President Barack Obama made a number of inaccurate claims about the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran in an interview with Reuters yesterday.
In the course of the interview the President charged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong in his assessment of Iran’s behavior since the P5+1 agreed to the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) with Iran in November 2013.
Netanyahu made all sorts of claims. This was going to be a terrible deal. … Iran would not abide by the agreement. None of that has come true.
Iran in fact did not abide by the JPOA. According to the JPOA Iran agreed not to “make any further advances” at its uranium enrichment plants. But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in November of last year that Iran had fed uranium hexafluoride gas into an IR-5 model centrifuge. The IR-5 is an advanced model that had not yet been utilized by Iran making this a violation of its commitment not to make advances in enrichment. According to a report (.pdf) by the Institute for Science and International Security at the time, “a few days later the United States had brought up the matter with Iran and Iran pledged to stop feeding this centrifuge.”
In addition to freezing centrifuge development, the JPOA sought to limit the amount of oil exported by Iran. However, over the first six months that the JPOA was in force, Iran exported more oil than it was allowed by the terms of the deal.
In general the JPOA (.pdf) required Iran to account for its past nuclear research:
A Joint Commission of E3/EU+3 and Iran will be established to monitor the implementation of the near-term measures and address issues that may arise, with the IAEA responsible for verification of nuclear-related measures. The Joint Commission will work with the IAEA to facilitate resolution of past and present issues of concern.
Yesterday a report from the IAEA stated that because Iran had not met its commitments to reporting on its past nuclear work, “the Agency is not in a position to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.” Among the aspects of Iran’s past work that it has not accounted for, Iran has refused IAEA inspectors access to the Parchin military base where Iran is believed to have experimented with exploding bridge wires (EBW). One of the applications of EBW is to detonate a nuclear device.
With Iran possessing an “undeclared” nuclear program of unknown size, verification of the declared program is insufficient to prevent Iran from secretly developing a nuclear weapon.
In his interview President Obama also claimed:
It has turned out that, in fact, during this period we’ve seen Iran not advance its program. In many ways, it’s rolled back elements of its program.
This is similar to the claim Obama made during his State of the Union address that “our diplomacy is at work with respect to Iran, where, for the first time in a decade, we’ve halted the progress of its nuclear program and reduced its stockpile of nuclear material.”
The Washington Post’s fact-checker gave that claim “three Pinocchios,” writing that actually during the the course of the JPOA “the amount of nuclear material that eventually could be converted to a bomb during a ‘break out’ period has continued to increase.” In addition, Iran’s enrichment program and construction of its heavy-water reactor have continued apace.
In his interview, President Obama also dismissed the significance of sanctions in bringing Iran to the bargaining table. He actually asserted that the effect of sanctions has been counterproductive.
And we know that because during the period in which we applied sanctions for over a decade, Iran went from about 300 or a couple of hundred centrifuges to tens of thousands of centrifuges in response to sanctions.
Oddly, this is the same claim made by Iranian officials. Iran’s foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said in an interview last year:
For the past eight years, there have been sanctions imposed on Iran—by the United Nations with the pressure of the United States, and by the United States. The net result of all these sanctions is that when the sanctions started to be imposed, we had less than two hundred centrifuges. Today, we have twenty thousand. So if people start calculating, they’ll see that sanctions have produced all these centrifuges.
Zarif claims that Iran had fewer than two hundred centrifuges when sanctions started, but that is not true. Former nuclear negotiator and current president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, said in an interview during his campaign two years ago:
“We halted the nuclear program? We were the ones to complete it! We completed the technology. …Do you know when we developed yellowcake? Winter 2004. Do you know when the number of centrifuges reached 3,000? Winter 2004.”
According to Rouhani the biggest leap in the number of centrifuges occurred before sanctions were imposed. Unlike Zarif, who was arguing against painful sanctions, Rouhani had little reason to lie.
In his attempt to rebut Netanyahu’s speech later this morning the President appears to have been careless in marshaling his arguments.
@ yamit82:
A bit rumbling to start with but turned direct and clear after 20 minutes into the presentation. The problem we have is predicated upon executive decision making here.
Further. JEOPARDY. Personal and immediate before freely elected courts.
Certain strata here in Israel has acquired the belief that they can conspire, sabotage, deceive, cause death and mayhem, betray, assault, deprive the majority of the Jews while the said strata special interests are protected.
Contrary to that, the following MUST be adopted.
for every plot or action harming Jewish Heritage, rights, persons, etc, the said strata must be faced with harsh returns against the kibbutzim, kibbutz industries and farming interests, labor union, publications, government holding, industrial and banking interests, etc.
Jus’ thinkin’ 🙂
He will be remember as the greatest American deceiver of all times.
@ yamit82:
Yes, an interesting presentation. did you notice that immediately after the “creedible threat” suggestion he posed the alternative of the stirring up of Irans ethnic minorities. this internal destabilization of baluchis,sunnis, kurds and azeris along with the usual external jihadi mercenaries are what I expect to happen before any attack as a means of softening up. Internal destabilization is a common foreign intelligence agency tactic., In fact, I venture to say that the orchestrated attacks on BB inside Israel are part of that network where the stooges are activated. that is why when I refer to the 3 stooges as foreign mole stooges I am not joking or exagerating
@ bernard ross:
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
Pls. Watch complete lecture if you have time but I want to especially draw you attention to the part the begins roughly around the 2O min mark. It’s right on and to the point!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yuQgDr2cSY
@ yamit82:
Netanyahu cannot be expected to do other than what Netanyahu is made to do. Nor we can expect any different from Hussein Obama.
Only two things should be sternly pursued.
A. Trust but verify. Israel must be the official central inspection force to determine Iran compliance to any agreement affecting Israel and Jews. That means access to all, no exceptions, Iranian nuclear and rocket design, production and launching facilities. Free and unlimited and safe access.
B. Personal jeopardy. Anyone entering agreements with Iran on the nuclear and rocket contexts must be made aware that they will be be held personally and immediately accountable if said agreements lead to harming now or ever Israel or any Jewish person as consequence.
“Historical judgement” is hereafter voided as tool to address criminal acts against our people.
yamit82 Said:
Although I agree that I heard nothing news regarding further disclosures of the deal I get the feeling that to the american public and even the congress that what is new is that the Obama narrative that he gives them is baloney. I was disappointed that he did not present facts new to me but then the americans mainly get MSM so that what we know may be more than what they know. Even their congressmen do not usually seem that aware of many subjects. I doubt that most people internalized that any deal short of dismantling is worthless because it relies on the compliance of proven liars and cheats. Obama was rightly shown to be a liar in his deceptive marketing of his so called plan. Furthermore, he will probably be successful because he is doing an end run around congress by calling his agreement a “joint action plan” rather than an agreement or treaty which would require Congressional input. He wants to leave Congress and the american people out of the loop and impose it like a dictator just like he did the immigration bill.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
Observations:
Rhetorical elegance aside, I heard nothing new except BB has pulled back from his long voiced demand that the Iranian program must be completely dismantled, and curbs to their military missile program be part of the conditions for reducing sanctions. Now, as in the past, he folded to Kerry’s demand that he not divulge any of the information concerning the deal not yet made public. So we are still left in the dark as to what those real negative provisions that are part of the deal brokered primarily by America. So if BB knows he isn’t saying. One might think due to the Hype and Urgency of his address to congress that he would have ignored the demand by Obama and Kerry and lay it out letting us know what the real problem is and believe me it ain’t really the Sunset Clause.
His threat for Israel to go it alone if no choice is hyperbole and Brinksmanship…IMO. Anyone following BB over the years would have a hard time believing BB based on his record would not be convinced of freighted by his threats.
He has said the same many times in the past and this time pretty much was (IMO) more of the same. Empty threats!!!!
The ‘High Noon’ build up to the address was the real story and here BB gets credit. He didn’t back down under tremendous pressure from within Israel and without….
That was the real story and he deserves credit for not capitulating to that pressure, maybe a first time for him.
As for the rest let’s see he still has an election to win and Obama still has almost 2 years left , a lifetime in politics….
SHmuel HaLevi 2 Said:
here is a good example of why
@ Ted Belman:
Congratulations to Mr. Netanyahu.
With Islam there are no alternatives. No negotiations leading to permanent settings. When it comes to their interaction with civilization either they comply with civilized norms or they must be brought down.
ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas, MB, Hezbollah are Islam’s top layers. How they interact with other Muslims is plain and clear and may they continue to do so until both sides win.
I cannot be accused of being a Netanyahu all around supporter, yet, on the subject and as of now he was brilliant, clear and on a Jewish way, direct.
One of my followers wrote to say that Bibi did offer an alternative and I replied,
Arlene Kushner writes about Obama’s remarks,
By definition Islam’s members lie, deceive, steal, torture and murder.
Mr. Hussein Obama is Islamic by claimed parenthood and robust evidence of alliance.
A combination of that individual and other Islamics is lethal.
Iran violates agreements, so do most Muslims.
Iran clearly says that they intend to destroy Israel and us. Israel must destroy Iran plans and anyone with Iran before that.