Iranian Official Denies Mogherini’s 'Secret' Letter to Zarif.

Iranian Official Denies Mogherini’s 'Secret' Letter to Zarif. (Iranfrontpage).

An official at Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied reports that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has received a secret letter from European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherin.

Speaking to Tasnim on Sunday May 5, the official made it clear that no such letter exists.

It came after rumours went around that Mogherini had sent Zarif a secret letter, saying the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) has lived up to all of its commitments under a lasting nuclear deal with Iran, and that the outstanding problems in financial and banking ties with Tehran have nothing to do with their commitments under the accord.

While the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) came into force in January, some Iranian officials complain about the US failure to fully implement the accord.

In an interview with Tasnim in April, Mogherini said the EU has been holding talks with the US to remove the obstacles in the way of banks trying to get into Iran after implementation of the nuclear deal. Hmmmm.....We all know EU politicians never lie.

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Interview with Austrian Foreign Minister Kurz: 'Europe's Values Cannot Be Negotiable'.

Interview with Austrian Foreign Minister Kurz: 'Europe's Values Cannot Be Negotiable'. (Spiegel).

SPIEGEL: In recent presidential elections, almost 50 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots for Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). This came as a shock for many people in Europe. Do you have an explanation?


Kurz: Yes, and it is not as simple as the one that is sometimes given. There is, first of all, a serious dissatisfaction with the government and with the political system, in part because important reforms are not taking place. The second main reason is the refugee crisis. In Austria last year, we had 90,000 asylum applicants -- the second-largest per capita figure in all European countries. There was a phase of uncontrolled influx into Europe. Many politicians tried to tell the people that this is not a problem in terms of security or integration. Both led to a strengthening of right-wing populist parties, which is not purely an Austrian phenomenon.

SPIEGEL: Are you afraid that Europe is making itself dependent on Turkey?

Kurz: The Turkey deal can only be Plan B. Plan A needs to be a strong Europe that is prepared to defend its external borders on its own. If we do not do that, then we are living in a Europe that is dependent -- on other countries, and possibly even on personalities like President Erdogan. And dependency is dangerous.

SPIEGEL: Political developments in Turkey are worrisome. The immunity of lawmakers was recently lifted. Is this a result of the deal -- because Erdogan now has free rein?

Kurz: Not a result of the deal, but a matter of fact. How we deal with it is crucial. Europe's fundamental values cannot be negotiable. Keyword visa-liberalization: There cannot be any exceptions for Turkey either.

SPIEGEL: Erdogan is threatening to terminate the agreement, which creates the impression that he is pushing the Europeans around.

Kurz: If we Europeans are not in a state to be able to solve the refugee crisis ourselves, if we only depend on Plan B with Turkey -- then that is not simply an impression, it is the truth. But Europe cannot be susceptible to blackmail or be weak. I am, in any case, not in favor of having a deal with Turkey at any price.

SPIEGEL: Turkey is refusing to reform its anti-terror law. Do you think that the liberalization of visa regulations will still take place this year?


Kurz: That depends. I have gotten the sense in the last year that developments when it comes to human rights are very alarming. In the long term, it needs to be in our interest to have a Turkey in which human rights are respected. Anything else would mean destabilization right on our border. If we look away, the developments in Turkey will constantly get worse. Read the full interview here.

"CHANGE" - Austria embraces anti-immigrant right-wing in presidential vote

Candidate of the right-wing populist FPÖ (in blue) wins almost everywhere in Austria.

"CHANGE" - Austria embraces anti-immigrant right-wing in presidential vote. (BL).

VIENNA- Initial results show that the candidate of Austria's right-wing, anti-immigrant party has swept the first round of Austria's presidential elections, gathering over 35 percent of the vote and leaving the other five candidates far behind.

The apparent triumph by Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party reflects wide-spread voter dissatisfaction with the center-left Social Democrats and the centrist Freedom party. The preliminary results from official ballot counts show their candidates with not much more than 10 percent backing each.

Alexander Van der Bellen and Irmgard Griss, who ran as independents, were close to 20 percent. One of them will likely challenge Hofer in the May 22 runoff. That race will likely be closer, with most of those opposed to the Freedom Party giving one of the independents their support.

The Freedom Party's previous best showing was more than 27 percent in elections that decided Austria's membership in the European Union.

Much of Europe has begun lurching politically to the far right as a massive migrant crisis changes the very fabric of society there. Hmmm......The beginning of a tidal wave of right wing politicians rising in the EU. As i warned many months ago. Natural reaction when politicians don't listen to the people.This doesn't mean all voters are right wingers, many protest votes in these results.

Head of Iran’s Human Rights Council Responds to Mogherini: 'EU had NO HR problem expanding Business'

Head of Iran’s Human Rights Council Responds to Mogherini’s Statements: "EU members had no problem with HR to expand expanded economic and military relations with Iran" (Iranfrontpage).

Mizan News – The Head of Iran’s Human Rights Council reacted to Mogherini’s statements on the continuation of human rights sanctions in Isamic Republic of Iran.

As reported by Mizan News, and quoted by the Human Rights Council Information Centre, Dr. Mohammad Javad Larijani emphasized that the Human Rights Council supports Iran’s Foreign Minister regarding Iran’s readiness for human rights negotiations with the European Union.

He said, “We support our Foreign Minister, but planning and enforcing sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s individuals and organizations under the excuse of human rights contraventions is a shameful and unjustifiable action.”

He said that Islamic Republic of Iran will consider such actions as political enmity, “The majority of EU members have expanded economic and military relations in our region without the least consideration of the norms of human rights.

Even worse is that these countries spend millions of dollars equipping or creating dangerous terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Al-Nusra and Ahrar al-sham, all met with absolute silence from the EU. They are the main reasons behind tragedies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Africa – they should be ashamed to think of them.”

He then posed this question: “Doesn’t the EU count these [tragedies] as contraventions of human rights? Don’t they find it necessary to take action in this regard? Unfortunately, applying double standards – along with obvious human rights infractions in the West including racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia – all of this depletes the value of Western human rights claims.”

Concluding his remarks, Larijani said, “Iran and Europe’s human rights negotiations should work to expose these double standards, and to show that the Islamic Republic of Iran is the greatest democracy of the region.”

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Video - Turkish coast guards abusing refugees adrift.

People on the boat speaking Arabic and Farsi. They say "film this, film this" and "don't turn back" #bbcnews pic.twitter.com/dlKCvySXbA

— Ed Thomas (@EdThomas76) March 12, 2016

Related: Turkish Coastguard hosing down refugees at sea. Hmmm.....Ottoman 'Herrenvolk' culture 101.

Journey of hope & fear: Turkish coastguard opens fire on #refugees fleeing to #Greece. Great @AlexCrawfordSky report https://t.co/S1mzd1ISMw

— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) September 11, 2015

Turkish Coast Guard playing sick game with refugees.

Turkey's 'leadership' brings new offer to EU Meeting 'That they can't refuse' .

#Turkey seeking '€20bn' more in aid - Reuters. https://t.co/57sqhyT5Dc pic.twitter.com/VEPt32Zc3s

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) March 7, 2016

Turkey's 'leadership' brings new offer to EU Meeting 'That they can't refuse' . (FT).

Ahead of crunch summit between EU leaders and the Turkish prime minister on Monday, Ankara has called for an increase on the €3bn in aid previously promised by the EU, faster access to Schengen visas for Turkish citizens and accelerated progress in its EU membership bid, write Alex Barker and Duncan Robinson in Brussels.

Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the proposed deal demonstrated “how indispensable the EU is for Turkey and Turkey for the EU”. Speaking before the meeting, Mr Davutoğlu added: “The whole future of Europe is on the table.”

• Turkey is now expected to call for increase on the €3bn in aid which was agreed by the EU. Even that sum is a sticking point, the money was promised but has not yet been delivered, and new aid projects will be part of the discussion.

• Turkey will push for further progress on Turkey’s EU bid, mentioned by Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu as he arrived, mentioning to reporters “how indispensable the EU is for Turkey and Turkey for the EU”.

• EU leaders are likely to say the country has many conditions it must meet for its EU bid to progress. German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday that Berlin had major doubts about whether Turkey should become a member of the EU.

• Davutoglu is also expected to raise the access to Schengen visas for Turkish citizens.

• Those demands are in return for allowing the return of non-Syrian migrants to Turkey, if they attempt to cross to Europe.


•  But the new Turkish demands are causing headaches for diplomats, with one comparing the haggling to a “Turkish bazaar” according to the FT. 

Hmmm......Of course the Caliph will try to blackmail them, are they really this stupid? Read the full story here.

Former US amb to Azerbaijan “Sending gas to Europe doesn’t make commercial sense for Iran”

After Iran 'used' the EU: “Sending gas to Europe doesn’t make commercial sense for Iran” (Taz).

Sending gas to Europe doesn’t make commercial sense for Iran, says Matthew Bryza, former US assistant secretary for South Caucasus and former US ambassador to Azerbaijan.

Speaking to Trend Oct. 19, Bryza, who is also the director of the Tallinn-based International Centre for Defense Studies, said there are countries all around Iran, such as UEA, Oman, and Kuwait, which need gas.

“There are other countries that would like to buy Iranian gas, and it is a lot cheaper, a lot easier, and you don’t need to build that infrastructure, you just send it to your neighbors,” he said.
Bryza says it is unlikely that Iran’s gas will go to Europe because economically it doesn’t make much sense.

”There is not enough infrastructure now to get it [gas] to Turkey, and down to Europe, so there has to be a lot of investment in that infrastructure,” he said.

Bryza also noted that if the demand in Europe goes up, if Iran produces gas beyond the volume consumed in its neighborhood, and if sanctions on the Islamic Republic are lifted, it is possible that Iran’s gas will go to Europe.

Speaking further about the prospects for implementation of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, he said the project is now more promising than it has ever been.

The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline is projected to deliver Turkmenistan’s energy resources to European market.

The gas pipeline is intended to run through the bottom of the Caspian Sea to the coast of Azerbaijan. From there on, Turkmenistan’s hydrocarbons can reach Turkey, which shares a border with Europe.

Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline can be realized as part of a major project for the Southern Gas Corridor, which is meant to deliver the Caspian gas, in particular Azerbaijan’s gas, to Europe. Read the full story here.

Iran studies possible ways to export gas to 'Sponsor' EU[Rabia].

Iran studies possible ways to export gas to 'Sponsor' EU[Rabia]. (Taz).

Iran is studying possible ways to export gas to Europe, including Nabucco (Nabucco west) and Trans-Anatolian pipeline projects (TANAP), a senior Iranian oil official said.

The director of international affairs at National Iranian Gas Company Azizollah Ramezani told Mehr News Agency on August 1 that Iran is studying economical and operational conditions for choosing the most economic and the most secure way to export gas to Europe.

"Based on results of the studies, the best choice will be selected", he said, adding that gas exports to Europe is one of the long-term policies of the Iranian gas industry.

However, the first priority is to export gas to the neighboring countries, especially to the Persian Gulf nations, he noted.

Nabucco West project was the rival of the Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) project in competing for the transportation of Azerbaijani gas to European markets, but failed.

Azerbaijani gas (as well as the potential other gas from Iran, Turkmenistan, etc) would be delivered to Europe through the Southern Gas Corridor by 2020.

The Southern Gas Corridor consists of South Caucasus Pipeline (Azerbaijan, Georgia), Trans Anatolian Pipeline or TANAP (Turkey) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline or TAP (Greece, Albania, Italy).
The concept of the Nabucco West project envisaged the construction of 1,300-kilometer pipeline (412 kilometers running through Bulgaria, 469 kilometers – Romania, 384 kilometers – Hungary, 47 kilometers – Austria) from Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria’s Baumgarten.

Earlier, Ramazani said on July 30 that stretching a gas pipeline from Iran to Europe needs 10 billion euro worth investment.

He said that so far nothing new has happened regarding gas export to Europe and stressed that as the situation seems ripe, strong will is needed and the sides should pursue talks seriously.

He pointed out that according to studies conducted by the European Parliament, Iran could export 25 to 30 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe annually.


Iran has the long-term potential to become one of the world's top gas producers, thanks to its 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, or around 18 percent of the world's total, Fitch Ratings said in a report on July 10. Hmmm.....As i said many times in the past, EU politicians would sell out their whole family for cheap Gas from Iran and Turkey. Now the 'thirty pieces of Silver' are to be paid.

Related Flashback Jan. 2013.

NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets.

Why Mogherini loves Iran - 'Iran Ready to Supply Gas to Europe' Iran FM.

Why Mogherini loves Iran - 'Iran Ready to Supply Gas to Europe' Iran FM. (Fars).

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced Tehran's preparedness to supply gas to the European countries.

"Iran on par with Russia enjoys all the (needed) resources to provide gas to Europe," Zarif said in a joint press conference with his Kazakh counterpart Erlan Idrissov in Astana on Monday.

Meantime, the Iranian minister stressed that his country does not at all intend to replace or rival Russian gas exports, and said, "Tehran is a trustworthy partner and this issue has been understood by China, India, Pakistan and Turkey which use Iran's gas."

Iran, which sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is making efforts to raise its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, specially in South Pars gas field. The country presently supplies gas to Turkey and Armenia and is due to begin pumping gas to Iraq this spring.

During the press conference, Zarif also referred to bilateral relations between Tehran and Astana, and said, "We have cooperation with Kazakhstan in extensive fields and these grounds lead to regional growth and development and interaction among adjacent countries." Hmmm.....Just lift the sanctions and there will be money to be made. Everyone has his price.....some with no morals come very cheap.Just look how Erdo is allowed to behave in exchange for Cheap gas promises.