Iran nuclear deal

Talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal will resume within days after being stalled for months, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Saturday, during a surprise visit to Tehran. The indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington, in which the UK is participating, began in April last year, but hit a snag in March, particularly over a demand by Iran that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from a US terror list. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss had previously said that the talks were Iran's "last chance" to revive the deal and that if they fail, "all options are on the table” to prevent the regime from gaining nuclear weapons. Following the talks in Tehran, Mr Borrell appeared to have reached an agreement to restart negotiations. " We will resume the talks on the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] in the coming days," he told a news conference in the Iranian capital. While he did not provide a specific date, he added: "I mean quickly, … [Read more...] about Iran nuclear talks to resume in days, EU foreign policy chief says during surprise visit to Tehran

The renegotiated Iran nuclear deal would destabilise the Middle East if adopted, three former Tory Cabinet ministers will argue on Thursday in a warning shot to the Government. Robert Jenrick, the former communities secretary, Liam Fox, the former defence secretary, and Stephen Crabb, the former Welsh secretary, are all backing a critical motion to be debated in Parliament. The motion lists a string of proposed changes to the draft agreement, which seeks to curb Iran’s drive towards developing nuclear weapons. The ideas include bringing in a stricter regime of monitoring on Iran’s nuclear activity and adopting tougher policing of Tehran’s “destabilising” activities. The original Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 and was signed with the UK, US, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union. It saw Tehran agree to curb its nuclear development in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. In recent years there have been attempts to negotiate a new deal after … [Read more...] about Signing a nuclear deal with Iran ‘would destabilise the Middle East’

The European Union (EU) and Iran announced Saturday that stalled nuclear talks would resume "in the coming days", following a surprise visit to Tehran by the bloc's foreign police chief. Head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrel, who has pushed to break the diplomatic deadlock, made the announcement with the Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at a press conference in the Iranian capital. Talks between Iran and the major powers - Russia, United States, China, France, United Kingdom and Germany - over Tehran's nuclear programme have stagnated since March. A key obstacle to the discussions has been tension between US and Iranian officials, with each side blaming the other for the stalemate. The purpose of the talks is to revive the 2015 JCPOA pact, which placed limitations on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal and reimposed crippling sanctions on the country, despite broad … [Read more...] about EU-Iran nuclear talks set to resume in the ‘coming days’

It’s understandable that with so much attention focused on Ukraine, recent developments in the talks designed to resuscitate the nuclear deal with Iran have largely slipped under the radar. Understandable – but worrying. The developments are deeply concerning for the security of the West and our allies, and are part of a consistent pattern of misguided failure by the Biden administration. For all Donald Trump’s manifold flaws, his decision in May 2018 to pull out of the so-called JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), negotiated in 2015 by Barack Obama, was by any objective standard a success. Under the Obama deal, sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for a promise not to pursue a nuclear weapons programme. As anyone with a modicum of sense predicted would happen; the Iranian economy (and thus the regime) was given an immediate and large boost, which analysts reported was being used both to expand its terror network and, quelle surprise, to revive its nuclear weapons … [Read more...] about Iran is closing in on a nuclear weapon. Appeasement is a horrific mistake

Iran is building a massive underground complex which is resistant to bombs and online infiltration, according to US media reports, marking another escalation of its nuclear programme. The sprawling network of tunnels is being built near the Natanz nuclear site, where a series of suspected Israeli strikes have occurred over the past three years. Israel claims the Iranian programme is about to complete work on a nuclear weapon and regards it as an existential threat . According to The New York Times, the tunnels are being built as deep as possible “so they can withstand bunker-busting bombs and cyber attacks.” The report said it was not clear how great a role the tunnel network would play in Iran’s nuclear activities and alleged efforts to develop a bomb. Iran denies working on a nuclear weapon and says the programme is peaceful. Following a series of mysterious explosions at Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran appears to be moving some of its activity underground to … [Read more...] about Iran is building ‘bomb-proof’ underground nuclear complex, US claims

Iran and the United States appeared poised Tuesday to start indirect talks in Qatar aimed at finding a way to save Tehran 's tattered nuclear deal with world powers. The state-owned Tehran Times posted a photograph of Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, in a hotel lobby with Iranian Ambassador to Qatar Hamidreza Dehghani. The newspaper said Bagheri Kani was in Doha , the Qatari capital, for the resumption of the talks. Rob Malley, the U.S. special representative for Iran, arrived in Qatar on Monday night ahead of the talks. The U.S. Embassy in Qatar said Malley met with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss “joint diplomatic efforts to address issues with Iran,” but declined to immediately offer any other details about his trip. Qatar's Foreign Ministry later issued a statement saying it “welcomed" hosting the talks. It said the talks aimed to reestablish the deal “in a way that supports and enhances security, stability … [Read more...] about Iran, US to begin indirect nuclear deal talks in Qatar

Here is what happens when a country cedes control of its foreign policy. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was a bad deal. The Iranians cheated on the baseline, the commitment, and the execution, and then President Donald Trump walked away. Approve of any given decision or not, the president controlled the action of the United States. Now however, looking for a way to reconstruct the deal, the Biden administration has outsourced American policy. First, President Joe Biden agreed to Iran's demand that the U.S. not be in the negotiating room in Vienna, but be represented by intermediaries—including China and Russia. Then, Washington gave theoretical agreement to Iran's demand that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) be removed from the U.S. designated terror organization list. After strong bipartisan objection in Congress—owing to the fact that the IRGC is responsible for hundreds of American military deaths—Mr. Biden appears to have told Israeli … [Read more...] about How desperate are you to cut a deal with Iran, Mr. Biden? | Opinion

Former Vice President Mike Pence received a standing ovation after he delivered a speech to a controversial Iranian dissident group once considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. Pence had travelled more than 5,000 miles to address the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) in Albania, where the fringe group is now based following its exile from its native country. During his talk, Pence hit out at the "brutality" of the Tehran regime, as well as urging the Biden administration not to renew an Iran nuclear deal which the U.S. withdrew from under Donald Trump 's presidency. While considered a cult with no real support in Iran, a number of high-profile figures from both parties in Washington D.C. have long considered the MEK a real democratic alternative to Iran's current rulers. "No oppressive regime can last forever. For inside every human heart is an unquenchable fire that burns to be free," Pence said. "Just as the Soviet Union collapsed under the weight of its own … [Read more...] about Mike Pence gets standing ovation at ex-terrorist group’s rally

Here’s what the signatories to the Iran deal agree on: On July 14, 2015, China, France, Germany, Russia, the U.K., the U.S., and the EU reached an agreement with Iran to limit its nuclear program. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, its official name, the Islamic Republic agreed, among other things, to freeze its nuclear program for 15 years in exchange for sanctions relief. Now comes the difference of opinion between the U.S. and the other signatories to the agreement—and it is significant, because the future of the Iran deal is in question. On October 15, President Trump must decide whether to certify to Congress that Iran is complying with the agreement, as he is required by law to do every 90 days. He has signaled he will not. This does not mean the deal will evaporate immediately; rather, it will be up to Congress to decide within 60 days whether or not to reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which will put the United States in de facto violation of the deal. … [Read more...] about Europe’s Fight to Save the Iran Deal Isn’t Just About Diplomacy

The agenda set at last week’s Group of 7 summit included British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pining over a world more “feminine” and “gender neutral.” “We need to make sure that as we recover, we level up across our societies and we build back better,” Johnson said, the New York Post reported . “And I actually think that we have a huge opportunity to do that, because as G7, we are united in our vision for a cleaner, greener world, a solution to the problems of climate change. And in those ideas, in those technologies, which we’re all addressing together, I think there is the potential to generate many, many millions of high-wage, high-skill jobs.” “And I think that is what the people of our countries now want us to focus on,” the conservative PM continued. “They want us to be sure that we’re beating the pandemic together and discussing how we’ll never have a repeat of what we’ve seen, but also that we’re building back better together,” Johnson said. “And building back greener … [Read more...] about G7 Summit Woke Agenda: Boris Johnson Wants World More ‘Feminine’ And ‘Gender Neutral’ | The Daily Wire