No broad nuclear inspections says Iran’s supreme leader
Those Iran negotiations went really well…
Leave it to the good ol’ Ayatollah to tattle on U.S. officials.
If Atatollah Khamenei’s Twitter feed is any indicator, Iran is not too keen on the idea of nuclear inspections. Early this morning, Iran’s Supreme Leader tweeted:
They say new things in negotiations;we already said that we won't allow foreigners to carry out any inspections on military sites
#IranTalks
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 20, 2015
I will not let foreigners talk to & interrogate scientists who are the dear & distinguished children of #Iran. pic.twitter.com/NL56D8DFZ1
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 20, 2015
Officials should know that only way to counter the brazen enemy is will power &avoiding inaction;they should show Iran's grandeur in talks.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 20, 2015
The New York Times Ayatollah Khamenei, “ruled out inspections of Iranian military sites and interviews of Iranian nuclear scientists in any potential deal on its nuclear program,” at a graduation speech Wednesday.
In a speech at a graduation ceremony at the Imam Hussein Military University in Tehran, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, denounced what he said were escalating demands in the nuclear talks between Iran and world powers that resumed on Wednesday in Vienna.
“They say new things in the negotiations. Regarding inspections, we have said that we will not let foreigners inspect any military center,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to a text of the speech released on his personal website, Khamenei.ir.
After the last round of talks ended on Friday, a barrage of complaints erupted on the Iranian state news media over reported demands by the United States for broad mandates for nuclear inspectors working for the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
Ahead of yet another looming arbitrary deadline to reach a “deal,” Iran is making quite clear they have absolutely no interest in allowing inspections.
The comments by Ayatollah Khamenei seemingly cement the Iranian position that a requirement for inspections of sites not designated by the country as part of its nuclear energy program is a nonstarter. While not new, the statement could further tie the hands of Iran’s negotiating team, led by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who on Friday said that a comprehensive deal before the self-imposed June 30 deadline was still possible.
Rewind to early April. The White House and Secretary Kerry announced what was an allegedly historic “Iran deal.” Almost immediately, Ayatollah Khamenei blasted holes in the administration’s claims one tweet at a time.
As Professor Jacobson pointed out in April, contrast Obama’s version of the Iran deal (beneath), with Iran’s understanding of the soft, frameless, non-agreement, agreement:
Add President Obama’s double talk on Iranian sanctions to the White House’s fit-pitching over Congressional review of Iran negotiations. Toss in the fact that virtually everything the administration says about anything Iran-related is then contradicted by Iranian officials, and this is one nasty foreign policy cocktail.
It’s a sad day when the most reliable source of intrastate diplomatic information comes from a Supreme Leader’s Twitter feed, alas…
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Comments
Annnnnd /we/ were racists for warning of this sort of thing. Right. Sure.
Iran plays the US like a gorilla beating on a drum.
Oh, silly Islamophobic knuckle-dragging wing-nuts…!!!
This is just ANOTHER of those things that these guys keep saying over and over that they TOTs don’t MEAN.
It’s all just stuff they have to say to placate THEIR hand-liner, knuckle-dragging swamp-dwellers from their South.
We just need to trust our dreamy, pragmatic foreign policy team. Like that super-smart Harf chick, who has advanced degrees from really good universities you could never get into. They know what they’re doing…
/sarc
Atatollah Khamenei can go Obama himself!
Golly gee…. maybe starting off your term as POTUS by going on an international apology tour and then drawing “red lines” which you fail to enforce, and then unilaterally withdrawing forces leaving power vacuums, and then failing to uphold treaty obligations to protect partners, JUST MAYBE all of those actions serve to undermine your negotiating power. Ya think? Who’da thunk?
Under the Mad Mullahs, Iran has never made a formal concession on anything, and they have also broken every single informal “assurance” they have made – like they assured us they weren’t enriching, had no great centrifuge farm, had no secret underground facility, etc.
Obama and Kerry are giving away the house and the path to nukes for free. They are getting absolutely nothing in return.
“They are getting absolutely nothing in return.”
Depends upon what you want. If you are an anti-American in favor of destroying the country, it would seem you are successful.
Anyone else would be embarrassed by the latest Iranian revelations. But not out fearless leaders, they are not bothered at all. Wonder why?
No broad nuclear inspections says Iran’s supreme leader
No broads allowed to do the inspections?
Obama won’t stand for such blatant gender discrimination!
It’s a good thing the Repubs have the House and the Senate now. They’ll look out for us. I’m sure of it.
Where’d I put my Scotch?
This has part deux, trois, etc. written all over it.
Iranian piracy in the Gulf certainly demonstrates how much the Iranians can be trusted. We can take heart that Barry will with Iranian piracy and fomenting civil war every bit as well as Barry dealt with Iranian nuclear weapon development.
Iran (and for that matter, Putin and Xi Jinping) must be amazed at their luck in having a jackass like Obama as their opposition.
They must be even more amazed after meeting a world-class schmuck like John Kerry — and on the heels (or ankles) of experiencing another world-class schmuck in Hillary Clinton.
What does it say when you believe an Ayatollah over the President of the United States?