Iran names new envoy to IAEA, extending makeover of nuclear team.

Iran names new envoy to IAEA, extending makeover of nuclear team.(JPost).

DUBAI - Iran has named a disarmament expert as its envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog, extending a reshuffle of top officials dealing with its disputed atomic program since new President Hassan Rouhani took office vowing to improve Iran's foreign relations.

Rouhani has yet to pick someone for arguably Iran's most important diplomatic post - chief nuclear negotiator with world powers - but the pragmatist tilt of his team so far points to a closer alignment of nuclear and foreign policy.
Reza Najafi, who has worked on disarmament issues within Iran's foreign ministry, will be its next ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, ISNA news agency said on Tuesday.
Najafi replaces Ali Asghar Soltanieh, who has been leading so far fruitless negotiations with the IAEA since early 2012 and was the ambassador during the hardline conservative tenure of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The UN agency wants to resume a long-stalled investigation into suspicions that Iran has carried out research relevant for nuclear weapons development, an allegation Tehran denies. Western diplomats accuse Iran of stonewalling the IAEA inquiry.
Little is known about Najafi's politics. But the state run English language Press TV said that as the head of Iran's atomic energy organization in 2010, Salehi tried to replace Soltanieh with Najafi at the IAEA, describing Najafi as "an expert in non-proliferation issues" who "deserves the post". But Soltanieh's term was ultimately extended.
Mark Fitzpatrick, director of non-proliferation and disarmament at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that when Najafi attended an IISS conference in 2010, he engaged with other participants during the breaks, listened well, asked good questions and defended Iran's interests but was not above correcting himself.
ISNA said Najafi was nominated by new Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a US-educated former UN ambassador, for the IAEA post and Rouhani approved it.
For the pivotal post of chief nuclear negotiator, it is nearly certain that Rouhani will replace Saeed Jalili, a hardline ideologue of the Islamic Revolution who diplomats said spent more time lecturing than engaging with major powers.Hmmm.....A 'disarmament expert'...they'll go after Israel's  possession of Nukes.Read the full story here.

Israeli Official: Israel Will Not Rely on US to Stop Iran Nuclear Weapons Program.

Israeli Official: Israel Will Not Rely on US to Stop Iran Nuclear Weapons Program.HT: Algemeiner.

Israel is capable of carrying out a unilateral strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities without the aid of the United States, a senior Israeli official told Israeli Radio Tuesday, but added that such actions would be inferior and less effective than a US strike.

The US administration is unlikely to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons at any cost, unlike Israel, the official was cited as saying, explaining that the Obama Administration’s level of involvement in Syria’s ongoing civil war contradicts the US president’s previous declarations.

President Obama has stated that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a “red-line,” but he has hesitated to intercede militarily since reports surfaced that the Syrian army has used chemical agents against rebels and the general population.
Israel Radio added that inside Israel there is fear that the US administration will attempt to focus on engaging Iran now that recently elected President Hassan Rouhani, seen by some as a relative moderate, has taken office; and that the country will agree to ease sanctions on the Islamic Republic in return for concessions not compatible with Israel’s security requirements.Hmmm......"Pour les vaincre, messieurs, il nous faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audace et la Patrie sera sauvée!" ~ Danton. Read the full story here.

Video - Former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner: If Iran Gets Nuclear Weapon, It Will Not Hesitate to Use It; World Should Protect Israel.

Former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner: If Iran Gets Nuclear Weapon, It Will Not Hesitate to Use It; World Should Protect Israel. Following are excerpts from an interview with former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on January 4, 2013.
Kouchner spoke in French, and was translated simultaneously into Arabic.
Interviewer: How come Israel has the right to possess nuclear weapons, while Iran does not? The answer is always vague…

Bernard Kouchner: [Israel] does not have the right to possess nuclear weapons, and nobody has announced officially that Israel possesses such weapons. In addition, some other countries, like Pakistan, have not officially declared this. In theory, the NPT should prevent any signatory country from producing a nuclear weapon. This is monitored by the IAEA, which has headquarters in Vienna.
Israel is unlike any other country. It is the outcome of the horrific massacre of the Holocaust, which was perpetrated in Europe, not in the Middle East. The [existence of Israel] – with UN permission – made it possible for the Jews living in the Diaspora to return to where they lived 2,000 years ago or a little less.
If we in the world had the slightest honor or moral values, we would have continued to protect this country. This, however, does not necessarily mean supporting the policies of its government.
The existence of Israel is of importance to everyone in the world. All the countries voted for the establishment of Israel in 1947, including Russia [sic] and the United States. Therefore, it is our duty to protect it.

Interviewer: Even at the expense of other peoples?

Bernard Kouchner: Not at the expense of other peoples, but if a war, nuclear or conventional, is imposed, it must be fought.

Interviewer: But [Israel] launched many wars…

Bernard Kouchner: Excuse me, Israel has won all the wars so far, and these wars led to peace and to Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem. Sadat was a great, wise, and courageous Arab leader.
Things have changed. Some countries, like Iran, openly express their enmity to Israel. Therefore, Iran must not obtain nuclear weapons, which it will not hesitate to use.
We are prepared to renew the negotiations [with Iran], but this will be futile so long as Ahmadinejad is in place. We have tried. I personally participated in many talks, which led to nothing. We should try to meet with people more serious and flexible than Ahmadinejad. This could possibly lead to a breakthrough. Source: Memri.

Anti-Israel Hackers Steal ‘Highly Sensitive’ Nuclear Data From IAEA In Second Attack.

Anti-Israel Hackers Steal ‘Highly Sensitive’ Nuclear Data From IAEA In Second Attack.(FB).An anti-Israel hacking collective has seized “highly sensitive” nuclear data and satellite imagery from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world’s top nuclear watchdog, according to the website Cryptome. This is the second time in two weeks that the IAEA’s internal computer systems have been hacked by a group calling itself Parastoo, which is the Iranian word for a swallow (bird). Parastoo stole the personal information of nearly 200 IAEA scientists and officials last week, including one employee in the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science.
DOE is responsible for overseeing America’s nuclear arsenal. Parastoo now claims to have pilfered reams of documents and personnel information from the nuclear watchdog’s internal “nuclear data section,” according to a statement by the group.
It also has obtained “highly sensitive information, Including Confidential ‘SafeGuard’ Documents, Satellite Images, Official letters, [and] Presentations,” according to the statement. The hacker group has threatened to release this sensitive information unless the IAEA launches a formal investigation into Israel’s nuclear site, which some believe houses nuclear arms. “We are demanding IAEA to start an INVESTIGATION into activities at Israel’s secret nuclear facilities,” the group wrote in its second public statement. “There are many PARASTOOs in the world, seeking for an investigation into Israel’s Human-Life threatening nuclear activities.” The IAEA did not respond to a Free Beacon request for comment about the second infiltration of its servers.
Parastoo has said that it will safeguard this information as long as the IAEA agrees to investigate Israel’s Negev Nuclear Research Center located near the southern city of Dimona. Israel has not publicly acknowledged having nuclear arms. Parastoo’s demand appears to be in response to the IAEA’s aggressive investigation into Iran’s clandestine nuclear enrichment program, which is believed to be aimed at building nuclear weapons. “This information only released to open eyes of IAEA and independent media to real threat of world peace, Israel,” the group states.
“Our intentions are not to sabotage or misuse such data for any purposes what so ever.” Additionally, Parastoo claims to have at least 15 portions of the IAEA’s system under its control and it lists this information for the public to view. The group also provides a sample of several documents and satellite images it has seized from the IAEA and lists the email addresses of additional employees. Parastoo is highly critical of Israel, accusing it of espionage and terrorism in past statements.Hmmmm.......As i said before the 'End game' is Israel's nuclear weapons.By giving yourself an Iranian name doesn't mean you're Iranian.Read the full story here.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak 'Bombing facilities better than nuke-armed Tehran'.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak 'Bombing facilities better than nuke-armed Tehran'.(JPost).Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday – the same day Iran announced it had added 1,000 more centrifuges – that dealing with a nuclear-armed Iran would be much more deadly and costly than confronting Tehran before it goes nuclear. Barak, speaking to the graduating class of the National Defense College, said that Israel’s leaders were facing the most “complicated and complex” security challenges the country had ever faced.Barak touched on a recurrent theme in his comments – that the international community’s failure to stop the massacre in Syria should be a lesson to Israel about the world’s inability to enlist the “political will, unity of purpose and ability to act even when the reality necessitates it.” Saying that the Arab Spring had gradually turned into an Islamic summer, Barak said that at its moment of truth Israel could rely only on itself. The defense minister added that he was well aware of the difficulties and complexities involved in stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear arms. “But,” he said, “it is perfectly clear to me that dealing with this challenge when it matures, if it matures, will be inestimably more complex, inestimably more dangerous and inestimably more costly in human life and resources.” Barak’s words came the same day that Iran defiantly made clear that it was moving forward with its nuclear activities. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying Iran currently had “11,000 centrifuges active in enrichment facilities” in the country. If true, this would amount to an increase of 1,000 centrifuges in the past two months, since the International Atomic Energy Agency put the number of centrifuges spinning in Iran at 10,000 in a report it released in late May. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has warned consistently in recent months that Iran was moving steadily forward with its nuclear program under the cover of talks with world powers, said in a recorded message aired at the National Defense College graduation ceremony that in a region surrounded by missiles the best defense was “the ability to attack.”Hmmmm....."Pour les vaincre, messieurs, il nous faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audace et la Patrie sera sauvée!" ~ Danton. To defeat them, gentlemen, we need audacity, more audacity and always audacity and the Homeland will be saved!Read the full story here.

The U.N. Never Ceases to Amaze" - UN Conference on Arms Trade Treaty Selects Iran as Vice-Chairman

The U.N. Never Ceases to Amaze - UN Conference on Arms Trade Treaty Selects Iran as Vice-Chairman.(Fars).The Iranian delegation attending the United Nations Conference on Arms Trade Treaty was elected as the vice-chairman of the meeting being held in New York. The month-long talks were scheduled to kick off July 2 but were delayed until the night of July 3 after a dispute over whether non-members Palestine and The Holy See would be allowed voting rights. The main goal of the conference is compiling a treaty to legalize the trade of all conventional weapons. It is expected that the participants discuss the possible challenges facing the conventional weapons' transfer at the international level and compile a treaty to counter the phenomenon. Calling it a "disgrace" that there is no international agreement regulating global arms sales, the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon yesterday opened a month-long conference that aims to negotiate one to curb black markets and deny weapons to repressive regimes, terrorists and nations at war.
"It is ambitious, but I believe it is achievable," Ban told the delegates in New York representing more than 150 countries. "Our common goal is clear." Such unregulated weapons kill 1,500 people each day, up to 750,000 a year, according to Amnesty International USA. The proposed Arms Trade Treaty, in the works for six years, requires 65 nations to ratify it before it is legally binding on those countries. It would cover all conventional weapons, from small arms to tanks, warships and missile systems. It would require ratifying countries to regulate imports, exports and weapons passing through their territories. Countries would have to publish their sales yearly and register arms brokers, according to the draft treaty. The treaty asks countries to decide on sales, based on certain criteria. Arms deals contributing to human-rights violations, including terrorism, genocide or other war crimes, should not be authorized. Other criteria include whether arms would undermine peace or prolong a conflict, be diverted to the black market, hurt the economy of the purchasing nation or if the sale involved corruption.Hmmmm.....No matter what being discussed at the UN you can be sure they'll  target Israel....one way or another.Read the full story here.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal says Iran talks waste of time.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal says Iran talks waste of time.(AA).Negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program is a “waste of time” and it should be pushed forward towards time-limited talks, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Monday, as Europe confirmed that a ban on oil imports from Iran will go ahead as planned on July 1. The comments came during the joint ministerial meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Union (EU) in Luxemburg. “We have agreed on the importance of negotiating with Tehran for the sake of reaching a political solution. Based on our previous experience, negotiations for Iran might be a means to gain more time instead of reaching a result. I believe, planning a time-limit for the negotiations will push Iran to show its real policy. It is not important to talk about the nuclear potentials, but what is happening on the ground is more important,” Faisal said, according to Al Arabiya. The West suspects Iran of seeking to make nuclear weapons under the guise of an energy program and wants it to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent, which brings it dangerously close to levels needed to make a nuclear bomb. Prince Faisal expressed his displeasure that Iran was not responding to all such efforts and its attempts to manipulate.
The Saudi top diplomat underlined the importance of making the Middle East region free of mass-destruction weapons, SPA reported. The EU confirmed earlier Monday that a ban on oil imports from Iran will go ahead as planned on July 1 due to the lack of progress in talks on Tehran’s contested nuclear drive.This meant on the one hand that contracts for importing Iranian oil that were concluded before Jan. 23 “will have to be terminated by July 1.” “From the same date, EU insurers may no more provide third-party liability and environmental liability insurance for the transport of Iranian oil,” the statement said, according to AFP.Confirmation that the embargo will be enforced comes days after talks in Moscow between Iran and world powers on its nuclear program failed to reach a breakthrough.Hmmmm......."The Saudi top diplomat underlined the importance of making the Middle East region free of mass-destruction weapons"....As i said before if Obama protects Israel there will be a very heavy price to pay.Read the full story here.