Iran Newsclips, January 28, 2015
david.cutler
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Report: Post reporter held in Iran to face trial ‘soon’ but charges still unknown, Washington Post
Babaei: The Drumbeat of War Does Not Lead to Successful Diplomacy, Politico
Iran Sanctions Bill Introduced In U.S. Senate, RFE/RL
Bradshaw and Limbert: Why new sanctions against Iran would backfire, The Hill
Vaez: Why new Iran sanctions bid has split Washington, Al Jazeera America
Obama: Netanyahu has yet to ‘rebut’ value of Iran talks, JTA
McConnell: How Obama Can Stop Netanyahu’s Iran War, The American Conservative
Would a U.S. Strike Against Iran Actually Work? The Atlantic
Iran, Europe negotiatiors to meet Thursday in Istanbul, AFP
Blanford: Iran & Region IV: Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iran Primer
Netanyahu's Iranian boomerang, Al-Monitor
Iran picks Gholamali Khoshru as new UN envoy, BBC
Axworthy: Is it time to make Iran our friend and Saudi Arabia our enemy? The Guardian
Report: Post reporter held in Iran to face trial ‘soon’ but charges still unknown, Washington Post, January 28, 2015
A Washington Post journalist detained in Iran for more than six months will stand trial “soon,” Iran’s official news agency reported Wednesday, but the charges against him remain unknown. The report by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency gave no additional information about Iran’s allegations against Jason Rezaian, The Post’s bureau chief in Tehran. Rezaian, a dual American-Iranian citizen, also has not had access to legal counsel since his detention in late July.
Babaei: The Drumbeat of War Does Not Lead to Successful Diplomacy, Politico, January 27, 2015
Iran is engaged in an effort, in concert with other regional actors—both Sunni and Shia—to confront and eliminate violent extremists in the Middle East, as embodied in terrorist groups like ISIL and al Qaeda, which have unleashed violence and destruction in our region. The authors’ description of this effort as “Iran’s invasion” of Iraq is irresponsible and represents a lack of seriousness towards this global security priority. This claim is especially confounding considering that two of the authors had prominent roles in bringing about an actual invasion of Iraq conducted by the then U.S. administration in 2003.
Iran Sanctions Bill Introduced In U.S. Senate, RFE/RL, January 28, 2015
Two U.S. senators have introduced a bill in the Senate imposing sanctions should Western talks with Iran on its nuclear program collapse after June 30. Mark Kirk (Republican-Illinois) and Robert Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey) introduced the draft legislation on January 28. The bill has 16 co-sponsors from both parties. But Menendez and the six other Democratic co-sponsors wrote a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama on January 27 saying they would not support a vote on the bill until March 24 in order to give a chance for ongoing diplomatic talks between six world powers and Iran.
Bradshaw and Limbert: Why new sanctions against Iran would backfire, The Hill, January 28, 2015
To create a long-lasting, verifiable deal, the parties need to see each other as partners, not players in a zero sum game. Without a realistic recognition of how Iranians are likely to respond to new sanctions, the U.S. Congress risks destroying a historic opportunity to prevent Iran from moving toward a nuclear weapon and also begin what would be a long path toward reconciliation.
Vaez: Why new Iran sanctions bid has split Washington, Al Jazeera America, January 28, 2015
The reason for this discord is that Obama and his international partners believe that there’s no strategic logic for levying more sanctions at this point and that such a move risks destroying a functional interim agreement that both sides have honored and that has set significant limits on Iran’s nuclear work. Moreover, the argument goes, new measures piled on at this point risks splitting the sanctions coalition and unraveling the P5+1’s leverage without curbing Iran’s nuclear program. And then there’s the argument that more sanctions while the parties negotiate in good faith would likely strengthen hard-liners in Tehran and vindicate their cynical views about U.S. intentions.
Obama: Netanyahu has yet to ‘rebut’ value of Iran talks, JTA, January 28, 2015
Obama said in the speech that the talks, aimed at swapping sanctions relief for guarantees that Iran was not advancing toward a nuclear weapon, have halted Iran’s nuclear program. “They have actually rolled back their stockpiles of highly enriched uranium,” the president told Zakaria. “And so we have lost nothing during this period of negotiations.” Israeli officials, Republicans and some Democrats in Congress and some conservative and pro-Israel analysts have said that the agreement governing the talks, allowing Iran limited enrichment capabilities and easing some sanctions, benefits Iran more than it does the major powers seeking to stem its nuclear ambitions.
McConnell: How Obama Can Stop Netanyahu’s Iran War, The American Conservative, January 28, 2015
I believe Obama can win his showdown with Netanyahu, win it decisively, and in so doing forever transform the relationship between the United States and Israel. But he can’t do it without laying his cards out very clearly, in a major speech, probably a televised speech. The points made would resemble those suggested in a seminal article by Robert Merry in The National Interest two and a half years ago. He would have to explain that the United States’ national interests on Iran have diverged from those of Israel, and why, and iterate that his constitutional duty is the protection of America’s national interest. He could explain that a war against Iran would quadruple the chaos in the Middle East, abort the economic recovery, and sever the United States both from its allies in Europe and its more ambivalent strategic rivals/partners, Russia and China.
Would a U.S. Strike Against Iran Actually Work? The Atlantic, January 27, 2015
Israel doesn't have the military capacity to "stop" Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and neither does the United States, at least not in circumstances short of total war. Why does this matter? As a question of negotiation, I think it's fine for U.S. officials from the president on down to act as if they might seriously be considering a military strike. George W. Bush and Barack Obama alike have consistently said that "all options are on the table" when it comes to Iran, and that's fine too. It can be shrewd to keep an opponent guessing about what you might do if provoked. This negotiating stance could be useful, as long as it doesn't spill over from fooling the Iranians to fooling ourselves.
Iran, Europe negotiatiors to meet Thursday in Istanbul, AFP, January 28, 2015
The meeting with British, French and German diplomats was announced by Iran's foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham during a weekly press briefing in Tehran. The EU, which has chaired the P5+1 talks, said separately that its political director Helga Schmid would also attend.
Blanford: Iran & Region IV: Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iran Primer, January 28, 2015
Yet down the road, Hezbollah also faces grave challenges that derive from its sometimes conflicting roles as Iran’s surrogate and, at the same time, the chief representative of Lebanon’s Shiites. Iran has helped transform Hezbollah into a robust and unique military force that serves as a component of Iranian deterrence. Hezbollah is also, however, answerable to the needs and interests of its domestic constituency. The paradox is increasingly hard to reconcile, as shown by Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syria war.
Netanyahu's Iranian boomerang, Al-Monitor, January 28, 2015
At the same time, the obvious wedge between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama exposes Israel, not Iran, as the recalcitrant outsider. When Netanyahu arranged to appear before both houses of Congress on March 3, proclaiming his speech as designed to derail Obama’s efforts to achieve an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the prime minister actually gave Iran additional incentive to sign an accord. Iran can now be assured that signing an agreement will deepen the rift between the White House and the official residence on Jerusalem’s Balfour Street as long as no new tenant occupies the house.
Iran picks Gholamali Khoshru as new UN envoy, BBC, January 28, 2015
Iran has selected a new envoy as ambassador to the United Nations in New York, 10 months after the US rejected its first choice. The new candidate, Gholamali Khoshru, is a career diplomat who previously served as Iran's ambassador to the UN. Mr Khoshru, a moderate, is currently Iran's ambassador to Switzerland.
Axworthy: Is it time to make Iran our friend and Saudi Arabia our enemy? The Guardian, January 28, 2015
Even if they could help, it would probably not be in the interests of long-term stability, because heavy intervention by Shia Iran in Iraq and Syria would probably only incite further resistance from Sunni Arab groups. The key to success against Isis has to involve encouraging Sunni Arabs themselves to reject Isis, as they rejected and fought al-Qaida in Iraq in coordination with the so-called US surge from 2007 onwards. Unfortunately, western support for, and relationships with, those Sunni Arab elements dwindled after the success of that policy, and that is partly why we have Isis. Rebuilding those relationships now is going to be difficult because the Sunnis feel the west betrayed them.