Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Eye on Iran: In Congress, Netanyahu Faults 'Bad Deal' on Iran Nuclear Program








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NYT: "With dark warnings and a call to action, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel used one of the world's most prominent venues on Tuesday to denounce what he called a 'bad deal' being negotiated with Iran and to mount an audacious challenge to President Obama. In an extraordinary spectacle pitting the leaders of two close allies against each other, Mr. Netanyahu took the rostrum in the historic chamber of the House of Representatives to tell a joint meeting of Congress that instead of stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, Mr. Obama's diplomatic initiative 'would all but guarantee' that it does, in turn setting off a regional arms race. 'This deal won't be a farewell to arms,' Mr. Netanyahu told the lawmakers, who responded to him with a succession of standing ovations. 'It would be a farewell to arms control. And the Middle East would soon be crisscrossed by nuclear tripwires. A region where small skirmishes can trigger big wars would turn into a nuclear tinderbox.' Such dire predictions could make it much harder for Mr. Obama to sell an agreement to a Republican-led Congress even if his negotiators reach one in Geneva. The president quickly tried to counter the prime minister by dismissing the speech as 'theater' and 'nothing new.' Mr. Netanyahu, the president told reporters, had no better ideas than the status quo or, in theory, military strikes against Iranian facilities... The prime minister dissected Mr. Obama's proposed deal, complaining that it would allow Iran to keep some nuclear enrichment facilities and leave it capable of producing enough fuel for a bomb within a year if it broke the deal. The agreement would last only 10 years or so and would not address Iran's ballistic missile program. 'It doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb. It paves Iran's path to the bomb,' he said, adding, 'This is a bad deal.'" http://t.uani.com/1DNLjRm

NYT: "President Obama's task of selling a potential nuclear agreement with Iran to a skeptical Congress became far harder on Tuesday after an impassioned speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to lawmakers already nervous about the deal. 'The president has a very heavy burden of persuasion here,' said former Representative Lee H. Hamilton, a Democrat and the onetime chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who now directs Indiana University's Center on Congress. 'That task is made much more difficult when a powerful case is stated against the emerging deal, as the prime minister has done.' ... Visibly irritated by Tuesday's speech when asked about it in the Oval Office afterward, Mr. Obama dismissed the pressure from his Israeli counterpart, pledging to take his case 'to every member of Congress once we actually have a deal.' But as he makes that crucial sales job - which will involve persuading lawmakers to go along with the easing of a complex set of sanctions against Iran, some put in place by Congress - Mr. Obama must now overcome not only the animosity of Republicans but also the words of the leader of Israel, whose powerful speech will serve as the counterpoint to a president they already distrust... Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, moved quickly after Mr. Netanyahu's address to put the president on notice that lawmakers intended to have their say in the matter. 'Congress and the American people need to be part of this discussion, too,' Mr. McConnell said as he moved to schedule debate on legislation that would make any Iran agreement subject to congressional approval. 'Congress must be involved in reviewing and voting on an agreement reached between this White House and Iran.'" http://t.uani.com/1FWiiW0

WSJ: "In appealing to U.S. lawmakers to steer away from the emerging international nuclear deal with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is betting he can use Congress to either circumvent the White House's diplomacy or at least significantly toughen and broaden the terms of any deal. In his no-holds-barred speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu appealed heavily to U.S. lawmakers to use their authority to potentially block an Iran deal from taking effect. Republican leaders moved quickly to build on the momentum of the speech. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) laid the groundwork Tuesday for lawmakers to vote on a bill, as soon as next week, requiring congressional approval of any Iran nuclear agreement. The White House opposes the measure... But two Democratic co-sponsors of that bill, Sens. Robert Menendez and Tim Kaine, voiced concern over plans to speed up the measure. Mr. Menendez, of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he would vote against any effort to take up the bill... Congress has several other avenues of leverage. Lawmakers can pass new sanctions on Iran while talks are continuing, which they have signaled they may do after a late March deadline in the talks. President Barack Obama has said he would veto any additional sanctions. Congress also could refuse to lift Iran sanctions, as would be required in a final deal. Secretary of State John Kerry has said the administration believes 'all sanctions must be lifted' under any final accord. Mr. Obama can lift certain sanctions on his own but would need Congress to undo some of the most stringent ones."  http://t.uani.com/1M76vIv

   
Nuclear Program & Negotiations

Reuters: "The U.S. and Iranian foreign ministers wrapped up three days of talks over Iran's nuclear programme on Wednesday, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal being negotiated was a serious mistake. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif have negotiated for more than 10 hours since Monday in the Swiss lakeside town of Montreux, hoping to work out a framework deal by late March. 'We have made some progress but have a lot of challenges yet ahead,' a senior U.S. State Department official told reporters traveling with Kerry. 'The bottom line here is that (there is) no deal to announce to anybody today, but very intense, hard work, some progress, but tough challenges yet to be resolved,' the official said. 'We expect that we (and the Iranians) will regroup bilaterally, with the European Union present as well, on the 15th of March, location to be confirmed but most likely Geneva.' Asked if he thought they had made progress, Zarif told reporters: 'We have, but a lot of work remains.'" http://t.uani.com/1w3cFoZ

AP: "A senior U.S. official spoke of some progress Wednesday in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran but tamped down expectations of a formal, preliminary deal this month outlining constraints on Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic. The official said the negotiations are aiming for a much looser construct - 'an understanding that's going to have to be filled out with lots of detail' by their late March target date." http://t.uani.com/1wV1vxR

NYT: "After winding up three days of talks that American officials said had led to some progress toward an accord to limit Iran's nuclear program, Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday flew to Saudi Arabia to take on the challenge of explaining the potential deal to a kingdom that is both an adversary of Iran and an ally of the United States. In Riyadh, Mr. Kerry plans to meet with King Salman, the new Saudi monarch, and to consult with foreign ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, who are also flying there. Like Israel, which opposes the potential deal, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations in the Persian Gulf see Iran as an opponent. And they have also been concerned about terms of the deal, which would be limited in duration and would allow Iran to retain some of its nuclear infrastructure... Asked about Mr. Netanyahu's criticism, the State Department official declined to discuss how Iran might be precluded from constructing a large network of additional centrifuges after the accord expires." http://t.uani.com/1B6zyqJ

AFP: "Iran denounced as 'lie-spreading' a speech Tuesday in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the US Congress a nuclear deal being negotiated with Tehran would threaten the world. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham, in a statement, denounced as 'very repetitious and boring Netanyahu's continuous lie-spreading about the goals and intentions behind Iran's peaceful nuclear programme'... The Iranian spokeswoman said the speech was a 'sign of weakness' and that it revealed the isolation of 'radical groups' in the Jewish state. The anti-Iranian policy 'is facing serious problems because of the continuous talks and Iran's serious determination to overcome this fabricated crisis,' she was quoted as saying." http://t.uani.com/1AICGFH

Iraq Crisis

AFP: "Iran's role in an Iraqi military offensive to recapture Tikrit could be positive as long as it does not fuel sectarian divisions in the country, the US military's top officer said Tuesday. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators that Iran's military assistance for Shiite militia was nothing new but was carried out in a more open manner this week as Iraqi forces pushed to retake Tikrit from Islamic State jihadists. 'This is the most overt conduct of Iranian support,' Dempsey said, which came 'in the form of artillery' and other aid. 'Frankly, it would only be a problem if it resulted in sectarianism,' he told the Senate Armed Services Committee... In an assault launched Monday, officials in Baghdad say a 30,000-strong force has been mobilized to take back Tikrit. Dempsey said Shiite militia -- which are armed by Tehran -- account for about two-thirds of the force while Iraqi government army troops make up the remainder." http://t.uani.com/18jZXa0

WashPost: "The U.S. military has no direct role in the ongoing military offensive to take back the Iraqi city of Tikrit from Islamic State militants, but U.S. commanders have seen it coming for days, according to the top U.S. general overseeing operations in the Middle East. The assault, said to involve about 25,000 Iraqi troops, was launched Monday to take back the birthplace of Saddam Hussein. Numerous photos have surfaced of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force, in the region assisting Shiite militias that are taking part in the offensive. The operation, launched without direct U.S. involvement, has been called an eye-opener to the United States by some analysts. But Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, chief of U.S. Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that it was 'no surprise,' even if the United States and Iran don't see eye-to-eye on other issues and do not coordinate operations against the Islamic State." http://t.uani.com/1aLpLxJ

Human Rights

RFE/RL: "Six Iranian Kurds have reportedly been executed despite human right defenders' calls on Iranian authorities to spare their lives. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said the Sunni Muslim men were executed early on March 4 inside Rajai Shahr prison in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. On March 3, Amnesty International renewed its call not to hang the six inmates, who it said had gone on a hunger strike. The London-based group said they were sentenced to death after being found guilty of the offense of 'enmity against God.' Four of them were accused of killing a senior Sunni Musilm cleric in 2009, but they claim they were arrested several months before the killing. They were among 33 Sunni Muslim men on death row in mainly Shi'ite Iran. All of them maintain that they were targeted solely because they practiced or promoted their faith." http://t.uani.com/1Elb3s2

Opinion & Analysis

WashPost Editorial: "The concerns about a prospective nuclear agreement with Iran raised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech to Congress on Tuesday are not - as the White House was quick to point out - new. They had, for example, been spelled out in Senate hearings, as an editorial we published last month recounted. Mr. Netanyahu's decision to repeat this case before a joint meeting of Congress in defiance of the White House and leading Democrats risked turning what should be a substantive debate into a partisan scrimmage. Nevertheless, Mr. Netanyahu's arguments deserve a serious response from the Obama administration - one it has yet to provide. The White House has sought to dismiss the Israeli leader as a politician seeking reelection; has said that he was wrong in his support for the Iraq war and in his opposition to an interim agreement with Iran; and has claimed that he offers no alternative to President Obama's policy. Such rhetoric will not satisfy those in and out of Congress who share Mr. Netanyahu's legitimate questions. His speech singled out 'two major concessions' he said would be part of any deal the United States and its partners conclude with Iran. The first is the acceptance of a large Iranian nuclear infrastructure, including thousands of centrifuges for uranium enrichment. The second is a time limit on any restrictions, so that in as little as a decade Iran would be free to expand its production of nuclear materials. Consequently, Mr. Netanyahu said, the deal 'doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb; it paves Iran's path to the bomb.' The Israeli prime minister's most aggressive argument concerned the nature of the Iranian regime, which he called 'a dark and brutal dictatorship' engaged in a 'march of conquest, subjugation and terror.' Saying that the regime's ideology is comparable with that of the Islamic State, he asserted that it could not be expected to change during the decade-long term of an agreement. He proposed that controls on the nuclear program should be maintained 'for as long as Iran continues its aggression in the region and in the world.' In essence, this was an argument that Iran must be sanctioned and contained while its clerical regime remains in power. That has been the explicit or de facto U.S. policy since 1979, but Mr. Obama appears to be betting that detente can better control Iran's nuclear ambitions and, perhaps, produce better behavior over time. Yet he has shied from explicitly making that case; instead, his aides argue that the only alternative to his approach is war. Mr. Netanyahu strongly disputed that point. 'Iran's nuclear program can be rolled back well beyond the current proposal by insisting on a better deal and keeping up the pressure on a very vulnerable regime,' he said. Is that wrong? For that matter, is it acceptable to free Iran from sanctions within a decade and allow it unlimited nuclear capacity? Rather than continuing its political attacks on Mr. Netanyahu, the administration ought to explain why the deal it is contemplating is justified - or reconsider it." http://t.uani.com/18P8Zgs

WSJ Editorial: "President Obama thought so little of Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress Tuesday that he made clear he hadn't watched it and said the text didn't 'offer any viable alternatives' to the Administration's pending nuclear deal with Iran. We'll take that presidential passive-aggression as evidence that the Israeli Prime Minister's critique was as powerful as Mr. Obama feared... Point by point, he dismantled the emerging details and assumptions of what he called a 'very bad deal.' The heart of his critique concerned the nature of the Iranian regime as a terror sponsor of long-standing that has threatened to 'annihilate' Israel and is bent on regional domination. The Administration argues that a nuclear accord will help move the revolutionary regime toward moderation. But Mr. Netanyahu spent some 15 minutes laying out the regime's historical record. Since Hasan Rouhani became president in 2013, Iran's internal repression has become worse than in the days of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . Iran has doubled down on its military support for Bashar Assad in Syria, gained control of north Yemen through its Houthi militia proxies, and continued to arm Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Shiite militias in Iraq. Mr. Netanyahu noted that the pending deal would lift the economic sanctions that have driven Iran to the negotiating table. 'Would Iran be less aggressive when sanctions are removed and its economy is stronger?' Mr. Netanyahu asked. 'Why should Iran's radical regime change for the better when it can enjoy the best of both worlds: aggression abroad, prosperity at home?' These are good questions that the Administration should be obliged to answer... He also zeroed in on the deal's acceptance of Iran's already robust nuclear infrastructure, coupled with a 10-year sunset provision after which Iran could enrich as much uranium in as many centrifuges as it likes. To appreciate the scope of this concession, recall that the Administration and U.N. Security Council demanded that Iran 'halt all enrichment activities' in a resolution adopted in 2010. The Administration now says that it can't plausibly forbid Iran from having some enrichment capability. But the only alternative to zero enrichment isn't the major capacity the White House is now prepared to concede to Tehran. Such a capability makes it easier for Iran to cheat on any agreement it signs. The sunset provision also means that Iran can simply bide its time to build an even larger nuclear capacity... Mr. Netanyahu was especially effective in rebutting the Administration's claim that the only alternatives at the current moment are Mr. Obama's deal-or war. This is the familiar false choice-his way or disaster-that has become a hallmark of the President's political argumentation. But Mr. Netanyahu said there is a third choice-negotiate a better deal. He pointed out that sanctions had driven Iran to the negotiating table when oil was $100 a barrel and it would be under greater pressure now when oil is closer to $50. For all of its fanaticism and ambition, Iran is still a relatively weak country under great economic pressure. The U.S. has leverage to drive a harder bargain if it is willing to use it. Mr. Netanyahu hinted that he could still accept some kind of agreement, despite attempts to portray him as opposed to any concessions... Given Mr. Obama's reaction, the Prime Minister knows his real audience is Congress and the American people. His speech raised serious doubts about an accord that has been negotiated in secret and which Mr. Obama wants Americans to accept without a vote in Congress. Now maybe we can have a debate worthy of the high nuclear stakes."

David Ignatius in WashPost: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lobbied powerfully against a nuclear agreement with Iran in a well-crafted speech to Congress on Tuesday. The problem is that he has now created a zero-sum game with the Obama administration, in which either the president or the prime minister seems likely to come out a loser... Consider the possible outcomes as the Iran negotiations head toward a March 24 deadline: Netanyahu could 'win' and convince Congress to derail the biggest foreign-policy initiative of Obama's presidency. Or Obama could 'win' and push ahead to conclude what Netanyahu characterized as 'a very bad deal.' Either outcome would traumatize U.S.-Israeli relations and portend a poisonous final two years for Obama's presidency. Two other hard landings are possible after Netanyahu's high-wire performance. Iran could balk at further concessions, walk away from negotiations and accelerate its nuclear program - forcing the United States and Israel to consider military action. Or Netanyahu, having bet his political future on the visit to Washington, could lose in the Israeli elections on March 17. That defeat may be less likely after Netanyahu's deft presentation... What's least likely is that Tehran will bend enough to agree to Netanyahu's formula. Netanyahu's speech didn't offer many new ideas, but a White House senior official's dismissal of it as 'all rhetoric, no action' was overstated. Although the Israeli leader clearly rejects the deal Obama is contemplating, he argued that if the United States is determined to proceed, it should insist that the agreement not terminate until Iran has abandoned its aggression in the region, halted its terrorism and accepted Israel's existence. Obama hopes for just such an evolution toward post-revolutionary sanity in Tehran over the decade-long duration of the planned agreement, and Netanyahu is right that it would be good to put this in writing. But that would almost certainly be a deal-breaker for Tehran... What Netanyahu did Tuesday was raise the bar for Obama. Any deal that the administration signs will have to address the concerns Netanyahu voiced. Given what's at stake in the Middle East, that's probably a good thing. As administration officials said at the outset of negotiations, no deal is better than a bad one. The Israeli prime minister's speech, for all its divisive political consequences, served to sharpen the focus on what a good deal would look like." http://t.uani.com/1M77FDV

Michael Hayden in WT: "The United States is fast closing in on a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The signs are multiplying. There is Secretary of State John F. Kerry, trying to deflect last-minute congressional intervention, stubbornly claiming that the details of an agreement are so undecided that he can't discuss them. Meanwhile, other administration sources are outlining the draft agreement in considerable detail: up to 6,500 centrifuges permitted; limits on fissile material such that, at least in theory, Iran would need a year to sprint to a bomb; a deal of 10 years' duration with perhaps an additional five-year ramping-down of restrictions on Iran. No mention of Iran's ballistic missile program which, absent weapons of mass destruction, makes little sense. No mention either of coming clean on Teheran's past nuclear activities, including its warhead weaponization program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeing the handwriting on the wall as clearly as Babylonian King Belshazzar in the Book of Daniel, has hurried to Washington to make an eleventh-hour appeal to Congress. (Belshazzar was killed and his capital sacked by the Persians the very night of Daniel's prophecy.) Mr. Netanyahu's haste is understandable. The draft agreement represents what has fairly been described as massive and irreversible concessions to Iran. After all, the starting point for all of this was a series of U.N. Security Council Resolutions that directed Teheran to suspend all enrichment activities. Of course, the United States and its negotiating partners conceded Iran's right to enrich at the beginning of this process, opting, as Henry Kissinger has described it, to manage rather than prevent nuclear proliferation. Now this agreement will legitimate Iran as a nuclear state and - with the rolling 12-month weaponization shot clock - as a permanent nuclear weapon threshold state as well. Whatever constraints the deal finally sets will have defined time limits. The agreement's impact on future counterproliferation efforts also will be profound as a struggling, isolated regional power has just challenged the world and clearly won. There's a lot not to like here, and it will be pretty easy to shoot holes in the agreement. Congress should certainly be offered the chance. Codifying a deal of this magnitude on executive prerogative alone would be unconscionable. Beyond the specifics, the administration's macro views are also fair game for inquiry. Was the Iranian deal so important, intrinsically or as part of the president's legacy, that he pulled punches in Syria against Teheran's client Bashar Assad or in Ukraine against Vladimir Putin, an essential negotiating partner vis-a-vis Teheran. And what of the talk of an overall American-Iranian rapprochement once the nuclear issue is behind us? The president himself has spoken of a better-behaving Iran as a 'very successful regional power' and of an 'equilibrium ' between Teheran and the Sunni states of the region. The New York Times' David Brooks even suggests that the president's big plan is that 'Iran would re-emerge as America's natural partner in the region.' So there will be lots to talk about and to challenge and criticize. It won't be hard to find weaknesses in the nuclear deal or in the worldview that nurtured it. I will certainly be among those citing such flaws. Watch this space, for example, for commentary on the need for an invasive inspection regime since American intelligence on its own cannot give adequate assurances that the Iranians are not cheating. With international inspectors still barred from checking on past weapons activity at Parchin, I will be skeptical. I will be skeptical too that, after an agreement is reached, Iran won't be the duplicitous, autocratic, terrorist-backing, Hezbollah-supporting, Hamas-funding, region-destabilizing, hegemony-seeking theocracy that it is today. But people like me also need to be prepared to answer another question: If not this agreement, then what? 'What if,' as a Jack Nicholson character once put it, 'this is as good as it gets?' ... There was a reason we thought this was the problem from hell while I was in government. It still is. Stay tuned." http://t.uani.com/17QDhyc

Faisal J. Abbas in Al Arabiya: "It is extremely rare for any reasonable person to ever agree with anything Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says or does. However, one must admit, Bibi did get it right, at least when it came to dealing with Iran. The Israeli PM managed to hit the nail right on the head when he said that Middle Eastern countries are collapsing and that 'terror organizations, mostly backed by Iran, are filling in the vacuum' during a recent ceremony held in Tel Aviv to thank outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz for his role during 'challenging' times. In just a few words, Mr. Netanyahu managed to accurately summarize a clear and present danger, not just to Israel (which obviously is his concern), but to other U.S. allies in the region. What is absurd, however, is that despite this being perhaps the only thing that brings together Arabs and Israelis (as it threatens them all), the only stakeholder that seems not to realize the danger of the situation is President Obama, who is now infamous for being the latest pen-pal of the Supreme Leader of the World's biggest terrorist regime: Ayottallah Ali Khamenei. (Although, the latter never seems to write back!) ... As such, the real Iranian threat is not JUST the regime's nuclear ambitions, but its expansionist approach and state-sponsored terrorism activities which are still ongoing... Not only is Iran responsible for sponsoring Shiite terrorist groups, but Sunni ones too. In fact, according to the U.S.'s own State Department, Tehran was home to a number of Al-Qaeda facilitators and high ranking financiers. These accusations are also backed by findings of the U.S. Treasury Department as well. Now, some would argue that it would be biased and/or naive to leave out Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, out of the equation and blame most of the regions problems on the mischievous Iranian regime. On the contrary, it would be biased and/or naïve NOT to blame Iran for such problems. After all, yes there are terrorists in Saudi Arabia and there are people who financed terrorism, but these are officially outlaws, who are either in jail, being hunted down or are hiding in the caves of Tora Bora or some other remote area. The same, sadly, doesn't apply to the terrorists of Iran; these are in uniform, hold government positions and are not bothering to hide their evil plots anymore!" http://t.uani.com/1CwbRvc
        

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.

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