Deal with Iran?

[Sheilbh]

Apparently the EU delegates in Geneva are briefing that a deal's been reached

Given that the French were the ones with objections last time...

[11B4V]

If the French are objecting, we should band with our Frenchy brothers.

[Admiral Yi]

I am profoundly skeptical anything good will come of this.

Sure hope Lurch didn't give them too much free stuff they can welch on later.

[11B4V]

I am profoundly skeptical anything good will come of this.

Sure hope Lurch didn't give them too much free stuff they can welch on later.

Lurch.......


YOU RANG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCc-RWIp7XU

[Sheilbh]

I am profoundly skeptical anything good will come of this.

I'll wait till the details of the deal come out. I agree about the one the French scotched last time. We'll see.

BBC story:

Iran nuclear: Geneva talks 'reach deal'

Iran and six world powers meeting in Geneva have reached a deal on Tehran's nuclear programme, foreign ministers say.

No details have been released about the agreement, which has been reached after five days of negotiations.

Negotiators from the UK, US, Russia, China, France and Germany want Iran to stop enriching uranium in return for a loosening of sanctions.

Iran had earlier said it insisted on a "right to enrichment" in any deal.

This deal may be the most significant agreement between the world powers and Iran for a decade, says the BBC's Iran correspondent, James Reynolds, who is at the talks in Geneva.

Iranian and western negotiators are expected to speak at a news conference shortly.

US President Barack Obama will give a statement at 03:15 GMT.

Negotiating positions for interim deal

P5+1 want Iran to:
Halt uranium enrichment at medium level of purity
Reduce concentration of existing stockpile of medium-enriched uranium or convert it to oxide form
Not allow Arak heavy-water reactor to go into operation
Commit to permitting more inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Iran wants the P5+1 to:
Recognise its "right" to enrich uranium
End international and unilateral sanctions

Tehran denies repeated claims by Western governments that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, and insists it must be allowed to enrich uranium for power stations.

"We have reached an agreement," the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced on his Twitter feed.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also confirmed the deal.

Minutes earlier, Michael Mann, spokesman for the EU foreign policy chief Baroness Catherine Ashton, who is leading the conference, quoted her as saying: "We have reached agreement between E3+3 and Iran."

No details have been released. The White House says the US president, Barack Obama - who is in Washington - is preparing to make a statement about the deal.

Earlier, on Saturday evening, the deputy Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said "98% of the draft" had been agreed but that Tehran wanted a "right to enrichment" to be clearly stated in any deal.

"We are insisting on our right to enrichment, which should be clearly recognised in the draft agreement," Mr Araqchi was quoted as telling Iranian reporters late on Saturday - the fourth day of the negotiations.

Negotiators have been working since Wednesday to reach an agreement that is acceptable to both sides.

The talks had been scheduled to finish on Friday but were extended. Foreign ministers from the so-called P5+1 group of nations joined on Saturday, amid hopes of a breakthrough.

US officials said Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived in Geneva early on Saturday, had the goal of "continuing to help narrow the differences and move closer to an agreement".

'Vigorous inspections'
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Saturday that a deal would be done only if it was a "truly worthwhile agreement".

Some US politicians had said they would push for more sanctions if the talks failed.

The Geneva meeting follows a previous round of talks earlier this month.

On that occasion, foreign ministers flew to Geneva to conclude the negotiations, but they went home empty-handed.

Analysts say a major sticking point has been Iran's insistence on its right to enrich uranium - a process that yields material used to manufacture fuel for power stations, but can also be used in weapons.

Western diplomats are also concerned about a reactor Iran is building at Arak - an issue which disrupted the first round of talks.

President Obama has said any interim agreement would see the bulk of international and US sanctions remain, but that Iran would get sanctions relief worth between $6bn and $7bn.

The essence of the deal would involve Iran making no more advances in its nuclear programme and agreeing to "more vigorous inspections", he said.

[CountDeMoney]

It's all foot-dragging bullshit, designed to complicate and impede verification and enforcement.

Meanwhile, as the fake Iranian leadership tries to ink a worthless deal, back at the villain's hideout where the real power is...

(CNSNews.com) – A defiant speech by Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – coming as high-stakes nuclear talks resumed in Geneva on Wednesday -- contrasted starkly with the message posted online by Iran's chief delegate to those talks.

President Hasan Rouhani used his Twitter account to highlight some of the few less incendiary points in the speech Khamenei delivered to tens of thousands of members of the Basij, a militia affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and notorious for its role in the violent crackdown following the disputed presidential election in 2009.

Rouhani retweeted (forwarded to his Twitter followers) two comments from Khamenei's speech, one in which the supreme leader voiced support for his government and emphasized the need to ensure Iran's nuclear "right," and a second in which Khamenei said Iran was "not an enemy of the American people."

On its own official Twitter feed, by contrast, Khamenei's office carried well over a dozen tweets in English (and more in Farsi) linked to his speech, underlining far more provocative comments, including:

-- "Israel is the sinister, unclean rabid dog of the region."

--"It came from the mouth of the rabid dog of the region – Israel – that Iran is a threat to the world! No, fake Israeli regime & allies are a threat."

--"All U.S. presidents have the same form of hostility; provoking ethnicities, coups, provoking Saddam to attack Iran, sanctions etc."

--"Supporting miserable Zionist regime will be a great dishonor to the Europeans."

--"Arrogance [Tehran's label for the U.S. and its Western allies] has no regard for the lives of nations; the crimes against the indigenous & killing of 100,000 Japanese people with atomic bomb etc."

--"They shoot the Iranian airliner & its 300 innocent passengers, don't apologize & give a medal to the one who has done this crime." (This was a reference to the accidental shooting down of an Iranian aircraft over the Persian Gulf in 1988. The captain of the cruiser USS Vincennes said the plane had been mistaken for a hostile military aircraft.)

--"Wherever there is a struggle against the enemy, you should resist while your will & determination should overcome that of the enemy."

Khamenei also accused the U.S. of giving Saddam Hussein 500 tons of chemical gas, said Israel was "doomed to decline," and accused the French of humiliating themselves by paying "lip service" to "Zionists."

Elsewhere in his speech, although not referenced on his Twitter feed, Khamenei advised the U.S. government, "Instead of threatening other countries, go and deal with your wretched economic conditions and think of your debts."

"The response of the Iranian nation to any foreign aggression will be regrettable for the enemy," the Fars news agency quoted him as telling the militiamen, who responded with "Death to America" chants.

Rouhani's chief nuclear negotiator, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, also turned to social media Wednesday, posting a five-minute message in English on YouTube with diplomatic appeals for "mutual respect" and "dignity for all." He called it "Iran's message" ahead of the talks in Geneva.

"For us Iranians, nuclear energy is not about joining a club or threatening others," he said in English. "For us, nuclear energy is about securing the future of our children, about diversifying our economy, about stopping the burning of our oil, and about generating clean power."

"This summer, our people chose constructive engagement through the ballot box, and through this, they gave the world a historic opportunity to change course," Zarif said.

"To seize this unique opportunity, we need to accept equal footing, and choose a path based on mutual respect, and recognition of the dignity of all people, and more so, on the recognition that no power, however strong, can determine the fate of others. This is no longer an option."

Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior fellow Ali Alfoneh, an Iran expert, said in a policy brief it will be Khamenei, along with Basij and IRGC commanders, who will ultimately dictate what negotiators can cede in the nuclear talks.

"Khamenei's speech bodes poorly for the deal Western governments may strike in Geneva. If they remain focused on the softer words of Rouhani and foreign minister Javad Zarif, they do so to their own detriment," Alfoneh said.

"Ignoring Khamenei's jarring display of defiance will haunt the West when it is Tehran's turn to deliver on its promises and implement the Geneva agreement."

The talks in Geneva are between Iran and the P5+1 – the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany – and are being convened by European Union foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton.

A spokesman for French President Francois Hollande said Hollande viewed Khamenei's remarks on Israel as "absolutely unacceptable" and warned they would "complicate" the negotiations.

"Nevertheless, the best thing is for the negotiations to continue and succeed, but you might say that the ball is in Iran's court now," he quoted Hollande as saying. "We are waiting for responses to the proposals that were put forward" at the last round of talks earlier this month.

Asked about Khamenei's remarks – specifically the "rabid dog" comment directed at Israel – State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki replied, "Obviously, comments like these are not helpful, but we still believe that both sides are negotiating in good faith."

In reply to a question about Zarif's YouTube message, Psaki said she had seen it but made no observations about its content.

"Obviously, just as we communicate and the president communicates and Secretary Kerry communicates in terms of why we feel this is the appropriate path forward, they certainly are doing that on their end. So beyond that, I don't know that I have more analysis other than to convey it seems that they're using many forms of media to do just that."

I want my goddamned air strikes, goddammit.

[11B4V]

Seconded

[Sheilbh]

The ones about Israel being the mad-dog of the region were apparently mistranslated. He said Netanyahu was. It would be odd for Khamenei's official twitter feed to mention 'Israel' at all.

Personally I suspect Obama's focused more of his energy and effort on dealing with Iran than any other issue in his Presidency. Though we won't know till this era's declassified. I also think he wouldn't hesitate to bomb Iran if he viewed it necessary. But that's about your judgement on another person's judgement.

[CountDeMoney]

Sarkozy wouldn't have put up with this bullshit, either.

[Sheilbh]

Sarkozy wouldn't have put up with this bullshit, either.

It did make me think of him, given that France agreed to a deal just days after Francois Hollande had to spend a lot of time with Bibi on his state visit

[Ideologue]

Fuck yeah, let's deal with Iran!

Oh.

[11B4V]

So, any bets on IAF strikes?????

[Admiral Yi]

So, any bets on IAF strikes?????

Not going to happen.

[CountDeMoney]

 

@JohnCornyn
Amazing what WH will do to distract attention from O-care
10:15 PM - 23 Nov 2013 from Austin, TX, United States

[CountDeMoney]

 

@AriFleischer
The Iran deal and our allies: You can't spell abandonment without OBAMA.
9:08 PM - 23 Nov 13