Iran nuclear talks hit snag.....
http://www.debka.com/article/23436/Kerry-bids-from-Abu-Dhabi-to-break-up-unique-broad-front-which-tripped-up-US-Iran-nuclear-deal
( Just like with Syria , US is all over the map with their messaging... And not how the US is being painted as the architect of the failed peace talks - allegedly resisted by more than just the French .. fwiw .... )
Secretary of State John Kerry landed in the United Arab Emirate Monday, Nov. 11, for an effort to break up that bond and split up the broad opposition to Barack Obama’s policy. “President Obama is a man of his word,” Kerry declared. “He said in a speech before the UN that the US will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon and this is our policy to which we are committed. “
His assurance reminded his skeptical listeners of the credibility gap between Obama’s red line against Bashar Assad’s use of chemical weapons and his withdrawal from making good on that commitment by substituting a questionable deal with Moscow for military action.
1. Rather than taking on a broad international front, the administration found it more convenient to focus on one of its members, Israel and its prime minister, as the responsible party for holding up the first concrete deal ever negotiated with Iran on its nuclear program.
2. Presenting Netanyahu as the party in the wrong and the cause of Israel’s isolation gave his political opponents ammunition for clobbering him.
Sunday, Netanyahu hit back at his misrepresentation as the lone spoiler by revealing his contacts with the European powers represented in Geneva and his close cooperation with the Arabian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia.
DEBKAfile’s Washington sources admit that the group effort by Jerusalem, Paris and Riyadh to defeat the Obama administration’s Iran policy was a groundbreaker. One source noted that it had attained the unheard-of level of coordinated Israeli-Arab-European teamwork for mobilizing individual US congressmen and senators against the deal with Iran and in favor of tighter sanctions.
Sherman and Ashton are quoted as telling them, “The cake is ready for putting in the oven to bake.”
He was aghast when he was shown the amended draft and understood that there was no way to sell this deal to the Europeans, the Arabs or Israel. He therefore applied the brakes to preparations for the signing ceremony and ordered a return to the table.
http://rt.com/news/kerry-iran-nuclear-deal-532/
( Now Kerry says the snag was Iran's fault , seems like revisionist history from Mr Secretary ? Regardless of the effort , Iran puts the blame on France and Israel for the so called snag ! Lol )
France manipulated by Israel or just looking for its own War Dividend ?
Faced with rumors of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, the Hollande government cynically took the opportunity to sabotage to talks so they could sell weapons to the Saudi government.
And from earlier......
While many saw a hostile US Congress as the biggest obstacle to reaching a deal, it was France that ultimately stepped up and killed the proposal, with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius citing Israeli and Saudi objections as a reason not to reach a pact on Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
Fabius amazed his American and European colleagues and Iran when he stuck to its guns to the last, insisting that Iran’s Arak heavy water plant must not come online and that Tehran dispose of its 20-percent enriched uranium stock. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif refused to accept this. No one believed Fabius would go so far as to scupper the conference.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said: “It is natural. They are six countries with different perspectives, and probably different interests, and they need to reach a conclusion. If the other side is ready to reach a solution, we are also ready, and we have made good progress on this path.”
DEBKAfile: While Binyamin Netanyahu’s forceful objections undoubtedly contributed to the Elysee Palace's stand, it was President Francois Holland’s decision to draw a resentful line against the partnership between Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin for dictating the fate of the Middle East between them, and even monkey with the region’s oil markets and economies by lifting key sanctions. France felt it was being pushed to the sidelines by this partnership and decided to align itself with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arabs to put a spanner in the works of Washington’s deal with Tehran.
http://www.debka.com/article/23436/Kerry-bids-from-Abu-Dhabi-to-break-up-unique-broad-front-which-tripped-up-US-Iran-nuclear-deal
( Just like with Syria , US is all over the map with their messaging... And not how the US is being painted as the architect of the failed peace talks - allegedly resisted by more than just the French .. fwiw .... )
The push back against a nuclear deal between the six powers and Iran in Geneva Friday, Nov. 8 had many partners. Europe, Saudi Arabia, the Arab Emirates and Israel have bonded together against the Obama administration’s plans to mend US fences with Tehran in general and leave Iran with its nuclear components intact.
Secretary of State John Kerry landed in the United Arab Emirate Monday, Nov. 11, for an effort to break up that bond and split up the broad opposition to Barack Obama’s policy. “President Obama is a man of his word,” Kerry declared. “He said in a speech before the UN that the US will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon and this is our policy to which we are committed. “
His assurance reminded his skeptical listeners of the credibility gap between Obama’s red line against Bashar Assad’s use of chemical weapons and his withdrawal from making good on that commitment by substituting a questionable deal with Moscow for military action.
They are also familiar with the terms of the US-Iranian nuclear deal and reject it out of hand.
Holding Binyamin Netanyahu, France and Saudi Arabia responsible for stalling the deal as the only “culprits” served two US administration purposes:
1. Rather than taking on a broad international front, the administration found it more convenient to focus on one of its members, Israel and its prime minister, as the responsible party for holding up the first concrete deal ever negotiated with Iran on its nuclear program.
2. Presenting Netanyahu as the party in the wrong and the cause of Israel’s isolation gave his political opponents ammunition for clobbering him.
Still, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry show no inclination to meet America’s allies’ widespread demands to tone down their proposal, which essentially permits Iran to retain all the components for assembling a nuclear bomb, while enjoying a generous reward in sanctions relief for a six-month freeze.
DEBKAfile’s political sources report that in opposing this lopsided deal in Geneva, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke on behalf of the other European powers present, Germany and Britain.
Even Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov presented an unusually low profile in Geneva, abstaining from words of support for the American position. Speaking on condition of anonymity, members of the Russian delegation agreed that the deal on the table was a bad one.
The front lining up against Obama’s bid for reconciliation with Iran, including a nuclear deal, also includes Saudi Arabia and the Arab Emirates, especially the UAE which has grown into a major economic and financial power.
Sunday, Netanyahu hit back at his misrepresentation as the lone spoiler by revealing his contacts with the European powers represented in Geneva and his close cooperation with the Arabian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia.
“The world should pay heed when Israel and the Arabs speak with one voice. It doesn’t happen that often,” he said.
DEBKAfile’s Washington sources admit that the group effort by Jerusalem, Paris and Riyadh to defeat the Obama administration’s Iran policy was a groundbreaker. One source noted that it had attained the unheard-of level of coordinated Israeli-Arab-European teamwork for mobilizing individual US congressmen and senators against the deal with Iran and in favor of tighter sanctions.
Those sources also contradicted the administration’s claim that the Iranians backed away first from the draft accord prepared for the Geneva conference. They say the veto was ultimately slapped down by Kerry.
In urgent discussions in Washington on ways to salvage the nuclear negotiations from the Geneva flop - while keeping Iran in play - fingers were pointing at Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman and EU foreign executive Catherine Ashton, who chaired the meeting.
According to those sources, the two diplomats put the draft before Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and allowed him to insert amendments. When that was done, they called the foreign ministers of the six powers and invited them to attend the signing ceremony.
Sherman and Ashton are quoted as telling them, “The cake is ready for putting in the oven to bake.”
Upon hearing this, the Secretary of State interrupted his talks in Israel Friday, Nov. 8, and took off for Geneva, certain that the deal with Iran was in the bag and would be signed that day.
He was aghast when he was shown the amended draft and understood that there was no way to sell this deal to the Europeans, the Arabs or Israel. He therefore applied the brakes to preparations for the signing ceremony and ordered a return to the table.
Meanwhile, the Iranians are moving on, certain that a deal with the powers is in the works. The UN nuclear watchdog (IAEA) director Yukiya Amano Monday, Nov. 11, announced the signing of a joint statement with Tehran. It opens the way for IAEA inspectors to visit the Arak construction site of Iran’s controversial heavy water reactor and the Gachin uranium mine. "The practical measures will be implemented in the next three months, starting from today," Amano told a news conference in Tehran, broadcast on state television.
This monitoring agreement was designed as a clause in the preliminary accord that was stalled before it was signed in Geneva last Friday.
This monitoring agreement was designed as a clause in the preliminary accord that was stalled before it was signed in Geneva last Friday.
http://rt.com/news/kerry-iran-nuclear-deal-532/
( Now Kerry says the snag was Iran's fault , seems like revisionist history from Mr Secretary ? Regardless of the effort , Iran puts the blame on France and Israel for the so called snag ! Lol )
Kerry: World powers agree to nuclear deal, but Iran 'walked away'
US Secretary of State John Kerry countered claims France had torpedoed nuclear talks with Iran, saying the six world powers “signed off” on a deal, but Iran wasn’t ready to accept it. Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog agreed on a roadmap for cooperation.
Kerry delivered his comments in Abu Dhabi on Monday following rampant speculation behind why marathon talks between the P5+1 - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - and Iran on Saturday failed to produce an agreement.
Speaking to reporters, Kerry said the major powers were "unified on Saturday when we presented a proposal to the Iranians, and the French signed off on it, we signed off on it, and everybody agreed it was a fair proposal. There was unity, but Iran couldn't take it at that particular moment, they weren't able to accept that particular thing."
Kerry added that the US was "not (in) a race" to complete talks with Iran on its uranium enrichment program, reaffirming Washington’s commitment to defend its allies and not undermine ties with them.
Kerry officially confirmed Western diplomatic chatter on Sunday that contrary to widespread speculation, France was not responsible for scuttling the talks.
In the talks, France insisted that any agreement must entail Iran suspending construction of its Arak heavy-water reactor, which can produce plutonium, as well as halt uranium enrichment to a concentration of 20 percent. In return, Western powers would ease crippling sanctions that have battered Iran’s economy.
On Sunday, a senior American official who briefed Israeli reporters and experts in Jerusalem on Sunday said that the six world powers in the talks had in fact approved a working document and presented it to the Iranians, the New York Times cites Herb Keinon of The Jerusalem Post as saying.
“It was too tough for them,” Keinon quoted the American official as saying of the Iranians. “They have to go back home, talk to their government and come back.”
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also attempted to deflect criticism that France had intentionally sunk the marathon talks in Geneva over the weekend.
"We are firm, but not rigid. We want peace, and we want to reach the end," he told Europe 1 radio.
Fabius also sounded a note of optimism, saying "We are not far from an agreement with the Iranians, but we are not there yet."
All sides on the same wavelength?
On Sunday, however, Iran directed its ire at France, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning France risked turning the Islamic Republic into an “enemy.”
"French officials have been openly hostile towards the Iranian nation over the past few years; this is an imprudent and inept move," a Twitter account believed to be run by Khameni’s office posted on Sunday.
"A wise man, particularly a wise politician, should never have the motivation to turn a neutral entity into an enemy," another tweet said.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, reacting to news from Geneva, told parliament Tehran would not bow to "sanctions, threats, contempt and discrimination," state-run Press TV reported.
"For us, red lines are not to be crossed,” Rouhani said in reference to a statement made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the UN General Assembly last year, in which he depicted “a red line” of uranium enrichment that, if crossed, would incite an Israeli strike against Iran.
“The rights of the Iranian nation and [our] national interests are our red lines," he said.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has not bowed and will not bow to threats by any power," he added.
The semiofficial Fars news agency criticized the "destructive roles of France and Israel" for the failure of negotiators to reach an interim deal, opting to run a cartoon which depicted France as a frog firing a gun.
"By shooting he feels he is important," the caption read.
Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, however, attempted to put a positive spin on the failed talks.
“We are all on the same wavelength, and that gives us the impetus to go forward when we meet again,”Zarif told reporters.
Kerry’s statement at the time echoed both Zarif’s sentiments and comments made by Fabius on Monday.
“There’s no question in my mind that we are closer now, as we leave Geneva, than we were when we came, and that with good work and good faith over the course of the next weeks, we can in fact secure our goal,” he said.
The next round of talks between lower-level negotiators will be held in just over a week’s time.
Iran, UN nuclear watchdog reach deal
Meanwhile, Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have reached a deal to a ‘roadmap for cooperation’ over Iran’s nuclear program.
The deal was signed after the meeting between IAEA head Yukiya Amano and Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi, reports Iranian news agency ISNA.
"The practical measures will be implemented in the next three months, starting from today," Reuters cited Amano as saying at a news conference in Tehran, which was broadcast on state television.
Salehi, who delivered comments alongside Amano, said the joint statement “represents a road map that specifies bilateral steps in relation to resolving outstanding issues."
The roadmap involves an inspector visit of Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, which was one of the stumbling blocks in last week’s nuclear talks in Geneva.
Inspectors will also be allowed to the Gachin uranium mine, a domestic source of uranium ore for the Iranian nuclear reactors.
"I have received permission for inspectors to visit the Arak heavy water plant and the Gachin mine, which has been requested by the agency, and Iran has voluntarily announced its readiness for this,"ISNA quoted Salehi as saying.
The agreement further listed a series of steps Iran would take to ensure greater transparency regarding its nuclear program, including “managed access” to the sites open to IAEA inspection, Reuters, which saw a copy of the deal, reports.
Amano said the implementation of the roadmap, which is intended to verify Iran’s claim that its uranium enrichment program is only for peaceful purposes, is expected to take three months.
France manipulated by Israel or just looking for its own War Dividend ?
French Sabotaged Iran Pact for Arms Deal
Is Hollande Govt Looking for a 'War Dividend?'
by Jason Ditz, November 10, 2013
With the election of reformist President Hassan Rouhani and a strong diplomatic push, much of the world was looking toward a rapprochement with Iran, with many businesses looking to reap the benefits of reintegrating oil-rich Iran into the global economy. France apparently found a better deal.
Faced with rumors of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, the Hollande government cynically took the opportunity to sabotage to talks so they could sell weapons to the Saudi government.
The Saudi government had repeatedly made it clear they opposed diplomacy with Iran, while playing up the idea that they wanted significant extra arms purchases in anticipation of having to defend their coast when the international community eventually attacks Iran outright.
The Saudis have deep pockets and have shown a willingness to openly try to “buy” influence in the past several months, going so far as to try to bribe Russia into dropping support for the Syrian government. That failed, much to the Saudis’ chagrin, but they seem to have found a willing partner in France.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France can certainly make a deal extremely difficult. At the same time, being so overtly mercenary seems destined to backfire, and far from succeeding in making France more influential across the Middle East, it might convince many they’re only valuable partners until the better deal comes along.
And from earlier......
Iran Talks End Without Deal, More Talks Nov. 20
France Spurns Deal, Citing Israeli Objections
by Jason Ditz, November 09, 2013
An expected Friday deal gave way to more Saturday talks, and reports that the conference might continue into next week. It ended Saturday, however, without a deal and with only a promise to meet again November 20 to try again.
While many saw a hostile US Congress as the biggest obstacle to reaching a deal, it was France that ultimately stepped up and killed the proposal, with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius citing Israeli and Saudi objections as a reason not to reach a pact on Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
Details of the specific objections are still scarce, with top officials mostly keeping quiet about the talks, but France was said to be particularly adamant that Iran be forced to hand over its civilian enriched uranium in any deal, and also wanted a halt of the construction of the Arak heavy water reactor.
The issues surrounding Arak are something of a microcosm for the disagreements on both sides. Arak is meant to replace the aging Tehran Research Reactor as a source of medical and industrial isotopes, and runs on unenriched uranium.
That it doesn’t require enriched uranium would seemingly make it a big “win” for the West, which keeps railing on about Iran’s civilian enrichment program making fuel for other reactors. But the waste the reactor produces could be further processed to extract plutonium. Even though Iran doesn’t have the facilities to do such processing, Western hawks are presenting it as “proof” Iran is trying to have a nuclear weapon capability, while Iranian hardliners see it as proof that there’s just no satisfying the West, and no point trying.
While the Arak dispute could seemingly be resolved with a simple agreement to transfer the waste abroad for disposal, the question of forcing Iran to surrender parts of its civilian fuel stockpile is much more onerous, since Iran isn’t actually doing anything wrong in having it, and is unlikely to want to set a precedent of losing civilian-enriched uranium it has every right to produce.
France playing games after getting weapons deal offer from Saudis ?
http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/11/09/after-reportedly-being-offered-saudi-weapons-sales-france-blows-up-iran-deal/
After Reportedly Being Offered Saudi Weapons Sales, France Tries to Blow Up Iran Deal
Several weeks after this WSJ article describing a staged Bandar bin Sultan tantrum about US actions, it was revealed the “Western diplomat” involved was a representative of France.
Diplomats here said Prince Bandar, who is leading the kingdom’s efforts to fund, train and arm rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, invited a Western diplomat to the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah over the weekend to voice Riyadh’s frustration with the Obama administration and its regional policies, including the decision not to bomb Syria in response to its alleged use of chemical weapons in August.“This was a message for the U.S., not the U.N.,” Prince Bandar was quoted by diplomats as specifying of Saudi Arabia’s decision to walk away from the Security Council membership.[snip]However, the diplomats said, Prince Bandar told them he intends to roll back a partnership with the U.S. in which the Central Intelligence Agency and other nations’ security bodies have covertly helped train Syrian rebels to fight Mr. Assad, Prince Bandar said, according to the diplomats. Saudi Arabia would work with other allies instead in that effort, including Jordan and France, the prince was quoted as saying.[snip]In the run-up to the expected U.S. strikes, Saudi leaders asked for detailed U.S. plans for posting Navy ships to guard the Saudi oil center, the Eastern Province, during any strike on Syria, an official familiar with that discussion said. The Saudis were surprised when the Americans told them U.S. ships wouldn’t be able to fully protect the oil region, the official said.Disappointed, the Saudis told the U.S. that they were open to alternatives to their long-standing defense partnership, emphasizing that they would look for good weapons at good prices, whatever the source, the official said.In the second episode, one Western diplomat described Saudi Arabia as eager to be a military partner in what was to have been the U.S.-led military strikes on Syria. As part of that, the Saudis asked to be given the list of military targets for the proposed strikes. The Saudis indicated they never got the information, the diplomat said. [my emphasis]
The subtext here is clear: Bandar invited the French representative to Riyadh not just to whine about the US, but also to discuss weapons sales.
And now French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is scuttling an Iran nuke deal because it is a “suckers deal.” (See also Laura Rozen’s take, as well as her live tweeting the comings and goings at @LRozen.)
Oh, by the way. François Hollande is also due to visit Israel in a week.
It’s fairly clear what’s going on. Saudi Arabia has to forestall an Iran deal, because once that happens the Iran will be in a position to challenge the Saudi position as a swing producer (particularly if you assume Iran and Shia-led Iraq might act in concert).
So France will make an effort to thwart any deal. And if talks fail, they’ll get a big chunk of Saudi Arabia’s considerable weapons spending, at a time when the Saudis will probably be even further ramping up their purchases.
France, it seems, aspires to be the European participant in the growing Saudi-Israeli power block.
and......
http://www.debka.com/article/23432/France%E2%80%99s-last-minute-hold-out-aborts-Iran-nuclear-deal-in-Geneva
Iran and the Six Powers reconvene on Nov. 20 for another attempt to push through a joint draft of their first interim nuclear accord. It was French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius who broke the news that after three tense days, the Iran nuclear talks in Geneva had finished “without a deal,” although intense bargaining past midnight Saturday, Nov. 9 brought an accord closer than ever before.
Fabius amazed his American and European colleagues and Iran when he stuck to its guns to the last, insisting that Iran’s Arak heavy water plant must not come online and that Tehran dispose of its 20-percent enriched uranium stock. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif refused to accept this. No one believed Fabius would go so far as to scupper the conference.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said: “It is natural. They are six countries with different perspectives, and probably different interests, and they need to reach a conclusion. If the other side is ready to reach a solution, we are also ready, and we have made good progress on this path.”
The intense pressure the US beamed at Israel will now be trained on Paris.
DEBKAfile: While Binyamin Netanyahu’s forceful objections undoubtedly contributed to the Elysee Palace's stand, it was President Francois Holland’s decision to draw a resentful line against the partnership between Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin for dictating the fate of the Middle East between them, and even monkey with the region’s oil markets and economies by lifting key sanctions. France felt it was being pushed to the sidelines by this partnership and decided to align itself with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arabs to put a spanner in the works of Washington’s deal with Tehran.
The Geneva conference reconvenes in ten days, but meanwhile President Obama will be licking his wounds from a stinging setback. Iran’s three top men, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif, will need to talk fast at home to explain how long months of secret dialogue with the Americans ended in a public humiliation.
In his statement to reporters, Secretary of State John Kerry said that a great deal of progress had been achieved in Geneva and warned people not jump to conclusions. “Diplomacy takes time,” he explained, adding that he fully understood the concerns of America’s allies about the draft agreement. Kerry confirmed that the Arak heavy water plant was one of the items at issue.
Saudis pulling no punches to attempt to derail Iran's nuclear push......
Saudi Arabia and Israel Try To Derail Nuclear Negotiations With Iran by Terrorism
by Muhammad Sahimi, November 09, 2013
Ever since Hassan Rouhani was elected Iran’s President on 14 June 2013 and promised that he will lead a government of "hope and prudence," the United States’ most important allies in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia and Israel – and their lobbies here have been doing their best to prevent any agreement between Iran and the Obama administration regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Israel and its lobby in the United States have succeeded in persuading Washington to impose the most crippling economic sanctions on Iran, disrupting and threatening the lives of tens of millions of ordinary Iranians. But that has not been enough for Israel. It wants Iran to surrender its national sovereignty and its rights under Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty that gives Iran the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Thus, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been on an increasingly desperate diplomatic offensive to "prove" that Iran is not sincere in its effort to reach a nuclear agreement. After cynically calling the efforts by Iran’s new administration "a charm offensive;" referring to President Rouhani "a wolf in sheep’s clothing;" mentioning Iran 70 times and Rouhani – not Mr. Rouhani or President Rouhani – 25 times in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly meeting (while barely mentioning Israel’s war on the Palestinians); foolishly becoming an advocate of "democracy" for the Iranian people by declaring that if the Iranian youth were free,they would wear jeans and listen to Western music – which created a huge backlash by the Iranians (see here, here, and here), telling Netanyahu to first address democracy for the Palestinian people – and repeating his absurd claim that "Iran is preparing for another Holocaust," Netanyahu threatened once again that if forced to,Israel will attack Iran alone.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has also let the world know that it is angry at the Obama administration for not attacking Syria, for imposing military sanctions on the military junta in Egypt even though they are insignificant, and for trying to reach a diplomatic resolution of the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. Never mind that Secretary of State John Kerry just said the other day that "Egyptians are following the right path." This is a path that was paved by the junta overthrowing Egypt’s democratically-elected government and President Mohamed Morsi. Never mind that President Obama changed his mind about attacking Syria after the huge worldwide backlash against his threats of military attacks.
The opposition to U.S.-Iran rapprochement by Saudi Arabia and Israel, and the support of the former for the most extreme forces in Syria that have committed countless number of atrocities, have brought to the fore the real axis of evil consisting of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the War Party in the United States, as opposed to George W. Bush’s bogus "axis of evil." The same Saudi Arabia that has always supposedly been the grand marshal of defending the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people, has now made an "unholy alliance" with Israel, ignoring the fact that much of Israel’s saber rattling over Iran’s nonexistent nuclear weapon program is for distracting attention from the fact that it continues to devour the Palestinians’ lands, water, and other natural resources, and has made practically impossible the two-state solution for the problem.
The second round of negotiations between Iran and P5+1 – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany – began on Thursday November 7 in Geneva, and the initial reports have indicated that progress has been made. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has even declared that the main framework for a long-term agreement may be reached during the two days of negotiations between the two parties. That is not the news that Israel and Saudi Arabia want to hear.
Thus, in addition to pressuring the Obama administration through their lobbies in Washington, another way of derailing the negotiations and killing any potential agreement between Iran and the U.S. that the unholy alliance has put in place is provoking Iran’s hardliners that are deeply suspicious of the West and oppose any rapprochement with the U.S. The hardliners have made their opposition clear, with the latest manifestation of which being the demonstrations that they staged in front of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran on Monday on the 34th anniversary of the hostage crisis. And the best way to provoke Iranian hardliners is by terrorist attacks inside Iran, although such attacks are nothing new.
The United States and its allies have been trying for decades to destabilize Iran by supporting small groups among Iran’s ethnic minorities that have secessionist tendencies and have been carrying out terrorist attacks inside Iran. These groupsinclude Jundallah, a Sunni extremist group that operated from Pakistan and for years carried out many terrorist attacks in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province on the border with Pakistan. Another group is the Kurdish Party of Free Life of Kurdistan,known as PJAK, the Iranian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party – usually referred to as PKK – in Turkey that has been listed as a terrorist group by both the European Union and the US PJAK is a secular group. A third group consists of Iranian Arabs in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan in southwest Iran, which is widely believed to besupported by Britain.
As the author described in detail in October 2009, Jundallah was supported for years by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. Then, in December 2009 Selig Harrisonof Center for International Policy reported in the New York Times that the George W. Bush administration provided support to Jundallah through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate – the infamous ISI – and to PJAK through CIA and Israel’s Mossad, which has had long-term relations with the Kurds in both Iraq and Iran. Documents released by WikiLeaks in November 2010 indicated that Israel has tried to use Kurdish dissidents against Iran. Then, in an important article in January 2012 Mark Perry described how Israeli Mossad agents posed as American spies to recruit members of the terrorist organization Jundallah to fight their covert war against Iran.
In February 2010, Iran arrested Jundallah’s leader Abdolmalek Riggi, and executed him in June 2010. A month earlier, Iran had executed his brother, Abdolhamid Rigggi. The two executions were severe blow to Jundallah. Then, another Riggi, Abdolrauf Riggi, took over the leadership of Jundallah, but he was arrested by Pakistan in December 2010. Execution of the Riggis, the arrest of the third one, and lack of popular support due to ruthless tactics, such as beheading of Iran’s border guards, and revelations about foreign support for the group, eventually led to the demise of Jundallah. But, while the Iranian branch of the group formally disappeared (its Pakistani branch still operates within Pakistan, attacking Shiites), its offshoots have emerged and are just as brutal and deadly, and supported by the same foreign powers. This became abundantly clear in the latest terrorist attacks on Iran.
The latest terrorist attacks on Iran occurred on October 25, perfectly timed in advance of the Geneva negotiations. The Sunni terrorist group, Jaish al-adl (army of justice),attacked Iran from Pakistan, killing 14 Iranian border guards (12 of whom were conscripts), wounding six, and taking three guards as hostage. Jaish al-adl is a Salafi group, of the same type as those fighting in Syria against Syrian government and supported by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In an apparent retaliation, Iran executed 16 prisoners, although the Iranian government claimed that the sixteen, at least half of whom were members of the terrorist groups, had already received death sentences, but their sentences had not been carried out under a deal whereby in return for not executing them, their groups will not carry out any terrorist operations. Jaish al-adl has carried out many attacks in Iran; see here, here, and here. The statement that the group issued after its most recent attack has striking similarities with those of extremist Sunni group in Syria. In fact, in its statement Jaish al-adl declared that the attacks were in retaliation for alleged Iranian “massacre” in Syria and the “cruel treatment” of Sunnis in Iran. In addition, its flag and its style of attacks are very similar to those of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the terrorist group that is deeply involved in fighting in Syria. Similar to all other Sunni extremist groups, Jaish al-adl uses children in its operations, and carries out suicide bombing. Interestingly, no Western nation, including the United States, condemned the terrorist attacks. On November 7 the public prosecutor in city of Zabol in Sistan was assassinated, and for which Jaish al-adl took responsibility.
Jaish al-adl is led by Abdolrahim Mollazadeh, although he uses the pseudonym Salaheddin Faroughi. He was a prominent member of Jundallah. His brother, Abdolmalek Mollazadeh, was executed in January 2012 by the Iranian government, after he was arrested and charged with the assassination of a local Sunni leader, Molavi Mostafa Jangizehi, who had worked with the government and its paramilitary group, the Basij. After 12 other people were arrested in April 2012 in connection with the assassination, Mollazadeh fled Iran and moved to Pakistan, where he set up Jaish al-adl. Jaish al adl’s spokesman is Mohsen Mohammadi. Its first terrorist operation occurred in August 2012.
Jaish al-adl operates in a far more sophisticated manner than did Jundallah. It has aFacebook page (although it was recently blocked), and issues its statements not just in Farsi, but also in Arabic, English and other languages, in an apparent effort to put itself within the global movement of the Sunni groups. It has three military branches, named after three of its prominent "martyrs," including Abdolmalek Mollazadeh. Based on its various statements since its first operation in 2012 and what has been reported in the Iranian press, it is estimated that Jaish al-adl has killed at least between 100-150 military personnel and policemen in Sistan and Baluchestan.
There is another Sunni terrorist group in Iran in the same province of Sistan and Baluchestan, called Harakat Ansar Iran (HAI). It too has carried out many terrorist attacks in Iran; see here and here, for example. HAI also works with a Sunni extremist group, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, which currently operates under a new name,Ahlesunnat wal Jamaat, an anti-Shiite group that has been waging a low-intensity war in Pakistan for decades, and has murdered thousands of Shiites.
Both Jaish al-adl and HAI are offshoots of Jundallah. Although its current leader isAbu Yasir Muskootani, HAI still considers Abdolmalek Riggi as its "Amir" (religious/political leader). As mentioned earlier, Mollazadeh was a prominent member of Jundallah. HAI has declared that its aim is to "liberate" Iran and set up a government run based on the Sharia. Its emblem has striking similarities with that of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Since August, PJAK has been attacking Iran’s military, hence ending the unofficial ceasefire that it had with Iran for some time. After executing the sixteen prisoners in connection with Jaish al-adl attacks, Iran also executed two people that it had accused of membership in PJAK. The two had denied the allegation, although there is evidence that at least one of the two had received military training by PJAK. Both PJAK and Iran’s military accuse the other side of breaking the ceasefire. PJAK’s leader, Abdolrahman Haji-Ahmadi has taken the same position as Netanyahu’s,warning the West that it should not be "fooled" by Rouhani.
In supporting such terrorist groups, Saudi Arabia and Israel pursue different, but complementary goals. Saudi Arabia’s goal, first and foremost, is bringing the Shiite-Sunni sectarian war that it has been supporting in Syria to Iran, hence hitting it back for its support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime that Saudi Arabia’s-supported terrorist forces have not only not been able to topple, but are actually losing the war to. One goal of Israel is having allies that are willing to sabotage Iran’s nuclear facilities, and assassinating its nuclear scientists.
Both Israel and Saudi Arabia seek to destabilize Iran and its government, keeping it tied up with internal problems. And, both hope that the terrorist attacks will provoke the hardliners in Tehran to react strongly, retaliate militarily and, hence, not only give an excuse to the two countries and the United States to attack Iran, but also block any diplomatic resolution of the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. Thus, both President Rouhani and Obama must control their hardliners, and give diplomacy a chance.
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