WarSclerotic

‘Obama: In future, Iran could build nuclear bomb almost immediately’
Yoni Hersch, Eli Leon, Israel Hayom Staff and News Agencies

(At what point do they breakout? Is having a fully functional nuclear device minus the ‘fuse’ considered on the verge of a breakout? If so, then merely inserting the ‘fuse’ only takes a few minutes. Think about it. – LS)

U.S. President Barack Obama: In years 13, 14 and 15 of nuclear deal with Iran, the breakout times would be shrunk almost to zero • House Speaker John Boehner: It is clear that the deal with Iran is a direct threat to global peace and security.

U.S. President Barack Obama is persisting with his effort to rally support for the framework nuclear agreement reached between six world powers and Iran last week, but on Tuesday he admitted that Iran could have the capability to build a nuclear bomb almost immediately after the first 13 years of the deal, if it is finalized.

Under the framework for a final deal, Iran would be kept at least a year away from a nuclear bomb for the first decade, Obama said, as he pressed ahead in his campaign to sell the deal to skeptics. Pushing back on criticism that the deal allows Iran to keep enriching uranium, Obama told NPR that enrichment is not the prime concern, because Iran will be capped for a decade at 300 kilograms — not enough to convert to a stockpile of weapons-grade material.

“What is a more relevant fear would be that in year 13, 14, 15, they have advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium fairly rapidly, and at that point, the breakout times would have shrunk almost down to zero,” Obama said.

Yet Obama insisted that the world would have better insight into Iran’s capabilities because of extensive inspections in the earlier years of the deal.

“The option of a future president to take action if in fact they try to obtain a nuclear weapon is undiminished,” Obama said.

In response to Obama, International Relations, Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said, “If [Obama] says we have insurance here for 10 years, I say we don’t have insurance here for even one or two years, unless the loopholes are closed, and only then could it become a more reasonable agreement.”
Republican House Speaker John Boehner also criticized Obama’s statements, saying, “President Obama himself today confirmed exactly what critics of the deal have argued: his ‘deal’ would pave the way for a nuclear-armed Iran in the near future. The Iranian regime has consistently taken a long view on its regional — indeed global — ambitions of exporting its revolution. After multiple evasions of international inspections to date, no one should believe that the proposed inspections and verification are bullet-proof. It is clear that this ‘deal’ is a direct threat to peace and security of the region and the world.”

In the NPR interview, Obama was asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that any final nuclear deal with Iran include an explicit Iranian commitment to Israel’s right to exist.

“Well, let me say this — it’s not that the idea of Iran recognizing Israel is unreasonable,” Obama replied. “It’s completely reasonable and that’s U.S. policy. And I’ve been very forceful in saying that our differences with Iran don’t change if we make sure that they don’t have a nuclear weapon — they’re still going to be financing Hezbollah, they’re still supporting Assad dropping barrel bombs on children, they are still sending arms to the Houthis in Yemen that have helped destabilize the country. There are obvious differences in how we are approaching fighting ISIL in Iraq, despite the fact that there’s a common enemy there.

“So there’s still going to be a whole host of differences between us and Iran, and one of the most profound ones is the vile, anti-Semitic statements that have often come out of the highest levels of the Iranian regime. But the notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons, in a verifiable deal, on Iran recognizing Israel is really akin to saying that we won’t sign a deal unless the nature of the Iranian regime completely transforms. And that is, I think, a fundamental misjudgment.

“I want to return to this point. We want Iran not to have nuclear weapons precisely because we can’t bank on the nature of the regime changing. That’s exactly why we don’t want to have nuclear weapons. If suddenly Iran transformed itself into Germany or Sweden or France, there would be a different set of conversations about their nuclear infrastructure.

“So, you know, the key here is not to somehow expect that Iran changes — although it is something that may end up being an important by-product of this deal — but rather it is to make sure that we have a verifiable deal that takes off the table what would be a game-changer for them if in fact they possess nuclear weapons.”

Directly addressing the citizens of Israel, Obama said, “What I would say to the Israeli people is, you are right to be suspicious of Iran; there’s no reason why you should let your guard down with respect to Iran. We have to make sure that Israel has the capabilities to protect itself not only from Iran, but also proxies like Hezbollah. But ultimately, Iran is deterrable, and it is deterrable not just because of Israel’s superior military and intelligence capabilities, but also because you got a really strong ally in the United States of America.”

Meanwhile, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan said Tuesday that opponents of the framework nuclear agreement with Iran are being “disingenuous” when they say the deal could still allow Iran to build nuclear weapons.

Speaking to an audience of students and faculty at Harvard University, Brennan said the framework deal was likely the most realistic one that could be reached. “The individuals who say that this deal provides a pathway for Iran to a bomb are being wholly disingenuous, in my view, if they know the facts and understand what is required for a program,” Brennan said. “I certainly am pleasantly surprised that the Iranians have agreed to so much here.”

Brennan, who has headed the CIA since 2013, said he understood that some critics of the deal were wary that even with a final nuclear deal, Iran would have still the ability “to cause more trouble” in the Middle East.

“That’s a legitimate issue, concern and argument, but that’s why I say what they shouldn’t be doing is trying to pull apart this deal … that’s as solid as you’re going to get,” Brennan said. “You’re not going to get the Iranians to just totally dismantle everything and say, ‘OK, we’re not going to pursue any type of nuclear capability from a peaceful perspective.”

Brennan claimed it was a hopeful sign that the Iranian regime had been willing to engage in eight days of talks in Switzerland, noting that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had “much greater reasonableness.”

(Now that is complete and utter BS – LS)

This entry was posted on April 8, 2015 at 3:23 PM and is filed under Iran scam. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

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