14 july 2015
Motorists honk horns, wave victory signs, brandish posters of President Hassan Rouhani; 'A first step to becoming a friend with the world'.
Young Iranian men and women danced in streets in parts of Tehran and motorists honked car horns to cheer an historic nuclear accord with world powers they hope will end years of economic sanctions and decades of international isolation.
Millions of Iranians had followed the talks closely for months with the anticipation that Tuesday's deal would allow the economy, battered by years of sanctions, to stabilise and make their daily lives easier. In the capital's affluent north, motorists played loud music from car stereos and young people blew South African-style 'vuvuzela' horns, scenes that Tehran normally witnesses only when the country qualifies the football World Cup.
Young Iranian men and women danced in streets in parts of Tehran and motorists honked car horns to cheer an historic nuclear accord with world powers they hope will end years of economic sanctions and decades of international isolation.
Millions of Iranians had followed the talks closely for months with the anticipation that Tuesday's deal would allow the economy, battered by years of sanctions, to stabilise and make their daily lives easier. In the capital's affluent north, motorists played loud music from car stereos and young people blew South African-style 'vuvuzela' horns, scenes that Tehran normally witnesses only when the country qualifies the football World Cup.
Residents said police turned a blind eye to the festivities, and some even joined in. A woman in Vanak Square in north Tehran told Reuters by phone that people were buying sweets and handing them out on the streets.
Some young people draped the national flag over their shoulders, brandished posters of President Hassan Rouhani, made victory signs and shouted "Rouhani, thank you!"
Some carried posters bearing the words "Never give up on hope", a slogan associated with Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of two opposition politicians placed under house arrest in 2011 after protests by their supporters were crushed by the state. Residents said public festivities were more subdued in less well-off south and east Tehran.
A news conference announcing the deal achieved in marathon talks in Vienna was broadcast live on state TV. So was a speech by US President Barack Obama, an event almost inconceivable until recent months. Iranians gathered around TVs at home and in shops to watch it.
'Friend with the world'
Some young people draped the national flag over their shoulders, brandished posters of President Hassan Rouhani, made victory signs and shouted "Rouhani, thank you!"
Some carried posters bearing the words "Never give up on hope", a slogan associated with Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of two opposition politicians placed under house arrest in 2011 after protests by their supporters were crushed by the state. Residents said public festivities were more subdued in less well-off south and east Tehran.
A news conference announcing the deal achieved in marathon talks in Vienna was broadcast live on state TV. So was a speech by US President Barack Obama, an event almost inconceivable until recent months. Iranians gathered around TVs at home and in shops to watch it.
'Friend with the world'
"This is a first step to becoming a friend with the world," Bahar Ghorbani, 36, a housewife who lives in Isfahan said.
"I think the biggest achievement of the nuclear deal is the victory of logic and dialogue over warmongering and violence," she said, contacted over Facebook.
The deal will mean an end to sanctions which have caused economic hardship, particularly over the past three years when Tehran was stripped of access to the international financial system, making it difficult to sell oil and pay for imports.
It was a triumph for Rouhani, a pragmatist elected overwhelmingly two years ago on a promise to reduce the isolation of the country of 80 million people. "Today is the end to acts of tyranny against our nation and the start of cooperation with the world," Rouhani said in a televised address. Voters who backed him said they now felt vindicated.
"Now people can see the result of their votes," Behrouz Janfada, head of an IT department at an education institute, told Reuters from Tehran. "Rouhani promised to solve the nuclear issue in his electoral campaign, people elected him and he managed to save Iran from the sanctions and the threat of a war. That brings hope, and the feeling that you have a say."
'Death to America' just last week
"I think the biggest achievement of the nuclear deal is the victory of logic and dialogue over warmongering and violence," she said, contacted over Facebook.
The deal will mean an end to sanctions which have caused economic hardship, particularly over the past three years when Tehran was stripped of access to the international financial system, making it difficult to sell oil and pay for imports.
It was a triumph for Rouhani, a pragmatist elected overwhelmingly two years ago on a promise to reduce the isolation of the country of 80 million people. "Today is the end to acts of tyranny against our nation and the start of cooperation with the world," Rouhani said in a televised address. Voters who backed him said they now felt vindicated.
"Now people can see the result of their votes," Behrouz Janfada, head of an IT department at an education institute, told Reuters from Tehran. "Rouhani promised to solve the nuclear issue in his electoral campaign, people elected him and he managed to save Iran from the sanctions and the threat of a war. That brings hope, and the feeling that you have a say."
'Death to America' just last week
Hatred towards the United States remains a basic tenet of Iran's ruling system, on display just last week during an annual protest day that saw large crowds across Iran chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".
Hardliners expressed doubt about the nuclear deal and had reservations about celebrations by reformists. "This issue that a nuclear celebration will be taken over by only one faction will cause splits in society," said Hojatoleslam Hossein Sobhaninia, a senior cleric and parliamentarian, in an interview with the Fars News agency.
A police spokesman in Tehran said authorities would not intervene in the celebrations as long as no laws or religious morals were being violated. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has endorsed the negotiations but has yet to speak about the deal itself.
Abbas Abdi, an influential reformist politician, told Reuters by telephone he did not mind suspending much of Iran's nuclear work to reach out to the world. "The important part for me is that Iran has came to a mutual understanding with the world, and is not humiliated," said Abdi, one of the students who attacked the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days, a crisis that ended the relations of the two countries.
But not everyone was keen to party. Nassim, a 42-year-old graphic designer who said he struggled to make ends meet as an artist, said he would not celebrate until he saw improvements in his own life.
"I didn't go to the streets. It's like World Cup celebrations. What's in it for me?" he said. "Tehran's streets are full of expensive convertible cars. That's the effect of sanctions. Those who had money got richer, and the poor are still poor and will remain poor."
Hardliners expressed doubt about the nuclear deal and had reservations about celebrations by reformists. "This issue that a nuclear celebration will be taken over by only one faction will cause splits in society," said Hojatoleslam Hossein Sobhaninia, a senior cleric and parliamentarian, in an interview with the Fars News agency.
A police spokesman in Tehran said authorities would not intervene in the celebrations as long as no laws or religious morals were being violated. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has endorsed the negotiations but has yet to speak about the deal itself.
Abbas Abdi, an influential reformist politician, told Reuters by telephone he did not mind suspending much of Iran's nuclear work to reach out to the world. "The important part for me is that Iran has came to a mutual understanding with the world, and is not humiliated," said Abdi, one of the students who attacked the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days, a crisis that ended the relations of the two countries.
But not everyone was keen to party. Nassim, a 42-year-old graphic designer who said he struggled to make ends meet as an artist, said he would not celebrate until he saw improvements in his own life.
"I didn't go to the streets. It's like World Cup celebrations. What's in it for me?" he said. "Tehran's streets are full of expensive convertible cars. That's the effect of sanctions. Those who had money got richer, and the poor are still poor and will remain poor."
Prime minister says Washington was planning to normalize ties with Tehran even before he came into office; Israel's security cabinet unanimously rejects deal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Tuesday evening that his strained relations with US President Barack Obama had no effect on the nuclear agreement signed between world powers and Iran.
"The political claims being made that my personal relationship with President Obama had any bearings on the nuclear agreement - are baseless," Netanyahu said.
"Even before I entered my job as prime minister, there were intentions in the American administration to normalize relations with Iran. After that, the US launched secret negotiations with Iran later became public," he added.
The prime minister and the American president spoke on the phone following the deal's signing.
"I spoke with US President Barack Obama and expressed to him Israel's two major concerns after having examined the agreement," he said.
"1. The agreement allows Iran to develop extensive capabilities which will enable it to arm itself with nuclear weapons, whether that be in 10 or 15 years at the end of the agreement's term, or if Iran violates the agreement before then.
"2. The agreement pumps hundreds of billions of dollars into Iran's terrorist and war machine, a machine that is turned against us and others in the region," Netanyahu went on to say.
The prime minister said Israel's security cabinet discussed the agreement and unanimously voted to reject it.
"Right now we have one mission - to ensure that Iran will not arm itself with nuclear weapons later on," he said, noting that when "faced with such a task, we must not engage in petty politics, false accusations. This is the time to unite and form a united front on a fateful question regarding the future of Israel."
"In any case, we will continue to defend ourselves, by ourselves, against anyone who threatens to destroy us," he concluded.
Tuesday night's statement was the third Netayahu made following the signing of the deal. Earlier, he made a statement in English, stressing that Israel is not bound by the international nuclear agreement with Iran, and that it reserves the right to defend itself.
He stated the world was now a "much more dangerous place" and criticized the agreement as a "stunning historic mistake."
Netanyahu asserted that the deal gives Iran every incentive not to change. By not dismantling the nuclear program, the deal will give "an unrepentant" and "far richer" Iranian regime more regional power, the prime minister said.
He said that by removing sanctions, the deal will "reward the terrorist regime in Iran" with hundreds of billions of dollars to support a worldwide terrorism network.
"This cash bonanza will fuel Iran's terrorism worldwide, its aggression in the region and its efforts to destroy Israel, which are ongoing," the prime minister noted.
He also said it "repeats the mistakes" of an earlier international agreement with North Korea, in which international inspections failed to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapons capability.
"There too we were assured that inspections and verifications would prevent a rogue regime from developing nuclear weapons. And we all know how that ended," Netanyahu said.
Kerry: Netanyahu 'way over the top' on Iran nuclear deal
US diplomat says Israel 'is safer' thanks to agreement, noting critics of deal 'never offer a realistic alternative'; Obama calls Netanyahu to talk about deal.
US Secretary of State John Kerry lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night, saying the Israeli leader's claims about the nuclear deal signed with Iran were "way over the top."
"This is under attack by people who really don't know the terms of the agreement," Kerry told NBC News. "What the critics of this plan never offer... is a realistic alternative," he said, displaying evident frustration. "It's wrong for people to think this doesn't have long-term accountability."
Netanyahu dubbed the agreement a "stunning historic mistake," saying the world was now a "much more dangerous place" as a result. Kerry rejected these comments, saying, Netanyahu "said the same thing about the interim agreement, and he was wrong.
The fact is that he's been practically making comments that are way over the top. He doesn't even know what the concessions are that we have not engaged in, because we haven't made concessions." "Israel is safer," the top American diplomat determined.
Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.
Iran will mothball for at least a decade the majority of its centrifuges used to enrich uranium and sharply reduce its low-enriched uranium stockpile.
US President Barack Obama hailed the deal as a step toward a "more hopeful world."
"This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction," Obama said. "We should seize it."
Obama called Netanyahu on Tuesday, telling him that the Iran nuclear deal won't lessen US concerns about Iran's support for terrorism and its threats toward Israel.
Obama reiterated that the deal, in his view, will prevent Iran from becoming nuclear-armed, which is of interest to both the US and Israel, and said a planned visit to Israel next week by US Defense Secretary Ash Carter is a reflection of the high level of security cooperation between the two allies.
Iran deal faces fight in US Congress but will likely survive
Congress has 60 days to review deal; chances of a 'resolution of disapproval' that would cripple the deal are slim; Obama vows to veto any bill Congress passes to block deal.
The nuclear deal between world powers and Iran starts a new phase of intense negotiation - this time between the Obama administration and the US Congress, where some Republicans have long been working to sink an agreement.
Any effort in Congress to overturn the deal will face an uphill fight. Republicans have majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate, but they would need the support of dozens of President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats to sustain a "resolution of disapproval" that could cripple a deal. The chances of that happening are slim.
A resolution of disapproval would need only the Republican majority to pass the House, but would require the votes of at least six Democrats to get the 60 to advance in the Senate. The chances of mustering enough votes to then overrule an Obama veto are slimmer still.
Obama vowed on Tuesday that he would veto any bill Congress passed that would prevent implementation of the Iran agreement. Nancy Pelosi, who leads the Democrats in the House and spoke to Obama last night, praised him in a statement. "I commend the president for his strength throughout the historic negotiations that have led to this point," she said, promising Congress would "closely review" details of the agreement.
US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called the new deal with Iran an "important moment" and said that based on what she knows now it is a step toward curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"This does put a lid on the nuclear program but we still have a lot of concern about the bad behavior and the actions by Iran, which remains the largest state-sponsor of terrorism, which does go after and undermine governments in the regions, that poses an existential threat to Israel, that unfairly, unlawfully confines and tries Americans on trumped up charges. That bad behavior is something we have to address," she told reporters.
Senate Democrats have stood firm to date against Republican-led efforts to interfere with the talks, which included Iran and the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.
In the House, more than 150 Democrats, including Pelosi, signed a letter in May strongly supporting the nuclear negotiations. Harry Reid, the US Senate Democratic leader, said on Tuesday the Iran nuclear agreement is the result of years of hard work by President Barack Obama and his administration in a brief statement that did not support or criticize the deal.
"Now it is incumbent on Congress to review this agreement with the thoughtful, level-headed process an agreement of this magnitude deserves," Reid said.
"I was skeptical at the beginning of this process, and I remain skeptical of the Iranians," said Rep. Steve Israel, the highest ranking Jewish Democrat in the House. "In the fall, there will be a vote on this deal, and my obligation is to review every word, sentence and paragraph of the deal to ensure it satisfies my continued concerns."
Leading Republicans slam deal
Leading Republicans harshly criticized the deal. John Boehner, the speaker of the House, said Obama had abandoned his own goals for the negotiations and promised to fight a bad deal. "Instead of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, this deal is likely to fuel a nuclear arms race around the world," he said in a statement.
"If it's as bad a deal as I think it is, we're going to do everything we can to stop it," Boehner said.
Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush called the deal "dangerous, deeply flawed and short sighted."
He said the agreement merely consolidates the grip on power of "violent revolutionary clerics who rule Tehran with an iron fist." Bush said the agreement is not diplomacy, but "appeasement."
US Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said he expected Congress to vote against the Iran nuclear deal, saying the agreement undermines US security.
"I have said from the beginning of this process that I would not support a deal with Iran that allows the mullahs to retain the ability to develop nuclear weapons, threaten Israel, and continue their regional expansionism and support for terrorism," Rubio said in a statement.
"Based on what we know thus far, I believe that this deal undermines our national security."
Republican presidential contender Chris Christie hopes Congress will reject the Iran nuclear deal. The New Jersey governor said the deal will lead to a nuclear Iran and Middle East, threatens Israel and the US, and "turns 70 years of nuclear policy on its head."
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the agreement seemed to retain "flawed" elements of a temporary nuclear deal that has been in place between Tehran and world powers.
But the Senate's top Republican promised a thorough review. "The test of the agreement should be whether it leaves our country and our allies safer," he said in a statement.
When asked about the chances of passing a "resolution of disapproval", Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters: "I understand the heavy lift that's involved."
Corker said the committee would review it closely and he would begin "from a place of deep skepticism" about whether the agreement actually meets the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Obama in May signed a law, authored by Corker, giving Congress the right to review the agreement and potentially sink it by passing a disapproval resolution that would eliminate the president's ability to waive sanctions passed by Congress.
Easing sanctions is an integral part of the deal, under which Iran will curtail its nuclear program.
Under the Iran Review Act, lawmakers have 60 days to review the agreement and decide whether to seek a resolution of disapproval. During that period, plus an additional 22 days in which Obama could veto a resolution and Congress could try to override it, Obama cannot waive the congressional sanctions.
A veto override would require a two-thirds majority in both houses - or 13 Democrats along with all 54 Republicans in the Senate, and 43 Democrats plus as all 236 House Republicans.
Party leaders have said there is no guarantee every Republican would back a disapproval resolution. Sanctions passed by Congress account for the overwhelming majority of those imposed by the United States. US sanctions are especially important to the international sanctions regime because of the country's influence on global trade and banking.
'Congress gave away its power'
The congressionally mandated sanctions can be temporarily waived by the president for national security reasons, which he would do under the deal with Iran. That waiver ability stays in place unless Congress is able not just to pass a disapproval resolution, but override Obama's expected veto of it.
"Congress gave away its power by granting national security waivers with all of these sanctions," Corker said. Congressional leaders have already begun briefings and hearings on the Iran deal. Aides said they want to decide on a course of action this month. Obama administration officials have held hundreds of meetings and briefings for lawmakers and aides in the past four months.
Those efforts are expected to intensify now with a deal. Acknowledging the difficulty of passing a disapproval resolution, some lawmakers suggest Congress would do better to consider, and then reject, a "resolution of approval." Defeating such a resolution by a large margin would not affect the sanctions regime, but would send a strong message that the United States is not united behind a "bad"
Iran pact and was prepared to act if Iran made moves toward building a bomb, they said. Lawmakers from both parties acknowledged that the debate will not end with the review period this year. Some Republicans have discussed passing legislation to impose more sanctions over Iran's human rights record or for supporting terrorism.
The Iran Review Act requires the president, Obama and his successor after the 2016 election, to regularly certify that Tehran is adhering to terms of a deal. There is no guarantee a Republican president, in particular, would do so. Several GOP White House hopefuls have expressed skepticism about the deal.
Nuclear deal strikes talk of Nobel Peace Prize to Iran, US
Deal could fit pattern of nuclear-themed peace prizes in years ending in '5,' but it may prove hard to reward Washington six years after Obama won the prize, or inappropriate to honor Tehran, a member of the 'axis of evil'.
A nuclear deal clinched between Iran and six major world powers that caps more than a decade of negotiations has stoked talk of a joint Nobel Peace Prize for Tehran and Washington this year, despite the likelihood of strong objections from some quarters.
US President Barack Obama, who won the prize in 2009 for promoting nuclear non-proliferation, hailed the Iran deal on Tuesday as a step towards a "more hopeful world". But Israel pledged to try to halt an "historic surrender". Awarding the prestigious award to Washington and Tehran would fit a pattern of nuclear-themed peace prizes in years ending in '5', commemorating the bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
"I think the work of the Nobel Committee ... this year just got much easier," former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt tweeted after the Iranian deal was announced. But many doubts remain over the appropriateness of honoring Iran, which does not recognize Israel and backs its foes, faces regular international criticism over human rights and was long denounced by Washington as a member of an "axis of evil". It may also prove hard to reward Washington just six years after Obama won the prize in the early days of his presidency, a decision widely decried at the time as unjustified. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has led the US team in the talks with Iran, may be deemed too close to Obama to win.
"There are serious limitations when it comes to an Iranian candidate and a US candidate," Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, told Reuters. "But I am sure it will be seriously considered by the Norwegian Nobel Committee."
'Worthy candidates'
Asle Sveen, a Norwegian historian and expert on the prize, said the Nobel committee was also likely to be tracking peace efforts between Colombia's government and Marxist guerrillas. "We will have two worthy candidates if everything goes right with both deals," he told Reuters. Harpviken said there would be significant misgivings about honoring Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif or President Hassan Rouhani.
It is not only Israel that views Iran as a mortal threat to its security and to regional peace. Allies of Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia have fought decades of sectarian proxy wars in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. But some noted the recurring nuclear theme in prizes handed out at 10-yearly intervals in memory of Hiroshima.
The International Atomic Energy Agency won in 2005, ban-the-bomb scientist Joseph Rotblat in 1995, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in 1985 and Soviet human rights campaigner and nuclear scientist Andrei Sakharov in 1975. Other tips for the 2015 prize, among 276 candidates, have included a Russian newspaper critical of President Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis.
Iranian and US officials would be eligible if they were on the list when nominations closed in February. Thousands of people including members of national parliaments, former winners and some academics are eligible to submit nominations.
Nuclear deal with Iran: The main points
Iran to reduce centrifuges from almost 20,000 to 6,104; reduce stockpile of enriched-uranium from five tons to 300 kg; convert Fordow into research center.
After 18 days of intense and often fractious negotiation, world powers and Iran struck a landmark deal Tuesday to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions - an agreement designed to avert the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and another US military intervention in the Muslim world. Here are the main points.
Enrichment: Iran will reduce the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges it has from almost 20,000 to 6,104, and reduce the number of those in use from nearly 10,000 to half that. It also commits to using only its current models, rather than more advanced centrifuges it had wanted to install.
Stockpile: Iran committed to reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium from about five tons to 300 kilograms (less than 700 pounds) for 15 years. US officials say that at this level it would take Iran more than a year to enrich enough uranium for a nuclear weapon.
Underground site: Iran committed to convert its Fordow enrichment site - dug deep into a mountainside and thought impervious to air attack - into a research center.
Transparency: Iran will give more access to its nuclear program to the UN nuclear agency. If that agency identifies a suspicious site, an arbitration panel with a Western majority will decide whether Iran has to give the agency access within 24 days.
Reactors and reprocessing: Iran must redesign its nearly built reactor at Arak so it can't produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Sanctions: All US and European Union nuclear-related sanctions will be suspended after experts have verified that Iran is hewing to its commitments. If at any time Iran fails to fulfill its obligations, those sanctions will snap back into place. An arms embargo will stand for five years and restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile programs for eight. Iran will get some access to currently restricted sensitive technologies.
Iran's compromises
Iran agreed to the continuation of a UN arms embargo on the country for up to five more years, though it could end earlier if the International Atomic Energy Agency definitively clears Iran of any current work on nuclear weapons. A similar condition was put on UN restrictions on the transfer of ballistic missile technology to Tehran, which could last for up to eight more years, according to diplomats.
Washington had sought to maintain the ban on Iran importing and exporting weapons, concerned that an Islamic Republic flush with cash from the nuclear deal would expand its military assistance for Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other forces opposing America's Mideast allies such as Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Iranian leaders insisted the embargo had to end as their forces combat regional scourges such as the Islamic State. And they got some support from China and particularly Russia, which wants to expand military cooperation and arms sales to Tehran, including the long-delayed transfer of S-300 advanced air defense systems - a move long opposed by the United States.
Another significant agreement will allow UN inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties, something the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had long vowed to oppose. However, access isn't guaranteed and could be delayed, a condition that critics of the deal are sure to seize on as possibly giving Tehran time to cover up any illicit activity.
Under the accord, which runs almost 100 pages, Tehran would have the right to challenge the UN request and an arbitration board composed of Iran and the six world powers would then decide on the issue. The IAEA also wants the access to complete its long-stymied investigation of past weapons work by Iran, and the US says Iranian cooperation is needed for all economic sanctions to be lifted.
IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said Tuesday his agency and Iran had signed a "roadmap" to resolve outstanding concerns, hopefully by mid-December.
Implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement Following is a summary the timeline for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed between Iran and six major powers on July 14. There are no specific dates. It begins "upon conclusion of the negotiations".
Finalization Day:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Tuesday evening that his strained relations with US President Barack Obama had no effect on the nuclear agreement signed between world powers and Iran.
"The political claims being made that my personal relationship with President Obama had any bearings on the nuclear agreement - are baseless," Netanyahu said.
"Even before I entered my job as prime minister, there were intentions in the American administration to normalize relations with Iran. After that, the US launched secret negotiations with Iran later became public," he added.
The prime minister and the American president spoke on the phone following the deal's signing.
"I spoke with US President Barack Obama and expressed to him Israel's two major concerns after having examined the agreement," he said.
"1. The agreement allows Iran to develop extensive capabilities which will enable it to arm itself with nuclear weapons, whether that be in 10 or 15 years at the end of the agreement's term, or if Iran violates the agreement before then.
"2. The agreement pumps hundreds of billions of dollars into Iran's terrorist and war machine, a machine that is turned against us and others in the region," Netanyahu went on to say.
The prime minister said Israel's security cabinet discussed the agreement and unanimously voted to reject it.
"Right now we have one mission - to ensure that Iran will not arm itself with nuclear weapons later on," he said, noting that when "faced with such a task, we must not engage in petty politics, false accusations. This is the time to unite and form a united front on a fateful question regarding the future of Israel."
"In any case, we will continue to defend ourselves, by ourselves, against anyone who threatens to destroy us," he concluded.
Tuesday night's statement was the third Netayahu made following the signing of the deal. Earlier, he made a statement in English, stressing that Israel is not bound by the international nuclear agreement with Iran, and that it reserves the right to defend itself.
He stated the world was now a "much more dangerous place" and criticized the agreement as a "stunning historic mistake."
Netanyahu asserted that the deal gives Iran every incentive not to change. By not dismantling the nuclear program, the deal will give "an unrepentant" and "far richer" Iranian regime more regional power, the prime minister said.
He said that by removing sanctions, the deal will "reward the terrorist regime in Iran" with hundreds of billions of dollars to support a worldwide terrorism network.
"This cash bonanza will fuel Iran's terrorism worldwide, its aggression in the region and its efforts to destroy Israel, which are ongoing," the prime minister noted.
He also said it "repeats the mistakes" of an earlier international agreement with North Korea, in which international inspections failed to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapons capability.
"There too we were assured that inspections and verifications would prevent a rogue regime from developing nuclear weapons. And we all know how that ended," Netanyahu said.
Kerry: Netanyahu 'way over the top' on Iran nuclear deal
US diplomat says Israel 'is safer' thanks to agreement, noting critics of deal 'never offer a realistic alternative'; Obama calls Netanyahu to talk about deal.
US Secretary of State John Kerry lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night, saying the Israeli leader's claims about the nuclear deal signed with Iran were "way over the top."
"This is under attack by people who really don't know the terms of the agreement," Kerry told NBC News. "What the critics of this plan never offer... is a realistic alternative," he said, displaying evident frustration. "It's wrong for people to think this doesn't have long-term accountability."
Netanyahu dubbed the agreement a "stunning historic mistake," saying the world was now a "much more dangerous place" as a result. Kerry rejected these comments, saying, Netanyahu "said the same thing about the interim agreement, and he was wrong.
The fact is that he's been practically making comments that are way over the top. He doesn't even know what the concessions are that we have not engaged in, because we haven't made concessions." "Israel is safer," the top American diplomat determined.
Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.
Iran will mothball for at least a decade the majority of its centrifuges used to enrich uranium and sharply reduce its low-enriched uranium stockpile.
US President Barack Obama hailed the deal as a step toward a "more hopeful world."
"This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction," Obama said. "We should seize it."
Obama called Netanyahu on Tuesday, telling him that the Iran nuclear deal won't lessen US concerns about Iran's support for terrorism and its threats toward Israel.
Obama reiterated that the deal, in his view, will prevent Iran from becoming nuclear-armed, which is of interest to both the US and Israel, and said a planned visit to Israel next week by US Defense Secretary Ash Carter is a reflection of the high level of security cooperation between the two allies.
Iran deal faces fight in US Congress but will likely survive
Congress has 60 days to review deal; chances of a 'resolution of disapproval' that would cripple the deal are slim; Obama vows to veto any bill Congress passes to block deal.
The nuclear deal between world powers and Iran starts a new phase of intense negotiation - this time between the Obama administration and the US Congress, where some Republicans have long been working to sink an agreement.
Any effort in Congress to overturn the deal will face an uphill fight. Republicans have majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate, but they would need the support of dozens of President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats to sustain a "resolution of disapproval" that could cripple a deal. The chances of that happening are slim.
A resolution of disapproval would need only the Republican majority to pass the House, but would require the votes of at least six Democrats to get the 60 to advance in the Senate. The chances of mustering enough votes to then overrule an Obama veto are slimmer still.
Obama vowed on Tuesday that he would veto any bill Congress passed that would prevent implementation of the Iran agreement. Nancy Pelosi, who leads the Democrats in the House and spoke to Obama last night, praised him in a statement. "I commend the president for his strength throughout the historic negotiations that have led to this point," she said, promising Congress would "closely review" details of the agreement.
US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called the new deal with Iran an "important moment" and said that based on what she knows now it is a step toward curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"This does put a lid on the nuclear program but we still have a lot of concern about the bad behavior and the actions by Iran, which remains the largest state-sponsor of terrorism, which does go after and undermine governments in the regions, that poses an existential threat to Israel, that unfairly, unlawfully confines and tries Americans on trumped up charges. That bad behavior is something we have to address," she told reporters.
Senate Democrats have stood firm to date against Republican-led efforts to interfere with the talks, which included Iran and the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.
In the House, more than 150 Democrats, including Pelosi, signed a letter in May strongly supporting the nuclear negotiations. Harry Reid, the US Senate Democratic leader, said on Tuesday the Iran nuclear agreement is the result of years of hard work by President Barack Obama and his administration in a brief statement that did not support or criticize the deal.
"Now it is incumbent on Congress to review this agreement with the thoughtful, level-headed process an agreement of this magnitude deserves," Reid said.
"I was skeptical at the beginning of this process, and I remain skeptical of the Iranians," said Rep. Steve Israel, the highest ranking Jewish Democrat in the House. "In the fall, there will be a vote on this deal, and my obligation is to review every word, sentence and paragraph of the deal to ensure it satisfies my continued concerns."
Leading Republicans slam deal
Leading Republicans harshly criticized the deal. John Boehner, the speaker of the House, said Obama had abandoned his own goals for the negotiations and promised to fight a bad deal. "Instead of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, this deal is likely to fuel a nuclear arms race around the world," he said in a statement.
"If it's as bad a deal as I think it is, we're going to do everything we can to stop it," Boehner said.
Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush called the deal "dangerous, deeply flawed and short sighted."
He said the agreement merely consolidates the grip on power of "violent revolutionary clerics who rule Tehran with an iron fist." Bush said the agreement is not diplomacy, but "appeasement."
US Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said he expected Congress to vote against the Iran nuclear deal, saying the agreement undermines US security.
"I have said from the beginning of this process that I would not support a deal with Iran that allows the mullahs to retain the ability to develop nuclear weapons, threaten Israel, and continue their regional expansionism and support for terrorism," Rubio said in a statement.
"Based on what we know thus far, I believe that this deal undermines our national security."
Republican presidential contender Chris Christie hopes Congress will reject the Iran nuclear deal. The New Jersey governor said the deal will lead to a nuclear Iran and Middle East, threatens Israel and the US, and "turns 70 years of nuclear policy on its head."
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the agreement seemed to retain "flawed" elements of a temporary nuclear deal that has been in place between Tehran and world powers.
But the Senate's top Republican promised a thorough review. "The test of the agreement should be whether it leaves our country and our allies safer," he said in a statement.
When asked about the chances of passing a "resolution of disapproval", Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters: "I understand the heavy lift that's involved."
Corker said the committee would review it closely and he would begin "from a place of deep skepticism" about whether the agreement actually meets the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Obama in May signed a law, authored by Corker, giving Congress the right to review the agreement and potentially sink it by passing a disapproval resolution that would eliminate the president's ability to waive sanctions passed by Congress.
Easing sanctions is an integral part of the deal, under which Iran will curtail its nuclear program.
Under the Iran Review Act, lawmakers have 60 days to review the agreement and decide whether to seek a resolution of disapproval. During that period, plus an additional 22 days in which Obama could veto a resolution and Congress could try to override it, Obama cannot waive the congressional sanctions.
A veto override would require a two-thirds majority in both houses - or 13 Democrats along with all 54 Republicans in the Senate, and 43 Democrats plus as all 236 House Republicans.
Party leaders have said there is no guarantee every Republican would back a disapproval resolution. Sanctions passed by Congress account for the overwhelming majority of those imposed by the United States. US sanctions are especially important to the international sanctions regime because of the country's influence on global trade and banking.
'Congress gave away its power'
The congressionally mandated sanctions can be temporarily waived by the president for national security reasons, which he would do under the deal with Iran. That waiver ability stays in place unless Congress is able not just to pass a disapproval resolution, but override Obama's expected veto of it.
"Congress gave away its power by granting national security waivers with all of these sanctions," Corker said. Congressional leaders have already begun briefings and hearings on the Iran deal. Aides said they want to decide on a course of action this month. Obama administration officials have held hundreds of meetings and briefings for lawmakers and aides in the past four months.
Those efforts are expected to intensify now with a deal. Acknowledging the difficulty of passing a disapproval resolution, some lawmakers suggest Congress would do better to consider, and then reject, a "resolution of approval." Defeating such a resolution by a large margin would not affect the sanctions regime, but would send a strong message that the United States is not united behind a "bad"
Iran pact and was prepared to act if Iran made moves toward building a bomb, they said. Lawmakers from both parties acknowledged that the debate will not end with the review period this year. Some Republicans have discussed passing legislation to impose more sanctions over Iran's human rights record or for supporting terrorism.
The Iran Review Act requires the president, Obama and his successor after the 2016 election, to regularly certify that Tehran is adhering to terms of a deal. There is no guarantee a Republican president, in particular, would do so. Several GOP White House hopefuls have expressed skepticism about the deal.
Nuclear deal strikes talk of Nobel Peace Prize to Iran, US
Deal could fit pattern of nuclear-themed peace prizes in years ending in '5,' but it may prove hard to reward Washington six years after Obama won the prize, or inappropriate to honor Tehran, a member of the 'axis of evil'.
A nuclear deal clinched between Iran and six major world powers that caps more than a decade of negotiations has stoked talk of a joint Nobel Peace Prize for Tehran and Washington this year, despite the likelihood of strong objections from some quarters.
US President Barack Obama, who won the prize in 2009 for promoting nuclear non-proliferation, hailed the Iran deal on Tuesday as a step towards a "more hopeful world". But Israel pledged to try to halt an "historic surrender". Awarding the prestigious award to Washington and Tehran would fit a pattern of nuclear-themed peace prizes in years ending in '5', commemorating the bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
"I think the work of the Nobel Committee ... this year just got much easier," former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt tweeted after the Iranian deal was announced. But many doubts remain over the appropriateness of honoring Iran, which does not recognize Israel and backs its foes, faces regular international criticism over human rights and was long denounced by Washington as a member of an "axis of evil". It may also prove hard to reward Washington just six years after Obama won the prize in the early days of his presidency, a decision widely decried at the time as unjustified. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has led the US team in the talks with Iran, may be deemed too close to Obama to win.
"There are serious limitations when it comes to an Iranian candidate and a US candidate," Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, told Reuters. "But I am sure it will be seriously considered by the Norwegian Nobel Committee."
'Worthy candidates'
Asle Sveen, a Norwegian historian and expert on the prize, said the Nobel committee was also likely to be tracking peace efforts between Colombia's government and Marxist guerrillas. "We will have two worthy candidates if everything goes right with both deals," he told Reuters. Harpviken said there would be significant misgivings about honoring Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif or President Hassan Rouhani.
It is not only Israel that views Iran as a mortal threat to its security and to regional peace. Allies of Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia have fought decades of sectarian proxy wars in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. But some noted the recurring nuclear theme in prizes handed out at 10-yearly intervals in memory of Hiroshima.
The International Atomic Energy Agency won in 2005, ban-the-bomb scientist Joseph Rotblat in 1995, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in 1985 and Soviet human rights campaigner and nuclear scientist Andrei Sakharov in 1975. Other tips for the 2015 prize, among 276 candidates, have included a Russian newspaper critical of President Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis.
Iranian and US officials would be eligible if they were on the list when nominations closed in February. Thousands of people including members of national parliaments, former winners and some academics are eligible to submit nominations.
Nuclear deal with Iran: The main points
Iran to reduce centrifuges from almost 20,000 to 6,104; reduce stockpile of enriched-uranium from five tons to 300 kg; convert Fordow into research center.
After 18 days of intense and often fractious negotiation, world powers and Iran struck a landmark deal Tuesday to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions - an agreement designed to avert the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and another US military intervention in the Muslim world. Here are the main points.
Enrichment: Iran will reduce the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges it has from almost 20,000 to 6,104, and reduce the number of those in use from nearly 10,000 to half that. It also commits to using only its current models, rather than more advanced centrifuges it had wanted to install.
Stockpile: Iran committed to reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium from about five tons to 300 kilograms (less than 700 pounds) for 15 years. US officials say that at this level it would take Iran more than a year to enrich enough uranium for a nuclear weapon.
Underground site: Iran committed to convert its Fordow enrichment site - dug deep into a mountainside and thought impervious to air attack - into a research center.
Transparency: Iran will give more access to its nuclear program to the UN nuclear agency. If that agency identifies a suspicious site, an arbitration panel with a Western majority will decide whether Iran has to give the agency access within 24 days.
Reactors and reprocessing: Iran must redesign its nearly built reactor at Arak so it can't produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Sanctions: All US and European Union nuclear-related sanctions will be suspended after experts have verified that Iran is hewing to its commitments. If at any time Iran fails to fulfill its obligations, those sanctions will snap back into place. An arms embargo will stand for five years and restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile programs for eight. Iran will get some access to currently restricted sensitive technologies.
Iran's compromises
Iran agreed to the continuation of a UN arms embargo on the country for up to five more years, though it could end earlier if the International Atomic Energy Agency definitively clears Iran of any current work on nuclear weapons. A similar condition was put on UN restrictions on the transfer of ballistic missile technology to Tehran, which could last for up to eight more years, according to diplomats.
Washington had sought to maintain the ban on Iran importing and exporting weapons, concerned that an Islamic Republic flush with cash from the nuclear deal would expand its military assistance for Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other forces opposing America's Mideast allies such as Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Iranian leaders insisted the embargo had to end as their forces combat regional scourges such as the Islamic State. And they got some support from China and particularly Russia, which wants to expand military cooperation and arms sales to Tehran, including the long-delayed transfer of S-300 advanced air defense systems - a move long opposed by the United States.
Another significant agreement will allow UN inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties, something the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had long vowed to oppose. However, access isn't guaranteed and could be delayed, a condition that critics of the deal are sure to seize on as possibly giving Tehran time to cover up any illicit activity.
Under the accord, which runs almost 100 pages, Tehran would have the right to challenge the UN request and an arbitration board composed of Iran and the six world powers would then decide on the issue. The IAEA also wants the access to complete its long-stymied investigation of past weapons work by Iran, and the US says Iranian cooperation is needed for all economic sanctions to be lifted.
IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said Tuesday his agency and Iran had signed a "roadmap" to resolve outstanding concerns, hopefully by mid-December.
Implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement Following is a summary the timeline for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed between Iran and six major powers on July 14. There are no specific dates. It begins "upon conclusion of the negotiations".
Finalization Day:
- Iran and the major powers "endorse" the plan, known as JCPOA.
- The "promptly" submit it to the United Nations Security Council for adoption "without delay".
- The European Union will "promptly" endorse the resulting United Nations Security Council resolution.
- Iran and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will start developing arrangements to implement all transparency measures so that they are ready for Implementation Day.
- Takes place 90 days after endorsement by the UN Security Council, or earlier by mutual consent of all the parties.
- JCPOA participants will begin making necessary arrangements and preparations for the implementation of commitments.
- Iran notifies IAEA that it will apply the Non-Proliferation Treaty's Additional Protocol (enhanced inspection regime) provisionally with effect from Implementation Day.
- Iran starts implementing commitments relating to past nuclear activities.
- EU will adopt a regulation lifting nuclear-related sanctions with effect from Implementation Day "simultaneously" with IAEA verification of agreed nuclear-related measures by Iran.
- The president of the United States will issue sanctions waivers to take effect on Implementation Day.
- Occurs when IAEA verifies Iran has complied with nuclear-related measures.
- The EU suspends or terminates nuclear-related sanctions specified in Annex II of the JCPOA
- The United States ceases application of nuclear-related sanctions specified in Annex II.
- The United Nations terminates sanctions.
- Takes place eight years from Adoption Day, or earlier upon a report from the IAEA director-general stating the IAEA has reached a conclusion that all nuclear material in Iran remains for peaceful activities.
- The EU terminates any remaining sanctions.
- The United States terminates or modifies remaining sanctions including seeking necessary legislative changes.
- Iran will ratify Additional Protocol on enhanced inspections.
- Takes place 10 years from Adoption Day provided no UN sanctions have been reinstated.
- UN will pass resolution approving termination of JCPOA.
- The UN Security Council "would no longer be seized of the Iran nuclear issue", or close the file.
13 july 2015
In new Twitter account, PM explains that 'the more the regime feels strong and impervious to foreign pressure, the more it increases domestic oppression'.
In an 11th-hour escalation of his lobbying against an expected nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned to the Iranian public on Monday with a new Farsi-language Twitter account.
An Israeli official said Netanyahu aimed to persuade ordinary Iranians they stood to lose from a deal that limits, but does not eliminate, Tehran's nuclear program because "the more the regime feels strong and impervious to foreign pressure, the more it increases domestic oppression".
Israel, not a party to the negotiations with Iran, has tried with little effect to get the terms imposed on its arch-foe toughened up. The talks, held in Vienna, appeared close to yielding a deal ahead of a midnight deadline.
Tweets posted on Netanyahu's new account, @IsraeliPM_Farsi, restated his argument that such a deal would "pave the way for Iran to get nuclear bombs and billions of dollars for terrorism" and that the Iranian leadership should not be engaged diplomatically while it orchestrates anti-US "hate marches" on the streets of Tehran.
Netanyahu's office said the Farsi account will publish content similar to his English and Hebrew accounts to engage the Iranian people directly. Netanyahu has a popular following on Twitter and often tweets videos and photos with messages critical of the Iranian government and nuclear negotiations.
Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Israeli analyst, said Netanyahu's aggressive rhetoric could backfire with his Iranian audience.
"I'm worried ... Netanyahu is going to cause more damage if he continues with the same messages," he said.
The account quickly gained more than 900 followers, with many users mocking him and saying there was a grammatical mistake.
One spotted a syntax error in the account. Another suggested Netanyahu might be better off "explaining with a crude cartoon" - a reference to an illustration the Israeli prime minister held up during a UN speech in 2012 to show how close Iran, which insists its nuclear projects are peaceful, was to making a bomb.
Twitter, Facebook, and other popular social media sites are technically banned in Iran but Iranians are active on Twitter through proxy servers.
Key leaders, including Khameini, Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Jared Zarif, all have large followings and tweet official statements.
Netanyahu's office said it has not decided whether to interact with politicians on the new Twitter feed.
In an 11th-hour escalation of his lobbying against an expected nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned to the Iranian public on Monday with a new Farsi-language Twitter account.
An Israeli official said Netanyahu aimed to persuade ordinary Iranians they stood to lose from a deal that limits, but does not eliminate, Tehran's nuclear program because "the more the regime feels strong and impervious to foreign pressure, the more it increases domestic oppression".
Israel, not a party to the negotiations with Iran, has tried with little effect to get the terms imposed on its arch-foe toughened up. The talks, held in Vienna, appeared close to yielding a deal ahead of a midnight deadline.
Tweets posted on Netanyahu's new account, @IsraeliPM_Farsi, restated his argument that such a deal would "pave the way for Iran to get nuclear bombs and billions of dollars for terrorism" and that the Iranian leadership should not be engaged diplomatically while it orchestrates anti-US "hate marches" on the streets of Tehran.
Netanyahu's office said the Farsi account will publish content similar to his English and Hebrew accounts to engage the Iranian people directly. Netanyahu has a popular following on Twitter and often tweets videos and photos with messages critical of the Iranian government and nuclear negotiations.
Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Israeli analyst, said Netanyahu's aggressive rhetoric could backfire with his Iranian audience.
"I'm worried ... Netanyahu is going to cause more damage if he continues with the same messages," he said.
The account quickly gained more than 900 followers, with many users mocking him and saying there was a grammatical mistake.
One spotted a syntax error in the account. Another suggested Netanyahu might be better off "explaining with a crude cartoon" - a reference to an illustration the Israeli prime minister held up during a UN speech in 2012 to show how close Iran, which insists its nuclear projects are peaceful, was to making a bomb.
Twitter, Facebook, and other popular social media sites are technically banned in Iran but Iranians are active on Twitter through proxy servers.
Key leaders, including Khameini, Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Jared Zarif, all have large followings and tweet official statements.
Netanyahu's office said it has not decided whether to interact with politicians on the new Twitter feed.
16 june 2015
Despite Obama previously saying he wouldn't invite the PM before Iran agreement is signed, Netanyahu was invited; Netanyahu expected to demand a compensation package for increasing threats facing Israel.
US President Barack Obama invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next month, Ynet's sister publication Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday morning.
State Department sources said that the probable date for the visit is either July 15 or 16.
President Obama previously announced that a personal meeting with Netanyahu at the White House, after the latter's re-election as Israeli prime minister, would take place only after a final agreement between Iran and the six world powers was signed.
Israeli officials therefore believe the Americans are convinced that they will succeed in signing an agreement with Iran in the coming weeks, despite the delays and difficulties that are leaked daily from the negotiation rooms.
Nonetheless, if Netanyahu's visit does indeed occur, it will take place before Congress approves the agreement between Iran and the great powers. Obama must be interested in the visit itself, in its success and especially the joint statements before the cameras at its conclusion.
A negative attitude by Netanyahu regarding the agreement could make it difficult for Obama to have the agreement with Iran passed in Congress.
From Israel's point of view, Netanyahu's visit is also an opportunity to try to rebuild, to a large extent, the troublesome relations between the two men, which has caused direct and indirect damage, including damage to Israel's deterrence caused by creating the impression that Jerusalem is no longer coordinated with Washington on central policy issues.
The visit is also an opportunity to coordinate with the Americans upcoming political developments in the region, so Israel is not surprised again by policy initiatives and attacks in international forums.
Also, Netanyahu is expected to demand a compensation package for increasing threats facing Israel. Among others, Netanyahu will seek to expand Israel's qualitative military advantage on other countries in the region.
US President Barack Obama invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next month, Ynet's sister publication Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday morning.
State Department sources said that the probable date for the visit is either July 15 or 16.
President Obama previously announced that a personal meeting with Netanyahu at the White House, after the latter's re-election as Israeli prime minister, would take place only after a final agreement between Iran and the six world powers was signed.
Israeli officials therefore believe the Americans are convinced that they will succeed in signing an agreement with Iran in the coming weeks, despite the delays and difficulties that are leaked daily from the negotiation rooms.
Nonetheless, if Netanyahu's visit does indeed occur, it will take place before Congress approves the agreement between Iran and the great powers. Obama must be interested in the visit itself, in its success and especially the joint statements before the cameras at its conclusion.
A negative attitude by Netanyahu regarding the agreement could make it difficult for Obama to have the agreement with Iran passed in Congress.
From Israel's point of view, Netanyahu's visit is also an opportunity to try to rebuild, to a large extent, the troublesome relations between the two men, which has caused direct and indirect damage, including damage to Israel's deterrence caused by creating the impression that Jerusalem is no longer coordinated with Washington on central policy issues.
The visit is also an opportunity to coordinate with the Americans upcoming political developments in the region, so Israel is not surprised again by policy initiatives and attacks in international forums.
Also, Netanyahu is expected to demand a compensation package for increasing threats facing Israel. Among others, Netanyahu will seek to expand Israel's qualitative military advantage on other countries in the region.
14 june 2015
Netanyahu denounces concessions to Iran; Steinitz says inspection system would still give Iran time to cover up illegal activity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused world powers on Sunday of stepping up concessions to Iran to enable a deal by June 30 on curbing its nuclear program even as Tehran balks at demands for heightened UN inspections.
Netanyahu has argued that the agreement in the works would not deny Iran, which says its nuclear projects are peaceful, the means of making a bomb, while granting it sanctions relief that could help bankroll its guerrilla allies in the region.
"To our regret, the reports that are coming in from the world powers attest to an acceleration of concessions by them in the face of Iranian stubbornness," Netanyahu told his cabinet in broadcast remarks on Sunday. He did not offer further details.
Netanyahu's point-man on the Iranian talks, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, said it appeared that world powers were prepared to accommodate Tehran's resistance to expanded, short-order UN nuclear inspections and demand to continue research and development of uranium centrifuges that make nuclear fuel.
On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country, in the name of protecting state secrets, could reject stepped-up inspections, even at the cost of missing the June 30 deadline. Western diplomats had sought the right to carry out inspections with as little as two hours' notice. But in a televised address on Sunday, Rouhani played up the benefits of easing Iran's international isolation and pledged to reach a deal that would end the hardship of sanctions.
Steinitz, who was in Washington last week to discuss the Iran diplomacy, said the world powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - were considering a stop-gap whereby inspections would be decided on "by committee". "Such an arrangement might offer reassurance on paper, but in reality it would give Iran time to cover up illegal nuclear activity or even relocate it off-site," Steinitz told Reuters. He added that Israel saw no reason for world powers to allow Iran to continue research and development on uranium centrifuges "if this deal is indeed meant to freeze its program for years".
On a visit to Israel last week, America's top general sought to reassure Israel, widely assumed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, of "unshakable" US military support. General Martin Dempsey said long-term prospects were "far better" with an Iran that was not a nuclear weapons power and that Washington would work to mitigate Iran-related risks, with or without a deal.
Netanyahu urged world powers to hold off on a final accord. "From the outset, the agreement being put together looked bad. It looks worse and worse with each passing day," he said in his cabinet remarks. Asked to rate the chances of world powers deferring the deadline to renegotiate the deal, Steinitz said: "Fifty-fifty."
The United States has said it stands by the end-June deadline for an agreement but other officials have indicated the date might be missed as negotiations about technical details drag on.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused world powers on Sunday of stepping up concessions to Iran to enable a deal by June 30 on curbing its nuclear program even as Tehran balks at demands for heightened UN inspections.
Netanyahu has argued that the agreement in the works would not deny Iran, which says its nuclear projects are peaceful, the means of making a bomb, while granting it sanctions relief that could help bankroll its guerrilla allies in the region.
"To our regret, the reports that are coming in from the world powers attest to an acceleration of concessions by them in the face of Iranian stubbornness," Netanyahu told his cabinet in broadcast remarks on Sunday. He did not offer further details.
Netanyahu's point-man on the Iranian talks, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, said it appeared that world powers were prepared to accommodate Tehran's resistance to expanded, short-order UN nuclear inspections and demand to continue research and development of uranium centrifuges that make nuclear fuel.
On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country, in the name of protecting state secrets, could reject stepped-up inspections, even at the cost of missing the June 30 deadline. Western diplomats had sought the right to carry out inspections with as little as two hours' notice. But in a televised address on Sunday, Rouhani played up the benefits of easing Iran's international isolation and pledged to reach a deal that would end the hardship of sanctions.
Steinitz, who was in Washington last week to discuss the Iran diplomacy, said the world powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - were considering a stop-gap whereby inspections would be decided on "by committee". "Such an arrangement might offer reassurance on paper, but in reality it would give Iran time to cover up illegal nuclear activity or even relocate it off-site," Steinitz told Reuters. He added that Israel saw no reason for world powers to allow Iran to continue research and development on uranium centrifuges "if this deal is indeed meant to freeze its program for years".
On a visit to Israel last week, America's top general sought to reassure Israel, widely assumed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, of "unshakable" US military support. General Martin Dempsey said long-term prospects were "far better" with an Iran that was not a nuclear weapons power and that Washington would work to mitigate Iran-related risks, with or without a deal.
Netanyahu urged world powers to hold off on a final accord. "From the outset, the agreement being put together looked bad. It looks worse and worse with each passing day," he said in his cabinet remarks. Asked to rate the chances of world powers deferring the deadline to renegotiate the deal, Steinitz said: "Fifty-fifty."
The United States has said it stands by the end-June deadline for an agreement but other officials have indicated the date might be missed as negotiations about technical details drag on.
13 june 2015
The negotiating table in Vienna
Islamic Republic demands protection in Vienna as deadline for nuclear accord looms; Authorities investigate reports that sophisticated spyware was found at previous talks.
Iran has asked Austria's government to take immediate measures to protect the cyber security of nuclear talks, media reported Saturday after reports emerged of suspected espionage at negotiation venues.
Swiss and Austrian authorities said on Thursday they had opened separate investigations into alleged spying in hotels where the nuclear talks with Iran are taking place. IT experts pointed the finger at Israel, but deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely on Thursday denied that its secret services were involved.
In a statement, Iran's embassy in Austria, "demanded Austria's foreign ministry immediately provide all required security measures for the talks, including enhanced security for the venues as well as better cyber protection," the ISNA news agency reported.
Iranian embassies in Vienna and Bern, in separate notes, also asked the Austrian and Swiss foreign ministries to inform them of "the results of spying investigations" by both governments on nuclear talks.
A Russian-based security firm said on Wednesday the malware dubbed Duqu, a sophisticated spy tool believed to have been eradicated in 2012, appeared to have been used to spy on the nuclear negotiations. The investigations come as the clock ticks down to a June 30 deadline for an accord between Iran and world powers.
Iran and the P5+1 group (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany) have held numerous rounds of discussion since November 2013, mostly in Switzerland and Austria. Deputy ministers and experts from both sides are now in Vienna seeking to clinch a deal that curtails Tehran's nuclear program in return for relief from punishing sanctions.
Iran denies Western allegations that it is covertly pursuing a nuclear weapon and insists its atomic activities are for peaceful energy purposes.
Islamic Republic demands protection in Vienna as deadline for nuclear accord looms; Authorities investigate reports that sophisticated spyware was found at previous talks.
Iran has asked Austria's government to take immediate measures to protect the cyber security of nuclear talks, media reported Saturday after reports emerged of suspected espionage at negotiation venues.
Swiss and Austrian authorities said on Thursday they had opened separate investigations into alleged spying in hotels where the nuclear talks with Iran are taking place. IT experts pointed the finger at Israel, but deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely on Thursday denied that its secret services were involved.
In a statement, Iran's embassy in Austria, "demanded Austria's foreign ministry immediately provide all required security measures for the talks, including enhanced security for the venues as well as better cyber protection," the ISNA news agency reported.
Iranian embassies in Vienna and Bern, in separate notes, also asked the Austrian and Swiss foreign ministries to inform them of "the results of spying investigations" by both governments on nuclear talks.
A Russian-based security firm said on Wednesday the malware dubbed Duqu, a sophisticated spy tool believed to have been eradicated in 2012, appeared to have been used to spy on the nuclear negotiations. The investigations come as the clock ticks down to a June 30 deadline for an accord between Iran and world powers.
Iran and the P5+1 group (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany) have held numerous rounds of discussion since November 2013, mostly in Switzerland and Austria. Deputy ministers and experts from both sides are now in Vienna seeking to clinch a deal that curtails Tehran's nuclear program in return for relief from punishing sanctions.
Iran denies Western allegations that it is covertly pursuing a nuclear weapon and insists its atomic activities are for peaceful energy purposes.
12 june 2015
The negotiating table in Vienna
Russian reports quote diplomat involved in talks saying that June 30 deadline may have to be pushed back after several previous postponements.
Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers have virtually stalled and a deadline for a final deal may have to be postponed again, Russian news agency TASS quoted a diplomatic source as saying on Friday.
Iran and the powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - are trying to reach a settlement by June 30 under which Iran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
The United States has said it stands by the end-June deadline for the deal, meant to assuage Western fears that Iran is working to develop a nuclear bomb. But other officials have indicated the date might be missed as negotiations about technical details drag on. Iran denies any ambition to develop nuclear weapons and says its program is for generating electricity and other peaceful purposes.
The latest round of discussions in Vienna on Friday had made no significant progress, the source from one of the missions said, according to TASS. "The process has virtually stalled, there is risk that deadline will have to be postponed again," TASS said the source added.
Among the unresolved issues is the pace of easing Western sanctions imposed over the Iranian program and the monitoring and verification measures to ensure Iran could not pursue a clandestine nuclear weapons program.
Russian reports quote diplomat involved in talks saying that June 30 deadline may have to be pushed back after several previous postponements.
Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers have virtually stalled and a deadline for a final deal may have to be postponed again, Russian news agency TASS quoted a diplomatic source as saying on Friday.
Iran and the powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - are trying to reach a settlement by June 30 under which Iran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
The United States has said it stands by the end-June deadline for the deal, meant to assuage Western fears that Iran is working to develop a nuclear bomb. But other officials have indicated the date might be missed as negotiations about technical details drag on. Iran denies any ambition to develop nuclear weapons and says its program is for generating electricity and other peaceful purposes.
The latest round of discussions in Vienna on Friday had made no significant progress, the source from one of the missions said, according to TASS. "The process has virtually stalled, there is risk that deadline will have to be postponed again," TASS said the source added.
Among the unresolved issues is the pace of easing Western sanctions imposed over the Iranian program and the monitoring and verification measures to ensure Iran could not pursue a clandestine nuclear weapons program.
11 june 2015
Lausanne hotel where Iran talks took place
Deputy FM Hotovely says reports linking Israel to spyware are 'baseless'; 'What is much more important is that we prevent a bad agreement where at the end of the day we find ourselves with a Iranian nuclear umbrella,' she says.
Swiss prosecutors said on Thursday that they opened an espionage investigation in May amid suspicions that Swiss hotels hosting talks on Iran's nuclear program have been targeted in a cyber-spying campaign. A state official in Vienna said Austria was also investigating the suspicions.
Kaspersky, a cybersecurity firm, said this week it uncovered the campaign and that the malware was so sophisticated it must have been created by a government.
"The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism is aware of the information and is reviewing it," an interior ministry spokesman in Vienna said.
He declined to give more details about which locations were under review. The talks have been held in Vienna, Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux and Munich.
Andre Marty, a spokesman for Swiss federal prosecutors, said that Switzerland's investigation is directed against persons unknown and was opened following a report from the Swiss intelligence agency.
He said in an emailed response that a search took place in Geneva on May 12 during which unspecified information technology material was seized.
"You know that there are enemies of these talks and they will do whatever they can, so it's not a surprise to us," Reza Najafi, Iran's ambassador to the UN nuclear agency, told reporters in Vienna.
"We continue to take precautionary measures not to let any details of the discussion go to the public," he added on the sidelines of an International Atomic Energy Agency board meeting. "I should say we have been successful in that regard... Of course there are some cases, which are just incidents."
Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely dismissed as baseless reports Israel may have had a connection to the "spy virus."
Both Kaspersky and US security company Symantec said the virus shared some programming with previously discovered espionage software called Duqu, which security experts believe to have been developed by Israelis.
Deputy FM Hotovely says reports linking Israel to spyware are 'baseless'; 'What is much more important is that we prevent a bad agreement where at the end of the day we find ourselves with a Iranian nuclear umbrella,' she says.
Swiss prosecutors said on Thursday that they opened an espionage investigation in May amid suspicions that Swiss hotels hosting talks on Iran's nuclear program have been targeted in a cyber-spying campaign. A state official in Vienna said Austria was also investigating the suspicions.
Kaspersky, a cybersecurity firm, said this week it uncovered the campaign and that the malware was so sophisticated it must have been created by a government.
"The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism is aware of the information and is reviewing it," an interior ministry spokesman in Vienna said.
He declined to give more details about which locations were under review. The talks have been held in Vienna, Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux and Munich.
Andre Marty, a spokesman for Swiss federal prosecutors, said that Switzerland's investigation is directed against persons unknown and was opened following a report from the Swiss intelligence agency.
He said in an emailed response that a search took place in Geneva on May 12 during which unspecified information technology material was seized.
"You know that there are enemies of these talks and they will do whatever they can, so it's not a surprise to us," Reza Najafi, Iran's ambassador to the UN nuclear agency, told reporters in Vienna.
"We continue to take precautionary measures not to let any details of the discussion go to the public," he added on the sidelines of an International Atomic Energy Agency board meeting. "I should say we have been successful in that regard... Of course there are some cases, which are just incidents."
Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely dismissed as baseless reports Israel may have had a connection to the "spy virus."
Both Kaspersky and US security company Symantec said the virus shared some programming with previously discovered espionage software called Duqu, which security experts believe to have been developed by Israelis.
Israeli government officials had declined to comment, but on Thursday Tzipi Hotovely denied Israel was involved. "The international reports of Israeli involvement in the matter are baseless," she told Army Radio.
"What is much more important is that we prevent a bad agreement where at the end of the day we find ourselves with a Iranian nuclear umbrella," she said. Israel has denounced the diplomatic opening to Iran, saying it doubts any agreement arising from the talks will sufficiently restrain the atomic program of its arch-enemy.
The West suspects Iran wants to develop a nuclear weapons capability from its enrichment of uranium. Iran says it is seeking nuclear energy for electricity and medical isotopes.
"What is much more important is that we prevent a bad agreement where at the end of the day we find ourselves with a Iranian nuclear umbrella," she said. Israel has denounced the diplomatic opening to Iran, saying it doubts any agreement arising from the talks will sufficiently restrain the atomic program of its arch-enemy.
The West suspects Iran wants to develop a nuclear weapons capability from its enrichment of uranium. Iran says it is seeking nuclear energy for electricity and medical isotopes.
10 june 2015
The Beau Rivage Palace hotel in Lausanne, Switerzland, one of the alleged hacking victims
Cybersecurity firm claims Israel-linked virus used for spying found at three hotels that hosted talks between world powers and Iran.
A computer virus was used to hack into venues linked to international talks on Iran's nuclear program, Russian computer security company Kaspersky Lab said on Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal said the virus was widely believed to be used by Israeli spies and Kaspersky had linked it to "three luxury European hotels" used in the negotiations involving Iran and six world powers.
Kaspersky said it looked into the "cyber-intrusion" after detecting the "Duqu 2.0" malware in its own systems in early spring this year, which it said was designed to spy on its technology, research, and internal processes.
Other victims of Duqu had been found in Western countries, the Middle East and Asia, it said in an emailed statement.
"Most notably, some of the new 2014-2015 infections are linked to the P5+1 events and venues related to the negotiations with Iran about a nuclear deal," the statement said.
"P5+1" refers to the six world powers negotiating with Iran on curbs to its disputed nuclear program -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. The talks have been held in Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Munich and Vienna.
In February, the United States accused Israel of using selective leaks from the talks to distort the US position. Israel has denounced the diplomatic opening to Iran, saying it doubts any agreement arising from the talks will sufficiently restrain the disputed nuclear program of its arch-enemy.
During various rounds of the talks, Israeli officials said they knew what was being discussed from various sources including intelligence gathering and information relayed by allies. The officials did not elaborate on the latter, but did assert that Israel never spied on the United States, its closest ally.
The unidentified group behind the Duqu malware, according to Kaspersky, was "one of the most skilled, mysterious and powerful threat actors in the APT (advanced persistent threat) world". Advanced persistent threats typically refer to sophisticated software created by state-backed cyberspies.
Kaspersky said Duqu was previously used for an unspecified cyberattack in 2011 that bore similarities to Stuxnet, a computer "worm" that partially sabotaged Iran's nuclear program in 2009-2010 by destroying a thousand or more centrifuges that were enriching uranium.
Another Duqu attack, Kaspersky said, was carried out "in relation to" the commemoration of the 70th anniversary in January this year of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp in Poland.
That ceremony was attended by the heads of state of Germany, France, Britain and other nations.
The targets of the Duqu attacks in 2011 and more recently were not specified by Kaspersky.
Duqu similar to Stuxnet 'worm'
Kaspersky said Duqu 2.0 had evolved from an earlier family of malware called Duqu uncovered in 2011 that had been deployed against unidentified targets for years before it was discovered.
Symantec, a US software and cybercurity firm, has said that earlier versions of Duqu bore similarities to Stuxnet, a computer "worm" that partially sabotaged Iran's nuclear programme in 2009-2010 by destroying a thousand or more centrifuges that were enriching uranium. Kaspersky said it does not have enough data to draw a link between Stuxnet and Duqu.
"Kaspersky Lab believes this is a nation state-sponsored campaign," it said, adding that as a security researcher it focuses on uncovering the technical details of malware but seeks to steer clear of drawing political conclusions.
The Moscow-based company, a supplier of anti-virus software and other security tools, said it discovered the advanced malware earlier in the spring as a result of attacks it had seen on a number of organisations, including Kaspersky itself. It said it is confident its products are secure against the attack.
At a news conference in London held to discuss its findings, Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive of the company that bears his name, said malicious software designed by cyberspies often finds its way into the hands of cybercriminals, and thereby poses a far wider threat in a world that now relies on the Internet.
"Cybercriminals are copying the technologies from the state-sponsored attacks. They educate the bad guys," Kaspersky said.
His company found that Duqu 2.0 was designed to spy on its technology, research, and internal processes. As a top research firm that shares its findings with the rest of the security industry, knowing what Kaspersky knew would allow cyberspies to craft fresh attacks to evade detection for new campaigns.
The security research firm said Duqu 2.0 was spread via Microsoft Software Installer files, which are commonly used by technical administrators to install and update software on Windows computers within an organisation. The attack had some unique and never before seen features and left almost no traces.
Microsoft was not immediately available for comment.
Cybersecurity firm claims Israel-linked virus used for spying found at three hotels that hosted talks between world powers and Iran.
A computer virus was used to hack into venues linked to international talks on Iran's nuclear program, Russian computer security company Kaspersky Lab said on Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal said the virus was widely believed to be used by Israeli spies and Kaspersky had linked it to "three luxury European hotels" used in the negotiations involving Iran and six world powers.
Kaspersky said it looked into the "cyber-intrusion" after detecting the "Duqu 2.0" malware in its own systems in early spring this year, which it said was designed to spy on its technology, research, and internal processes.
Other victims of Duqu had been found in Western countries, the Middle East and Asia, it said in an emailed statement.
"Most notably, some of the new 2014-2015 infections are linked to the P5+1 events and venues related to the negotiations with Iran about a nuclear deal," the statement said.
"P5+1" refers to the six world powers negotiating with Iran on curbs to its disputed nuclear program -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. The talks have been held in Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Munich and Vienna.
In February, the United States accused Israel of using selective leaks from the talks to distort the US position. Israel has denounced the diplomatic opening to Iran, saying it doubts any agreement arising from the talks will sufficiently restrain the disputed nuclear program of its arch-enemy.
During various rounds of the talks, Israeli officials said they knew what was being discussed from various sources including intelligence gathering and information relayed by allies. The officials did not elaborate on the latter, but did assert that Israel never spied on the United States, its closest ally.
The unidentified group behind the Duqu malware, according to Kaspersky, was "one of the most skilled, mysterious and powerful threat actors in the APT (advanced persistent threat) world". Advanced persistent threats typically refer to sophisticated software created by state-backed cyberspies.
Kaspersky said Duqu was previously used for an unspecified cyberattack in 2011 that bore similarities to Stuxnet, a computer "worm" that partially sabotaged Iran's nuclear program in 2009-2010 by destroying a thousand or more centrifuges that were enriching uranium.
Another Duqu attack, Kaspersky said, was carried out "in relation to" the commemoration of the 70th anniversary in January this year of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp in Poland.
That ceremony was attended by the heads of state of Germany, France, Britain and other nations.
The targets of the Duqu attacks in 2011 and more recently were not specified by Kaspersky.
Duqu similar to Stuxnet 'worm'
Kaspersky said Duqu 2.0 had evolved from an earlier family of malware called Duqu uncovered in 2011 that had been deployed against unidentified targets for years before it was discovered.
Symantec, a US software and cybercurity firm, has said that earlier versions of Duqu bore similarities to Stuxnet, a computer "worm" that partially sabotaged Iran's nuclear programme in 2009-2010 by destroying a thousand or more centrifuges that were enriching uranium. Kaspersky said it does not have enough data to draw a link between Stuxnet and Duqu.
"Kaspersky Lab believes this is a nation state-sponsored campaign," it said, adding that as a security researcher it focuses on uncovering the technical details of malware but seeks to steer clear of drawing political conclusions.
The Moscow-based company, a supplier of anti-virus software and other security tools, said it discovered the advanced malware earlier in the spring as a result of attacks it had seen on a number of organisations, including Kaspersky itself. It said it is confident its products are secure against the attack.
At a news conference in London held to discuss its findings, Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive of the company that bears his name, said malicious software designed by cyberspies often finds its way into the hands of cybercriminals, and thereby poses a far wider threat in a world that now relies on the Internet.
"Cybercriminals are copying the technologies from the state-sponsored attacks. They educate the bad guys," Kaspersky said.
His company found that Duqu 2.0 was designed to spy on its technology, research, and internal processes. As a top research firm that shares its findings with the rest of the security industry, knowing what Kaspersky knew would allow cyberspies to craft fresh attacks to evade detection for new campaigns.
The security research firm said Duqu 2.0 was spread via Microsoft Software Installer files, which are commonly used by technical administrators to install and update software on Windows computers within an organisation. The attack had some unique and never before seen features and left almost no traces.
Microsoft was not immediately available for comment.
