China says Iran nuclear talks in 'final moment'; Kerry due in Geneva

[shaayecanaan]

US Secretary of State John Kerry will join the talks on Iran's contested nuclear program in Geneva on Saturday, as Tehran and six world powers appeared to be on the verge of an elusive breakthrough in the decade-old dispute.

The Chinese, French, British and German foreign ministers, Wang Yi, Laurent Fabius, William Hague and Guido Westerwelle, were due to take part in intense negotiations on a deal under which Iran would curb its atomic activity in exchange for some relief from economic sanctions.

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http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/US-says-Kerry-to-travel-to-Geneva-for-Iran-nuclear-talks-332714

[Violet_Crumble]

1. Israel Renews Warnings of Military Action After Iran Nuclear Deal

Israel reacted with vehement skepticism at the signing of an interim agreement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vociferously described as the “deal of the century” for Iran because it eased sanctions while allowing Tehran to continue enriching uranium.

“This is the first time the world’s leading powers have agreed to uranium enrichment while ignoring Security Council resolutions which they led and years worth of sanctions which contain the key to a peaceful diplomatic solution,” Netanayhu said at the start of the weekly Sunday morning cabinet meeting. “These sanctions are now being removed in return for cosmetic concessions which can be undone by the Iranians within weeks.” He followed the criticism with the kind of threat of military action that first brought the Iranian nuclear portfolio to global prominence three years ago. “Israel is not bound to this agreement while Iran is committed to the destruction of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “Israel has the right to protect itself in the face of any threat. I wish to reiterate that as the Prime Minister of Israel – Israel will not allow Iran to develop nuclear military capabilities.”

The same ominous sounds echoed through the government. “This is the Islamic Republic’s biggest diplomatic victory since Khomeini’s revolution, and the result here will be an arms race,” Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman told Army Radio on Sunday morning, as details of the agreement first became known. Recently returned to his job after being acquitted of corruption charges, Lieberman was among the Israeli officials lambasting the agreement for failing to cut back on the number of centrifuges currently operating, which stands above 18,000. The machines produce fissile material that can be used to create energy, or be upgraded to the intensity required to fuel a nuclear weapon. “The Iranians have material to manufacture a number of bombs, not [just] one,” Lieberman noted.


Read more: Israel Calls Iranian Nuclear Agreement a "Bad Deal," Warns of Strikes | TIME.com http://world.time.com/2013/11/24/israel-renews-warnings-of-military-action-after-iran-nuclear-deal/#ixzz2lbLo6fJG

[shaayecanaan]

2. Isolated Israel condemns Iran deal

http://www.smh.com.au/world/isolated-israel-denounces-iran-deal-20131125-2y4gg.html

Looks like he's officially gone feral.

[shaayecanaan]

3. Invoking the holocaust in 3...2...1...

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.559967

[Jefferson23]

4. Contemptible, absoutely contemptible but not surprising. n/t

[shaayecanaan]

6. The good old Forward is still doing its best to be reasonable...

http://blogs.forward.com/jj-goldberg/188229/israeli-intel-kvetching-aside-iran-deal-pretty-go/

and

http://forward.com/articles/188243/a-worthy-leap-of-faith/

At least two "judenrat" accusations in the comments section and probably more by the end of the day, I suspect.

[Jefferson23]

7. The outright lies, amazing:

Professor Ze'ev Maghen, the chairman of the Department of Middle East History and Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies said Iran’s standing in the Middle East had improved overnight, without any significant concessions on its part.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/isolated-israel-denounces-iran-deal-20131125-2y4gg.html#ixzz2lcEl5Myx


Hey, Israel..open up and show us your nukes.

[shaayecanaan]

8. I agree, the outright bullshit is almost Republicanesque...

Somehow the agreement by Iran to mothball the Arak reactor and completely downblend its existing MEU stockpile and cap its LEU at current levels are somehow not viewed as concessions.

Speaking of which, havent our local hasbarados gone quiet all of a sudden?

[Jefferson23]

9. What would have satisfied the Israeli governemnt? If not a strike, which would have been

an insane act....I don't know.


Regrouping, is my guess by the locals.

[shira]

13. If Iran goes nuclear within the next year, would u consider Geneva a success? n/t

[Jefferson23]

16. Your question is not applicable because there was not ever credible analysis to prove

that Iran ever had the capability or pursued it...not even close. IF you want to ensure a sovereign nation
will pursue nukes, strike at them as Bibi desired, that would give them a reason to protect themselves
from the true bullies on the planet.

So when will you be demanding your government pursue Israel to sign the NPT?

[Jefferson23]

11. I thought I would share: ECI Statement on the Geneva Agreement

What the fuck the emergency is about, I couldn't tell you..I doubt he could, either. Anyway, looks like
Obama has left many pro-Israeli's feeling, unsettled.


Posted by Noah Pollak 6pc on November 24, 2013 · Flag

Statement by Noah Pollak, Executive Director of the Emergency Committee for Israel, on the agreement with Iran just concluded in Geneva:

"The Geneva Agreement is a defeat for the United States and the West. It fails to uphold even the minimum demand of repeated U.N. Security Council resolutions that Iran must stop enriching uranium. For the next six months, the centrifuges will not be dismantled and will continue to spin, uranium will be enriched, the 20 percent enriched uranium will stay in Iran, and a reactor designed to produce bomb-ready plutonium will remain just months away from completion. Iran will continue its march to nuclear weapons, with perhaps a brief pause in some parts of the program -- but it will be a pause that refreshes, since Iran will be rewarded right away with significant sanctions relief, with the additional likelihood that the rest of the sanctions regime will begin to crumble.

"Congress should make clear that it does not support this deal. Congress should make clear that just because the Obama administration seems to have taken all our options off the table, our allies need not follow us down this futile path of accommodating the Iranian regime's nuclear ambitions. In particular, Congress should make clear the United States will support Israel if Israel decides she must act to prevent a regime dedicated to her destruction from acquiring the means to do so."

http://www.committeeforisrael.com/eci_statement_on_the_geneva_agreement

Brief bio: Noah Pollak is an American political writer specializing in issues concerning foreign policy, Israel, and the Jewish people. In 2012 he was named by the Algemeiner Journal as one of the "top ten living spokespeople for Jews and Israel."[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Pollak

[shaayecanaan]

12. Well, a lot of that is just absolute bullshit...

the heavy water reactor, even if it is completed, will not produce "bomb-ready plutonium". It would be necessary to reprocess that waste in order to yield plutonium, and Iran does not have any such facilities, nor has it shown any intention of building any.

Its funny, because a lot of the right-wing Jewish groups purported to support diplomacy with Iran right up until it was apparent that it was actually going to yield results. I suspect, frankly, that their nominal support for a two-state solution with the Palestinians is similarly disingenuous. If an American president ever seriously attempts to realise the two-state solution then I think the caterwauling from the pro-Israel crowd is going to go through the roof.

[shira]

14. Same question to you. See #13. n/t

[shaayecanaan]

15. I think the obvious answer would be: no

but frankly, that is quite a tight timeline considering where Iran is now, and even if they ditched the negotiations quickly and made a rush for a bomb, starting tomorrow.

Why do you ask the question?

[Jefferson23]

17. The emergency factor is what cracked me up...what emergency? Pollak is less than clear, so

yes, more bullshit.

I think, sadly, the Israeli government can continue to rely on the US when it
comes to the two state solution..which will likely be a disaster for the Palestinians
in the end.

[delrem]

10. This Seth Lipsky dude is one extreme asshole out of another century.

He's still fighting the American war in Vietnam using arguments made obsolete in the last century.

Altho' I listen to their constant irritating complaints, it's hard for me to imagine what absolutists like him would actually agree to w.r.t. acknowledging the fact that in a shrinking world containing many cultures open to infinite variations, that there is need for rules for agreement in our increasingly complex interactions. I don't think right-wing absolutists like him even know what that means, I don't think they can see beyond war designed to either annihilate or totally subjugate the "other" (communists, Iranians,... , "leftists&quot .

Seth Lipsky appears totally unaware of the double-standard he preaches, totally unaware of the irony of his assertions. When he looks in a mirror he doesn't see anything.

[Jefferson23]

5. Obama tells Netanyahu: Israel has good reason to be skeptical about Iran's intentions

A few hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went before the cameras to blast the interim nuclear deal reached with Iran, he received a phone call from U.S. President Barack Obama.

According the White House, Obama told Netanyahu that he wants Israel and the U.S. to begin consultations with regard to a permanent agreement with Iran.

"The two leaders reaffirmed their shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," the statement read. "The president noted that the P5+1 will use the months ahead to pursue a lasting, peaceful, and comprehensive solution that would resolve the international community’s concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

"… the president told the prime minister that he wants the United States and Israel to begin consultations immediately regarding our efforts to negotiate a comprehensive solution," the statement continued. "The president underscored that the United States will remain firm in our commitment to Israel, which has good reason to be skeptical about Iran’s intentions."

Earlier, Netanyahu had delivered a short statement in Hebrew and English. He criticized the United States and the other powers taking part in the talks with Iran.

“Israel has a lot of friends and allies but when they are mistaken it is my duty and obligation to say so,” he said.

At Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting Netanyahu asked the ministers to toe the line with regard to opposition to the agreement with Iran. After the meeting, the prime minister held marathon sessions with his advisers and senior ministers to assess the agreement and its implications. Senior American, British and French officials are expected to arrive in Israel this week to discuss the agreement with their Israeli counterparts. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to come to Israel at the end of the week or the beginning of next week.

The conversation between Netanyahu and Obama came after a day in which almost all the ministers harshly attacked the accord with Iran and the six world powers. Senior figures in Netanyahu’s bureau called an early morning press briefing to stress that this was a “bad agreement.”

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.559977