Free Republic

Schumer at AIPAC 2014NY Senator Charles Schumer railed Monday against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, saying that the movement is a modern form of anti-Semitism. “It is very suspicious that those who boycott Israel don’t want to boycott anywhere else in the world,” Sen. Schumer told AIPAC. “I believe that those who call for boycotts of Israel without calling for boycotts of other neighboring nations are practicing, whether they know it or not, whether they admit it or not, a modern form of what we call anti-Semitism.” “The word that describes all of these acts is a very simple one:...

The European Union voted on Thursday to impose sanctions against those held responsible for the violence in Ukraine. The sanctions, unanimously approved by EU foreign ministers at an emergency meeting, include a travel ban to the 28-nation bloc and the freezing of assets held in EU countries. The sanctions will target “those responsible for human rights violations, violence and use of excessive force” in Ukraine, the EU said in a statement. It said the bloc will soon establish a list of those who will be affected by the sanctions. …

U.S. President Barack Obama declared this week that he would come down “like a ton of bricks” on firms that violate the sanctions that have been placed on Iran, but the Iranians do not appear to be threatened by the comments. In fact, a host on an Iranian television program mocked Obama’s threat on Thursday, and suggested that the American president take “one brick and knock it against his head.” […] Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali, Khamenei recently threatened the United States, suggesting that the Americans “exercise self-restraint,” after Secretary of State John Kerry said the military option was still...

Iranian Warships Headed To US Represent Threat To IsraelBy Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem — February 12, 2014 ... Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the graduation ceremony for the IDF Ground Forces officer training course and made the following remarks: "Today, Iran is marking 35 years since the Islamic Revolution and this 'celebration' has been marked by repeated calls for Israel's destruction. The desire to cut the Jewish People off from its homeland did not pass from the world with the establishment of the state. What has changed is our ability to oppose those who seek our lives and...

This is coming from inside Obama’s own administration. It’s not Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld talking. And still Obama insists on pandering to Iran, letting it go nuclear and accusing skeptics of seeking war. The Obama administration charged that Tehran has allowed senior al Qaeda members operating from Iranian soil to facilitate the movement of Sunni fighters into Syria.The allegation by the Treasury Department on Thursday would suggest that elements of Iran’s government or military were at least tacitly supporting the opposing sides of Syria’s civil war.Iranian officials denied the accusations, saying Washington was harming diplomatic efforts aimed at ending...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning Congress that new unilateral sanctions against Iran could upend sensitive international negotiations over its nuclear development, imploring lawmakers to work with the Obama administration in presenting a unified front to Tehran. Echoing President Barack Obama’s deep concerns about another round of tough economic penalties, Clinton said any congressional action could undercut U.S. work with its allies as well as American influence with Russia and China in forcing Tehran to negotiate after years of inconclusive talks. …

Iran on Thursday dismissed as “unrealistic and unconstructive” comments by President Barack Obama that international sanctions linked to its nuclear program had forced Tehran to the negotiating table, AFP reported. “The delusion of sanctions having an effect on Iran’s motivation for nuclear negotiations is based on a false narration of history,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Obama said that U.S. and international pressure had led to the interim deal struck in November between Iran and six global powers, under which Tehran agreed to...

Any new economic sanctions that Congress tries to impose against Iran during international negotiations to limit the Islamic republic’s nuclear program will be vetoed, President Barack Obama warned lawmakers on Tuesday, even as he acknowledged the ongoing talks are difficult and may not succeed. It was the sharpest part of a State of the Union speech that overall was skimpy on details for his foreign policy agenda for the year.Obama also briefly re-affirmed his promises to end the war in Afghanistan this year, pursue al-Qaida with limited strikes and support Syrian opposition groups in their bloody three-year quest to push...

Through his "charm offensive," Iranian President Rouhani got a "deal" with the P5+1 negotiators to diminish and then eliminate sanctions without significantly reducing Iran's ability to develop nukes. Today, Press TV posted an article titled Zionists seek wars of aggression. Charmin Works!Press TV is a 24-hour English language news organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran. . . . Press TV is state-funded[11] and is a division of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The Press TV article purports to be an "approximate transcript" of an interview with "Kevin Barrett, editor with Veterans Today, Madison," Wisconsin, about Western threats...

The White House has been exploring ways to circumvent Congress and unilaterally lift sanctions on Iran once a final nuclear agreement is reached, according to sources with knowledge of White House conversations and congressional insiders familiar with its strategy. The issue of sanctions relief has become one of the key sticking points in the Iran debate, with lawmakers pushing for increased economic penalties and the White House fighting to roll back regulations. While many in Congress insist that only the legislative branch can legally repeal sanctions, senior White House officials have been examining strategies to skirt Congress, according to those...

President Obama urged Congress on Monday to "give diplomacy a chance," imploring lawmakers to hold off on additional sanctions against Iran as negotiators seek to take advantage of a six-month interim deal. "It's going to be difficult, it's going to be challenging, but ultimately this is how diplomacy should work," Obama said, adding that the negotiating window formalized over the weekend should give world powers "the time and space" they need to formalize a permanent deal with Tehran. "My preference is for peace and diplomacy, and this is one of the reasons why I've sent the message to Congress that...

Even after the secret deals revealed by several outlets including The Washington Times between President Barack Obama and the Islamic Republic of Iran, President Obama continues to urge the international community and American people to place trust in the Iranian regime regarding its nuclear ambitions and economic sanctions. It is crucial to examine some of the recent underlying human rights records in Iran, which have surprisingly not elicited any criticism from the liberal politicians, and have gone untold in the liberal media. This raises an intriguing issue, as President Obama has not mentioned or even condemned the Islamists in Tehran...

Iran and Russia are negotiating an oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month that would let Iran lift oil exports substantially, in defiance of Western sanctions that helped force Tehran to agree a preliminary deal to end its nuclear program. Russian and Iranian sources close to the barter negotiations said final details were in discussion for a deal that would see Moscow buy up to 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil in exchange for Russian equipment and goods. "Good progress is being made at the moment with strong chances of success," said a Russian source. "We are discussing the...

As of Thursday, the tally of senators officially throwing their support behind the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act was up to 56 — news with which the White House was most put out. “If certain members of Congress want the United States to take military action, they should be up front with the American public and say so,” Bernadette Meehan, National Security Council spokeswoman, said in a statement. “Otherwise, it’s not clear why any member of Congress would support a bill that possibly closes the door on diplomacy and makes it more likely that the United States will have to...

Rodman Brings Bread and Circuses to Pyongyang 8:16 AM, Jan 7, 2014 • By DENNIS P. HALPIN .... The bread being brought by Rodman to accompany the circus is allegedly in the form of luxury birthday gifts for the North Korean dictator and his wife. Rodman seems oblivous to North Korea’s near starvation of its people, human rights atrocities, gulags, and nuclear and missile adventurism, and appears equally unconcerned that providing Pyongyang with any luxury goods is a violation of the sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2094, adopted on March 7, 2013, and previous resolutions .....

One of Turkey’s largest-ever corruption investigations is underway. A public bank CEO, an Iranian businessman and the sons of the freshly resigned interior and economy ministers are among the 24 suspects arrested so far, pending trial. The Iranian businessman allegedly circumvented sanctions against Iran and sent millions of dollars to the country via Halkbank by bribing the CEO as well as the ministers through their sons. /// In a series of daily speeches after the operation began, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasted the probe and the investigators. He branded the probe a “dirty operation” and the policemen in charge...

Iran's parliament is gearing up to retaliate against any move by Congress in the new year to pass additional sanctions against Tehran. More than a third of Iran's legislative body has signed on to a bill that would ignore a six-month interim agreement with the U.S. and accelerate the country's nuclear development if Congress passes a new round of sanctions. Signed by more than 100 members of Ian's parliament, the measure would call for an increase in uranium enrichment to 60-percent purity from the current levels of 20 percent. Contrary to the deal with the U.S., it would also require...

Unable to ignore millions of cancellation letters and a rare presidential apology, fact-checkers at PolitiFact and the Washington Post designated “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it” as 2013's “Lie of the Year.” Repelled by Obamacare's deceptive sales tactics, Americans dread its fallout, but know our system allows us to think again. We can repeal and replace bad laws. But we can't reverse the fallout from Iranian nukes, which explains President Kennedy's warning that while “domestic policy can defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.” It also explains the backlash from allies and Congress to the...

More than a quarter of the Senate defied President Barack Obama on Thursday by introducing legislation that could raise sanctions on Iran, and compel the United States to support Israel if it launches a pre-emptive attack on the Iranian nuclear program. The bill, sponsored by 13 Democrats and 13 Republicans, sets sanctions that would go into effect if Tehran violates the nuclear deal it reached with world powers last month or lets it expire without a long-term accord. The measures include a global boycott on Iranian oil exports within one year and the blacklisting of Iran’s mining, engineering and construction...

Lawmakers in the United States continue to show determination in passing new sanctions on Iran, despite the nuclear deal that was reached with it several weeks ago. Reuters reported on Monday that two senators are preparing legislation to impose new sanctions on the Islamic Republic in six months if the interim deal on its nuclear program goes nowhere. The Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Robert Menendez, and Republican Senator Mark Kirk are close to agreeing on legislation that would target Iran's remaining oil exports, foreign exchange reserves and strategic industries, their aides said on Monday, according to...