Iran Newsclips, February 9, 2015
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Obama Cites 'Very Real Difference' With Netanyahu Over Iran Sanctions, NBC News
Obama Says Further Extension of Iran Nuclear Talks Not 'Useful,' RFE/RL
Kerry rules out extension of Iran nuclear talks, Washington Post
Creative thinking gets Iran nuclear negotiations closer to a deal, The Guardian
Putin Says 'Substantial Progress' Made In Nuclear Talks With Iran, RFE/RL
Editorial: The Senate and Iran’s Bomb, Wall Street Journal
Nephew: Now's not time for more Iran sanctions, CNN
What Would An Effective Comprehensive Nuclear Deal With Iran Look Like? Arms Control Association
IAEA chief urges Iran to keep its promises on nuclear program, Reuters
Iran's Khamenei says could accept fair nuclear compromise, Reuters
Esfandiari: From Khamenei, Conditions for a Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program, Wall Street Journal
Iran tells West President Rouhani at risk if talks fail: Iranian officials, Reuters
Editorial: Iran’s tiny concessions, The Daily Star
What does Iran’s choice of UN envoy reveal? Al-Monitor
Rouhani VP voices frustration with administration, Al-Monitor
Dust pollution shuts down major cities in Iran, Al-Monitor
Obama Cites 'Very Real Difference' With Netanyahu Over Iran Sanctions, NBC News, February 9, 2015
"I don't want to be coy. The prime minister and I have a very real difference around Iran sanctions," Obama said, noting that U.S. negotiating partners agree with his assessment of the situation. "It does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they're about to be completed. … What the rush? Unless your view is that it's not possible to get a deal with Iran and it shouldn't even be tested. And that I cannot agree with, because as president of the United States I am looking at what the options are if we don't get a diplomatic resolution. Those options are narrow and they're not attractive."
Obama Says Further Extension of Iran Nuclear Talks Not 'Useful,' RFE/RL, February 9, 2015
U.S. President Barack Obama said on February 9 that a further extension of nuclear negotiations with Iran will not be useful if Tehran does not agree to a basic framework. Obama made the comments at the White House after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He said, "At this juncture I don't see a further extension being useful if they have not agreed to the basic formulation and the bottom line that the world requires.” … Obama said the issues discussed at the nuclear talks are no longer "technical." "The issues now are: does Iran have the political will and the desire to get a deal done," he said.
Kerry rules out extension of Iran nuclear talks, Washington Post, February 8, 2015
Secretary of State John F. Kerry said in an interview broadcast Sunday that it would be “impossible” to extend nuclear negotiations with Iran if an agreement on fundamental principles is not reached in the coming weeks. Using more categorical language than he has employed previously, Kerry definitively precluded a third extension to talks with Iran about reducing its ability to make a nuclear bomb or easing sanctions.
Creative thinking gets Iran nuclear negotiations closer to a deal, The Guardian, February 8, 2015
If the restrictions on enrichment are going to last a relatively long time - 15 years is the western preference - Iran would want to keep a greater number of centrifuges, even if they functioned at lower efficiency. If the deal lasts for less than 10 years, as Iran would prefer, Tehran would be prepared to accept cuts to its present number of functioning centrifuges. After that relatively short period, Iran would ramp up its enrichment to an industrial scale, allowing it to make all the fuel for the electric power reactor in Bushehr.
Putin Says 'Substantial Progress' Made In Nuclear Talks With Iran, RFE/RL, February 9, 2015
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said “substantial progress” has been made in negotiations between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear program. In an interview published by Egypt's state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram on February 9, Putin said, "The crucial point is that nobody should try to derive unilateral benefit from the situation or to bargain out more than what is needed for a balanced and just resolution of this complicated issue."
Editorial: The Senate and Iran’s Bomb, Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2015
President Obama wishes Senate critics such as Democrat Robert Menendez and Republican Bob Corker would simply get their noses out of the deal. This President needs a history lesson: Senate involvement in arms-control agreements goes back at least 50 years.
Nephew: Now's not time for more Iran sanctions, CNN, February 6, 2015
But as attractive as these concepts might appear, movement of such legislation still risks sparking an escalatory cycle that the talks neither need nor can handle. Indeed, Iran's parliament has already demonstrated the risk of raising the stakes now. In a step that directly mirrors the Senate Banking Committee's decision on January 29 to bring to the Senate floor a "trigger" sanctions bill, Iranian lawmakers moved forward a bill of their own that would require the termination of all compliance with the Joint Plan of Action, or JPOA, if new U.S. sanctions were approved or imposed. Should talks collapse, there is common understanding that the JPOA would fall apart and the status quo approach would return. But, through their separate actions, legislators on both sides guarantee it.
What Would An Effective Comprehensive Nuclear Deal With Iran Look Like? Arms Control Association, February 9, 2015
The goal of a verifiable, comprehensive agreement must be to limit Iran's capacity to amass enough fissile material for nuclear weapons and to strengthen oversight and transparency to ensure prompt detection of any effort-even a clandestine attempt-to build nuclear weapons. Phased sanctions relief is critical to providing Iran with the political and economic incentives for continued compliance with the agreement well into the future. In the final analysis, serious policymakers in Washington and other capitals must consider whether their country is better off with an effective comprehensive nuclear agreement-or the continued pursuit of an effective deal-than without one.
IAEA chief urges Iran to keep its promises on nuclear program, Reuters, February 7, 2015
Talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have reached a "crucial" juncture and Tehran needs to provide urgent clarification on key aspects of its nuclear program, the IAEA's chief said on Saturday. Iran and world powers hope to clinch a final deal by June 30 that would end Western economic sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. Parallel to those negotiations, the IAEA is also conducting its own investigation into Iran's atomic program. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told Reuters in an interview Iran needed to step up its talks with his agency.
Iran's Khamenei says could accept fair nuclear compromise, Reuters, February 8, 2015
Iran's supreme leader said on Sunday he could accept a compromise in nuclear talks and gave his strongest defense yet of President Hassan Rouhani's decision to negotiate with the West, a policy opposed by powerful hardliners at home. As his foreign minister met counterparties in the talks at a conference in Munich, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he "firmly" backed a fair nuclear deal. "I would go along with any agreement that could be made. Of course, if it is not a bad deal. No agreement is better than an agreement which runs contrary to our nation's interests," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian air force personnel, according to official news agencies.
Esfandiari: From Khamenei, Conditions for a Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program, Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2015
Mr. Khamenei appeared to set down two new conditions that the U.S. and its partners have to address with the clock ticking: that sanctions be lifted completely, not in stages, under any agreement; and that the details of an agreement be worked out in tandem with the general principles. Over the next five weeks, we’ll see how firmly the Iranian leader stands by these principles.
Iran tells West President Rouhani at risk if talks fail: Iranian officials, Reuters, February 7, 2015
Iran's foreign minister has warned the United States that failure to agree a nuclear deal would likely herald the political demise of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian officials said, raising the stakes as the decade-old stand-off nears its end-game. Mohammad Javad Zarif pressed the concern with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at several meetings in recent weeks, according to three senior Iranian officials, who said Iran had also raised the issue with other Western powers. Zarif's warning has not been previously reported. In a statement posted on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website, Zarif later denied discussing domestic issues with Western officials.
Editorial: Iran’s tiny concessions, The Daily Star, February 9, 2015
Iran appears to be getting everything it wants from the United States, anxious to conclude a deal on the nuclear program. The deadlines for making progress in the talks, in March and in June of this year, pale in significance to the only deadline that matters – Barack Obama’s quest for his first foreign policy achievement before he leaves office in 2016, in the form of a reconciliation with Iran.
What does Iran’s choice of UN envoy reveal? Al-Monitor, February 6, 2015
Informed sources have suggested to Al-Monitor that Aboutalebi had not been the choice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rather, Rouhani had selected Aboutalebi and insisted on his appointment even when it became apparent that he would be unable to take up the post. Aboutalebi now serves as political adviser to the president. All permanent representatives to the United Nations need the full backing of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which Aboutalebi’s appointment clearly did.
Rouhani VP voices frustration with administration, Al-Monitor, February 6, 2015
Iran’s Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Shahindokth Molaverdi, criticized the administration’s lack of attention to opportunities for women to play an active role in society and her own lack of executive authority to implement changes. At a meeting in Esfahan, speaking to a special working group on women’s issues, Molaverdi criticized the administration’s Sixth Development Plan, saying, “In these plans, the religious and legal demands of women … in getting away from poverty, corruption and discrimination must be considered. The time has come that women must fulfill their share in the … development prospects.”
Dust pollution shuts down major cities in Iran, Al-Monitor, February 9, 2015
Eleven cities in Iran’s southwest Khouzestan province have shut down offices and schools over excessive dust particles in the air. Iranians tweeted pictures of buildings and streets covered with dust with the hashtag #Khouzestancantbreath while officials and politicians used the opportunity to take a shot at the administration for its lack of a comprehensive plan to address the crisis.