Iran and a US-led group of countries consisting of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany (called the P5+1) still have a ways to go before they reach a final nuclear deal.
But one P5+1 member is already acting as if the nuclear issue has been settled.
On Monday, the Kremlin retracted its hold on the transfer of S-300 missiles to Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported. Iran and Russia had finalized a contract to deliver the weapons in 2007, but the deal was shelved under international pressure and the embargo on arms transfers to Iran that the UN Security Council passed in 2010.
Russia is now announcing its intention to send one of the world’s most advanced anti-aircraft systems to Iran, notwithstanding that embargo — and against mounting evidence that the nuclear issue is actually far from resolved.
The Pentagon has already slammed the move, while Israel is already framing it as an unsavory result of apparent diplomatic progress on the nuclear front. US Secretary of State John Kerry has also raised a complaint with Moscow. (Read more from “Russia and Iran Just Showed How ‘They Can Do Whatever They Like’ Right Now” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-15 03:15:482015-04-15 03:15:48Russia and Iran Just Showed How ‘They Can Do Whatever They Like’ Right Now [+videos]
A Washington Post journalist detained in Iran for over eight months is accused of “espionage” and “acting against national security,” the semiofficial Fars news agency reported Sunday.
The report did not elaborate on the source of the information, but the agency is regarded as close to Iran’s hard-liners.
Iranian officials have previously said Jason Rezaian is facing “security” charges and that he will stand trial before the Revolutionary Court — which mainly hears sensitive cases involving national security.
Rezaian’s lawyer, Leila Ahsan, declined to comment on the specific charges against her client, but told The Associated Press she had finished studying the text of the indictment and would brief Rezaian’s family in the coming days. Ahsan added that she visited Rezaian in prison last month.
“He appeared to be in good health and spirits. I can see him anytime. Jason asked me to provide a strong defense. I’m in constant touch with his wife and family. I’ve requested that the court hold the trial as soon as possible,” she said. (Read more from “Report: US Reporter Held in Iran Facing ‘Espionage’ Charges” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-13 01:26:522015-04-13 01:26:52Report: US Reporter Held in Iran Facing ‘Espionage’ Charges
President Obama has long known that the real decision maker in Iran is Ayatollah Khamenei, the so-called supreme leader. While other Iranian officials have negotiated with Western powers over the mullahs’ nuclear program, Khamenei’s opinion is the only one that really counts. It is for this reason that Obama began writing directly to Khamenei early in his presidency.
Earlier today, Khamenei broke his silence on the supposed “framework” the Obama administration has been trumpeting as the basis for a nuclear accord. Khamenei’s speech pulled the rug out from underneath the administration.
Khamenei accused the Obama administration of “lying” about the proposed terms, being “deceptive,” and having “devilish” intentions, according to multiple published accounts of his speech, as well as posts on his official Twitter feed.
I trust our negotiators but I’m really worried as the other side is into lying & breaching promises; an example was White House fact sheet.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 9, 2015
Hours after the #talks, Americans offered a fact sheet that most of it was contrary to what was agreed.They always deceive &breach promises.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 9, 2015
Khamenei also disputed the key terms Obama administration officials have said were agreed upon in principle. Economic sanctions will not be phased out once Iran’s compliance has been “verified,” according to the Ayatollah. Instead, Khamenei said that if the U.S. wants a deal, then all sanctions must be dropped as soon as the agreement is finalized. Khamenei also put strict limits on the reach of the inspectors who would be tasked with this verification process in the first place.
Beginning earlier this month and in the days since, Obama and his advisers have attempted to portray the negotiations as major step forward. During an appearance in the Rose Garden on April 2, Obama said the U.S. and its allies have “reached a historic understanding with Iran.” (Read more from “Ayatollah Khamenei Accuses White House of ‘Lying,’ Being ‘Deceptive,’ and Having ‘Devilish’ Intentions” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-10 00:02:242015-04-10 00:02:24Ayatollah Khamenei Accuses White House of ‘Lying,’ Being ‘Deceptive,’ and Having ‘Devilish’ Intentions
There is something surreal about the media and the far-left tearing up our nation the past two weeks over the right to force religious business-owners to bake a cake, for example, for gay marriages. Meanwhile, their ideological leader, Barack Obama, has just forged a deal with the most genocidal and regressive regime that will pave the road for them to build a nuclear bomb and afford them more latitude to fund and export global terror – unencumbered by sanctions that have been in place for years. For the Left, it’s all about priorities.
While the media and Obama will continue to try to sell a different story in an attempt to paint the deal as one of Obama’s biggest ‘achievements,’ here is what the mainstream media isn’t reporting about the deal:
• Allows Iran to keep reactors, centrifuges, and infrastructure: No existing nuclear reactors or centrifuges will have to be dismantled. All of Iran’s activities will continue at their main facilities in Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan and Arak. Iran will keep its entire base infrastructure. In return, all the sanctions will be removed, granting Iran more economic breathing room to help develop a bomb and proliferate terror. Obama claims: “if Iran cheats we will know it,” but the only way we will know it is when it’s too late. And at that point, the decision to reinstate sanctions is in the hands of the UN Security Council, which means that there is no incentive for Iran to comply with the deal. Russia will never agree to reinstate sanctions.
Iran will be allowed to maintain its underground Iranian enrichment facility in Ferdo with 1,000 centrifuges spinning. According to the terms of the deal as espoused by the White House, those centrifuges must only spin non-nuclear materials, which will be almost impossible to verify in the long-run once they are allowed to keep all the nuclear infrastructure spinning and operating in a bunker. As late as 2012, Obama said “we know they don’t need to have an underground, fortified facility like Fordo in order to have a peaceful program.”
[Author David Horowitz was interviewed on The Joe Miller Show and talked about endemic problems in the US political system]
In an Orwellian twist, Iran will rename the facility the “nuclear physics and technology center.” This facility was originally built in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which Iran signed in 1970. Now it will be allowed to develop far more advanced centrifuges than it currently holds.
• Obama goes back on his promise to dismantle Arak: Obama also said in the past that the Iranians “certainly don’t need a heavy-water reactor at Arak in order to have a peaceful nuclear program.” Well, the Arak facility will be intact, even according to the White House’s version of the agreement.
• The Fox Guarding the Henhouse: One of the selling points of the agreement from last Thursday was that Iran would have to surrender its current stockpiles of enriched uranium. But those stockpiles would have to be shipped to….Russia! They are the biggest supplier of Iran’s nuclear program. Now, Iran is denying that they agreed to surrender their uranium at all.
• Terrorism and threat to Israel: There is not one word in this agreement about Iran’s appalling sponsorship of terror. In fact, this agreement, and the legitimacy and economic benefits that are bestowed upon Iran therein, implicitly blesses and enables them to continue building Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal.
Obama said that “if Israel were to be attacked by any state, that we would stand by them.” The problem is that Israel will likely be attacked with rockets from the north by Hezbollah, which is not a state (although they are supplied and trained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard). Obama chose his words carefully because we all know that he would be the first world leader to condemn Israel for counter-attacking Hezbollah, much like he did with Israel’s campaign against Hamas last summer. In fact, Iran is already restocking Hamas with rockets and materials to rebuild their network of terror tunnels. Not to mention, Hezbollah’s leader voiced his support for the deal, rightfully noting that it will help them in their struggle against Israel. Obama also rejected Netanyahu’s request that Iran be forced to recognize Israel’s right to exist as part of the agreement to lift sanctions.
• Conventional Weapons: There is absolutely no mention in the framework of Iran’s continued development of long-range ballistic missiles or ICBMs. In fact, they have continued to test long rage missiles throughout the entire duration of the negotiations. The relief in sanctions will only grant Iran more resources to continue developing their military assets, which will not only threaten Israel but Europe and the U.S. as well.
Taken as a whole, this deal will allow Iran to keep all of its nuclear infrastructure and come within arm’s length of the breakout point by the time the deal expires. And this all assumes that they will allow in the weapons inspectors and comply even with the cosmetic changes to their nuclear program. In reality, once the sanctions are taken off in such spectacular fashion, there will be no incentive for them to comply with anything, much like the North Koreans did in the ‘90s. It’s akin to the deals of ‘amnesty now, promises of security later’ or ‘tax increases now in return for spending cuts later.’
Furthermore, the Iranians are refusing to recognize the White House talking points on the agreement and have made it clear that their version of the agreement is a national victory for their country. They actually have their own version of the tentative agreement circulating domestically in Persian. This means that the agreement is worthless because Iran will pocket the relief on sanctions but never agree to any of the supposed accountability measures in the White House’s version of the framework.
It is clear that the entire dog and pony show at Lausanne last week was designed by the White House and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif to serve as a dilatory tactic to block sanctions indefinitely. If there is this much public ambiguity over the details of the framework, one can only imagine what Obama has told the Iranians privately in order to secure the support of Ayatollah Khamenei.
In short, Obama has essentially told the Iranian Mullahs that if they like their nukes, long range missiles, and terror networks they can keep them. No wonder the Iranians are declaring victory.
The time for Congress to act is now. (See “#IranDeal: If You Like Your Nukes You Can Keep Them”, originally posted HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-08 02:23:132015-04-08 02:23:13Obama Screws the World with #IranDeal: “If You Like Your Nukes You Can Keep Them” [+videos]
Delegates from Arab and Muslim states, some without formal ties with Israel, were expected in Jerusalem next week for a conference on nuclear testing sponsored by the United Nations.
Some 100 delegates, including from Egypt and Jordan, were set to arrive for a conference organized by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), an international organization set up to outlaw nuclear weapons headed by Dr. Lassina Zerbo. Israel is a member of the treaty but has yet to ratify it.
To ensure the arrival of those invitees from states with no diplomatic relations with Israel, the Foreign Ministry had to issue travel and safety assurances, the Israeli daily Maariv reported Tuesday.
The purpose of the conference, as reported by Maariv was to discuss the results from a recent experiment in Jordan in November 2014. The experiment tested CTBTO inspectors’s abilities to monitor, identify and neutralize nuclear testing, according to the report.
Zerbo was set to meet with Intelligence Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz, heads of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission and other Israel officials to try to persuade an Israeli ratification of the treaty, according to Maariv. (Read more from “Arab, Muslim Delegates to Arrive in Israel for Nuke Conference” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-08 02:21:002015-04-08 02:21:00Arab, Muslim Delegates to Arrive in Jerusalem for United Nations’ Nuke Conference
By Francesca Chambers. As President Barack Obama was selling the nuclear agreement with Iran as a net plus for United States and its allies, the White House today admitted that Tehran never agreed to phased sanctions relief as part of a political understanding it came to with the international community.
The timing of sanctions relief was last week called into question after an Iranian official suggested his country expected the immediate termination of nuclear-related restrictions, not the gradual lifting of sanctions that the Obama administration said would accompany a formal agreement.
Asked on Friday about Iran’s apparent misgivings, a State Department spokesperson scoffed at the he said, she said, and claimed she was ‘not really concerned’ about the language the country was using to convince its citizens to support the framework agreement.
The White House characterized the disagreement as a difference of opinion on how quickly sanctions would be removed on Monday while acknowledging that ‘there still continue to be some important sticking points’ that need to be worked out before a final deal can be signed and sealed.
The building’s chief spokesman, Josh Earnest, refused to attribute a probability to a formal deal ever being reached, in light of the revelation, but said he was ‘feeling more optimistic’ than before. (Read more from “Obama Insists Nuclear Agreement with Iran Is a Good Deal, as White House Admits That Tehran Never Agreed to Phased Sanctions” HERE)
Obama Admits: Deal Will Give Iran ‘near Zero’ Breakout Time in 13 Years
By Josh Lederman. Defending an emerging nuclear deal, President Barack Obama said Iran would be kept a year away from obtaining a nuclear weapon for more than a decade, but conceded Tuesday that the buffer period could shrink to almost nothing after 13 or more years.
Obama, whose top priority at the moment is to sell the framework deal to critics, was pushing back on the charge that the deal fails to eliminate the risk because it allows Iran to keep enriching uranium. He told NPR News that Iran will be capped for a decade at 300 kilograms — not enough to convert to a stockpile of weapons-grade material.
“What is a more relevant fear would be that in Year 13, 14, 15, they have advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium fairly rapidly, and at that point, the breakout times would have shrunk almost down to zero,” Obama said.
Breakout time refers to how long it would take to build a bomb if Iran decided to pursue one full-bore — in other words, how long the rest of the world would have to stop it. The framework deal, if honored, expands Iran’s breakout time — currently two to three months — to at least a year. But that constraint would stay in place only for 10 years, at which point some restrictions would start phasing out. (Read more from this story HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-07 14:07:082015-04-07 14:07:08Obama Insists Nuclear Agreement with Iran Is a Good Deal, as White House Admits That Tehran Never Agreed to Phased Sanctions
While President Obama and other world leaders were negotiating the framework for a nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian government forces were conducting secretive operations that prove, once again, their intentions are far from good.
Iranian officials were allegedly funneling tens of millions of dollars to the Palestinian-backed Hamas terrorist group in an effort to rebuild tunnels between Gaza and Israel, as well as bolster Hamas’ dwindled missile supply after they launched thousands of them against Jewish communities last summer.
During the summer war, Israeli forces destroyed multiple tunnels that acted as an underground Hamas weapon smuggling operation to transport thousands of projectiles that would eventually be used on targets throughout Israel, according to Britain’s Telegraph newspaper.
Israeli media outlets have recently reported that Hamas is focusing on rebuilding their military capability, which suggests they may be gearing up for a near-future conflict.
Just last month, the Times of Israel reported that Israeli military leaders believe that fresh tunnels have been excavated, further cementing the idea that another deadly conflict could be right around the corner. (Read more from “URGENT: Here’s What Iran Was Secretly Doing During Obama’s Negotiations” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-07 02:28:422015-04-07 02:28:42URGENT: Here’s What Iran Was Secretly Doing During Obama’s Negotiations
A televised report on CBS News Saturday morning included ludicrous pro-Obama administration spin by London-based correspondent Elizabeth Palmer on reaction to the nuclear framework deal with Iran that downplayed the continued chants by Iranians of “death to America.”
Palmer spoke over video footage of a large crowd at a Tehran mosque.
“At Friday prayers there was the usual chant of ‘death to America’, but more habit than conviction. The sermon by Senior Ayatollah Kashani made it clear that Iran’s leaders support this deal. “I congratulate those who led the talks,” he said. “Great job.”
[Listen to this Middle East expert tear apart the theory that Iran means the US no harm]
Palmer emphasized the phrase ‘more habit’ to make it sound more convincing.
Palmer made her report from CBS’ London bureau, not from Tehran. The idea that chants of ‘death to America’ aren’t to be taken seriously is Obama administration spin. (Read more from “CBS News: Iran’s Death to America Chants ‘more Habit, than Conviction’” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-06 03:58:572015-04-06 03:58:57CBS News: Iran’s DEATH TO AMERICA Chants Meaningless; Middle East Expert Strongly Disagrees [+video]
Just hours after the announcement of what the United States characterized as a historic agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, the country’s leading negotiator lashed out at the Obama administration for lying about the details of a tentative framework.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused the Obama administration of misleading the American people and Congress in a fact sheet it released following the culmination of negotiations with the Islamic Republic.
Zarif bragged in an earlier press conference with reporters that the United States had tentatively agreed to let it continue the enrichment of uranium, the key component in a nuclear bomb, as well as key nuclear research.
Zarif additionally said Iran would have all nuclear-related sanctions lifted once a final deal is signed and that the country would not be forced to shut down any of its currently operating nuclear installations.
Following a subsequent press conference by Secretary of State John Kerry—and release of a administration fact sheet on Iranian concessions—Zarif lashed out on Twitter over what he dubbed lies. (Read more from “Iran Accuses U.S. of Lying About New Nuke Agreement” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-04-02 23:00:582015-04-02 23:00:58Iran Accuses U.S. of Lying About New Nuke Agreement
President Barack Obama says that every path Iran had to develop a nuclear weapon will be cut off after a tentative nuclear deal was reached.
On Thursday, the United States, Iran and five other world powers announced an understanding outlining limits on Iran’s nuclear program so it cannot lead to atomic weapons, directing negotiators toward achieving a comprehensive agreement within three months.
“It is a good deal — a deal that meets our core objectives. This framework would cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon,” Obama told reporters. “Iran will face strict limitations on its program and Iran has also agreed to the most robust and intrusive inspections and transparency regime ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history. So this deal is not based on trust, it’s based on unprecedented verification.”
Obama stated that the deal is not based on trust, but on unprecedented verification.
“If Iran cheats, the world will know it. If we see something suspicious, we will inspect it.” Obama said, adding that “Iran will face more inspections than any other country in the world.” (Read more from “Obama: Tentative Iran Nuclear Deal ‘Best Option’ For Israel” HERE)
Iran and a US-led group of countries consisting of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany (called the P5+1) still have a ways to go before they reach a final nuclear deal.
