Posted on 07/20/2015 10:57:50 AM PDT by xzins
Three days after the Iran nuclear agreement was announced in Vienna, Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday gave interviews to five Sunday talk shows, but none of them asked him about a puzzling inclusion in the deal of a reference to helping Iran defend its nuclear facilities against “sabotage.”
The provision, contained in one of five annexes to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), troubled critics shortly after the deal was finalized, and it began generating more controversy at the weekend, when an Israeli government minister drew attention to it on his Twitter feed.
“Bonus: Iran deal requires the world to help train Iran to protect itself against attack on facilities,” tweeted Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday.
He was pointing to a section on “nuclear security” in annex three of the JCPOA, which says that the U.S. and other negotiating partners are “prepared to cooperate with Iran on the implementation of nuclear security guidelines and best practices.”
It adds that this may include “[c]o-operation through training and workshops to strengthen Iran’s ability to protect against, and respond to nuclear security threats, including sabotage, as well as to enable effective and sustainable nuclear security and physical protection systems.”
The issue has begun to make headlines in the U.S., and in Israel, where the Hebrew-language edition of Israel Hayom’s lead story declared: “The West will help Iran to protect against nuclear sabotage.”
“Even the biggest supporters of the deal will have difficulty explaining when they read section 10 that appears on page 142 of the agreement,” said the Israeli report. “Powers, according to the section, are ready to help Iran defend against possible sabotage of its nuclear program.”
Annex 3 deals with “civil nuclear cooperation,” but Israel Hayom pointed out that the Iranians claim that their entire nuclear program is civilian.
AD FEEDBACK The paper also quoted Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz as calling the provision strange and disturbing.
Clandestine efforts to sabotage and set back an Iranian program widely believed to be a cover for development nuclear weapons capability have included cyberwarfare, notably the deployment of the Stuxnet virus that targeted nuclear facilities in 2010, as well as the assassination, allegedly by Israeli agents, of nuclear scientists.
Last October a large explosion occurred at Parchin, a military complex southeast of Tehran where Iran is suspected to have carried out nuclear-related tests. (Iranian officials said it was an accident, and unrelated to the nuclear program.)
On Friday Kerry recorded interviews for Sunday’s NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CBS “Face the Nation,” ABC’s “This Week,” CNN’s “State of the Union,” and “Fox News Sunday.” None of the interviewers asked him about the “sabotage” provision.
Kerry earlier had interviews on the Iran deal with other U.S. network programs as well as other media organizations, including MSNBC, PBS and the BBC. The sabotage clause issue was not brought up.
Last Wednesday, however, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) did raise concerns about the issue during an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
Cotton expressed optimism that Congress would reject the JCPOA, saying that “as the details come to light it’s not going to get better with time.”
“We also know that the United States has committed to helping protect Iran’s nuclear facilities from sabotage,” he said.
“What in the world could that possibly be, except trying to stop Iran -– stop us, and stop our partners, from undermining Iran’s race towards a nuclear weapon?”
The Center for Security Policy’s “IranTruth” project also highlighted the sabotage clause last week, saying that “it would appear that it commits us to help Iran develop capacities to prevent things like the STUXNET worm that delayed its nuclear program’s advances through cybernetic sabotage.”
Last May, well before the JCPOA was finalized, the media monitoring group Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) pondered whether the U.S. had made, or would make, any commitments to Iran in the talks relating to attacks against its nuclear program.
“In light of the malware attacks against their nuclear program, it seems extremely unlikely that Iranian negotiators would agree to a nuclear deal with the United States without reliable assurances that such attacks would stop,” wrote CAMERA’s Alex Safian
“Did the U.S. provide such assurances – even verbally – and did the U.S. also provide assurances that it would use its technical assets to blunt similar Israeli attacks?”
An obviously anti-Israel provision
And an opening to permit anyone to enhance Iran’s Air Defense capabilities
The best way to sabotage them in the future is to learn enough about them in the course of providing “help.”
But, I doubt that is what “O” is thinking.
Israel is probably placing Sleeper Cells threw out the world and if Israel Dies so will the Savages that caused it
Next time Ash Carter is under oath before the Senate, he should be asked to comment on the rumor that the Commanders of the US carrier task forces in the Persian Gulf are under direct Presidential orders to shoot down any Israeli planes that might attack Iran.
US carrier task forces in the Persian Gulf will be removed , Obama can’t afford it
What does an “oath” mean to the Godless?
Excellent find, dearest xzins!
EVERY U.S. Senator & Reprensative has to be held accountable!
Well then, let’s by God sabotage ‘em now!
The Israelis will still be able to screw up Iran’s nuclear program. The US will be of little help to them.
a puzzling inclusion in the deal of a reference to helping Iran defend its nuclear facilities against “sabotage.”
nothing happening here people... just keep moving along..
stopping to think about this is causing a jam up...
move along people.... move along... thats right...
Sabotage isn’t on my radar. Total destruction is.
We know what ‘training’ means.
It means all the way up to our military standing alongside their military on an ADA system saying “now push this button”.
And, of course, the wordshops will be ‘on site’.
Correction in previous post:
“Wordshops” should be “Workshops”
I’m betting, and hoping, that Israel has the best hackers.
And they’re working on nuke robotics and nuke beams.
I typo’d Representatives, too.
I’m now wearing my reading glasses!
I left off the lights in here to keep the room cooler...LOL.
Without my reading glasses, I might as well use braille.
I've been following the Iran nuclear program debate for years now. I really don't think the near panic and hyperbole in Netanyahu's words and actions is because he truly fears a nuclear attack from Iran.
The release of the billions and billions held in escrow paves the way for Iran with its oil and population (70 million people, vast majority of which are highly-educated and under the age of 35) to become the economic powerhouse of the Middle East.
Russia will certainly help bring Iran's military hardware up-to-date, so Iran also becomes a major military player--even without nuclear weapons. And Iran's allies will no doubt benefit from this.
This would be a true shift in Mideast paradigms.
For the time being I also think this is a done deal. So, I hope Israel is able to work out a deal with the US for lots more advanced weaponry. I also hope Netanyahu can exhale, take a moment and resist the urge for veiled military threats. Now is not the time.
Now is the time, IMHO, for Netanyahu to see that the status quo may be coming to an end--making now the perfect time to mend fences with the EU and the US. It may also be the perfect time for building stronger and closer relationships with other countries in the Middle East arena.
Just my $.02
I am afraid we just opened Pandora’s box. The Saudis, Egypt , etc will buy a-bombs from Pakistan and /or India and all hell will break lose. Several European countries are already eying close cooperation with Russia and want to ensure Russia will take over as protectorate from the US, at the forefront is Germany where the majority of it’s citizens don’t trust us anymore.
This of course will destroy the Euro zone as well as Nato. sadly, I see a worldwide conflict of great proportions and we are very vulnerable because we decreased our military strength and continue eroding it. I just pray we will get over the next 18 months with this administration in power. Our Millenials will not fight, they will protest in the streets against America for bigger handouts while there is nothing to give anymore.
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