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25 Jul, 2014

US journalists detained

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The Washington Post reports that four journalists, three of whom are American, are being detained in Iran. Jason Rezaian, a U.S. citizen who is a Tehran correspondent for the paper, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, were detained earlier in the week, along with two freelance photojournalists. Washington Post foreign editor Douglas Jehl says:

We are deeply troubled by this news and are concerned for the welfare of Jason, Yeganeh and two others said to have been detained with them.

20 Jul, 2014

Netanyahu: No Iran deal is better than a bad deal

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Netanyahu tells Blitzer that no deal is better than a bad deal on Iran, as the Islamic Republic he considers to be the world’s top terrorist state would seek to bypass efforts to prevent it developing weapons capabilities:

But I think what is important is that there wasn’t a bad deal, because there’s no deal.  And no deal is better than a bad deal.  We will see what the extension produces.  I think a good deal is what was achieved with Syria. They’re under the threat of U.S. military action.  And with the joint effort by President Obama and President Putin, Syria removed its chemicals and the capability to make chemical weapons.  They didn’t just keep it in place, freeze it, and put it under a lock and put an inspector on it.  They actually dismantled and removed.

He warns:

That’s not what Iran is holding out for. Iran wants to keep its capabilities and say, we will put a lock under and you can inspect it. But the whole idea for them is that, at a certain point, they break the lock.  The inspector will even say they broke the lock.  It will take him a few weeks to put together the wherewithal for a nuclear bomb. That’s a bad deal. Don’t make that deal, because if you think the Middle East is bad now, with ISIS, with Hamas, with Hezbollah, and with Iran, wait until Iran, one of the pre – the preeminent terrorist state of our time, has nuclear weapons.

Won’t discuss unilateral strike on Iran

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Netanyahu says that he won’t comment on the possibility of a strike by Israel on Iran’s alleged nuclear facilities. Blitzer:

Now that the U.S., the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Germany, they have agreed to a four-month extension, allowing these talks with Iran and its nuclear program to continue, does that mean a unilateral Israeli military strike potentially is off the table over the next four months?

Netanyahu:

Now, you know I never talk about – about what Israel will do or not do.

19 Jul, 2014

Deadline for nuclear scale back extended

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The US and the five other countries involved agree to extend the July 20th deadline by four months to give Iran more time to dismantle parts of its nuclear-development program. The extension was expected. President Obama says:

It’s clear to me that we have made real progress in several areas and that we have a credible way forward. But as we approach a deadline … there are still some significant gaps between the international community and Iran, and we have more work to do.

During the extension period, Iran will continue to have access to $2.8 billion in assets previously restricted by the U.S., but sanctions against its oil sales and other assets will remain frozen.  John Kerry says:

Let me be clear, Iran will not get any more money during these four months than it did during the last six months.

15 Jul, 2014

Tangible progress on key issues

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Speaking at negotiations in Vienna, Austria, where Iran and world powers are meeting over Iran’s nuclear program,  Kerry tells reporters there have been  “tangible progress on key issues,” but  negotiators have yet to arrive at a “workable formula.”  Despite differences, Kerry believes there is a way to make this work ahead.

But and this is a critical point while there is a path forward, Iran needs to choose to take it. And our goal now is to determine the precise contours of that path, and I believe we can.

 

 

13 Jul, 2014

Joins world powers for nuclear talks

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Kerry arrives in Austria for talks with five other world powers, Germany and Iran concerning Tehran’s nuclear program.  The participants are in the final round of negotiations to reach a permanent deal on Iran’s nuclear program before the July 20, 2014 deadline. The talks include the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: the U.S., UK, France, China and Russia. Germany is also participating in the talks. Kerry states

Obviously, we have some very significant gaps still, so we need to see if we can make some progress. I really look forward to a very substantive and important set of meetings and dialogues. It is vital to make certain that Iran is not going to develop a nuclear weapon, that their program is peaceful.

3 Jul, 2014

Nuclear talks resume

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Talks between Iran and world powers resume in Vienna in an effort to reach a permanent agreement regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, as the July 20, 2014 deadline for such an agreement nears. Iran and the so-called P5+1 group of nations — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany are involved in the agreement.  Michael Mann, a spokesman for foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, tells reporters the six world powers are committed to reaching an agreement before the deadline.  He describes the atmosphere at the talks as “very workmanlike, very serious, very determined” and said the negotiations would continue for “as long as it takes” for a deal to be forged. The deadline could potentially be extended.

27 Jun, 2014

Resistance Council predicts regime change

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Council of Resistance of Iran, the largest gathering of the Iranian resistance, commences today. 100,000 people are expected to gather outside Paris for speeches, demonstrations and protests aimed at toppling the Iranian government.  The group’s leader, Maryam Rajavi, says:

I am confident that the mullahs’ religious dictatorship ruling Iran will not last in the 21st century and will be overthrown. It really begs logic to expect this religious dictatorship, the founder of terrorism and fundamentalism in the whole of the region and is seeking nuclear weapons, to take international policy hostage, to continue and endure.

In an exclusive Fox News interview, Rajavi laid out what she sees as Tehran’s intentions: to spread radical fundamentalism, obtain a nuclear weapon and do whatever it can to eliminate opponents, including continued executions of her supporters to silence the opposition.

The mullahs do not represent the Iranian people.  What the Iranian people are yearning for and what represents them, is an Iran which the Iranian resistance envisions: an Iran which is free, democratic and where the ballot box speaks, a non-nuclear Iran, with gender equality, where women and men and youth enjoy equal rights and do not threaten and endanger the world with war and challenges.

2 Oct, 2010

Receives Iran award

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During his official state visit to Tehran, Assad receives Iran’s highest national award in recognition of his support for the Palestinians, Lebanon, and his “rejection of global arrogance”. In a ceremony broadcast on Iranian state-run television, Ahmadinejad presents Assad with the Islamic Republic’s Medal of Honor. Ahmadinejad:

We are two governments and nations that are brothers. If it were not for Syria’s resistance against the Zionist regime [Israel] and its supporters, no country in our region would have remained safe from the Zionists’ aggression and there would be no sign of Palestinian resistance…Re-invigorating the front of resistance will not only persuade other countries and nations to join the front, but also pave the ground for the consolidation and stabilization of peace in the region…Syria is a benefactor to Muslims, Arabs and even to humanity.