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AFP:
"Iran's parliament has started to draft a law that would allow the
country's nuclear scientists to intensify their uranium enrichment, a
step that could complicate ongoing talks with world powers. The move,
announced Saturday by parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy
Committee, comes after US lawmakers said they were planning legislation
that could place new sanctions on Iran... Hossein Naghavi Hosseini,
committee spokesman in Tehran, told the ISNA news agency that draft
legislation was underway. 'This bill will allow the government to
continue enrichment, using new generation centrifuges,' he said,
referring to more modern machines that would speed up production. 'The
parliament's nuclear committee is working on the technical issues and
details of this draft,' he added." http://t.uani.com/1zMvVrH
AFP:
"Iran warned the US Congress on Friday against imposing new
sanctions, saying this would lead to a collapse of negotiations over
Iran's controversial nuclear programme. 'We have an agreement that has
the prospect of reaching a comprehensive agreement,' Iran's Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told a meeting of political and business
leaders in Davos. 'If someone comes to torpedo (the agreement), I believe
(the person or entity) should be isolated by the international community,
whether it's the US Congress or anybody else. Now is the time for the
international community to stand firm against (the threat of new
sanctions)that will unravel an extremely important achievement.' Any new
sanctions passed by the US Congress can be vetoed by President Barack
Obama, but Zarif warned that if Iran's president does not have similar
powers over parliament. 'In our constitution, our president does not have
the power to veto parliament (which has) threatened publicly' to take
retaliatory action against any move by Congress. 'They will adopt
something requiring the government... to increase our (uranium)
enrichment,' said Zarif." http://t.uani.com/1D8p2io
NYT:
"Iranian protesters, encouraged by state-sanctioned Friday Prayer
leaders, condemned the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo for
publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. In cities across Iran, tens
of thousands of people took to the streets on Friday in organized
protests, shouting slogans and chanting 'death' to France, Israel,
Britain and Charlie Hebdo, and burning flags... 'The attack on Charlie
Hebdo was a pretext for attacking Islam,' Kazem Sadeghi, a prayer leader
in Tehran, said Friday. 'But fortunately the attack led to unity among
Muslims who all condemned the desecration of our holy prophet.'" http://t.uani.com/1tggHZV
Nuclear
Program & Negotiations
AFP:
"US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif met for bilateral talks Friday on the sidelines of
the World Economic Forum in Davos, an official source told AFP.
'Secretary Kerry and Iranian foreign minister Zarif just concluded an
hour-long meeting in Davos,' a State Department source said, without
providing more details. The top-level meeting occurred as Iranian and US
diplomats officially resumed talks in Switzerland on intensifying efforts
to reach a deal on the future of Tehran's nuclear programme. Two days of
meetings between Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and top US
negotiator Wendy Sherman began Friday morning in Zurich. EU political
director Helga Schmid was also taking part in the meetings, he added."
http://t.uani.com/1uuuHud
Reuters:
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended on Sunday a planned
speech to the U.S. Congress about Iran, saying he had a moral obligation
to speak out on an issue that poses a mortal threat to Israel... Briefing
his cabinet on the March 3 speech to a joint meeting of Congress,
Netanyahu said his priority was to urge the United States and other
powers not to negotiate an Iranian nuclear deal that might endanger
Israel. 'In coming weeks, the powers are liable to reach a framework
agreement with Iran, an agreement liable to leave Iran as a nuclear
threshold state,' he said in remarks carried by Israeli broadcasters. 'As
prime minister of Israel, I am obligated to make every effort to prevent
Iran from getting nuclear weaponry that will be aimed at the State of
Israel. This effort is global and I will go anywhere I am invited to make
the State of Israel's case and defend its future and existence.' John
Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, invited
Netanyahu without informing the Obama administration, in what the White
House deemed a breach of protocol." http://t.uani.com/1JrKmDr
Reuters:
"Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is to appear before
parliament following controversy over a promenade with his American
counterpart during intense nuclear negotiations in Geneva, state media
reported on Sunday. Zarif, who leads Tehran's talks with 'P5+1' - the
United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - had a
15-minute walk down Geneva sidewalks with U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry during discussions on Jan. 14 aimed at reaching a settlement of the
12-year nuclear dispute between Iran and the West. Media images of the
top diplomats from old adversaries strolling together in a foreign land
provoked an outcry among Iranian hard-liners deeply wary of rapprochement
with the 'Great Satan'. On Friday, conservative-leaning prayer leaders
heaped scorn on Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani for the 'diplomatic
slip-up' and newspapers said 21 members of parliament had signed a
petition to call in the moderate minister to provide an explanation.
'Given the Great Satan's endless demands and sabotage during the course
of the nuclear negotiations, there is no conceivable ground for intimacy
between the foreign ministers of Iran and America,' said the petition
published in hard-line Fars News." http://t.uani.com/1uPmJ4G
Congressional
Sanctions
Al-Monitor:
"The Senate Banking Committee is once again on track to vote on Iran
sanctions legislation after an unexpected delay last week. The markup,
scheduled for Jan. 29, will provide the clearest indication to date of
where Congress stands... The bill that has been scheduled for a vote was
co-authored by Banking members Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Robert Menendez,
D-N.J., and would escalate sanctions on Iran if no deal is reached by
July 6. Democratic support for the bill has been steadily evaporating in
the wake of intense lobbying from the White House, while fellow Banking
member Bob Corker, R-Tenn., is pushing competing legislation that would
instead require Congress to sign off on a final deal. The markup will be
preceded by a Banking hearing on the issue Jan. 27 featuring the State
Department's No. 2, Antony Blinken, and Treasury sanctions chief David Cohen.
They will be followed by experts from two pro-Israel think tanks, the
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the Washington Institute
for Near East Policy. The House Foreign Affairs meanwhile will hold its
first Iran hearing of the new Congress on Jan. 27. The hearing won't
feature any government officials - only experts from a range of think
tanks - but may offer some fresh insight into the committee's plans for
Iran-related legislation in the new Congress." http://t.uani.com/1yjzwH5
Star-Ledger:
"By Thursday, Menendez cooled down a bit. In an interview, he said
he was considering putting off his clash with Obama over Iran by delaying
until March his bill that would force Obama to turn up the heat against
Tehran by preparing a new round of tougher sanctions... For years,
Menendez has co-sponsored bills to toughen sanctions, which Obama
concedes are the only reason Tehran is even talking. 'I hate to say it
but this administration at various times when I have moved on sanctions
legislation has opposed them, and now heralds them as the reason (Iran)
is at the table,' Menendez says... Menendez is basically offering to play
a game of good-cop, bad-cop. While Obama plays nice, Congress can
strengthen his hand by growling in the next room. Putting sanction in
place takes months, he says, so having this contingency in place will
give Obama a running start if no deal materializes by the June deadline.
'If sanctions aren't in place, his only options will be a military
option, or to accept a nuclear-armed Iran," he says. 'By having
sanction in place, you have a third way.'" http://t.uani.com/1yI62aF
Human Rights
IHR:
"Ten prisoners were hanged in the prison of Kerman early Sunday
morning 25 January. All the prisoners were convicted of drug-related
charges. None of the executions have been announced by the official
Iranian sources... According to IHR sources there have been three group
executions on Sunday January 18, Tuesday January 20 and Thursday January
22 in the prison of Kerman. IHR is investigating about the details around
these executions. In December 2014 IHR reported about the unannounced
mass-executions of drug-convicts in the prison of Kerman." http://t.uani.com/1teTjf8
NYT:
"Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post's Iran correspondent, who was
imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement six months ago for
unspecified reasons, has been moved recently and has a cellmate, his
brother said Friday. The brother, Ali Rezaian, also said that Jason
Rezaian's wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who was imprisoned at the same time for
unspecified reasons but released on bail after a month, had been
permitted for the first time to consult a lawyer. Reached by telephone in
California, where he lives, Ali Rezaian said he had learned of the
developments in recent days. Although the changes suggested that Mr.
Rezaian's conditions had eased, it was unclear whether they signaled some
movement in the prosecutions of Mr. Rezaian and his wife, which remain
shrouded in secrecy." http://t.uani.com/1ylisAp
AFP:
"Asia's football body does not oppose Iranian laws banning women
from stadiums, a senior official told AFP on Friday, after thousands
flocked to watch the team at the Asian Cup. Enthusiastic male and female
Iran fans have provided a colourful spectacle at the tournament in Australia,
in scenes which are forbidden in the Islamic republic. Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) general secretary Alex Soosay said the body respects
Iranian rules banning women from watching male athletes, an increasing
source of controversy. 'We're very broad-minded,' Soosay said in an
interview in Sydney. 'In Australia, there's a big Iranian community and
you can't stop them from coming to the stadium because there's no
restrictions here. Whereas in Iran, there has been some restrictions of
women entering the stadium and watching a football match.' He added the
AFC was 'happy' to respect Iranian laws. The divide between the situation
in Iran and Australia was laid bare when Iranian players were warned
against taking 'selfie' pictures with female fans." http://t.uani.com/1tezmoX
Foreign Affairs
AFP:
"Iran's foreign minister arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for a
rare visit to the regional rival, bringing condolences after the death of
King Abdullah, television pictures showed. Saudi officials greeted Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after he landed at a military airport in
the capital Riyadh... In August last year Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince
Saud al-Faisal in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. That was the first
high-level Iranian visit to the kingdom since Hassan Rouhani became the
Islamic republic's president a year earlier." http://t.uani.com/1L9TIp8
LAT:
"In Iran, Saudi Arabia's longtime rival for influence in the Middle
East, there is little expectation that King Abdullah's death will alter
the deep enmity that has helped fuel hostilities and proxy battles
throughout the region, including in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and
Bahrain. 'In the near future, there will not be any letup between the two
adversaries,' said Nader Karimi Juni, a political analyst in Tehran.
'Iran and Saudi Arabia will never be friends. Each country has a hostile
ideology toward the other.'" http://t.uani.com/1teA19R
Al-Monitor:
"On Dec. 20, Iran appointed an ambassador to Morocco, five years
after diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed at the
instigation of Morocco. Ongoing contacts between the two countries'
foreign ministers since February 2014 suggest that Morocco will soon
reciprocate and name its own ambassador. Iran officially announced the
appointment of Mohammad Taghi Moayed, a career diplomat familiar with the
Maghreb who previously served in Tunisia. Rabat, however, has been more
discreet about its rapprochement with the Islamic Republic. The kingdom
has put conditions on resuming relations with Tehran; one of them is to
obtain guarantees that Iran will refrain from proselytizing its own brand
of Shiite Islam. Suspected religious activism, especially in northern
Morocco, was one of the reasons that led Rabat to break diplomatic
relations with Iran in March 2009. Morocco also cited Iran's interference
in the affairs of Bahrain, an allied Sunni monarchy ruling over a
majority of Shiites." http://t.uani.com/1L9QBgQ
Opinion &
Analysis
Dennis Ross, Eric
Edelman & Ray Takeyh in Politico: "he nuclear
negotiations between the United States and Iran appear stalemated.
Meanwhile Iran is on the march in the Middle East with its forces
supporting the coup in Yemen, buttressing the Assad war-machine in Syria,
mediating between factions in Iraq, and plotting with Hezbollah
operatives on the periphery of Israel. Today, the American alliance
system stands bruised and battered while our friends in the region
perceive Iran and its resistance-front galloping across the region. These
two simultaneous developments-the deadlock in nuclear talks and Iran's
aggressive moves in the region-are not coincidental. They are intimately
linked, and that should be a lesson for President Obama: The nuclear deadlock
cannot be broken unless Washington reengages in the myriad of conflicts
and civil wars plaguing the region, particularly now that Yemen is
vulnerable and the Saudi royal family is in a state of turmoil following
the death of King Abdullah on Thursday. During the course of the nuclear
negotiations over the past year, Iran has been the beneficiary of a
generous catalogue of concessions from the West. The 5-plus-1 has
conceded to Iranian enrichment, agreed that Tehran need not scale back
the number of its centrifuges significantly or dismantle any facilities
and could have an industrial-size program after passage of a period of
time. The Iranians have, during the course of the ten years of
negotiations, grown accustomed to having their interlocutors return to
the table with concessions meant to meet their mandates while offering
only limited compromises of their own. Despite that no agreement was
achieved at the end of the one year time-frame of the Joint Plan of
Action-and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei continues to signal that Iran
can live without an agreement. In fact, his negotiators are pressing for
more concessions while not offering any of their own. Hence it is time to
acknowledge that we need a revamped coercive strategy, one that threatens
what the Islamic Republic values the most-its influence in the Middle
East and its standing at home. And the pattern of concessions at the
negotiating table must stop if there is to be an acceptable agreement.
Iranian officials must come to understand that there will be no further
concessions to reach an accord and that time is running out for
negotiations. Historically, the Islamic Republic has adjusted its
behavior only when its leaders saw high costs in not doing so. Iran needs
to see that we are not so concerned about reaching a deal on the nuclear
issue that we are indifferent to its behavior in the region... As they
once more meet their Iranian counterparts next week, the American
diplomats should not be afraid to walk away from the table and even
suspend the talks should they continue to meet an unyielding Iran.
Another way of pressing Tehran would be to publicize all the concessions
that 5-plus-1 have made and how little Iran has moved. In doing so, we
would expose the emptiness of the Iranian claim that all they want is
civil nuclear power and clearly signal to their leadership that we don't
need an agreement as much as they do and that we are prepared to create
conditions for international support for increased pressure... The United
States and Iran are destined to remain adversaries. It may be possible
for enemies to negotiate an arms control compacts, but the path to such
an accord will not come from additional concessions by the 5+1; if we
want an acceptable deal at this stage, Iran's leaders need to see they
have more to lose than gain by not concluding one." http://t.uani.com/18jWnNZ
Andres Oppenheimer
in The Miami Herald: "Argentine prosecutor Alberto
Nisman made headlines before his mysterious death last weekend by
accusing President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of trying to cover up
Iran's role in the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, but there was
another - more important - leader who was at the center of the deceased
prosecutor's probe: Iran's president Hassan Rouhani. In several telephone
conversations and e-mail exchanges I had with Nisman over the past three
years, the prosecutor told me that Rouhani was among the top Iranian
officials who had 'participated in the decision' to bomb the AMIA Jewish
community center in Buenos Aires. The attack left 85 dead and 300
wounded, and was the biggest terrorist bombing in the Western hemisphere
before 9/11. According to my notes from those conversations and a
detailed e-mail that Nisman sent me on July1, 2013, Nisman said that
Rouhani was a top member of a special committee within Iran's VEVAK
intelligence agency, known as Vijeh, which in 1994 was overseeing secret
operations abroad, including the AMIA bombing. Iran has denied any
responsibility for the bombing. Shortly after Rouhani was proclaimed the winner
of Iran's elections on June 15, 2013, and the world media described the
Iranian president-elect as a 'moderate,' I had asked Nisman whether
Iran's then-president-elect was a suspect in his investigation into the
AMIA bombing. Nisman told me that Rouhani was not among the eight Iranian
officials whose international arrest he had requested to Interpol in
2006, but that he was a member of the committee that had planned the
attack. Nisman added that a key witness, a former Iranian VIVEK official
named Abolghasem Mesbahi, had testified that Rouhani was a member of the
Vijeh committee at the time of the bombing. Nisman authorized me at the
time to quote him as saying that 'so far, there is no element in the
(AMIA) file that would allow to link Rouhani to the attack.' But he added
privately that he believed in Mesbahi's testimony, and that as a member
of the committee Rouhani was likely to have known of the AMIA bombing
plan. On July 1, 2013, Nisman emailed me part of Mesbahi's testimony.
Quoting from his 2006 request to Interpol, Nisman's email said that
Mesbahi 'is a qualified witness' in the AMIA case 'because of his
background within VEVAK,' and 'because of his close relations' with
Iran's intelligence officials. It added that, according to Mesbahi, the
Vijeh committee at the time of the 1994 bombing was presided over by
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khameini, and made up among others by Rouhani,
(former President Akbar Hashemi) Rafsanjani, and (former Foreign Minister
Ali Akbar) Valayati. At the end of that email, Nisman added - as a
personal comment apparently criticizing the fact that
then-president-elect Rouhani was being described by the media as a
'moderate' who allegedly had no connections with the AMIA terrorist
attack - that 'nobody is pointing out that Rouhani participated in the
decision of the AMIA attack.' ... Whatever happened to him, the best
homage we can pay to Nisman is remembering that he was not only accusing
President Fernández for the 2013 Argentina-Iran deal, but that his main
target has always been Iran's regime, including Rouhani - for the 1994
bombing in Buenos Aires. At a time when the United States and other
countries are negotiating a nuclear deal with the allegedly moderate
Rouhani, it's a good time to remember this." http://t.uani.com/1L9K71A
WashPost
Editorial: "That the mysterious death of an
Argentine prosecutor has rattled President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
is all too evident from the president's own postings on her Facebook
page. Last Tuesday, Ms. Kirchner claimed in a rambling, 2,000-word post
that Alberto Nisman, who was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head
the night before he was due to publicly charge Ms. Kirchner with illicit
dealings with Iran, had killed himself. On Thursday, she maintained in an
even longer Facebook post that Mr. Nisman had been murdered as part of an
elaborate plot against her government. In fact, Mr. Nisman appears to
have compiled considerable evidence that Ms. Kirchner and several other
top officials attempted to strike a deal between 2011 and 2013 under
which Iran would supply Argentina with oil in exchange for food, and Ms.
Kirchner's government would seek the removal from an Interpol arrest list
of eight Iranians wanted in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish
community center in Buenos Aires. Both the charges and the prosecutor's
death call out for an independent, internationally-backed investigation.
The stakes of the case extend well beyond Argentina. Mr. Nisman has
alleged that senior Iranian officials were involved in planning or
approving the community center bombing. According to Andres Oppenheimer
of the Miami Herald, Mr. Nisman said he had testimony that now-president
Hassan Rouhani was one of the members of a committee that signed off on
the attack... Ms. Kirchner, whose populist, quasi-autocratic rule has
badly damaged Argentina's economy and soured its relations with the
United States and other democracies, is a political lame duck who is due
to leave office following an election later this year. However, she, Mr.
Timerman and other close associates should be held accountable for their
dealings with Iran. The cause of Mr. Nisman's death must also be
established. Only a probe with international sponsorship or participation
is likely to produce a credible result. If Ms. Kirchner really believes
herself to be the innocent target of a conspiracy, she should welcome
it." http://t.uani.com/1uOYHXn
Ed Rogers in
WashPost: "House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is an
able, savvy leader, and he knows it is extraordinary to invite a foreign
leader to speak before a joint session of Congress without informing the
president. On its face, it is inappropriate. Such a breach in
diplomatic protocol shouldn't happen. It's just not a good way to conduct
foreign policy. However, I suspect in this situation, it represents
Boehner being at his wit's end and being beyond alarmed about the quality
of diplomacy he has witnessed from this administration generally, and the
trajectory of U.S. national security with regard to negotiations with
Iran specifically. Boehner's apprehension is bipartisan. Very few on
Capitol Hill have confidence that President Obama can negotiate an
agreement that will keep Iran from having nuclear weapons. Sen. Bob
Menendez (D-N.J.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, said something in a recent Foreign Relations hearing that has
been buzzing around the Internet and publications. Upon hearing from the
administration about the status of reaching a nuclear agreement with
Iran, he said their talking points seem to 'come straight out of Tehran.'
Menendez is nothing if not a faithful Democrat and Obama ally. But,
apparently, even he has thrown in the towel and is ringing the alarm bell
over the very dangerous path he sees the president taking. And beyond what
Menendez said, no less than Leslie Gelb wrote last week about the
alarming failures of Obama and his foreign policy team. Gelb is a
distinguished former correspondent for the New York Times and is
currently president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.
In analyzing Obama's national security team in a piece for the Daily
Beast, he had some stunning, jaw-dropping things to say. He called
for a wholesale firing of the Obama team, saying, 'Mr. Obama will have to
excuse most of his inner core, especially in the White House.' He
went on to argue that, 'making the national security system work comes
down to one factor, one man - Barack Obama. He's the key problem.' Even
if you are a traditionalist on foreign policy, as I am, and you believe
there should be wide deference to the president, you can't ignore the
debacles that have occurred during the six years of Obama's term. You
also can't ignore Boehner's recent drastic moves or the urgent warnings
from a man like Gelb. The stakes are too high to just shrug, defer to the
president and hope for the best. Americans are about to receive a strong
signal from Congress on the importance of the situation with Iran - the
kind of signal that only a bipartisan vote for more sanctions - over the
president's objection - can provide. Let's face it, it's probably good
Iran is being sent a message that the president is dealing with powerful
constituencies back home who are suspicious of Iran's every move and who
won't automatically acquiesce to an agreement that is acceptable to
Obama. Even though the logic is convoluted, the warnings from Gelb,
the stunning comments from Menendez and Boehner's public disregard of the
White House could actually strengthen the president's hand by giving the
Iranians a reality check about how seriously they should take their next
moves - even if they don't take Obama seriously." http://t.uani.com/1BqNbAS
Jennifer Rubin in
WashPost: "Former Obama adviser Dennis Ross has been
outspoken over the last year or so in urging the administration to use
leverage against Iran to reach a deal on nuclear weapons that would be
acceptable to the West. When the president in his State of the Union
address instead threatened once again to veto sanctions, it reminded us
that the administration is ignoring all outside advice and living in its
own parallel universe in which reconciliation with Iran is viable.In an
event hosted by the pro-Israel group JINSA this past week, Ross virtually
pleaded with the administration to stop chasing a deal. 'The question is:
what happens over the next few months to get a deal? It's pretty clear at
this point that the Iranians don't feel much need to conclude an
agreement, even though the P5+1 has demonstrated an awful lot of
flexibility,' he cautioned. 'Therefore, it's important Iran not believe
that we want an agreement more than they do. [...] We can't get a
long-term deal unless we raise the price to Iran of refusing it' If the
administration won't pass sanctions, Ross offered, why not show strength
in some other way? 'We could intercept clandestine arms shipments to
Houthis in Yemen or to Hamas. It would also be smart for the
Administration to engage Congress to develop an understanding of the
consequences for Iran of violating a final deal, ' he suggested. 'If
these aren't spelled out in advance, the United States will spend
valuable time debating how to respond only after violations have been
detected. This would be consistent with negotiations, and would send the
message to Iran that the price for cheating is clear.' This is all good
advice, but misunderstands, I think, where the president is coming from.
President Obama does want a deal more than Iran does. His foreign policy
is in shambles, and he fears most of all yet another conflict with
another Muslim country. Iran has learned it has nothing to fear from the
United States and that intransigence pays dividends. Unlike Ross who
cares about getting a good deal, it is obvious Obama is content to keep
the interim deal in place unless Iran will finally accept a sweetheart deal
of the sort Obama is only too anxious to offer. Co-panelist and former
Bush defense official John Hanna concurred, saying, 'It's an
irresponsible and disturbing strategy where the White House has become
the main advocate for justifying Iran walking away from the talks. This
demonstrates naiveté about how to conduct international negotiations:
its' now Iran and the President against Congress. The President should
use the threat of Congress passing sanctions - even if he vetoes them -
to go to the Iranians and say I'm working with you, but we don't have
much time, so make some concessions.' ... While Congress moves forward on
sanctions, the president's representations of the Middle East are proving
to be thoroughly wrong. He said Yemen was a success story; it's
government collapsed. He claims the Islamic State has been halted; no
military official or neutral observer would agree. And he insists the
interim Iranian deal has 'stopped' Iran's program; numerous fact checkers
have found this to be false. These glaring falsehoods confirm he is
impervious to facts or willing to deliberate mislead everyone who is
still listening to him. We will see if Congress can move promptly with
one voice on sanctions. But this we know: The president is incapable of
getting Iran to accept a good deal, so the only question is whether the
interim deal is the 'new normal' or whether he reaches a deal that backs
down from positions he once represented as essential to a deal." http://t.uani.com/1xWWyog
Hisham Melhem in
Al Arabiya: "At a time when Russia and Iran, the
biggest supporters of the Assad dictatorship in Damascus, are on the
ropes economically because of steep declining oil prices, the Obama
administration, mostly by inaction but also by design, is practically
propping up the Assad regime. One could see the contours of a hellish
Faustian deal in the making. To put it bluntly, the Obama administration
today, almost four years after the Syrian people began their peaceful
uprising against the depredation of an entrenched despotic rule, is
desperately relying on Russian 'diplomacy' and Iranian 'muscle' to
extricate it from its disastrous policy in Syria. Iran now for all
intents and purposes, as one astute Iraqi Kurd told me, is 'leading from
behind' the ground war against the forces of the Islamic State (ISIS) in
Iraq, while the U.S. is leading the air campaign. In this new strange,
but not brave Middle East, the hapless Iraqi government is more than
happy to play the role of the useful mailman/middleman, delivering and
receiving messages among the three frenemies. While Russia and Iran have
been adamantly consistent in their support of the Assad regime, even
after its outrageous use of chemical weapons against its own civilians,
and after its systematic use of siege and starvation as tools of war
against civilian areas under the control of the opposition, the Obama
administration kept muddling through from one concession to the next
compromise to another retreat and now to outright betrayal of its early
promises to the Syrian people, not to mention its own solemn red lines
and commitments to punish the Assad regimes for its war crimes... The
U.S. is increasingly relying on Russian 'diplomacy' to contain the
conflict in Syria, so that Assad's forces with considerable Iranian
'muscle', in the form of advisors, special Revolutionary Guards forces
and the storm troopers of the Lebanese Hezbollah to do battle against
ISIS and other radical Sunni groups. There is a diabolical unstated
arrangement whereby, the Syrian air force will continue to terrorize the
civilians with its barrel bombs, and at the same time sharing Syria's air
space with American and other allied air forces conducting raids against
ISIS forces and positions. This arrangement benefits the Syrian regime
first and foremost. In Iraq, sometimes the Iranian air force shares Iraqi
airspace with allied air forces in bombing ISIS positions and personnel.
On the ground, the real 'deciders' in Iraq are Iranian advisors under the
supervision of General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force,
who acts as Iran's actual Viceroy in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon." http://t.uani.com/18izxpR
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