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Iran Talks at ‘Final Moment,’ Says China

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Photo Credit: State Department/TwitterNegotiations in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear program have “reached the final moment,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Hong Lei said Saturday.

Lei’s comment, communicated by Xinhua, came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi left Beijing to attend the talks.

Earlier Saturday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle announced he would also fly to Geneva to attend the negotiations, on the heels of a US State Department announcement that US Secretary of State John Kerry would attend the talks.

Kerry’s wish to attend raised expectations that a deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program could be in the works.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced late Friday that he was also flying to Geneva, and French diplomatic sources said Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius would join them.

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Netanyahu Jabs Obama on Iran (+video)

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Photo Credit: Yonatan SindelIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised French President Francois Hollande’s “courageous stance” against Iran on Sunday, an indirect jab at President Obama’s push for diplomatic talks.

Netanyahu called France a “true friend” of Israel as he greeted Hollande on his first official trip to the country. France demanded last week that a preliminary deal on Iran’s nuclear program be toughened, causing it to be rejected by Iran.

“Zionism was influenced by the values of the French Revolution,” Netanyahu told Hollande, according to Haaretz. “Israel sees France as a true friend. France, like Israel, aspires for a stable Middle East that lives in peace and security.”

He told members of his Cabinet that he hoped Hollande’s visit could stiffen the resolve of other countries negotiating with Iran. Talks with Iran are being led by the permanent members of the Security Council – the U.S., France, Great Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany.

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French President In Joint Press Conf with Israeli PM Netanyahu Vows Tough Iran Stance

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Photo Credit: AP/Ariel SchalitVisiting French President Francois Hollande vowed to maintain his country’s tough stance in upcoming nuclear talks with Iran this week, earning praise from his Israeli hosts Sunday as he began a three-day visit to the Jewish state.

Israel has repeatedly voiced concern that the emerging deal global powers are negotiating with Iran gives it too much, without guaranteeing that the Islamic Republic’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon is eliminated.

Hollande vowed to keep up pressure on Iran and not make any concessions regarding nuclear proliferation.

“If there hadn’t been sanctions, if they hadn’t been enforced, it’s clear that we would never even have had the words from Iran — and I don’t yet speak of actions — that we had in the last few weeks,” he said In a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We have a duty to resolve this problem that has been under discussions for too many years because Iran for too long has participated in discussions without taking actions.”

Netanyahu has been outspoken in his opposition to a potential deal in which the international community would ease some sanctions on Iran in exchange for some curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. The countries fear that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, a charge Iran denies.

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French MP: If Sanctions on Iran are Loosened, Israel Will Attack (+video)

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Photo Credit: Marc Israel Sellem/Pool/Flash90By Times of Israel Staff.

A French member of parliament telephoned French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Geneva at the weekend to warn him that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would attack Iran’s nuclear facilities if the P5+1 nations did not stiffen their terms on a deal with Iran, Israel’s Channel 2 News reported Sunday.

“I know [Netanyahu],” the French MP, Meyer Habib, reportedly told Fabius, and predicted that the Israeli prime minister would resort to the use of force if the deal was approved in its form at the time. “If you don’t toughen your positions, Netanyahu will attack Iran,” the report quoted Habib as saying. “I know this. I know him. You have to toughen your positions in order to prevent war.”

France’s Fabius is widely reported to have scuppered the finalizing of the emerging deal late Saturday, leading to the halting of the negotiations with Iran, and an agreement to reconvene on November 20.

Explaining his concerns to reporters in Geneva, Fabius said Tehran was resisting demands that it suspend work on its plutonium-producing reactor at Arak and downgrade its stockpile of higher-enriched uranium.

Habib, the deputy president of the Jewish umbrella organization in France, was elected to the National Assembly in Paris in June, to represent the district of southern Europe, which includes French nationals residing in Israel.

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller Iran general: No doubt Israel and America will be attacked

By Reza Kahlili.

Even before the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the 5+1 world powers ended in Geneva early Sunday with no deal, an Iranian general lashed out at America Saturday and warned both the U.S. and Israel that they will be attacked.

According to Fars News Agency, the regime’s outlet run by the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Massoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, said “America’s interests and all of Israel are within the range of the Islamic Republic and there is not the slightest doubt among Iran’s armed forces to confront the American government and the Zionists (Israel).”

Jazayeri said Israel is pulling the strings of Washington and “the American government is one of the most hated and evil governments in the world.”

The general mocked President Obama’s position that the military option remains on the table over Iran’s nuclear development. “If America had the ability and the will for war, it would allow no doubt in attacking Syria. America will soon find out that Iran’s power cannot be ignored.”

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Rush Limbaugh: The Regime’s Shocking Iran Deal (+video)

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Photo Credit: YouTube RUSH: I’ll tell you, the news out of Geneva regarding the United States, Israel, and Iran… Folks, I don’t know how else to categorize this or explain it to you. This man, Barack Obama, is fundamentally transforming this nation in ways that are gonna be next to impossible to reverse in many ways, the longer he goes. Do you realize that the regime has been secretly working behind the scenes to lift the sanctions on Iran? Iran is going to have the sanctions lifted without making any concessions in their nuclear program. They’re not gonna have to tear down any centrifuges. They’re not gonna have to dismantle anything. We’re just gonna take the sanctions away.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, has said, “This is disastrous. This is worse than a bad deal.” And he told Lurch — and, by the way, some have asked, I need to dispel something quick. You know Liberty? The talking horse in Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims was not modeled after John Kerry. I can’t tell you how many people have asked, “We’ve seen Liberty on the cover of your book. Were you thinking of John Kerry?” No, no. We wouldn’t do that to Liberty. Our horse doesn’t purposely look like John Kerry, and I don’t think it does. (interruption) What do you mean, Sarah Jessica Parker? That’s the first I’ve heard of that.

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Iran Nuclear Talks End with No Agreement after France Balks at Deal

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Photo Credit: Fox News Negotiations among world powers to temporarily curb Iran’s nuclear program ended with no deal Saturday after France objected that proposals did not go far enough.

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that the talks, which ended early Sunday, managed to narrow differences without eliminating them, saying there are “still questions to be dealt with” in future rounds. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said “significant progress” had been made on the differences that remain.

A Western diplomat said a new round would be needed to agree on all points of a temporary deal that would to lead to a comprehensive agreement ensuring that Tehran’s nuclear work remains peaceful.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who coordinated the talks, said Iran and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany would meet again on Nov. 20.

Fabius said there were “several points” in the initial deal with which his country is not satisfied and told France-Inter Radio France does not want to be part of a “con game.”

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Obama’s Secret Iran Détente

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Photo Credit: APThe Obama administration began softening sanctions on Iran after the election of Iran’s new president in June, months before the current round of nuclear talks in Geneva or the historic phone call between the two leaders in September.

While those negotiations now appear on the verge of a breakthrough the key condition for Iran—relief from crippling sanctions—began quietly and modestly five months ago.

A review of Treasury Department notices reveals that the U.S. government has all but stopped the financial blacklisting of entities and people that help Iran evade international sanctions since the election of its president, Hassan Rouhani, in June.

On Wednesday Obama said in an interview with NBC News the negotiations in Geneva “are not about easing sanctions.” “The negotiations taking place are about how Iran begins to meet its international obligations and provide assurances not just to us but to the entire world,” the president said.

But it has also long been Obama’s strategy to squeeze Iran’s economy until Iran would be willing to trade relief from sanctions for abandoning key elements of its nuclear program.

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President Obama, John Kerry Negotiate with Iran as Abuse of Jailed American Pastor Increases

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Photo Credit: AP/Idaho Press-Tribune, Adam EschbachIranian President Hassan Rouhani’s reputation as a moderate has convinced U.S. leaders to begin nuclear negotiations by easing sanctions on the rogue regime, even as Rouhani has permitted the increasing abuse of American pastor Saeed Abedini.

Abedini’s plight has worsened in recent days, while Secretary of State John Kerry prepared for a historic meeting with his Iranian counterpart.

Abedini’s family confirmed last week that he was moved to the infamous Rajaï Shahr prison.

“Once in there, one stops to be a human being,” Dutch diplomat Loes Bijnen said in 2005. “One is put out of sight, even of human rights activists and the press.

“In Rajaï Shahr, political prisoners have to share cells with dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists and drug addicts who don’t hesitate to attack their cell mates.

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Pastor Saeed Abedini Reportedly Moved to More Dangerous Prison

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Photo Credit: Fox News The Iranian-American pastor being held in Iran has now been transferred to a more dangerous prison where he faces life-threatening conditions, according to his family and attorneys.

When a member of Saeed Abedini’s family went to visit him at Evin Prison, a facility in Tehran where he has been kept for over a year, he was told that the pastor had been moved about an hour and a half away to Rajai Shahr Prison in the town of Karaj.

The family member then travelled to Rajai Shahr Prison and was told that the pastor is being kept there, but is not permitted to have any visitors, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, the pastor’s U.S.-based attorneys.

According to inside sources, this new prison in Karaj is an even more dangerous facility, where violent prisoners, typically imprisoned for murder and rape, are held.

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Panetta: US May Have to Use Military Force Against Iran

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Photo Credit: REUTERSWhile the US has “implemented unprecedented sanctions and pressure on Iran, we may very well have to use military force to back up our policy,” Leon Panetta said on Thursday night.

The former US defense secretary and CIA director made the remarks while addressing around 600 people at the Anti-Defamation League’s 100th annual meeting.

Panetta, who was receiving the ADL’s William and Naomi Gorowitz Institute Service Award, said the US needs to “maintain a healthy skepticism” when negotiating to suss out Iran’s true level of commitment to negotiations over its nuclear program.

“It is the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] who is key, and he is not likely to give up [uranium] enrichment,” Panetta warned. “We have to remain strong. We have to remain consistent.”

Panetta reiterated the American line that the US has “no friend, no better ally in the world than Israel,” but he expressed concern over the “growing sense of isolationism in this country [the US]” over the last 10 years of fighting two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the shifting power dynamics among world leaders.

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