Iran’s negotiating tactic? Stall, deceive, repeat.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Later this month in Vienna, Iran will participate in another round of negotiations aimed at bringing resolution to the crisis surrounding its illegal nuclear weapons program. The discussions between the Islamic Republic and the so-called “P5+1″ – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (The U.S., UK, France, Russia, and China) plus Germany – have done what all nuclear negotiations with Iran have done over the past ten years: raise hopes and expectations for no good reason save Western naivete.
Last month, Iran met in Istanbul with the P5+1 after 15 months of having no negotiations. In those 15 months, Western powers have significantly ramped up economic and diplomatic sanctions against Tehran. What came out of the April negotiations was a plan for this month’s negotiations (what progress!). European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said, “We want now to move to a sustained process of serious dialogue. We expect that subsequent meetings will lead to concrete steps toward a comprehensive negotiated solution.” Meanwhile, Iranian chief negotiation Saeed Jalili said, “We deeply believe that the removal of sanctions, which is demanded by the Iranian nation, is one of the issues which should receive attentions in the trend of talks on cooperation.”
Catch the difference? Western powers are all about dialogue. Let’s hug it out and keep on talking. The Iranians want an easing of sanctions. Meanwhile, five more weeks of spinning centrifuges will pass between rounds of negotiations. (more…)
Comments (8) »Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 3:23 PM | Rabbi Jonathan Greenberg
Iran buys time, not trust, with Istanbul talks
Iran's chief negotiator on nuclear issues, Saeed Jalili (Photo: Olivier Hoslet/EPA).
Israelis I’ve spoken to have expressed skepticism about the new round of Iranian nuclear talks launched in Turkey over the weekend. In the past, Iran has not only used the guise of such talks to buy itself more time for nuclear development, but has sought to suspend sanctions as a concession from the west for its willingness to sit at the table for talks. For these reasons, and more, Israelis believe that talks are futile and will only serve Iran’s interests by giving it more time to build a bomb while keeping an Israeli preemptive strike at bay.
“These talks are a ploy to get Israel off-track” explained one Israeli, “The world is more concerned about an Israeli attack and increased gas prices than they are about the prospects of a nuclear-armed Iran,” he continued.
Many here in Israel do not see these new talks as a serious effort to stop the Iranian nuclear program, and rightfully so. Prior to meeting with western diplomats, Chief Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili stated clearly that Iran has no intention of halting its uranium enrichment. The Iranian negotiator then mentioned that the west should seek to build trust with Iranians, and, in order to do so, should consider lifting existing sanctions against Iran.
Considering Jalili’s comments before negotiations began in Turkey, it is no surprise that the only progress made over the weekend is that Iran has agreed to meet with western powers for more talks in a month’s time, in Iraq. Essentially, Iran has just bought itself another month where it knows that Israel will not attack its nuclear facilities, since it is holding “negotiations.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his disapproval over what he sees as the west’s capitulation to Iranian interests, and stated that Iran scored a “freebie” in Turkey this weekend when it was granted a second round of talks in a month’s time without any demands…
Read More » Comments (9) »Monday, April 16th, 2012 at 3:10 PM | Amichai Farkas
Iranian scientist’s goal “the annihilation of Israel”
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan
Speaking to the Iranian news outlet FARS, the wife of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, the Iranian nuclear scientist who was assassinated in Tehran in January, proudly confessed that her husband sought the annihilation of the Zionist regime. “Mostafa’s ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel,” Fatemeh Bolouri Kashani told reporters on Tuesday.
Mostafa was the fifth Iranian scientist assassinated in recent years. Many have pointed fingers at the U.S. and Israel, accusing the nations of being responsible for the attacks. The U.S. strongly denied any involvement in Mostafa’s death and even went as far as to condemn his assassination. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. Iran, meanwhile, has already made up its mind, declaring that Mostafa was “assassinated by Mossad agents.”
Targeted assassinations are widely “officially” condemned, not just by the U.S., but by many in the international community. But take a moment to consider Israel’s position. She is faced with a rogue nation, Iran, that ignores the world’s calls to cease pursuit of nuclear capabilities. Iran has repeatedly and publicly called for Israel’s destruction. Given these sobering facts, and the clear and present danger Israel is in, if Israel were indeed responsible for the death of an Iranian nuclear scientist whose highest aspiration was to destroy the Jewish state, perhaps the world could understand why.
Comments (13) »
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 8:38 AM | Amichai Farkas
Who killed the Iranian nuclear scientist?
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan (Photo: CTV)
There is a good deal of discussion among friends and enemies of Israel alike about the killing yesterday of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a top Iranian nuclear scientist and leading official at the Natanz nuclear site. Roshan was killed, according to media reports, by two motorcyclists who threw a bomb at his car and sped away. The killing took place mere blocks from the Iranian intelligence headquarters. Iran has called it “a daring terror attack.” Media around the world are referring to it as an assassination.
An assassination by whom is an interesting question. It could be Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad. It could just as easily be our own CIA. Or it could be the remnants of the Iranian opposition Green movement that famously took to the streets after the sham “election” in 2009. The Greens have largely been forced underground in the years since the failed revolution and their participation in the recent spate of scientist killings should not be ruled out.
Regardless of who is responsible, we can only pray that these activities slow down Iran’s inexorable march toward a nuclear weapon.
Comments (15) »Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 3:23 PM | Stand for Israel
Four Katyusha rockets strike Israel
Remains of Katyusha rocket in northern Israel (Photo: Yaron Kaminsky)
Four Katyusha rockets fired by terrorists operating out of Lebanon hit northern Israel on Monday night, damaging a number of buildings and setting a blaze which firefighters managed to contain. No injuries were reported in the attacks.
Since Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terror groups that operate along Israel’s borders take their marching orders from Iran, some believe these attacks were responses to recent bombings in Iran. Two weeks ago an explosion rocked a military base in Tehran, killing more than 30 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, including an officer known as the architect of Iran’s missile program. Then, earlier this week another explosion occurred in the Iranian city of Isfahan right outside of a uranium conversion plant. (Iran has since denied that the blast happened at all, but reports from residents contradict this).
Are these blasts – along with the assassination of leading Iranian nuclear scientists and the stuxnet computer virus that infiltrated Iran’s nuclear plants – covert efforts by Israel to stop Iran’s rush toward nuclear weapons? No one knows for sure, as Israel has neither confirmed nor denied these allegations, which have come from many sides. But, if they are, it seems safe to say that no one in Israel would be sorry to know that its government is striking back against Iran, which has sworn to destroy Israel and is working on the tools to make this promise a reality.
Comments (18) »
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 at 4:09 PM | Amichai Farkas
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