WarSclerotic

Top EU diplomat floats extending Iran talks before they begin  Jerusalem Post, February 4, 2014

(The longer it takes beyond the agreed upon remaining five months to reach a “deal,” the longer the sanctions relief will continue regardless of the outcome and the more difficult it will become to restore should no “deal” be reached — DM)

Ashton discussing extension, given high stakes of failure if comprehensive agreement on nuclear program not reached.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (L) and Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif. Photo: REUTERS

WASHINGTON – Comprehensive negotiations between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program officially begin in Vienna on February 18, at which point diplomats will have just over five months to reach an accord to end the long-standing impasse once and for all.

That cutoff was agreed upon, and is self-imposed, by the parties directly involved in the talks. Yet given the stakes of failure, Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s chief diplomat, is already discussing an extension of that deadline.

“Everyone will say to you, and rightly so, this is extremely difficult,” Ashton told The Wall Street Journal at a strategic conference in Munich on Sunday. “We have no guarantees in this and we will take the time that is necessary to get this to be the right agreement.”

Asked about Ashton’s comments on Monday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki reminded reporters that the Joint Plan of Action allowed for an additional six month extension of talks “upon mutual consent.”

“The comprehensive talks have not even begun yet,” Psaki said. “So we are not at a decision-making phase, we’re not predicting, we don’t know that they would be extended, and that’s certainly not the baseline we’re going on.”

“From our standpoint, that position hasn’t been determined yet, and that simply is a statement of what’s allowed for in the JPOA,” she added.

Speaking under condition of anonymity – given the sensitivity of the negotiations – US officials told The Jerusalem Post they, too, fear the talks will require more time than has been officially acknowledged.

Iran and the P5+1– the US, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany – agreed to the six-month time frame in an interim deal that essentially capped Iran’s most strategically significant nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief, creating an environment for the parties to negotiate in earnest.

In that first-step deal, formally known as the Joint Plan of Action, the parties gave themselves the option of extending the deadline by an additional six months – for up to a full year’s worth of negotiations.

Speaking to the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that failure to reach a deal – or an abrupt end to negotiations – would spell “disaster.”

American officials have echoed that sentiment in recent days.

Asked by the Post on Friday whether war or additional sanctions were more likely should talks fail, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that US alternatives to diplomacy are limited and are “likely to involve military action.”

“I’m not predicting that we would take military action right away,” Harf said. “It’s more of a broad statement that, look, if we can’t get this done diplomatically in six months or a year or at any time, we will – we are committed to resolving it. And that involves less durable and, quite frankly, riskier actions.”

Iranian FM denies reports hinting at recognition of Israel if conflict with Palestinians settled | JPost | Israel News.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

Zarif criticizes US attempts to pressure Iran, says sanctions are not helping solve the nuclear issue.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif “categorically denied” reports that he hinted that his country would recognize Israel if the conflict with the Palestinians was resolved.

Iran’s Fars News Agency also reported on Monday that Zarif was “misquoted” when he said at the Munich Security Conference that the “Holocaust should not happen again” and that “the extermination of Jews by the Nazi regime was tragically cruel.”

In a phone conversation with Fars, Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi said Zarif “completely rejected the remarks attributed to him and declared that the Islamic Republic’s stance about the (Zionist) regime is what has been repeatedly announced by the country’s diplomacy apparatus and this stance has not changed.”

In order to boost his anti-Zionist credentials, the article also pointed out that Zarif had recently visited Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon and paid tribute to the group’s assassinated commander, Imad Mughniyeh, at his grave.

In response, a member of Iran’s parliament called for Zarif to appear for questioning regarding the reported comments about recognizing Israel.

“Zarif’s remark are inconsistent with the principles upheld by the system, since Imam [Ali] Khomeini believed that the Zionist regime was a malign tumor” and that it was a “bastard” regime, representative Ghasem Jafari told Iran’s Mehr News.

“The Islamic Republic has expended great sums so that the Zionist regime would not be recognized,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zarif criticized US attempts to put pressure on Iran and said that sanctions were not helping to solve the nuclear issue.

“The sanctions have only led to making of some 18,000 centrifuges and also added to the Iranians resentment towards the United States,” he said on Tuesday at a press conference with visiting Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Separately, Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan repeated on Tuesday that Iran is prepared to confront any enemy attack.

“Certainly, our nation will not be affected and is fully ready to confront any arrogant move of the US or its little child, Israel,” said Dehqan, according to Fars.

Jordan Says No to Kerry “conspiracy.” Gatestone Institute

(Another brilliant lurch for Secretary Kerry in further destabilizing the Middle East. — DM)

Kerry has managed to escalate tensions not only between Israel and the Palestinians, but also between Jordanians and the Palestinians inside Jordan.

Kerry will now have to find a way to calm King Abdullah and his constituents before Jordan slips into civil war.

“Jordan is playing host [to Palestinians] and no agreement can pass without Jordan.” — Fatin al-Baddad, Jordanian journalist.

by Khaled Abu Toameh

Jordan’s government officials and ordinary citizens have come out against U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposals for reaching a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Jordanians fear that such an agreement would be concluded at their expense and undermine King Abdullah’s rule.

The Jordanians’ biggest fear is that Kerry is seeking to “resettle” Palestinian refugees in their country, effectively turning the kingdom into a Palestinian state. Palestinians constitute more than half of Jordan’s population.

More than 2,000 Jordanians from various political groups gathered in Amman on February 2 to condemn Kerry’s “malicious conspiracy.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman, Jordan, on May 22, 2013. (Image source: U.S. State Department)

Protesters claimed that Kerry’s proposals are aimed at “liquidating” the Palestinian cause and ending the Israeli-Arab conflict without granting the Palestinians their full rights, including the “right of return” to Israel.

A group of retired Jordanian army generals issued a statement warning their government against accepting Kerry’s proposals. The retired generals expressed fear that the proposals were designed to “settle” Palestinians in Jordan.

“Jordan is going through a dangerous historic moment,” the statement read. “This is an American-Zionist plot to liquidate the Palestinian cause at the expense of Jordan.”

The retired generals, headed by member of parliament Abdel Hadi Majali, vowed to use all means to block Kerry’s proposals, which are aimed at “dismantling the foundations of the kingdom and diluting the Jordanian national identity by dropping the right of return for Palestinians and granting them Jordanian citizenship.”

Jordanian columnist Fatin al-Baddad said that Jordan was extremely worried because Kerry was ignoring any role for the kingdom in his efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Noting that Jordanians have declared an intifada [uprising] against Kerry and his proposed “framework agreement,” al-Baddad said that the Jordanian people are furious because they feel that the U.S. Administration has “marginalized” the kingdom.

“Jordan’s politicians and parties want to alert the world that Jordan is playing host [to Palestinians] and no agreement can pass without Jordan,” he wrote. “Jordanians believe that Kerry is offering to turn Jordan into a Palestinian state.”

Last month, dozens of prominent Jordanian figures, including former parliament members and party leaders, also expressed fear that Kerry was seeking to turn Jordan into a Palestinian state.

A petition published by the same group even called on the Jordan’s government to revoke the Jordanian citizenship granted to Palestinians after 1988, when the late King Hussein “divorced” the West Bank by cutting off administrative and legal ties with it.

“The heroic Jordanian people will struggle with all their force and means to thwart this scheme, regardless of the price,” the petition cautioned.

On February 2, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh appeared before parliament to voice his concern over Kerry’s ideas. In a bid to calm the parliament members, Judeh declared that Jordan would not be an alternative homeland for the Palestinians.

“This is a red line and we can not accept it,” Judeh said, stressing that Jordan would not accept any deal that comes at the kingdom’s expense.”

Judeh also hinted that Jordan would demand compensation for playing host to the Palestinians over the past few decades. “Jordan has rights as a host country for Palestinian refugees,” he added.

Following the session, the members of parliament issued a statement which also warned against Kerry’s ostensible scheme to establish a Palestinian state in Jordan.

“There is a state of fear among Jordanians and Arabs that Kerry’s plan might succeed in involving the Palestinians in a new agreement that extracts from them political concessions so as to establish a Palestinian state with no borders and sovereignty,” the statement said.

The panic in Jordan has re-ignited tensions between Jordanians and Palestinians living in the kingdom. Some top Jordanian officials have been accused of making “racist” statements about Palestinians. One of them, retired general Riad Abu Karaki, called on his government to stop granting citizenship to children born to Jordanian women who are married to Palestinians. “Why aren’t the children of Jordanian mothers granted Palestinian citizenship of their fathers?” he asked. “The Palestinians have a recognized entity called the Palestinian National Authority.”

Kerry has managed to escalate tensions not only between Israel and the Palestinians, but also between Jordanians and the Palestinians inside Jordan. The growing tensions in Jordan pose a threat to stability in the kingdom and could easily undermine the only stable regime in the region. Kerry will now have to find a way to calm King Abdullah and his constituents before Jordan slips into civil war.

IDF to deploy reservists in Gaza sector – israelhayom.

For the first time in years, Gaza Brigade reservists will relieve Givati Brigade soldiers departing the sector for routine, three-week training sessions • Move prompted by changes to military’s training, deployment plans following defense budget cuts.

Iran hasn’t really changed – israelhayom.

By Boaz Bismuth

Fmr. Negotiator: Iran ‘Will Never’ Dismantle Nuke Program – The Washington Free Beacon.

Iran will not accept long-term limitations on program

BY: Adam Kredo
February 3, 2014 2:27 pm

One of Iran’s top former nuclear negotiators promised that Iran “will never” dismantle its nuclear enrichment program, and that Tehran’s current promises to curb these activates are only temporary.

“Dismantling will never occur on Iranian enrichment program,” Hossein Mousavian, Iran’s former ambassador to Germany and onetime top nuclear negotiator, told the Iranian press over the weekend.

Mousavian’s remarks have bolstered the fears of those who believe that Tehran is just buying time to advance its nuclear program, and came just days before the U.S. Treasury Department transferred $550 million directly to Iran as required under the recently signed interim nuclear agreement.

Mousavian, who currently lives in the United States where he is a research scholar at Princeton University, told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), that Iran would not accept any long-term limitations on its nuclear activities under a final accord.

“If we accept limitations in the final deal to build trust on enrichment, (the limitations) should be only for the trust-building era and not forever,” Mousavian, who served as Iran’s spokesman during nuclear negotiations with the European Union, was quoted as saying. “We also define Iran’s practical needs for our nuclear program and activities and not for major powers. This issue should be always seriously focuses in final talks.”

Iranian leaders have asserted many times in recent weeks that the country would not dismantle any of its nuclear infrastructure, including the centrifuges used to enrich uranium, the key component in a nuclear weapon.

The White House, which is refusing to release the full text of the nuclear deal, has avoided commenting publicly on this claim. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has dodged the question multiple times during his daily briefings, and White House spokesmen have declined Washington Free Beacon requests to issue a clarification on the centrifuge issue.

Mousavian went on to state that any “final” deal with Iran should last no longer than five years.

“The final agreement, if defined well, can last for three to five years, and then Iranian nuclear issue will be in its routine path,” he was quoted as saying.

Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif briefly met over the weekend in Munich to discuss nuclear negotiations.

Zarif predicted on Monday that a final deal could be reached within the next six months and dismissed efforts by the U.S. Congress to impose new economic sanctions on Tehran.

“With good will we can reach an agreement within six months,” he was quoted as telling the German lawmakers “I don’t fear a decision in the U.S. Congress … The U.S. president has promised to veto it.”

Iran received on Monday the first installment of some $4 billion in sanctions relief. The payments are being made directly to Iran and come as the result of the United States unfreezing Iranian assets that have been locked up in foreign banks.

Iran is scheduled to receive millions more in the coming weeks.

Mousavian did not respond to a request for comment.

Iran Foreign Minister Denies He is Opposed to Second Holocaust – The Washington Free Beacon.

Makes clear that he did not condemn Holocaust

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
February 3, 2014 12:13 pm

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif vehemently denied on Monday reports that he is opposed to a second Holocaust of Jewish people, according to Iranian media reports.

Some media outlets reported over the weekend that Zarif had stated, the “Holocaust should not happen again” and that “the extermination of Jews by the Nazi regime was tragically cruel and should not happen again.”

However, Zarif maintains that this is not the case, according to top Iranian lawmakers who have spoken to the foreign minister about his remarks.

This is just the latest example of a top Iranian political figure being forced to clarify their controversial position on the Holocaust. Many Iranian leaders have denied the Holocaust and have called for the destruction of Israel.

“Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi rejected the media reports about Zarif’s statements as untrue,” Iran’s state run Fars News Agency reported on Monday.

“In a phone conversation that I had with Mr. Zarif, he completely rejected the remarks attributed to him and declared that the Islamic Republic’s stance about the (Zionist) regime is what has been repeatedly announced by the country’s diplomacy apparatus and this stance has not changed,” Fars quoted Qashqavi as saying.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has stated in the past that Iran will “support and help everyone who opposes the Zionist regime.”