http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-27/mapping-irans-nuclear-new-normal
Mapping Iran's Nuclear New Normal
With President Obama now on closer talking terms with Iran's President Rouhani than the Republicans, we thought the "major geopolitical shift," that this is supposed to be should be offset with a glance at the 'known' nuclear facilities that Iran possesses as the White House proceeds along its "difficult" path to "resolution" - not not regime change...
Via AFP,
An apparent U.S. decision to try to end nearly 35 years of unremitting hostility with Iran represents a major geopolitical shift. Getting to this point has been a long, arduous process for the two adversaries. The road ahead will not be any easier.
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, each delivered a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, but a much-anticipated handshake between the two leaders did not take place. Such a gesture was unlikely for many reasons, especially considering the steep political resistance to easing tensions both presidents face at home.
However, Obama's declaration in his speech that Washington is not seeking regime change in Tehran was indeed a major development. Moreover, Obama also recognized Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's recent fatwa against the use of nuclear weapons, and the president acknowledged the CIA's involvement in the 1953 coup that toppled a democratically elected Iranian leader. These were not random observations; they were carefully worded statements that addressed key Iranian demands.
The clerical regime in Tehran has long demanded that the Americans accept and respect Iran as it is and admit that the United States has acted against the Islamic Republic before talks with Washington could be held. Indeed, the Rouhani administration has been engaged in intense back-channel communications with the White House in an attempt to extract such concessions. Rouhani's recent calls for "prudent moderation" aside, he needed such gestures from the White House to be able to convince Iranian stakeholders to support his diplomatic initiative. Rouhani's decision to not meet with Obama even casually spoke volumes about the constraints under which the Iranian leader is operating.
That said, Rouhani has been successful in getting Obama to reciprocate Iran's recent overtures -- a considerable feat for the new president. But now that Rouhani has gotten what he wanted from Obama, the ball is back in the Iranians' court.
Obama has gone about as far as he can, and he faces far more domestic resistance to the diplomatic process than the Iranian president. Rouhani can use Iran's dire economic situation due in part to U.S.-led sanctions on the country as a means to advocate for a diplomatic change of course. By comparison, Obama's task of selling the negotiations to the U.S. Congress is more difficult. This is why, in his speech, Obama said that the diplomatic ties with Tehran can be improved only if the issue of Iran's nuclear program can be resolved. Domestic concerns are also why Obama has resisted bilateral negotiations, instead delegating U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to engage with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, in the multilateral "P-5+1" setting, which includes the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany.
This format of negotiations and the slow pace of the diplomatic process works for the Iranians as well. But Tehran's challenge now is to convince the United States that it is not developing nuclear weapons while still retaining the ability to harness nuclear technology for civilian use. While Obama and Rouhani have accommodated each other's needs and generate unprecedented diplomatic momentum up to this point, the two presidents will struggle to continue apace going forward.
http://rt.com/usa/obama-iran-rouhani-nuclear-455/
Obama speaks to Iran's Rouhani, believes resolution of nuclear issues is possible
For the first time in more than 30 years the President of the United States has spoken with Iran's leadership. Barack Obama announced he believes the two sides have reached a deal regarding the future of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
From the White House Friday afternoon, Obama said he just got off the phone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and discussed “our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran's nuclear program.”
“I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution,” Obama said, adding that he has asked US Secretary of State John Kerry to continue pursuing a deal with Iran that would prohibit Tehran from pursuing the development of nuclear weapons.
“I do believe that there is a basis for a resolution,” Obama said.
“Rouhani has indicated that Iran will never develop nuclear weapons,” Obama said, hailing that sentiment as a “major step forward in a new relationship between the United States and the Islamic Republican of Iran.”
Obama said his conversation with Rouhani earlier that day marked the first communication between an American and Iranian president since 1979 and “underscores the deep mistrust between our countries”that he hopes to now bury.
'Thank you, Khodahafez'
After a historic phone conversation with Barack Obama, President Rouhani has left the United States tweeting his reaction to the breakthrough in diplomatic relations between the two countries, which itself is an unusual development.
“In regards to the nuclear issue, with political will, there is a way to rapidly solve the matter,” Rouhani tweeted the US President.
Rouhani stressed that the next round of negotiations with the P5+1 should prove fruitful.
“We're hopeful about what we will see from P5+1 and your government in particular in coming weeks and months,” the tweet read adding that “I express my gratitude for your hospitality and your phone call,”Iranian’s leader said at the end of the conversation “Have a good day Mr President.”
The US President, according to Rouhani’s Tweets, expressed his respect for the Iranian people.
“I express my respect for you and people of Iran. I'm convinced that relations between Iran and US will greatly affect region. If we can make progress on nuclear file, other issues such as Syria will certainly be positively affected,” Obama reportedly told Rouhani during the phone call.
At the end of the call Obama wished Rouhani farewell saying, “Thank you, Khodahafez,” a common parting phrase in the Persian language, while Rouhani wished Obama does not get caught in horrendous traffic jam in New York City.
Witnesses say the two leaders spoke for about 10 minutes immediately after the conclusion of Rouhani's last scheduled meeting, just as he was about to leave the UN General Assembly gathering. The presidents spoke in English without a translator, an Iranian witness told NBC’s Robert Windrem, adding that Rouhani was a bit “shocked” to receive a call from Obama.
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/09/28/kerry-iran-deal-could-come-in-three-months-or-less/
Kerry: Iran deal could come in three months or less
POSTED AT 10:01 AM ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2013 BY ED MORRISSEY
We got all of that from a phone call? Secretary of State John Kerry tells CBS’ Scott Pelley that Iran wants to cut a deal with the US to put an end to the standoff over its nuclear program, and that it might take just a few weeks to cinch. If Iran can prove that its nuclear program is peaceful, Kerry says, then the US-Iranian relationship will improve “dramatically.”
Now all we have to do is believe that the Iranians will tell us the truth:
A bad deal is indeed worse than no deal at all, but … that was true in Syria, too. And yet Kerry and Barack Obama allowed themselves to get played into a diplomatic and military cul-de-sac that (a) allowed Vladimir Putin to take control of the diplomatic situation, which (b) forced the US to deal on Putin’s terms and (c) left Assad in charge of his own WMD disarmament, (d) making him indispensable (e) for probably the next few years which (f) puts an end to the US position that demands regime change, thanks to an agreement that (g) basically precludes any more American military intervention without one and possibly two more UN Security Council agreements for a Chapter VII response. No wonder Iran is suddenly anxious to cut a deal with Kerry and Obama — it’s a fire sale on American credibility in the second term.
On the other hand, Iranian hardliners are not exactly cheering Hassan Rouhani as a conquering hero. While some rushed to cheer the returning president, his motorcade also got greeted with eggs and shoes:
Hundreds of Iranians cheered President Hassan Rouhani on his return from New York on Saturday after his historic phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama but a smaller number of hardliners shouted “Death to America” and threw eggs and shoes at his official car leaving the airport, Iranian media reported. …But about 100 conservative hardliners also appeared and, shouting the “Death to America” slogan common since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, pelted his official car with eggs and stones in protest at Rouhani’s diplomatic opening towards Washington, according to witness reports posted on Twitter.The semi-official Mehr news agency ran pictures of groups of protesters holding up a Death to America placard and banging the sides of Rouhani’s limousine as it began to depart the airport. Mehr said one protester threw his shoes at the car, a gesture of deep insult in the Islamic faith.
Why pelt Rouhani? Do they think he went along with this rapprochement without permission?
But new high-level contacts with U.S. officials at the United Nations were unlikely to have happened without the approval of Iran’s clerical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the polarised reactions on Rouhani’s return hinted at the challenge he faces in getting hardliners especially in the powerful security elite behind his conciliatory approach.
It’s safer to egg Rouhani than to egg Khameini, of course. Khameini probably wants this kind of theater as a way for Western media to bolster Rouhani’s “moderate” credibility, hoping to push off the sanctions as much as possible while giving up as little as possible in their strategic pursuit of nuclear weapons. It’s possible the Iranian mullahcracy has just given up on the project now as too costly and unlikely to shift the balance of power as long as the US remains committed to the region, but that’s going to take a massive amount of verification to truly establish — certainly a lot more than can be done in three months.
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