension of the negotiations was possible, and a senior Iranian official said this could be until March. They were extended already for four months in July." http://t.uani.com/1sI36V4 The Hill: "Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are warning the Obama administration that they will 'act decisively' to toughen sanctions against Iran if they don't approve of any potential nuclear deal. 'As co-authors of bipartisan sanctions laws that compelled Iran to the negotiating table, we believe that a good deal will dismantle, not just stall, Iran's illicit nuclear program and prevent Iran from ever becoming a threshold nuclear weapons state,' they said in a statement on Wednesday. 'If a potential deal does not achieve these goals, we will work with our colleagues in Congress to act decisively, as we have in the past,' they added. The pair unveiled sanctions legislation earlier in the year, winning support from lawmakers in both parties. But Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) refused to allow a vote amid opposition from the White House, which warned the bill would derail nuclear talks with Iran." http://t.uani.com/1zmqSuw AFP: "Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry called on Wednesday for an agreement on a nuclear deal with Iran to be reached as soon as possible. 'The need to reach as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement which would allow to fully normalise the situation around the Iranian nuclear programme has been acknowledged,' the Russian foreign ministry said following a call between Lavrov and Kerry. They spoke after Iran and world powers met in Oman on Tuesday amid signs that an elusive deal on Tehran's nuclear programme might not be struck by a November 24 deadline. Russia's chief negotiator Sergei Ryabkov said after Tuesday's talks that he was still 'reasonably optimistic.'" http://t.uani.com/1xBb1ZF     Nuclear Program & Negotiations Al-Monitor: "The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, acknowledged not only that US President Barack Obama had written letters to Iran's supreme leader, but also that there have responses to some of them. 'The letters of the American president have a history of some years, and in some instances, there have been responses to these letters,' said Shamkhani Nov. 12 at a weekly meeting of national security officials... However, according to the transcript provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, Shamkhani said that there are 'contradictions' between the contents of these secret letters and US public positions. In contrast to the United States, Shamkhani said that Iran's private and public positions have been the same, particularly when it comes to the nuclear program. He reiterated that in the current nuclear negotiations, Iran 'would not accept anything beyond the Non-Proliferation Treaty,' describing some of the requests of the International Atomic Energy Agency as being beyond the treaty, particularly on visits to military sites. Shamkhani was also very critical of US Middle East policy and Israel's influence on it, saying, 'Unfortunately, America's policies in the region are managed through the Zionist regime, and this regime has used every tool to humiliate America.'" http://t.uani.com/1v84O8m Guardian: "Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, has asked the US to stop making 'excessive demands' in the negotiations over the country's nuclear programme, saying Tehran had already made enough compromises to reach a permanent settlement with the west when the two sides meet next week. Rouhani told his cabinet on Wednesday that the Iranian team would not retreat from the 'people's rights' when it travelled to Vienna to meet with diplomats from six major powers for what many see as a make-or-break moment. 'Iran has made its utmost efforts and made the necessary adjustments to its demands and we hope that all the P5+1 countries, particularly the US, which occasionally seeks excessive demands in the nuclear talks, will understand the circumstances,' Rouhani said, according to the state-run Press TV... Rouhani told his ministers that countries looking for excuses to prevent Iran making further nuclear advances would fail to do so. 'Our nation will never give up the path of development and its rights,' the Iranian president said, adding that he hoped for an agreement that would benefit Iran and other countries." http://t.uani.com/112CO8J Reuters: "Iran said on Wednesday it did not let a U.N. atomic agency official into the country as part of a team investigating its disputed nuclear activities because of the person's nationality. Ambassador Reza Najafi declined to say what country the IAEA official came from. But other diplomats have told Reuters the individual, who five times has been denied entry into Iran, is American and a nuclear weapons expert. 'We decided not to issue a visa for that specific staff of a certain nationality,' Najafi told Reuters, adding this had nothing to do with Iran's work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 'This is because of the nationality.'" http://t.uani.com/110LBrx Sanctions Relief IRNA: "The new round of activities by foreign insurance companies in Iran has started with Nasco Insurance Group of France opening its office in Tehran. The French insurance company this week hosted a number of activists from the private sector and those engaged in insurance industry. Addressing the meeting, Gabriel Bejjani, Managing Director of Nasco brokerage, voiced optimism about presence of Iranian insurance activists in the business." http://t.uani.com/1xt40Jn Sanctions Enforcement & Impact Reuters: "Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country's biggest refiner, is exploring options including a merger to save loss-making unit Chennai Petroleum Corp (CPCL), its chairman B. Ashok told Reuters on Wednesday. CPCL's attempts to raise funds have been constrained due to a 15.4 percent stake held in it by a unit of Iran's Naftiran Inter Trade Co Ltd (NICO). Western sanctions against Tehran due to its nuclear programme have made businesses difficult for companies with ties to Iran. 'At the moment there are certain difficulties,' Ashok said. 'CPCL requires infusion of funds and we are looking at various options including a merger of CPCL with IOC.'" http://t.uani.com/11l2Ox0 Syria Conflict Fars (Iran): "Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said Syria's missile-production plants have been built by Iran. 'The missile production plants in Syria have been built by Iran and the missiles designed by Iran are being produced there,' Hajizadeh said in an interview on Tuesday. He also said that even the resistance front in Palestine and Lebanon has received missile-production trainings from Iran. 'The Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance have grown highly powerful in this field (missile production) now,' Hajizadeh said." http://t.uani.com/1zjUcld Iraq Crisis Guardian: "As the Shia militias grow in power, Iran's military and religious footprint inside Iraq appears to be getting bigger: one prominent militia is the Khorasani Brigade, which openly swears allegiance to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. The group intends to establish an Islamic state like the one in Tehran. It uses an emblem on its yellow flag similar to the ones used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Hezbollah in Lebanon. A hand firmly holds an AK47, a symbol of resistance. The brigade's field commander in the Tuz Khormato area is 30-year-old Juwad al-Husnawi. Husnawi said he had 800 men under his command and had fought alongside Qassem Suleimani - a legendary Iranian general - in both Syria and Iraq. Husnawi recalled an incident when Suleimani personally contacted him in the heat of a recent battle and told him to stand firm until reinforcements turned up... The Shia militias fought Isis in coordination with the regular Iraqi airforce, sources told the Guardian. According to one senior Iraqi pilot, Iranian pilots fly Iraqi airforce planes regularly. He said the planes taking off from the al-Rashid military base near Baghdad often have one Iraqi Shia and one Iranian pilot. 'I have seen it with my own eyes. The Iranians use Sukhoi planes. In some units everyone is Iranian, including the pilot and the mechanics. They use Antonov and Hewi planes to drop barrel bombs on Sunni areas. Some Iranian pilots have been shot down.'" http://t.uani.com/1yCk0Iu Human Rights IHR: "According to the official Iranian news agency IRNA one prisoner was hanged in public in the city of Shiraz (southern Iran) early Wednesday morning November 12. The prisoner was identified as 'Majid Gh.' and convicted of Moharebeh and 'Corruption on earth' for armed robbery, said the report." http://t.uani.com/1xw1m5F RFE/RL: "Four young men are publicly paraded in the back of a vehicle while masked men in black who appear to be members of Iran's police force beat them up and tell them 'to bleat' like sheep. One of the young men has his hair pulled and is repeatedly hit on the head while being forced to eat leaves. 'I want to see you bleat,' one of the balaclava-clad men shouts. The young men appear to have no choice but to obey. They make animal sounds while the masked men assault them. 'I eat ***,' the young men shout, using a Persian slang expression that means he made a serious mistake. 'I was wrong, I was wrong,' another shouts. The beatings continue. A YouTube video of the disturbing scene has circulated on the Internet since last week." http://t.uani.com/112AajB Opinion & Analysis UANI Executive Director David Ibsen in Algemeiner: "Last week, concerns about the current nuclear negotiations with Iran were further legitimized by two developments. The first was the letter sent by President Obama to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The letter reportedly raised the possibility of a U.S.-Iran alliance against the Islamic State (ISIS) on the condition that Iran reaches a settlement with the P5+1 on its illicit nuclear program. This is a naïve and shortsighted suggestion that also contradicts previous statements by the Obama Administration rejecting any 'trading of aspects of Iran's nuclear program to secure commitments to take on ISIL.' The suggestion that Iran could be a potential security partner is ludicrous in light of Iran's strident anti-Americanism and ongoing encouragement of sectarianism and extremism in the region. Iran has worked to stoke the sectarian divide and destabilize Iraq. Iran and its proxy Hezbollah have further worked to support the brutal Bashar Al-Assad regime and undermine moderate opposition fighters in Syria. One can only hope that President Obama used a portion of his letter to urge the Supreme Leader to cease support for the brutal sectarian militias and proxies that have divided and alienated large swathes of the populations in Iraq and Syria, and commit to the establishment of secure, inclusive, and stable governments across the region. The audacity of hope indeed. The second development was the release of a new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stating that Iran is again stonewalling the Agency by failing to provide clarifications and explanations of its past nuclear weapons work. The issue of ongoing Iranian intransigence memorialized in the IAEA report is compounded by the numerous additional outstanding concerns regarding Iran's ballistic missile program, illicit procurement networks, possible undisclosed nuclear facilities, and, of course, the size and scope of its enrichment program. Perhaps rather than seeking reconciliation via direct communications with the hardline and pathologically anti-American Supreme Leader, the U.S. should be focusing its efforts to ensure that Iran addresses the fundamental and long-standing concerns of the international community regarding the danger of its nuclear program. The myth of Iranian regime moderation has been resoundingly and repeatedly refuted by Tehran's actions at home and abroad since the election of Hassan Rouhani. Clearly, the best way to ensure regional stability is to curb Iran's adverse influence in the region. This will not be accomplished by naively pushing for reconciliation with Iran or by turning a blind eye to Iran's continued stonewalling of international nuclear inspectors, sponsorship of terrorism, and support for the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad. That is the purpose behind UANI's new petition to the UN Representative of Iran. Discussions (or personal correspondence for that matter) that fail to hold Iran accountable for its continued defiance of the international community regarding its nuclear program or its violent, sectarian, and extremist misdeeds will not 'ensure peace in our time' - rather it will only further inflame regional conflict." http://t.uani.com/1pV6pNd      Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.