Iran’s heavy water reactor under construction at ArakThe second round of talks between the six powers and Iran – this time for a final, comprehensive resolution of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program – opened in Geneva Tuesday, Feb. 18. But first, the Obama administration gave the Israeli government three pledges, DEBKAfile’s Washington and Jerusalem sources reveal. It must be said, however, that none of those pledges is realistic.
One was a commitment to insist on the absolute shutdown of Iran’s underground uranium enrichment plant at Fordo. The second was the conversion of the reactor under construction at Arak from a heavy to a light water plant, in order to preclude the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons; and the third, to place a cap on the low-grade 5-percent enrichment of uranium.
Our Iranian and military sources affirm that there is not the slightest chance of Iran’s negotiators acceding to any of these demands. Its leaders have made it clear that Fordo will not be shut down under any circumstances. They are willing to discuss aspects of production, such as the number of centrifuges used and the purity level of the enriched uranium. But closure is out of the question.
With regard to the Arak reactor, Tehran may consider imposing a ceiling on plutonium production, but no other commitment.
With regard to their stockpiles of enriched uranium, the Iranians are ready to negotiate a limit on quantities, but not the number or types of centrifuges they are allowed to operate. Tehran will thus retain the capacity to go back whenever it chooses to enriching any quantities of enriched uranium it likes.
To preserve this capacity, the Iranian negotiators will reject the Western demand to dismantle the 18,000 new centrifuges already in place in the enrichment chambers (not all of them functioning) and keep only 1,000 of the older IR1 machines.
In view of the long list of rebuffs the six-power negotiators (US, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany) expect from Iran, an aura of gloom enveloped both sides Tuesday as the talks got underway. Western sources called them a “daunting challenge,” while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei commented: “I have said before… I am not optimistic about the negotiations. It will not lead anywhere, but I am not opposed either.”
Answering tough questions on Jan. 20 ahead of the final round ot nuclear talks, US senior negotiator Undersecretary Wendy Sherman assured the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that “there will be an additional step or steps between the Phase 1 deal and the final deal, to bring Iran into compliance with UN Security Council resolutions.”
In other words, the current round is not expected to fulfill its avowed purpose of reaching “a final and comprehensive accord.” The Obama administration is gearing up instead for more interim accords with Iran.
DEBKAfile sees the Sherman comment as giving away Washington’s negotiating tactics with Tehran: The intention is to drag out a final resolution of this irreconcilable issue along the two years remaining of President Barack Obama’s term in office, i.e. up to 2016, and land the decision on how to handle it in the lap of his successor in the White House.
Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has walked in step with Obama on the Iranian nuclear issue since the fall of 2012, when he turned away from his earlier determination to destroy Iran’s nuclear bomb capacity by military force. And of late, he no longer demands the total dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear capability either.
When Netanyahu sits down with Obama at the White House on March 3, he will likely be reduced to calling for a ceiling on the number of operational centrifuges allowed Iran, as a last-ditch effort to delay Iran’s nuclear weapons drive. But both are obviously reconciled to Iran’s rejection of any limitations on its military nuclear capacity, along with the inability of any Western power to impose its will on the Islamic Republic.
yamit82 Said:
Didn’t I see a picture of you in a Dubai elevator a couple of years ago? I figure the Mossad has lots of Jews with multiple passports. Anyone from europe can get a passport through a grandparent and most jews from there have multiple national connections from birth, living,movements and parents and grandparents movements. Today through my 2 lines from parents and grandparents I think I could claim 3 nationalities and I myself separately could claim another 3 nic Israel. My son could claim 5, nic Israel, without being naturalized anywhere. Wandering Jews 😛 (the wandering is more like fleeing.) A european jew would naturally have wanted the insurance to be able to move quickly to another place. Those feelings lurk in the subconscious.
yamit82 Said:
the CIA had a parallel funding source of off the books companies. The famous one was Southern air who was tied up in the iran contra scheme + arms for drugs in central america. I used to drink in Miami with one of their employees. that reagan story you were discussing on another page I have no doubt, but it was Bush who had all the old CIA connections and his father pre WWII connections. I think reagan was a front man, an actor. Bush family was also big in florida, Jeb, with all the cuban connections. Miami was a hub. I remember going to a friends birthday party after the Managua earthquake in Nicaragua and his party was being guarded by the National Guard there. I dont think there was much difference between govs and gangs, including the US. Everything was interconnected and wide open: the govs were involved in the drugs game. In those days every CA country, except CR and belize(BH), had their Junta generals running their shows. I always felt that Noriega was captured in that manner because he double crossed Bush on a deal; he like Pollard is still held incognito. Bush gang is still strong so I suspect that is why Pollard is still in Jail; I think it is a revenge thing or he has too much on too many folks. Cartels had submarines, etc., it was billions of dollars business. Isnt the bekaa a poppy growing area? In many countries the soldiers and police loaded the planes.
the phoenix Said:
sorry phoenix, I missed this comment. Even forgetting about transfer I feel on the fringe. it appears that the land of YS just does not appeal to hardly any segment in israel religious or secular. Most surprising to me is the religious sector, not the NK who we know as fringe, but those who protest for perks and keeping out of the army but cant get 2 people to protest Jewish sovereignty at the Mount or over YS. They appear to be totally self absorbed in their own cliques and wants.
bernard ross Said:
These two have been caught in the past. They are supposed to have Shipped Phantom F-4 parts like tires etc., stored in their backyard in coastal town of Binyamina where I own some property. It was the Americans who blew the whistle and I assume stuff like this is monitored by Israeli customs and Shabak. They were caught in similar a few years ago if my memory is correct. In Israel there are 6,700 licensed arms dealers, some if not most have deep government connections. By it’s very nature it’s a dirty business but also profitable.
Long time ago I was recruited for the Mossad but my wife at the time would not agree,so nothing came of it but they were interested in my American passport with or with me personally active. I nixed that idea as well. Setting up dummy companies in Europe and elsewhere using ligit nationals is common practice. Sometimes those companies are also legit and even profitable.
something fishy here, sounds like the state is in on it.
@ bernard ross:
Netanyahu going to Supreme Court twice
Opposition chief Herzog gives premier ultimatum over key post
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has yet to replace Avigdor Liberman since he returned to Foreign Ministry.
bernard ross Said:
Open and very public challenge is not the same as individual gripping. The message is less to BB and more to his political base. A show of mass unity against BB may give heart to the silent right in Israel and abroad. BB’s RUSH to appeal the lower court decision is a sign of panic and apparent signs of losing control of his agenda. It’s also apparent he is working closely with Kerry and probably even advising Kerry what to leak in hopes of dampening his internal opposition. If true it much too transparent even for our political dummies. The message was aimed at Kerry and Obama no less than BB. Obama could pull a Clinton and force BB to call new elections and then back his opposition with everything at his disposal. Not so sure BB at that point would be reelected as head of the Likud. If he wants to remain PM he must keep the support of his party and having so much apparent united opposition to his and Kerry’s/Obama in his party means he is under restraint of maneuverability. He might still find a way to pull it off.
I said it might take a year if BB wanted to drag it out. Meaning if his appeal would stall actions by the Likud central committee. Apparently it can’t stall the convening of the committee and he only has a short time under law to file an appeal probably 30 days. When the SC will hear the case and rule is another matter. If BB really wants a decision it will be fast tracked and if he wants to stall it will be dragged out.
Obama’s Foreign Policy: Enemy Action
It’s often hard to determine whether a series of bad policies results from stupidity or malicious intent. Occam’s razor suggests that the former is the more likely explanation, as conspiracies assume a high degree of intelligence, complex organization, and secrecy among a large number of people, qualities that usually are much less frequent than the simple stupidity, disorganization, and inability to keep a secret more typical of our species. Yet surveying the nearly 6 years of Obama’s disastrous foreign policy blunders, I’m starting to lean towards Goldfinger’s Chicago mob-wisdom: “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it’s enemy action.”
Netanyahu: We must prevent Iran from having the capacity to produce nuclear weapons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00jWR7Bi4Fg
@ yamit82:
Listened to the video clip.
The congressman sounds more pro-Israel than the interviewer with the thick Israeli accent, asking basically all the talking points of the left…
‘The settlements’… ‘Foreign forces guarding’…. What DISEASE has gotten into these so called journalists?
‘Time is of the Essence’ to Halt Iran Proliferation
Founder of EMPact America tells Arutz Sheva why he believes the threat to American security from Iran could be closer than you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glxj6CsqDtc
‘Israel is not an Occupier’
Congressman Trent Franks condemns US administration’s ‘adversarial’ stance towards Israel, says White House has become Iran’s ‘lobbyist’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxJhdLBr1E4#t=11
World of American donations to the Jewish State revolutionized
New generation of US philanthropists continues to donate some $2 billion a year to Israel, but they are no longer willing to sign a check and leave it at that. How does raising big funds work? Where does the money go? And how does the issue of the settlements affect donations?
@ bernard ross:
Israel to export natural gas to Jordan
yamit82 Said:
the plan is to give them a few years to choose between staying as pal residents or leaving voluntarily; towards the end I expect some incentives to increase. This satisfies BB saying “no evictions”
yamit82 Said:
didnt BB already know their position. will it matter to him or change his MO?
yamit82 Said:
You said it would take a year but I would not be surprised to see it fast tracked and concluding in a ruling for BB
Can Israel and a Nuclear Iran Coexist?
Two scorpions in a bottle?
Prof. Louis René Beres
I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. (Bhagavad-Gita)
Kerry: Evictions of Jews May Not be Required
U.S. Secretary of State hints that Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria may not be evicted from their homes in a future peace agreement.
Minister Hits Out over Reports US Pushing for Building Freeze
Minister of Housing Uri Ariel says US needs to ‘stop and think’ about its failures throughout Middle East before pressuring Israel.
Report: PA to Demand Divided Jerusalem in Paris Talks
PA official claims that Abbas to demand divided Jerusalem, ‘refugee’ compensation, terrorist releases in Paris talks. But is it true?
Fatah: Israel and Hamas Holding High Level Contacts
A Fatah spokesperson said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu himself was in contact with Hamas terrorist leaders.
PA Official: Abbas Ready for Israel as a Jewish State
A senior PLO official was quoted as saying that PA chief Mahmoud Abbas was prepared to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
PM Appeals Rulings Against his Limitations on Likud
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/287640
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in his role as Likud party chairman, appealed to the Supreme Court, Thursday, against Monday’s district-court ruling in favor of a petition by Likud Central Committee Chairman Danny Danon against what Danon called “attempts to paralyze the Likud institutions “, impose restrictions on the gatherings convened by the committee and prevent ideological discussions prior to the publication of United States Secretary of State John Kerry’s outline for final-status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Danon said, Thursday, “I will defend also democracy in the Likud before the Supreme Court versus constant efforts to paralyze its institutions and to silence its members. Democracy is the way of the Likud, the largest party in the Knesset , which became the last bastion of democracy in the Knesset, and I’ll be on guard to make sure that the Likud stays true to its values.”
@ the phoenix:
@ the phoenix:
Settlement freeze ‘unacceptable,’ right-wing MKs warn PM
Likud, Yisrael Beytenu and Jewish Home representatives call on Netanyahu to resist pressure to halt West Bank construction
http://www.timesofisrael.com/settlement-freeze-unacceptable-right-wing-mks-warn-pm/
The specter of a West Bank settlement freeze is raising serious concerns among prominent Knesset members on the right, several of whom warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that halting construction in any Jewish town or city beyond the Green Line would be “totally and utterly unacceptable.”
In an official letter sent to Netanyahu, 21 MKs from the Likud, Yisrael Beytenu and Jewish Home parties stressed that they would not accept any framework agreement that would prevent Israelis from expanding the Jewish presence in the West Bank.
“These days, we’ve received news of a demand from Israel to agree to freeze the construction and planning of settlements in Judea and Samaria,” the letter read. ”We oppose any kind of freeze, including a settlement freeze outside of recognized blocs, and we will see any such Israeli commitment as utterly unacceptable.”
Coalition chairman Yariv Levin (Likud), one of the MKs to sign the letter, said any attempt by US officials to impose a freeze on settlements would be heavily opposed by Israel’s right wing, and argued that Jews had a moral right to reside in any part of the West Bank.
“American pressure to press a sword to the neck of the settlements will be met with total resistance,” Levin said. ”It is our right and our duty to settle and build in all historical parts of the Land of Israel, and we stand firm on this right.”
Ministers and members of Knesset from the right are expected to participate in a march to the Jordan Valley on Friday, in order to express their opposition to final-status security arrangements that would call for the removal of Israeli forces or settlements from the area in the future.
Earlier this month, thousands of demonstrators took part in a march to the controversial E1 corridor, linking Jerusalem with Ma’ale Adumim to the east, in order to voice their opposition to the ongoing US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Settlers and right wing activists hold evening prayers after attending a march in the area known as E1 near the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim on February 13, 2014.
In November, Netanyahu ordered a pullback of Housing Ministry plans to construct some 20,000 settlement units — an unprecedented number — including 1,200 homes in the E1 corridor.
He had said the move to push forward tens of thousands of new units over the Green Line was a “meaningless step” that would create pointless tension with the international community.
According to Housing Ministry statistics published in November, 7 percent of new Israeli construction sites erected this year were located in the West Bank, and the number of building projects across the Green Line rose by nearly 130% compared to 2012.
@ bernard ross:
Are you reading my thoughts?????
😉
yamit82 Said:
If he will accept a plan then he beleives in it or he is corrupt and subject to manipulation(I beleive this of Sharon)
It is my understanding that most of Area c is vacant land and if that is true I cannot understand what argument any Jew could accept whereby the pals get all of that area. If no one lives on it and 2 people claim it then the most is a fifty fifty split of that land irrespective of security. the area was never acknowledged to belong to Jordan, was encouraged for Jewish settlement, etc. what is the argument that israeli jews buy whereby they belive that C belongs to the pals as a start to negotiations? This is perplexing, how and when did Israelis come to this beleif..
as for Jerusalem and golan it has been with israel over 40 years and there has been no pal authority there at all. Somehow everyone progresses, including Israel, that the land really belongs to the pals. No one even questions this except BY and those further right. IB and likud appear the same as they only talk land based on security plus swaps.
the worst jewish negotiators I have ever seen. they start by taking the others position. why didnt they say we both claim the same land so we must bargain over whats vacant. C is predominantly Jewsih, at least claim C for heavens sake.
If they are making a plan I can only hope that C is not given until near the end and it all falls apart before hand.
As for Jerusalem I think any giving anything, even symbolically is insane: and especially no holy sites. No country gives sovereign territory to religions of others. When I read the plans suggested they are all a big slap in the jewish face.
yamit82 Said:
This is true but it seems much more imminent, the damage, and much bigger in Israel. I am starting to wonder if I am a crazy right wing nutter who is magnifying the pal threat and the importance of Jewish rights. After all if so any Israelis are unconcerned about these things why am I getting excited? This is how I think diaspora Jews see it also: especially as the international media always carry haaretz articles or writers. I believe this is intentionally done to give that impression to Jews in the diaspora. I think the opinion of the diaspora Jews who will be anti Israel will be given the most play with the intention that that segment will make a bad deal acceptable to local non jewish populations. Brainwashing is going on, which implies a pre planned outcome.
@ the phoenix:
bernard ross
Stop expecting that Jews here or anywhere else will behave any differently than anyone else.
The concept of legislation by disaster holds with us as with every other group especially in democracies. Part of the problem is we have not yet had to face the logical negative consequences of BB’s perfidy, and political blindness if not political cowardliness.
@ bernard ross:
This is what makes me SCREAM!!!
That Americans are dumb, mayleh… But Israelis????
I REALLY don’t get it…
Funny how no one confronts BB about his now ludicrous “red lines” speech and his total abandonment of his commitments. Apparently Israelis are as dumb as Americans. Obama lies, BB lies; no one remembers or abandons their support. They keep acting as if BB will suddenly morph into an honest leader. The best indication of what he will do is what he has already done.