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Secretary of State John Kerry and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson met today with Moaz al Khatib, former President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition. Mr. Khatib shared his views on ways to advance a political solution to the crisis in Syria. Secretary Kerry emphasized that Bashar al-Asad is a brutal dictator with no legitimacy to lead Syria. The Secretary reaffirmed our commitment to pursuing all diplomatic avenues to help bring about a political transition based on the Geneva Principles that leads to an inclusive government and a future of freedom, dignity, and security for the...

Day after Obama urges Iran to seize ‘historic opportunity,’ supreme leader says US seeks to create insecurity. Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei called for “Death to America” on Saturday, a day after President Barack Obama appealed to Iran to seize a “historic opportunity” for a nuclear deal and a better future, and as US Secretary of State John Kerry claimed substantial progress toward an accord. Khamenei told a crowd in Tehran that Iran would not capitulate to Western demands. When the crowd started shouting, “Death to America,” the ayatollah responded: “Of course yes, death to America, because America is the...

In addition to claiming that chants of “death to America” are proper because the U.S. is the root cause of pressure on Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei doesn’t sound open to some of the Obama administration’s negotiating points:

15 March 2015 Syria Conflict: US Wants To 'Re-ignite' Peace Talks, Says Kerry US Secretary of State John Kerry says he wants to "re-ignite" negotiations with President Bashar al-Assad to end the conflict in Syria. Speaking as the war enters its fifth year, Mr Kerry said it was "one of the worst tragedies any of us have seen". He said the international community was upping pressure on Syria's regime to hold new peace talks, saying "we have to negotiate in the end" with Mr Assad. More than 215,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the conflict.

HARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he would be willing to talk with Syrian President Bashar Assad to stem that nation's violence. In an interview with CBS News, Kerry said the U.S. is pushing for Assad to seriously discuss a transition strategy to quell the Arab country's four-year civil war. "We have to negotiate in the end," Kerry said. "And what we're pushing for is to get him to come and do that, and it may require that there be increased pressure on him of various kinds in order to do that. We've made...

Hillary’s ride to 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue just got bumpier. A judge on Friday ordered the State Department to turn over passenger manifests to Citizens United as a result of a FOIA request that State had ignored. The quick ruling appears to show that judges patience for stonewalling by the Obama administration has reached it’s limit and they no longer feel like giving them the benefit of a doubt. Those manifests could bury Hillary 2016 before it even starts. There seems to be a connection between donors to the Clinton Foundation and contracts from foreign countries receiving favorable treatment from the...

Saudi Arabia has quietly signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea, according to The Wall Street Journal, reigniting fears that U.S. nuclear negotiations with Iran might drive a Middle East nuclear arms race. The Saudi deal with South Korea will explore the feasibility of building two nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia over the next 20 years, according to the report. Saudi Arabia has consistently voiced worry over the U.S. negotiations with Iran, and has been sending signals that it will seek to develop its own nuclear technology should Iran continue with its nuclear program. The Wall Street Journal reported...

Iran Deal Secrets Revealed – by IranPosted By Kenneth R. Timmerman On March 13, 2015 @ 12:46 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 1 Comment Much is being made of the letter signed by 45 U.S. Senators, all of them Republican, aimed at schooling Iranian leaders in the requirements of the U.S. Constitution.Secretary Kerry said his reaction was “utter disbelief” that the Senators would “go behind” the back of the administration during a delicate international negotiation. Some on the American Left called it “treason,” conveniently forgetting that some of their own (including Kerry, as a junior Senator) have met with enemy...

BAGHDAD, July 21 (UPI) -- Iraqi security reportedly discovered three missiles carrying nuclear heads concealed in a concrete trench northwest of Baghdad, official sources said Wednesday. The official daily al-Sabah quoted the sources as saying the missiles were discovered in trenches near the city of Tikrit, the hometown of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "The three missiles were discovered by chance when the Iraqi security forces captured former Baath party official Khoder al-Douri who revealed during interrogation the location of the missiles saying they carried nuclear heads," the sources said. They pointed out that the missiles were actually discovered in...

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II on the sidelines of economic talks in Egypt on Friday, US officials said. The talks are likely to focus on the economic crisis facing the Palestinian Authority and could be a four-way meeting which would also include Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a State Department official said. "We continue to be concerned about the PA," the official told reporters travelling with Kerry on his plane to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. "It’s really part of the continuous, ongoing conversation we’re...

Fueled by the media narrative that a number of Republican Senators sending a letter to Iran was an act of treason, a whitehouse.gov petition to that effect has been gathering signatures and easily broke the 100,000 signature barrier that forces a response from the White House. What remains to be seen is the White House will actually give its far-left base what they want in addressing its political opposition. In fact, per this ABC report, the petition has now received over 165,000 signatures. The creator of this petition, known only by the initials C.H., alleges that the 47 senators “committed...

Secretary of State John Kerry spent five minutes of a Senate hearing excoriating a group of 47 Republicans who sent a highly unusual letter to the government of Iran warning that Congress could modify the terms of any nuclear deal it negotiates with the White House. 'This letter raises questions of judgment and policy,' he insisted, before Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker cut him off and scolded him for delivering 'a well-written speech.' 'It's not a speech! This is not a speech!' Kerry erupted. 'This is a statement about the impact of this irresponsible letter. The letter does not have...

Earlier this week, 47 Republican Senators, led by Tom Cotton of Arkansas, sent a letter to the “Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran” informing them of the process the U.S. Constitution requires when ratifying treaties or, in the words of the Obama administration, “executive agreements.” The letter emphasized that any “congressional-executive agreement requires a majority vote in both the House and the Senate” and, if not approved, any agreement would be solely between both countries’ executives. The final sentence of the letter stated, “We hope this letter enriches your knowledge of our constitutional system and promotes mutual understanding and...

Credit Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) for raising the issue. Without a letter reminding the White House, Congress and the American people that a deal must be approved by the Senate in order to be binding, we might never have learned from Secretary of State John Kerry that “we are not negotiating a legally binding plan.” Oh, really? For starters, a colleague reminds me that this was done with the North Korea Agreed Framework, negotiated by the very same U.S. diplomat, Wendy Sherman, who is handling the P5+1 deal. What then do the Iranians think they are getting? No wonder the...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday lawmakers cannot modify any nuclear agreement struck between the United States and Iran despite threats by Republican senators that they can. In congressional testimony, Kerry said he responded with "utter disbelief" at an open letter signed by 47 Republican senators that threatened to undo any nuclear agreement reached between Tehran and Washington.

Democrats and the mainstream media have used the words “traitor” and “treason” to describe a letter to Iranian leaders, drafted by freshman Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and signed by 47 Republican Senators, that warns any nuclear deal President Barack Obama signs may be voided by a future administration or Congress if it is not ratified by the Senate. Since they have brought the “t-words” into the debate, it is worth examining the case against Obama himself, which is far more damning. Obama’s explicit policy is to elevate a sworn enemy of the United States to a “regional power,” in what...

Secretary of State John Kerry says he’s in “utter disbelief” over the letter to Iranian leaders led by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and signed by 46 other Republican senators, warning any Iranian nuclear deal reached with the U.S. could be revoked by the next president or modified by Congress. “This letter ignores more than two centuries of precedent in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy,” Kerry said Wednesday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. “This risks undermining the confidence that foreign governments in thousands of important agreements commit to with the United States.” In his 29 years as...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) argued that unless a nuclear weapons deal with Iran gets the approval of Congress, the next president shouldn't be bound by that deal. His statement, sent out to reporters on Tuesday evening, comes as Senate Republicans face strong blowback for sending a letter to Iran's leaders to try and undermine the Obama administration's negotiations with the country on a nuclear weapons deal. TPM reached out to Walker's political organization, Our American Revival, asking for the governor's stance on the letter. "Republicans need to ensure that any deal President Obama reaches with Iran receives congressional review,"...

BEIRUT: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the election of a president in Lebanon hinges on the success of a nuclear deal between his country and Iran, Al-Mustaqbal newspaper claimed Sunday, however figures cited in the report later denied the diplomat made such remarks. “Diplomatic sources in Paris” told Al-Mustaqbal that Kerry informed Boulos Matar, the Maronite bishop of Beirut, during a Saturday meeting between the two in Paris that an end may be in sight to Lebanon’s nine-month-long presidential vacuum. The report claimed the meeting lasted for 45 minutes. “Washington is optimistic that a Lebanese president...

Paris (AFP) - Top US diplomat John Kerry on Saturday sought to smooth differences with France over nuclear talks with Iran, agreeing with the French that there were still gaps to overcome in the "critical weeks" ahead. The US secretary of state said it was up to Iran to prove its peaceful intentions to the world if it wants a deal on its nuclear programme ahead of the looming March 31 deadline. He was speaking to reporters after a 20-minute meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Paris where they tried to iron out their differing views on the...