The update is at the bottom of the page – we knew it was coming. Zarif accuses the Obama Administration of lying in the White House fact sheets being promoted by President Obama, Ben Rhodes, Valerie Jarrett, Denis McDonough. Secretary Kerry appears caught between the Truth and the White House.

Thankfully someone captured this video as it was being shared on live CNN TV.

This is Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif describing the deal. Note the nuances and divergences between Zarif and President Obama’s explanations. Understanding these is critical.

CNN abruptly stopped broadcasting the Iranian press conference at the conclusion of this segment – and cutaway to panel discussion in the middle of the presser.

The transparency of the CNN decision to hide the Iranian perspective is obvious, it undercuts the Obama explanations completely. (more…)

Let there be no doubt left !

Agreement leak = Two-Thirds of Iran’s Nuclear Program will be suspended for 10 years with “monitoring”.     Wow, based on Zarif’s statements Iran got everything they wanted and the U.S. and allies got a bunch of promises.  This is incredible one-sided victory for Iran.

Update: From a VERY HAPPY Minister Zarif statement.

•  Iran keeps Frodo underground facility and will build centrifuges within it – but will not activate them.
•  Iran will continue nuclear enrichment in other facilities.
•  Iran will be allowed to develop more heavy water facilities.
•  ALL UN and U.S. Sanctions will be lifted.
•  UN sanctions lifted immediately.
•  U.S. as soon as legally possible.
•  Iran promises to wait 10 years until it builds a nuclear bomb.

[scribd id=260720986 key=key-hDp0iaPOHZOLyIZxXIOH mode=scroll]

Pres Obama says he has instructed aides to fully brief Congress and the American people on the substance of the deal. pic.twitter.com/5UpHJPJISt

— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) April 2, 2015

(more…)

From Lausanne: At 1:37AM, Secretary Kerry ends meeting with French and German Foreign Ministers; resumes US-EU talks with Iran.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) April 1, 2015

…US Secretary of State John Kerry postponed his departure from the talks for a second time and will remain through Thursday morning, the State Department said

Switzerland – French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is leaving the marathon negotiations that have gone into overtime led by the United States between world powers and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear technology activities.

A French official told France 24 today (Wednesday, April 1) that Fabius was leaving the talks and would return from France when it was “useful.”

Speaking at a joint news conference with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, French President Francois Hollande said it would be better to have no deal than a bad deal – the same opinion expressed last month by Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu while speaking to the U.S. Congress. (more…)

Democrat Senator Bob Menendez was one of the more openly public critics of the Obama administration’s acquiescence toward Iran gaining a nuclear weapon.

The negotiations are at a critical point.  Growing numbers of both Democrats and Republicans are openly criticizing the Obama/Kerry weak and inept diplomatic stumbling toward an agreement that IS NOT in the national interests of the U.S. or Allies.

How do Denis McDonough, Ben Rhodes, Valerie Jarrett and Tony Blinkin remove the oxygen from the media firestorm of criticism. Why, via Eric Holder of course.

WASHINGTON DC – Sen. Bob Menendez has been charged with using his office to improperly benefit a Florida eye doctor and political donor.

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted the New Jersey Democrat on charges including conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud.

(more…)

Yesterday the commander of the Basij militia of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards stated “erasing Israel off the map” is “nonnegotiable.” Militia chief Mohammad Reza Naqdi also threatened Saudi Arabia, saying the offensive it is leading in Yemen “will have a fate like the fate of Saddam Hussein.”

Against the backdrop of these latest threats, and with President Obama and Secretary Kerry willing to allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds:

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have been extended until Wednesday, the State Department said Tuesday.

Iran nuke talks to continue tomorrow. "We've made enough progress in the last days to merit staying until Wednesday," says @marieharf

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 31, 2015

"There are several difficult issues still remaining," says Harf in announcing extension of tonight's Iran nuke talks deadline.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 31, 2015

A few hours before the self-imposed midnight Tuesday deadline ran out, State Department acting Spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters, ‎”We’ve made enough progress in the last days to merit staying until Wednesday. There are several difficult issues still remaining.” (more…)

From within a generally well constructed New York Times article the new Mid-East normal begins to surface.  The vacuum left in the wake of Obama’s policies are leading to alignments of self interest….. And as a direct consequence a nuclear arms race. 

New York Times […] Through Egypt, a major beneficiary of Saudi aid, the kingdom is backing plans for a combined Arab military force to combat Iranian influence around the region. With another major aid recipient, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia is also expected to step up its efforts to develop a nuclear bomb, potentially setting off an arms race in the region.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, left, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, center, and the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, on Monday in Lausanne, Switzerland.

All this comes just a few weeks after the death of King Abdullah and the passing of the throne to a new ruler, King Salaman, who then installed his 34-year-old son Mohamed in the powerful dual roles of defense minister and chief of the royal court. (more…)

Al Nusra is a front for, and has openly aligned with, al-Qaeda in Syria – which is essentially ISIS.

It is not a secret that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has tried to deliver the maximum benefit to ISIS (in Northern Syria) in direct opposition to the Kurds who are trying to formulate their own independent nation of Kurdistan. Erdogan views Kurdistan as a proxy for Irans’ growing sphere of influence.

Erdogan opposes Iran for many ideological reasons, but arguably most of all because he sees Iran’s growing influence as a threat to his own political ambitions to lead a new Ottoman Empire.

In my opinion Erdogan views his envisioned construct as most possible with a constituency of: ISIS, The Muslim Brotherhood, Al Nusra (al-Qaeda) and various other segments of Sunni Islam including the Palestinian Authority, vis-à-vis Hamas. Erdogan, like Obama, has more grand aspirations than his own territory – all of his prior behavior aligns with this perspective.

So it comes as no surprise to see Turkey’s Erdogan take the opportunity provided by the distractions of both Yemen and Iraq, to act against one of Iran’s benefactors in Syria, namely Assad. (more…)

It is interesting, and not incidental, to see CNNi (CNN International) lead the shift in leftist talking points about Egyptian President Fattah el-Sisi by focusing on their collectivist opinion that el-Sisi is “a hardliner”.

However, actions -what CNN would like to avoid- of Sisi speak louder than the CNN words. Sisi has shown over the past two years his willingness to insure minority protections within Egypt yet he has simultaneously taken a zero tolerance position toward Islamic extremism.

The Muslim Brotherhood, as a political construct, is the extremist bane of all mid-East moderates. The Muslim Brotherhood is essentially the larger construct within ISIS; and yet the Muslim Brotherhood is discussed on leftist news media as if they are not a terrorist entity.

Because of the frequency and scope of this specific media narrative it simply cannot be coincidental; someone is driving this false narrative.

CAIRO (AP) – Arab League member nations formally announced on Sunday an agreement to form a joint military force. While details of how such a force would actually operate remain thin, the agreement is a telling sign of a new determination among Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies to intervene aggressively in regional hotspots, whether against Islamic militants or Iran-backed groups.

(more…)