Posted on 03/26/2015 4:24:13 PM PDT by xzins
LAUSSANE, Switzerland—The Obama administration is giving in to Iranian demands about the scope of its nuclear program as negotiators work to finalize a framework agreement in the coming days, according to sources familiar with the administration’s position in the negotiations.
U.S. negotiators are said to have given up ground on demands that Iran be forced to disclose the full range of its nuclear activities at the outset of a nuclear deal, a concession experts say would gut the verification the Obama administration has vowed would stand as the crux of a deal with Iran.
Until recently, the Obama administration had maintained that it would guarantee oversight on Tehran’s program well into the future, and that it would take the necessary steps to ensure that oversight would be effective. The issue has now emerged as a key sticking point in the talks.
Concern from sources familiar with U.S. concessions in the talks comes amid reports that Iran could be permitted to continue running nuclear centrifuges at an underground site once suspected of housing illicit activities.
This type of concession would allow Iran to continue work related to its nuclear weapons program, even under the eye of international inspectors. If Iran removes inspectors—as it has in the past—it would be left with a nuclear infrastructure immune from a strike by Western forces.
“Once again, in the face of Iran’s intransigence, the U.S. is leading an effort to cave even more toward Iran—this time by whitewashing Tehran’s decades of lying about nuclear weapons work and current lack of cooperation with the [International Atomic Energy Agency],” said one Western source briefed on the talks but who was not permitted to speak on record.
With the White House pressing to finalize a deal, U.S. diplomats have moved further away from their demands that Iran be subjected to oversight over its nuclear infrastructure.
“Instead of ensuring that Iran answers all the outstanding questions about the past and current military dimensions of their nuclear work in order to obtain sanctions relief, the U.S. is now revising down what they need to do,” said the source. “That is a terrible mistake—if we don’t have a baseline to judge their past work, we can’t tell if they are cheating in the future, and if they won’t answer now, before getting rewarded, why would they come clean in the future?”
The United States is now willing to let Iran keep many of its most controversial military sites closed to inspectors until international sanctions pressure has been lifted, according to sources.
This scenario has been criticized by nuclear experts, including David Albright, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security.
Albright told Congress in November that “a prerequisite for any comprehensive agreement is for the IAEA to know when Iran sought nuclear weapons, how far it got, what types it sought to develop, and how and where it did this work.”
“The IAEA needs a good baseline of Iran’s military nuclear activities, including the manufacturing of equipment for the program and any weaponization related studies, equipment, and locations,” Albright said.
One policy expert familiar with the concessions told the Washington Free Beacon that it would be difficult for the administration to justify greater concessions given the centrality of this issue in the broader debate.
“The Obama administration has gone all-in on the importance of verification,” said the source, who asked for anonymity because the administration has been known to retaliate against critics in the policy community. “But without knowing what the Iranians have it’s impossible for the IAEA to verify that they’ve given it up.”
A lesser emphasis is also being placed on Iran coming clean about its past efforts to build nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic continues to stall United Nations efforts to determine the extent of its past weapons work, according to the Wall Street Journal.
By placing disclosure of Iran’s past military efforts on the back burner, the administration could harm the ability of outside inspectors to take full inventory of Iran’s nuclear know-how, according to sources familiar with the situation.
It also could jeopardize efforts to keep Iran at least one year away from building a bomb, sources said.
On the diplomatic front, greater concessions are fueling fears among U.S. allies that Iran will emerge from the negations as a stronger regional power.
Israel can’t hit Iran. Iraq would not let them overfly, and our own forces would be told to engage them.
Saud has expressed interest in letting Israeli jets refuel in the Kingdom, but if they do that the King might face a lot of internal pressure. Still, they are taking a more active role now.
More than likely you will see Saud buying their own nukes, and Israel going open as a nuclear power.
“Good point. At least s is useful for growing rice.”
Yup. And for growing lawns and for making biogas fuel and I read just yesterday that there is some comsideration being given to removing the metals from it. We could only hope that dear leader will some day aspire to be as useful as a big steaming pile of s!!!.
Why couldn’t the Saudis allow Israel to refuel from tankers over the Persian Gulf? Does Israel even have that capacity?
What is Obama claiming we are getting out of this deal?
I don’t think so. Saudi doesn’t have the jets. And I doubt Iran would just let them.
Israel might have cruise missiles that could hit them from a sub.
Israel has some 707 tankers. Probably not enough.
There was a time when Americans were known ‘round the world as sharp negotiators and hard to get the best of in a deal.
Now our government officials are idiots and known ‘round the world as suckers and pushovers.
With their negotiating skills, if they were real prostitutes selling sex instead of political whores selling the country out, they would end up paying their Johns.
Fundamental Transformation.
At this point I’m surprised Obola hasn’t just given them a nuke
Saudi Arabia needs to get some nukes and delivery systems ASAP. Same with Egypt. Obama is selling out everybody to Iran.
Obama gets to brag from now til eternity about his "historic" deal with Iran. The MSM, Hollywood and half the population will continue to be impressed with his greatness.
This is as good a deal as trading 5 Taliban commanders for one defector!
Did anyone really think this would turn out any different with Obama and Kerry in charge?
But what is the US allegedly getting out of this “historic” deal specifically?
This is about dumping the sanctions, nothing more.
The USA gets to bask in the greatness of Obama for making this historic deal. Asking any more questions would be racist.
Old Yeller, I’ve often wondered about the same thing. Soros, Obama, Jarrett, Holder and their puppet masters and internationalist henchmen and henchwomen seem committed to taking down the USA, the “kingdom of balance.” Are they so ideologically driven and suicidally crazed as not to realize that if they succeed, the power vacuum will create global chaos and likely nuclear holocaust? Where will Obama and his minions and lover Reggie lay their heads at night then? In an underground enclave a thousand feet below ground level where they live like Morlochs?
over to you, Bibi.
From an administration that paid 5 billion and released five Taliban generals to get back one traitor, this seems a step forward. Of course, diplomats will blame congress for these rotten terms. It is all their fault...
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