Iran allows IAEA to reinstall cameras at Karaj nuclear facility
IAEA to not have access to the recordings from the cameras, which will be installed ‘after technical reviews by Iranian experts’.


Iran said it “voluntarily” agreed to grant the IAEA access to a manufacturing facility in Karaj in an effort to prevent misunderstandings, local media reported [Al Jazeera]
By Maziar Motamedi
Published On 15 Dec 202115 Dec 2021
|
Updated:
12 hours ago
Tehran, Iran – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it has been given access once again by Iran to a centrifuge parts manufacturing facility in Karaj to replace cameras that were damaged or destroyed when the site was targeted by a sabotage attack in June this year.

On Wednesday, Iran said it “voluntarily” agreed to grant access to the global nuclear watchdog in an effort to prevent misunderstandings, according to a report by Nournews, an outlet close to Iran’s security forces.


The report added that security and judicial investigations into the attack, which was blamed on Israel, were concluded and that the IAEA recently agreed to Iran’s request and condemned the attack.

As per a law passed by the hardline Iranian parliament, the IAEA will not have access to the recordings from the cameras which will be installed “after technical reviews by Iranian experts”.

“The agreement with Iran on replacing surveillance cameras at the Karaj facility is an important development for the IAEA’s verification and monitoring activities in Iran. It will enable us to resume necessary continuity of knowledge at this facility,” IAEA Director General Grossi said in a statement.

“I sincerely hope that we can continue our constructive discussions to also address and resolve all outstanding safeguards issues in Iran.”

Since February 2021, Iran has stopped the voluntary implementation of the Addition Protocol, a document that provided the IAEA with extended monitoring capabilities as part of the country’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The cameras have not stopped recording, but Iran has said it will hand over the recordings only when the United States – which unilaterally abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018 – lifts sanctions imposed on Tehran.

Representatives of world powers party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is formally known, are currently in Vienna in an effort to revive the deal.

If implemented, the announcement on the Karaj workshop resolves one of the outstanding issues between Iran and the IAEA, which, for months, has been calling for restored access to the site.

The reinstallation of cameras and “other related technical activities” will take place before the end of the year, the agency added in the statement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a gathering of Iranian diplomats in the capital Tehran that Iran and the IAEA reached a “good agreement” on Tuesday night, adding that it was reached by a delegation from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) in Vienna.

He also renewed his criticism of the agency by saying the IAEA engages in political rhetoric that goes beyond its technical mandate.

In Vienna, meanwhile, Iran presented two documents that contain its proposals on the lifting of sanctions and bringing its nuclear programme back into full compliance with the nuclear deal.

The Western signatories of the deal have not welcomed the texts, saying they erase some of the progress achieved during six rounds of talks that ended in June, and on some occasions go beyond the original nuclear deal, claims that Iran rejects.

Source: Al Jazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021...to-re-install-cameras-at-contested-karaj-site

 

Oh, excellent news!
Surveillance cameras will be installed in Iranian nuclear plants to "avoid misunderstandings!"
Course, no one is allowed to see what the cameras see................

 

Iran nuclear talks to resume ‘soon’ after modest gains in Vienna
Negotiators trying to agree on a joint text that would act as the basis for a potential agreement.


The delegations are expected to head back to the Austrian capital in about a week with an aim to move forward on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [EU Delegation in Vienna/EEAS/Handout via Reuters]
By Maziar Motamedi
Published On 17 Dec 202117 Dec 2021
The seventh round of talks in Vienna to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal has ended and while it appears progress was made, the negotiating world powers are not close to an agreement.

A Joint Commission meeting of the remaining signatories of the deal the United States abandoned in 2018 was held in Palais Coburg on Friday.



The delegations are expected to head back to the Austrian capital in about a week with an aim to move forward on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“We don’t have months but rather weeks to reach an agreement,” the European Union’s coordinator of the talks, Enrique Mora, told a press conference following the meeting on Friday.

“There’s a sense of urgency that’s absolutely important if we want to really have success in these negotiations.”

Russia’s chief negotiator, Mikhail Ulyanov, said in a tweet that talks will resume “soon”, adding that the latest round of the negotiations “was successful in a sense that it prepared sound basis for more intensive negotiations”.


Mikhail Ulyanov
@Amb_Ulyanov
The seventh round of the #ViennaTalks was successful in a sense that it prepared sound basis for more intensive negotiations. It is fully confirmed that further work will be based on the results of the previous rounds. The negotiators now much better understand each other.
8:47 AM · Dec 17, 2021

Reports indicate the sides are close to reaching a new joint draft, incorporating elements from a text reached by the end of the sixth round in June and new proposals, by the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi, presented in the form of two documents earlier this month.

If Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – plus the US which is participating indirectly – agree on a draft, it would act as a basis for moving the talks forward.

Prior to Friday’s meeting, Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, said in a tweet that “good progress” was made during the week and an eighth round will be held after a short break.

Iran has said it wants all sanctions, imposed as part of the “maximum pressure” campaign by the US, lifted, a position the Western counterparts regard as maximalist.

Iran also wants a period to verify the lifting of sanctions, and guarantees the US will not renege on the accord again – demands that it wishes to present as part of a third text when the initial two are agreed upon.

Nuclear developments
The Western signatories of the nuclear deal have repeatedly sought urgency due to Iran’s nuclear advances.

In a joint statement last week, senior diplomats from the so-called E3 said “without swift progress, in light of Iran’s fast-forwarding of its nuclear programme, the JCPOA will soon become an empty shell”.

Following Friday’s meeting, E3 diplomats said in a statement that “there has been some technical progress in the last 24 hours, but this only takes us back nearer to where the talks stood in June”.

They also said all the participants wished to continue the talks, but Iran’s negotiator called for the short pause.

Iran, which maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful, says the only way the Western counterparts can have their concerns fully alleviated is to lift sanctions.

Iran is now using advanced centrifuges, has limited nuclear inspections, and is enriching uranium up to 60 percent following the US withdrawal.

But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that it is not attempting the 90 percent enrichment required for a bomb.

On Wednesday, Iran agreed that the nuclear watchdog would be allowed back in a contested centrifuge parts manufacturing workshop in Karaj to replace cameras that were damaged or destroyed in a June sabotage attack that it blamed on Israel.

The move was seen as a positive development for the Vienna talks that put to rest the possibility of an extraordinary meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors.

But in a press conference on Friday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency still wants answers on the missing recording of one of four cameras that was destroyed in the attack.

The official said that “we have ways to try to reconcile the facts on the ground with what Iran is going to be telling us soon”.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021...s-to-resume-soon-after-modest-gains-in-vienna

 

They gonna send Kerry in to negotiate?
Might as well.
The fucker sold us out a couple times already.

 

This is actually a pretty easy call because Trump could have been charged with a crime under US law let alone international law.

Iran’s Raisi says Trump must face justice for Soleimani killing
President Ebrahim Raisi urges formation of a ‘fair court’ in which former President Trump and other US officials are tried.


President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday delivered his remarks at an event in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla held to mark the second anniversary since the killing of General Qassem Soleimani [File: Vahid Salemi/AP Photo]
By Maziar Motamedi
Published On 3 Jan 20223 Jan 2022
Tehran – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has said former United States President Donald Trump must face justice for his role in the assassination of top general Qassem Soleimani two years ago, or else Iran will have revenge.

In a televised speech on Monday, the Iranian president said as the “main criminal and killer” who ordered the deadly drone attack on Soleimani’s convoy in Iraq, Trump must face “God’s ruling” and suffer “qisas”, which is the Islamic term for retaliation in kind.

Keep reading
list of 3 items
US Congress chips away at law used to justify Soleimani strike
US official meets with Israeli PM on Iran nuclear deal talks
Iran launches rocket into space as nuclear talks continue
Raisi called for the formation of a “fair court” in which Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other American officials are sentenced and punished.

If not, he said, “don’t doubt, and I tell this to all American statesmen, that the hand of revenge will come out of the ummah’s [nation’s] sleeve”.

Iran has said Soleimani, one of the most powerful figures in the country at the time, was on a diplomatic mission in Baghdad by invitation of the Iraqi government when the US targeted him near the city’s airport.

At the time, Iran promised “harsh revenge” and days later fired more than a dozen missiles at two US bases in Iraq that caused no casualties. The country later set the complete withdrawal of American military forces from the region as its ultimate goal as it pledged revenge for the killing.

Meanwhile, judiciary officials have promised to continue following up on the assassination in local and international venues. The country had previously requested Interpol “red notices” for the arrest of Trump and dozens of other US officials.

A local court was set up on Monday, and officials have invited the Iranian public to formally register any grievances they may have with foreign powers for assassinating the general.

Iran has also called on the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council to issue resolutions against the US and Israel – which Iranian officials have accused of providing assistance for the drone attack – to condemn them and discourage similar attacks in the future.


School of Soleimani’
Raisi on Monday delivered his remarks at an event in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla to mark the second anniversary of the killing of the general. The event was televised live and included singing, reciting of poetry, flag-waving and speeches.

A week of events and programmes to commemorate the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began on Friday and continued on Monday, with gatherings in Soleimani’s hometown of Kerman and other cities across the country.

The event in Tehran was attended by high-ranking officials and envoys of regional allies like Palestine, Syria and Yemen who are part of the so-called “resistance axis” supported by Iran and expanded by Soleimani for decades.

During his speech, Raisi also painted Soleimani as a man who was more than a mere person “and became a culture, a way, a school”.

“He is not a person, he is a school. And this school is neither destroyed by terror nor by missiles,” the president said.

Raisi said the general never feared the US even as he was fully aware of its military power, “and believed from the depths of his soul that America can’t do a damn thing against us”, echoing a phrase favoured by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Raisi also said Soleimani was a man who mastered both the battlefield and diplomacy, in what appeared to be a barb at former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had said in a leaked audio tape in April that he at times had to “sacrifice” diplomacy for the advancement of field operations across the region.




Video Duration 02 minutes 26 seconds 02:26
US killing of Iran's Qassem Soleimani 'unlawful': UN expert
More events to come
Iranian media was awash with content about Soleimani on Monday, and a documentary on him was slated to be aired soon by state television. Cities were filled with posters of Soleimani, at times pictured next to Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was part of Soleimani’s convoy and was also killed along with several others in the drone attack.

A student gathering was organised Sunday night outside the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in the decades-long absence of formal relations. The participants shouted slogans and burned US flags in the street.

Events are expected to continue every day until Friday, when officials have planned an exhibition showcasing Iranian missiles to mark the IRGC’s missile attacks on the US bases two years ago.

In the early hours of Monday, at least two major Israeli media companies came under cyberattacks. The website of the Jerusalem Post and the Twitter account of Maariv appeared to be hacked as they posted content praising Soleimani and threatening Israel.

An image that they both posted showed a picture from the IRGC’s recent five-day military drill, in which a mockup of Israel’s Dimona nuclear facilities were blown up using missiles and drones. A fist guiding the missile bore Soleimani’s famous ring, with the words, “We are close to you where you do not think about it” on the image.

Source: Al Jazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022...ust-face-justice-for-soleimanis-assassination

 

Leave it to the American hating member to claim that the killing of a terrorist who killed Americans is a crime.

 

This is kind of surprising. And they might have inside information.

Scoop: Israel's military intel chief says Iran deal better than no deal


Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (center) hosts a Cabinet meeting. Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Pool via Getty Images

The head of Israeli military intelligence told ministers during a Security Cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel will be better off if the Iran nuclear talks lead to a deal rather than collapsing without one, two Cabinet ministers who attended the meeting tell me.

Why it matters: While Israel campaigned vigorously against the 2015 nuclear deal, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett continues to take hawkish positions on diplomacy with Iran, the statements from Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva reflect a broader shift in the thinking of the Israeli defense establishment.

Driving the news: Haliva, who was appointed as the head of military intelligence in October, told the Cabinet that a deal in Vienna would serve Israel’s interests by providing increased certainty about the limitations on Iran's nuclear program, and it would buy more time for Israel to prepare for escalation scenarios.

• Haliva was reacting to a briefing by Mossad director David Barnea on the spy agency's annual intelligence assessment.
• Barnea raised reservations about whether a deal would serve Israel’s interests and said there was still time to influence the U.S. position in Vienna, according to the two ministers who attended the meeting.
• "It is not a lost cause, and it is worth putting the time and the effort in a dialogue with the Americans," Barnea told the ministers.

Behind the scenes: Israeli officials say the general assessment in Jerusalem had until recently been that Iran was only playing for time in Vienna, but now a deal is looking more likely.

• "It will be a big surprise if some kind of deal doesn’t emerge from Vienna," a senior Israeli official told me.

What to watch: The two ministers who attended the Cabinet meeting say the consensus was that even if a deal is reached in Vienna, Israel should refrain from publicly criticizing the Biden administration over it.

• Foreign Minister Yair Lapid warned in the meeting that such public attacks could seriously damage the relationship with the administration.

What’s next: In a briefing with reporters on Monday, Lapid said Israel would continue to engage with the Biden administration and other world powers to influence the parameters of a possible nuclear deal. "We are now in a trench war to improve the deal," Lapid said.

https://www.axios.com/israel-iran-d...ief-434b6757-88a0-4df2-91c0-9cec5286828c.html

 

Iran says nuclear agreement can be reached if US sanctions lifted
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran wants guarantees sanctions will not be reimposed.


An eighth round of talks over Iran's nuclear deal are under way in Vienna [File: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AP Photo]
Published On 6 Jan 20226 Jan 2022
Iran’s foreign minister has said an agreement can be reached with world powers over its nuclear deal if Western parties have the will and intention to do so.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said an agreement could be reached if all sanctions were lifted.


An eighth round of negotiations aimed at restoring Iran’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal is under way in Vienna, where Iran is still looking for guarantees that US sanctions will be lifted.

The talks over the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are taking place between Iran and world powers that are signatories to the deal. The United States, which unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, is participating in the talks indirectly.

The JCPOA provided sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. But after the US withdrawal, Iran abandoned some curbs and is now using advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium up to 60 percent.

Following its departure, the US reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.



Tehran is now demanding the complete lifting of US sanctions, as well as guarantees that the US will not pull out of the accord again, and calling to be given a period of time to verify sanctions are effectively lifted.

“Lifting sanctions means lifting all forms of sanctions stipulated in the nuclear agreement, and the sanctions that Trump reimposed contradict the terms of the agreement,” Amir-Abdollahian told Al Jazeera.

“We demand guarantees that include not imposing any new sanctions, and not reimposing sanctions after lifting them under any pretext,” he added.

The Iranian official said the most “practical model” for this would be when it comes to Iran exporting oil and obtaining revenues through the country’s own banking system.

“There’s an informal and an indirect exchange of message with the Americans in Vienna – we hear good words from that delegation, but what is important to us is to see practical and serious American actions,” he Amir-Abdollahian.

Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Vienna, said Amir-Abdollahian seemed “quite optimistic”.

“The technical issues and the logistical issues they had over the agenda has been resolved,” Jabbari said.

“The foreign minister was very specific about Iran’s position – he gave some very good examples of what they’re looking for,” she added.

Source: Al Jazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022...na-deal-can-be-reached-if-us-sanctions-lifted

 

Yeah, we all (well, except the biden/harris administration) know how that works.
The goal is not a nuclear or peace agreement, the goal is to get the sanctions lifted.

Which means the sanctions are working and need to be left in place.

Which means the biden/harris folks will be lifting the sanctions.
Kerry will be so pleased.

 

Iranian Americans: World a Safer Place After Trump Killed Iran’s Soleimani



An Iranian-American advocacy group praised former president Donald Trump on the second anniversary of Qassem Soleimani's death by U.S. drone strike, saying the world is a much safer place because of the Iranian terrorist mastermind's assassination.

Soleimani was "directly involved in the killing and wounding of many American troops, as well as the murder and kidnapping of Western civilians and the destabilization of the Middle East through his use of terrorist proxy groups," Iranian Americans for Liberty (IAL), a grassroots group of activists opposed to the hardline regime, said in a video released this week. "Soleimani's targeted assassination hasn't just saved American lives but the lives of many from the Middle East too."

AL also demanded accountability for Western observers and officials who condemned the Soleimani strike. The video highlights comments by Iranian-allied commentators and sympathetic U.S. lawmakers, such as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), who said at the time she was "outraged the president would assassinate a foreign official."

Many of these commentators and critics claimed the strike would cause World War III. Omar, in her comments at the time, claimed the strike could set off "another world war without congressional authorization."


"Two years have passed. Isn't it time to question those in the West who were so concerned about losing Qassem Soleimani?" IAL asked in the video.

 

Illegal Iranian Oil Shipments to China Skyrocketed in 2021
Iranian crude exports jumped 40 percent in total as Biden admin shuns sanctions enforcement



licit Iranian oil shipments jumped by 40 percent in 2021, with China and Syria the top importers of this heavily sanctioned crude, according to figures published by a watchdog group that highlight the Biden administration's lax enforcement of U.S. sanctions.

From 2020 to 2021—when the Biden administration began negotiations with Iran surrounding a revamped nuclear deal and began to unwind sanctions on the hardline regime—Iranian oil exports increased by 123 million barrels, or 40 percent, according to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which closely tracks Tehran's armada of illegal oil tankers.

China was by far the top importer, signaling a growing alliance between the two rogue regimes. Beijing took in a total of 310 million barrels of crude oil and gas condensates from January to September of last year, according to UANI. This number is larger than the total number of oil barrels sold to all other destinations in 2020 together and exceeds the same period in 2020 by nearly 100 million barrels. The United Arab Emirates, Syria, Venezuela, and Russia were the next largest importers of Iran's banned crude. All told, Iran exported 417,706,340 barrels of crude in 2021.

The steep rise in exports signals lax enforcement by the Biden administration of sanctions on Iran's oil sector, which remain in place as the United States negotiates with Tehran over a new version of the 2015 nuclear accord, experts say. These shipments also provided Iran with millions of dollars in revenue amid a massive cash crunch that has crippled the Iranian government and sparked several waves of protests across the country. This financial lifeline is likely to help fund Iran's regional terrorism enterprise, which includes support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebel terrorists in Yemen.

"The 40 percent increase in Iran's oil exports is a result of the Biden administration's refusal to enforce sanctions," Claire Jungman, UANI's chief of staff, told the Washington Free Beacon. "This lack of enforcement is a form of sanctions relief and has led to an improvement in Iran's economic situation and diminished the leverage and credibility of the U.S. during negotiations."

 

The Biden administration quietly waived sanctions on Iran to allow the hardline regime to sell electricity to Iraq, according to a non-public notification obtained by the Washington Free Beacon that was provided to Congress just as nuclear talks between the United States and Tehran resumed this week.

The timing of the waiver notification—which was signed Nov. 19 but not transmitted to Congress until Nov. 29, the day nuclear negotiations resumed—has prompted accusations the Biden administration is offering concessions to Tehran to generate goodwill as talks aimed at securing a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear deal restart following a months-long standoff.

During the several-month pause, Tehran increased its nuclear program, including the enrichment of uranium and installation of advanced nuclear centrifuges. One senior congressional source familiar with the matter said the delay in transmitting the waiver to Congress indicates the administration is sensitive to the optics of waving sanctions just as negotiations resume.

Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Twitter on Friday that "a good deal is within reach if the West shows goodwill." This includes the removal of all sanctions and other measures aimed at keeping Iran from completing construction on a functional nuclear weapon.

"The Biden administration has asserted that the U.S. will not allow Iran to use this round of talks as cover to accelerate its nuclear program. Iran is showing, however, that it needs no pretext to continue on its path to a nuclear weapons capability. It is speeding in that direction today," UANI CEO Mark D. Wallace, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement. "The leaders of the international community choose not to see what is plainly evident. The JCPOA—in recognizing Iran’s right to enrich uranium—provided the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism with the option to resort to the nuclear extortion it is carrying out now."
https://freebeacon.com/national-sec...s-sanctions-on-iran-as-nuclear-talks-restart/

 

This is actually more comical than anything else but does represent a pattern I think I am seeing since President Ebrahim Raisi took office. And that is a public relaxations campaign to keep Iran in the headlines. And it doesn't matter much what. Just anything to say we are still here and not going away. Because it appears Iran would like to rejoin the world.

Iran sanctions more US officials over Soleimani assassination
In a symbolic move, Iran has added more US officials to a list that already included Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo.


Iranian men hold pictures of Qassem Soleimani, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the military commander's killing in a US drone attack [Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters]
By Maziar Motamedi
Published On 8 Jan 20228 Jan 2022
Tehran, Iran – Iran has imposed sanctions on dozens of United States officials, many of them from the military, adding to its blacklist of individuals whom it says played a role in the 2020 assassination of its top general, Qassem Soleimani.

The Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that 51 Americans have been blacklisted in relation to the “terrorist act” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general’s assassination, and human rights violations.

Keep reading
list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3
Three Iranian clubs barred from Asian Champions League
list 2 of 3
Iran says it has begun paying families over downed Ukraine plane
list 3 of 3
Iran says nuclear agreement can be reached if US sanctions lifted
end of list



US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Central Command chief Kenneth McKenzie, Pentagon officials, and commanders in several US bases across the region are among individuals targeted by the sanctions.

The sanctions are largely symbolic as the named individuals are not thought to have assets which could be seized by Iranian authorities.

A year earlier, Iran had imposed sanctions on former US President Donald Trump, his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and eight others who played a role in the killing of Soleimani near Baghdad airport in Iraq. It had also sought their arrest through Interpol, the international police organisation.

The move on Saturday comes shortly after the second anniversary of Soleimani’s killing in a US drone attack ordered by Trump.

In a ceremony marking the anniversary earlier this week, President Ebrahim Raisi said Trump, Pompeo and others must be tried in a “fair court”, warning that otherwise Iran and its allies in the so-called “resistance axis” that Soleimani championed would seek revenge.

Iran has also called on the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council to take formal action against the US and Israel – which it also accuses of providing assistance.

The IRGC on Friday exhibited an array of its locally developed missiles that it said were used in its 2020 attack against two US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the general’s assassination.

The Trump administration in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from the country’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and embarked on a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, which included harsh sanctions.

Iran and the remaining signatories to the deal – France, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and Germany – are now engaged in intense negotiations in Vienna to try to restore the accord. Representatives of the Biden administration are taking part in the talks indirectly.

Iran has demanded that most US sanctions are lifted before it scales back its nuclear programme, which has advanced rapidly since the imposition of the sanctions.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022...ore-us-officials-over-soleimani-assassination

 

Oh dear!
Our enemy, the country sworn to see us destroyed, sanctions our officials!

And the world yawns, but not stumbler.
He finds it newsworthy.
One "shithole country" at a time, eh?

 

This is why the US alone cannot contain Iran and why Traitor Trump should have never pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. That was just more of Traitor Trump's mental illness,

Iran-China ties. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is to visit China this week as the country seeks to cement ties with Beijing. According to Foreign Minister spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh the visit will include discussions on the “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement signed in March 2021 which included plans for sweeping Chinese investment in Iran’s economy in return for a steady oil supply from Iran.

Foreign Policy Morning Brief

 

I am not sure what all is up with this or why. But ever since Traitor Trump was forced out of office and President Biden came in its been like a diplomatic free for all in the Middle East with all sides suddenly being willing to talk to each other. It seems like all past bets are off and they are looking for new paths among themselves.


Iran’s foreign minister in Qatar for talks after visiting Oman
The Iranian foreign minister is on a regional tour as talks in Vienna to restore the 2015 nuclear deal continue.


Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with officials in Doha, including Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani [AFP]
By Maziar Motamedi
Published On 11 Jan 202211 Jan 2022
Tehran, Iran – Iran’s foreign minister has held high-level talks in Qatar after a visit to Oman, countries that have a history of trying to mediate between Iran and the United States on their 2015 nuclear deal.

Hossein Amirabdollahian landed in Doha in the early hours of Tuesday and met with both Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.


The Iranian foreign ministry said Amirabdollahian and the emir discussed the latest developments in Vienna, where negotiations are continuing to restore the nuclear deal with world powers through lifting US sanctions and scaling back Iran’s nuclear programme.

After a months-long pause, talks in Vienna to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is formally known, began in late November.

The US, which unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 under former President Donald Trump, is taking part indirectly.

All sides have recently concurred that progress has been made in the intensive talks, but more work is required to achieve a final agreement.

Western parties continue to warn that time is limited due to Iran’s nuclear advancements. But Iran, which maintains it will never seek a nuclear weapon, says it wants nothing short of a “good deal” to fully restore the nuclear accord and enjoy its economic benefits.

Amirabdollahian and Al Thani on Tuesday also discussed ways of improving bilateral relations, something they said is a priority for both nations. Amirabdollahian also said Iran is ready to boost ties across the region in “bilateral or multilateral formats”.

Amirabdollahian was in Muscat on Monday, where he met with Fahd bin Mahmoud al-Said, the long-serving deputy to the sultan, on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues.

According to the Iranian foreign ministry, he informed al-Said of the latest developments in Vienna, and said Iran has proposed practical solutions and is serious to reach an agreement.

Amirabdollahian also said Oman is a major priority in President Ebrahim Raisi’s foreign policy of developing close ties with regional neighbours, and Iran would like to further cultivate political, economic and cultural relations.

The two also discussed Yemen, where Iran and Saudi Arabia support opposing sides in a bitter seven-year civil war.

Oman recently facilitated the transfer of Iran’s top envoy in Yemen after he fell ill. Hassan Irloo died in Tehran days later, and Iran blamed Saudi Arabia for delaying his transfer.

In addition to meeting with Oman’s foreign minister, Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi, Amirabdollahian also used his Muscat visit to sit down with the Yemeni Houthis’ top negotiator, Mohammed Abdulsalam.

The Iranian foreign minister told him Iran wants an end to the war in Yemen, and believes only dialogue between different local factions can result in a stable political future.

“This is a Yemeni issue and Yemeni-Yemeni talks can set the political future of the country,” he said, according to the foreign ministry.

Tehran and Riyadh have so far held four rounds of direct talks hosted by Iraq in order to resolve the Yemeni issue and bilateral hostilities. A fifth round is expected soon.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022...nister-in-qatar-for-talks-after-visiting-oman

 

This is a really interesting analysis of the relationship between Iran and China. Its actually pretty complicated.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Heads to Beijing

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is in Beijing today to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the first visit to China by a member of Iran’s cabinet since new President Ebrahim Raisi took charge in August.

Amir-Abdollahian’s trip comes amid a flurry of Middle East-focused diplomacy for Beijing, with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council secretary-general all paying visits this week.

Iran’s top diplomat is set to discuss the 25-year security and economic cooperation agreement signed between the two countries in March. The $400 billion deal would see China invest in several sectors of Iran’s economy, from finance to infrastructure. It would also see both powers forge closer military ties.

With biting sanctions continuing to cripple the Iranian economy and a government wary that any rapprochement with the West could be scratched out by a future Oval Office occupant’s pen, the benefits to Tehran of a deeper relationship with its number one trading partner are obvious.

But what’s in it for Beijing? A steady (and possibly cheap) supply of Iranian oil, for one thing. But there’s more upside to engaging with Iran than just economics.

Given Iran’s geopolitical position outside the U.S sphere of influence, the relationship makes sense for Chinese leaders who know they can engage with a willing partner, Scott W. Harold, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at the Rand Corporation, told Foreign Policy.

It’s by no means an ironclad alliance, however, with Tehran still nursing grievances from China’s decisions to back U.N. sanctions against it as well as broader fears over Chinese domination. “This relationship is useful to both sides, but it’s not necessarily one based on trust,” Harold said. “It’s more based on an often overlapping Venn diagram of how do you counter threats from the outside world and your own people.”

But Beijing might not be the savior Tehran imagines. Writing in Foreign Policy in December 2020, Wang Xiyue—a former prisoner of the Iranian regime—argued that China would not sacrifice the prospect of improved relations with the United States to cozy up to Iran. “Even if Iran is more than a mere pawn, in Beijing’s view it is ultimately dispensable,” he wrote.

Bradley Bowman and Zane Zovak, writing in Foreign Policy, believe it’s a relationship Washington should keep a close eye on.

Foreign Policy Morning Brief

 

The rest of the world played geo political chess. Trump played pigeon checkers, Now everyone in the world is making a move on us because of the mentally ill dictator.

China slams U.S. sanctions on Iran as cooperation agreement launched

Reuters UK
January 15, 2022



SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China reaffirmed its opposition to unilateral sanctions by the United States against Iran as the Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers announced the launch of a 25-year cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening economic and political ties. In a meeting on Friday in the city of Wuxi, in Jiangsu province, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also backed efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Iran. A summary of the meeting between Wang and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was posted on China's foreign ministry website on Saturday. Wang, w...

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https://www.rawstory.com/china-slams-u-s-sanctions-on-iran-as-cooperation-agreement-launched/