'Yes We Can' - Rep Sen. Corker believes his Iran bill has Pres. veto-proof majority.

'Yes We Can' - Rep Sen. Corker believes his Iran bill has Pres. veto-proof majority. (HP).

Senator Bob Corker (R-Tn) believes that his bill requiring Congress to vote up or down on any agreement that President Hussein Obama makes with Iran has a veto-proof majority.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Monday he's confident his bill to restrict President Barack Obama's ability to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran can survive a threatened presidential veto.

"Look, I don’t ever want to overcommit and under-deliver,” Corker told reporters Monday evening. “We are moving in a very positive direction, and we’ve worked through some issues that I think have given me a lot of hope. ... I think that this weekend has been very productive.”

Corker's bill, scheduled for markup in the Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday afternoon, would grant Congress the final vote on any nuclear agreement the U.S. and its five negotiating partners reach with Iran. Congress would have two months to review the deal, and during that time the president would be prevented from easing economic sanctions on Iran.

“It’s really a resolution of disapproval,” Corker said of the nuclear talks, which face a June 30 deadline.

The bill is roughly three votes short of the 67 needed to override a veto. However, members of the committee have filed at least 52 amendments to the legislative text, meaning that the results of the markup may drastically alter the vote count in either direction.

Corker ultimately decides which amendments to put up for a committee vote. On Monday, he seemed unlikely to consider those that would significantly alter his original text.

“I feel like were going to present a bill tomorrow that keeps 100 percent of the integrity of the process relevant to the nuclear agreement in place,” Corker said, emphasizing the need for Congress to vote on the agreement and to postpone sanctions relief.

At the same time, Corker acknowledged the need to woo Democrats, including those hesitant to support to a bill the White House insists will sabotage peaceful nuclear negotiations. Hmmm.......Anything is better than this presidential 'nuclear garage sale'.Read the full story here.

Iran: West Not Allowed to Speak with Threatening ways in N. Talks, outlines 'plan'

Iran: West Not Allowed to Speak with Threatening ways in N. Talks. (Fars).

A senior Iranian negotiator announced on Monday that the western members of the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) are not allowed to threaten Tehran at the negotiating table.

"We negotiate on equal footing and with mutual respect and don’t allow the other side to participate in the negotiations with a hidden gun and in (military) boots," Director General for Political Affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry and nuclear negotiator Hamid Baeidinejad said, addressing a conference in Tehran dubbed 'from Geneva to Lausanne' alluding to the venues of the previous rounds of the nuclear talks between Iran and powers.

He underscored the necessity for the removal of all sanctions against Tehran, and stressed that "all the EU, US and UN Security Council sanctions will be terminated on the first day that final nuclear deal comes into effect", if any such agreement is struck between Iran and the six world powers.

Noting that "Iran holds no trust in the US", Baeidinejad said, "We only negotiate on equal footing."

He also emphasized Tehran's determination to continue Research and Development (R&D) activities after a possible nuclear deal with the G5+1, and said "Iran will continue nuclear fusion technology" even after a final deal with the powers."

In relevant remarks last week, Baeidinejad reiterated that despite a preliminary understanding over how to end their nuclear standoff, Tehran and Washington still hold their major differences over a set of other strategic and regional issues.

"The intention of the westerners and their media is evident; they are hostile to us and this (enmity) is not due to end. We have strategic differences with the West in the region and the Middle-East," Baeidinejad said.

Reiterating that Iran and the West held different positions on certain issues, he strong stressed that "the issue of Iran-US rapprochement has never been on the agenda of talks".

"We only take part in nuclear discussions; therefore, there are still many (other) differences" in place, he continued.

After nine days of hard work in Lausanne, Switzerland, Iran and the G5+1 reached an understanding on Thursday which laid the ground for them to start drafting the final nuclear deal over Tehran's nuclear energy program ahead of a July 1 deadline.

"As Iran continues its peaceful nuclear program, the degree and capacity of its enrichment and the size of its (enriched uranium) stockpile will be limited for specific periods and Natanz will be the only enrichment center in Iran. Nuclear enrichment R&D on centrifuge machines in Iran will be conducted on the basis of an agreed timeline and level."

Zarif said Fordo would turn from a nuclear enrichment plant to a nuclear, physics and technological center, where Iran will receive international cooperation.

The Iranian foreign minister also said the country's Arak Heavy Water Reactor would remain in place after being redesigned and renovated through international cooperation, stressing that the facility would remain a Heavy Water Reactor in nature, but would produce plutonium which wouldn’t have the capability to be used for nuclear weapons production.

He said "there won't be any reprocessing at the Arak facility and its consumed nuclear fuel will be sent" abroad.

"A collection of arrangements have been agreed for supervising the implementation of the contents of the Joint Plan of Action (final deal) which will include Safeguard Code 3.1 and voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol (to the NPT); the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will also use modern inspection technologies and will be given more agreed access to verify past and present issues," Zarif said.

He said Iran would partner in international nuclear projects, "including power plant and research reactor construction as well as nuclear safety and security".

Zarif stressed that all sanctions against Iran will be lifted.

He said all UN Security Council sanctions resolution against Iran would be annulled as they did not help the settlement of the nuclear standoff between Iran and the six world powers.

"The EU will terminate imposition of its nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions and the United States will also stop implementation of its nuclear-related financial and economic sanctions simultaneous with the implementation of Iran's major nuclear undertakings in a way that they are verified by the IAEA," Zarif said.

Zarif said the final deal would be endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution in a move to annul all the previous nuclear-related resolutions against Iran.

He said drafting of the deal would start soon to prepare the Joint Plan of Action by the July 1 deadline.

Video - Egyptian TV presenter Tawfik Okasha calls for Netanyahu to bomb Iran

Video - PM Netanyahu set out a brief summary of his alternatives to Obama's Nuclear 'garage sale'

HT: Carl In Jerusalem.

'Peaceful & Moderate' Iran to Unveil Armed Robot with Missile-Launching Capability.

US Army robot 

'Peaceful and Moderate' Iran to Unveil Armed Robot with Missile-Launching Capability. (Fars).

Iranian Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan announced the country's plans to unveil a robot designed and built for military purposes which can carry loads and launch missiles at hostile targets.

"An armed 4*4 robot will be unveiled (on April 18 on the occasion of the Army Day in Iran) which is capable of carrying two missiles and 600kg of loads," Pourdastan said in a press conference in Tehran on Sunday.

He also said that an ultra-light track vehicle which can travel at a maximum speed of 100km in bumpy roads and 130km in graveled roads will be unveiled on the Army Day.

In relevant remarks on Saturday, Pourdastan said that five new Iran-made weapons would go on display to the public on Wednesday.

Gen. Pourdastan said "a 23mm sniper rifle, a wheeled tank with a 90mm caliber cannon and three other achievements" would be unveiled on Wednesday.

The General stressed that Iran develops weapons based on the type and intensity of enemies' threats to the country. "We monitor enemy's threats and develop capacities accordingly in a bid to make those threatening us regret their action."

Last month, the Iranian commander had informed of the country's plans to unveil new state-of-the-art weapons on the Army Day.

"Today, threats have changed their face and we are experiencing proxy and partners wars in the region; therefore, we have tried to create the necessary capacities proportionate to these threats," Pourdastan said in mid March.

"In area of hardware, we have built new weapons appropriate for these type of threats, and these weapons will go on display on April 18," he added.

'Peaceful & Moderate' Iran to hold electronic warfare drill.

'Peaceful and Moderate' Iran to hold electronic warfare drill. (Taz).

Iranian army will hold an electronic warfare (EW) exercise in the near future, Lieutenant General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, Iranian Ground Force Commander said.

The drill which will be held in Iran’s central province of Esfahan is scheduled for the third Iranian calendar month (May 22- June 20), Pourdastan said.

The army will test establishing communication between the forces and using telecommunication equipments under jamming attack, Pourdastan said, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported April 12.

It was earlier announced that information and communication technologies, as well as electronic warfare systems and anti- electronic systems will also be tested during the drill.

The military exercise aims to assess capabilities of forces in case the enemy incapacitates Iran's wireless communication systems.

Pourdastan also said that last month Iranian army ground force held a military drill in the country’s south western province of Khuzestan, bordering with Iraq which was not shared with media.

New weapons, as well as proxy war tactics were tested in the mentioned drill, he said, without explaining why the army has preferred to keep the drill secret.

Earlier in February, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) held a massive naval drill in the Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The drill dubbed “Prophet Mohammad-9” was aimed boosting the IRGC’s combat power and showcasing its missile capabilities to trans-regional powers.

'Supreme leader' Obama criticizes foes of Iran nuclear outline, says Congress has limited role.

'Supreme leader' Obama criticizes foes of Iran nuclear outline, says Congress has limited role. (Wapo).

President Obama said Saturday that he looks forward to engaging Congress in the coming week, not on the specifics of the framework agreement over Iran’s nuclear program, but on the “narrow question” of “what’s Congress’s appropriate role in looking at a final deal” to be negotiated by the end of June.

Obama was particularly critical of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who, he said, accused Secretary of State John F. Kerry of being “less trustworthy than the supreme leader” of Iran in explaining the specifics of the framework agreement completed early this month between Tehran, the United States and other world powers.

“That’s an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries,” Obama said. “That’s not how we’re supposed to run foreign policy. When you start getting to the point that the U.S. government and our secretary of state are somehow spinning . . . that’s a problem. It needs to stop,” he said. Hmmm.......When working a long time with certain people, you finally become like them.Read the full story here.

Araqchi: Foreign access to Iran's missiles out of question.

Araqchi: Foreign access to Iran's missiles out of question. (TaZ).

A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator reiterated that nobody would ever be allowed to monitor the country's military capabilities, including its missiles.

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday, Abbas Araqchi said Iran "absolutely rejects" any foreign access to its military facilities under the pretext of addressing the so-called "possible military dimensions" of Tehran's nuclear program.

"Our missiles, either ballistic or other, will not be under the supervision and monitoring of the other side (in the nuclear talks)," the ranking diplomat added.

His comments came after Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on April 2 reached a framework nuclear agreement after more than a week of intensive negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final, comprehensive accord until the end of June.

The framework provides a series of solutions that will be the basis of a comprehensive joint plan of action.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Araqchi deplored the European Union's re-imposition of sanctions on an Iranian bank and 32 shipping companies as a wrong decision.

He said the new sanctions "run counter to the necessary goodwill for continuing the (nuclear) negotiations", adding, "I believe this measure was a wrong decision at a very wrong time."


In January, the General Court of the European Union annulled the illegal bans on Bank Tejarat and 40 Iranian shipping companies, citing lack of enough evidence against them.

However, the EU's Official Journal said on Wednesday that 32 of the companies as well as Bank Tejarat are back on the sanctions list based on what it called "a new statement of reasons".

U.S. defense secretary: " We have the capability to shut down, set back and destroy the Iranian nuclear program"

U.S. defense secretary: " We have the capability to shut down, set back and destroy the Iranian nuclear program" (ToI).

American bunker busting bombs that can penetrate and destroy underground Iranian nuclear facilities are ready for use, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Friday, reinforcing the threat of US military action should Iran shirk away from a final nuclear agreement with world powers.

“We have the capability to shut down, set back and destroy the Iranian nuclear program and I believe the Iranians know that and understand that,” he told CNN, referencing the Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP), one of the US military’s most powerful conventional weapons.

Asked if the weapon was capable of destroying Iran’s Fordo uranium enrichment plant, a nuclear facility built into a mountain, Carter answered “Yes, that’s what it’s designed to do.”

Carter added that any agreement with Iran would depend on Tehran allowing inspections of its nuclear facilities. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ail Khamenei said Thursday that the inspection of military facilities would not be permitted.

Carter noted that a negotiated agreement was preferable to a military strike since “military action is reversible over time” but said “my job as secretary of defense is to…make sure that the so-called military option…is on the table.”   Hmmm......Sounds like they understood Congress will deliver a veto proof 'offer'.Read the full story here.

'Peaceful & Moderate' Iran to unveil next week homemade S-300 missile system.

Bavar373

Iran to unveil next week homemade S-300 missile system. (Taz).

Iran will unveil the long-range Bavar-373 homegrown missile defense system next week to rival the Russian S-300 system.

Commander of the Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said that the Bavar-373 system will be unveiled on April 18, marking the National Army Day, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on April 11.

He added that the country’s latest achievements in missile, radar, and electronic signals intelligence will be unveiled on the same occasion.

Under a contract signed in 2007, Russia was obliged to provide Iran with at least five S-300 defense systems.

However, Moscow refused to deliver the system to Iran under the pretext that it is covered by the fourth round of the United Nations Security Council sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear program.

Iranian officials say over the past years, the country has attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured its neighbors that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.

"Guess what?" - Iran says extending the 'never ending' nuke talks possible.

"Guess what?" - Iran says extending the 'never ending' nuke talks possible.(Taz).

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi believes that in case the comprehensive nuclear deal will not be reached by June 30, it is possible to re-extend the nuclear talks.

He called the upcoming nuclear talks with P5+1 "sensitive, hard and complicated", IRINN TV reported Apr.10.

The latest talks by Iran and the group P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) ended in a framework agreement on April 2.

Iran and P5+1 reached an interim nuclear deal in November 2013 and has extended it three times, to continue the talks, which aimed to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal.

"We will attempt to reach the final deal even sooner than Jan.30, but in case the sides can't reach a common view on the details of nuclear framework agreement, achieved on Apr.2 based on what Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded, we can extent them," Araqchi said.

Previously, Khamenei has repeatedly said that Iran will not sign any nuke agreement with the P5+1 group, if all the sanctions are not lifted on the first day after the deal is signed.


On Apr.9 he said that what has been achieved so far doesn't guarantee neither the deal itself, nor the accomplished nuclear talks between between Iran and P5+1. Hmmm........And where did you work before retirement? Oh i was among the 'Iran Nuclear talks' team.

IRAN - 'Not a framework deal, but rather deception' of the U.S. Congress, America and the World.

IRAN - 'Not a framework deal, but rather deception' of the U.S. Congress, America and the World. (IH).

Joint statement issued in Lausanne, Switzerland last week "was nothing but a smokescreen meant to disguise difficult, ongoing disagreements between the parties," Col. (ret.) Yigal Carmon, president of the Middle East Media Research Institute, says.

"The U.S. and Iran have, in fact, not reached any nuclear agreement," said Carmon, the founder and president of the prestigious Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

"The joint statement in Lausanne, which the Iranians defined as a press release, was nothing but a smokescreen meant to disguise difficult, ongoing disagreements between the parties," Carmon, who served as counterterrorism adviser to prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Yitzhak Rabin, and who has been following Arab politics and Middle East media closely for years, asserted.

Carmon, who along with MEMRI's experts on Iran is currently in the institute's offices in Washington, believes the "fact sheet" released by the White House and the U.S. State Department, detailing the alleged deal with Iran, was "a ploy of incredible deception, meant to prevent Congress from imposing immediate, crippling sanctions on the Iranians."

He recommends Netanyahu change his approach, and inform Obama that since this is clearly a ruse, and that there are no understandings with Iran, let alone a deal, Israel expects and hopes Congress will continue to pursue and intensify its sanctions on Iran.

Carmon has been closely following the nuclear negotiations between the West and Iran for years, and describes a scenario that is vastly different than the one he says was "staged" in Lausanne, first by the heads of the Iranian delegation to the talks, and later by the State Department and Obama.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "has made it clear, time and again over the past few months and contrary to American statements, that this is not a two-stage negotiation, and that there would be no interim agreement at the end of March, to be followed by a final agreement at the end of June," Carmon explained.

"It was, apparently, only after Obama informed the Iranians that Congress would exacerbate the sanctions if the negotiations reach their deadline with no result that Khamenei agreed to a wary, minimal, and limited move, providing Obama with a show of sorts."

"The political explanation is that Obama wanted to spare himself a grave failure and also wanted to spare Iran from new, additional, stricter, and immediate sanctions, and reporting fabricated success is the best way for it. It seems like the goal justified any means, including misreporting and a collusion to misrepresent the results of the negotiations. Telling Congress and the public a tall tale about an alleged agreement and producing a fact sheet, much of which was immediately debunked by the Iranians.

"Iran played along with this charade to a certain extent, but when the Iranians learned of its magnitude, they issued a fact sheet of their own, exposing the American ploy for what it was." Hmmmm......Back in 2009 Krauthammer already knew ....see below. Read the full story here.

It's not nice to mislead Congress about actual #IranTalks progress | Senator Kirk Puts Iran Sanctions Back in Play http://t.co/2o9zPrTOlN

— Omri Ceren (@cerenomri) April 9, 2015

Krauthammer : Obama ‘Should Be More Humble When Offering Others Advice’ on Foreign Policy; he is a narcissist and pathological.

Charles Krauthammer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and regular political commentary contributor on Fox News, also has another accomplishment under his belt that doesn’t seem to be common knowledge. He holds a medical degree from Harvard, which led to his former employment as a board certified psychiatrist.

France says Khamenei's stance shows difficulty of getting a nuclear deal.

France says Khamenei's stance shows difficulty of getting a nuclear deal. (DS).

PARIS: France said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments Thursday demanding the immediate lifting of all sanctions demonstrated there was still a lot of work to do before reaching a final agreement on Iran's disputed nuclear program.

"Subjects still remain that we aren't agreed on, notably on economic sanctions, and the Supreme Leader has made statements that show there is still a lot of work to be done," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told lawmakers.

Khamenei said Thursday he neither backed nor rejected an interim accord with six world powers on Tehran's disputed nuclear program but demanded all sanctions be lifted immediately should a final agreement be concluded by June 30.

"We are going to keep the position we have held from the beginning, which is constructive but extremely demanding," Fabius said. "If it's possible, we want an agreement, but it needs to ensure that nothing remains in the shadows." Hmmm.....The whole deal is just to prevent the US Congress of putting aditional sanctions on Iran.

Khamenei still neither supportive nor against nuclear deal, sanctions must be lifted immediately.

Iran's supreme leader Khamenei still neither supportive nor against nuclear deal. (Taz).

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that he is neither against nor supportive of the nuclear framework deal, achieved on April 2.

"Some ask why I haven't announced my position about the deal, but as the officials have told me, no binding deal has been achieved, so there is no need for me to express my stance on it," Khamenei said.

Iran's supreme leader said that the essential matters are in the details of the comprehensive nuclear deal, which is expected to be achieved by June 30, IRNA reported Apr.9.

"Any congratulations for the framework deal is meaningless," Khamenei said.

Khamenei said that he hasn't been optimistic about the nuclear negotiations, but he has been supportive of them, and will continue to support Iran's nuclear negotiating team.

"I agree with a deal that will preserve Iran's national interests," he said. "But a disagreement is better if the agreement would mean damaging the country's national interests and honor."

He added that Iran will not sign any nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group, if all the sanctions are not lifted on the first day after the deal signed.

Khamenei said that what has been achieved so far doesn't guarantee neither the deal itself, nor the accomplished nuclear talks between between Iran and P5+1. Update:

No unconventional inspection that’d place Iran under special monitoring is acceptable. Foreign monitoring on #Iran’s security isn’t allowed.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 9, 2015

All #sanctions should be removed just when the deal is reached. If sanctions removal depends on another process then why we started to talk?

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 9, 2015

Hours after the #talks, Americans offered a fact sheet that most of it was contrary to what was agreed.They always deceive &breach promises.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 9, 2015

Islam& reason forbid us from acquiring nukes but #nuclear industry is a necessity for country’s future in energy, medicine, agriculture,etc.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 9, 2015

Video - Tehran TV Mocks Obama's "Ton of Bricks" Comment: He Can Take a Brick and Knock It against His Head.

Tehran TV Mocks Obama's "Ton of Bricks" Comment: He Can Take a Brick and Knock It against His Head. HT: Memri.

Public outcry over Hassan Rouhani’s food baskets continues.

Public outcry over Hassan Rouhani’s food baskets continues. (NCRI).

Hassan Rouhani's program for replacing cash subsidies with the distribution of free food baskets has sparked chaos and unrest in Iran since its launch on February 2.

Long lines formed at distribution centers in freezing weather on its first day in Tehran, with some people who successfully received the food basket after hours of waiting describing it as low quality Indian rice and stinking chickens.

This month's food basket contained 10kg of rice, 24 eggs, two frozen chickens, 800 gram of cheese and two bottles of vegetable oil.

On the eve of the implementation of the food basket plan, the regime’s Ministry of Industry said in a statement that workers with wages above 500,000 tomans ($180) would not not eligible to receive the basket.

The Iranian regime’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade had announced that only 4,500,000 people would qualify to receive the basket, whereas the authorities had said earlier that 17 million people would be eligible to receive it.

Large segments of the population have protested their elimination from the program, including workers and their families in the cities of Qom, Kermanshah and Khorramabad.

The people of Qom organized a protest rally on February 2 in front of the regime’s Labour department, where demonstrators said that about 70 percent of workers were being denied the food baskets.

A group of poor workers in Kermanshah gathered in a protest on February 3 in front of the Ma’edeh store in Taq Bostan Boulevard, the distribution centre for the basket of goods.

A similar demonstration was held in Khorramabad, where the police arrested a number of demonstrators.
A group of household heads gathered in front of the Ministry of Industry’s commercial directorate to protest the elimination of their names from the list of recipients of the basket.

Regarding the quality of the goods, many people who have received the basket expressed disappointment over its quality, and said Indian rice, Brazilian chicken and low quality oils were distributed to people who do not consume these products.

Members of the Iranian regime’s parliament also launched a plan to investigate the food basket situation, while the state media has reported the disappointment of those who have received it.

Many of those given the baskets told state-run Sharq newspaper, close to Rouhani, that they had accepted the goods out of despair.

Sharq wrote: "While those who were eligible stood for long hours in front of the distribution warehouses in a cold snowy weather of -5 degrees, they also faced inappropriate behavior from officials."

The regime’s deputy from Ghaemshahr said that the Minister of Industry, Mines and Commerce must now explain why Iranian rice was not used in the basket.

And the regime’s deputy from Babak Shahr said: "Procedures were not followed during distribution of the baskets and chaos ensued."

Hossein Fattahi MP said that the basket of goods has been given to some MPs who are also university professors, while it has not been given to drivers who worked at the Parliament.

Following widespread protests, the media closest to the Rafsanjani-Rouhani faction announced "Delivery of the goods has been extended till the year-end, with a new list of those who qualify for the food basket."

Rouhani said on February 6 that he regretted any problems over the distribution of food rations to the poor, following reports by the local media that a number of people had died waiting for the goods in subzero temperatures.

Rouhani told state TV that he, 'expresses regret if people have faced problems receiving the commodity basket'.

There are various opinions regarding the aims of Hassan Rouhani's cabinet with its food basket plan.
Some believe it is a test for the public's reaction to it, so that if it is positive, they can gradually remove the subsidies. Others believe it is a pain reliever plan to prevent a rebellion by millions living in hunger and poverty. And others have explicitly said it is substitution plan for the subsidies.

The state-run Javan newspaper wrote on December 31: "The government plans to replace cash subsidies with the basket of goods."

Regardless of which one of the above hypotheses are true, one fact that is certain: with every day that passes, more people are protesting the quality of the food in the basket and the long lines at distribution centers.

In the cities of Naghde and Ashnaviyeh, protests also took place on February 8 outside the governate offices in anger at the distribution and quality of food baskets, claiming they had been given old and rotten food.
More angry protests over food baskets took place in the city of Ahwaz, where only three stores with three employees each were allocated to distribution, creating 1km long queues.


On Monday people of Nasim Shahr gathered outside city's governate office in protest at food basket distribution issues.
And on Tuesday in the city of Soosangerd, protesters were injured in huge queues for food, sparking even more anger at the regime.
The protests are continuing as one social security official stated that the purchasing power of the lower classes has reduced by 80 percent in the last year, and prices of the basic items have increased by 480 percent more than the increase in wages.Hmmmm.....Meanwhile new missiles and Subs are launched at regular interval...."Peaceful , Moderate Iran"
Related: 'Moderate' Iranian Pres Rouhani's 'Admin' executed 500 people in six months.

Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff: “We are ready for the decisive war with the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel],”

Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff: “We are ready for the decisive war with the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel],”(PressTv).

Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff has dismissed US officials’ threats of military action against Iran as “political bluff”, saying the Islamic Republic is ready for the “decisive” battle against the US and Israel.

“We are ready for the decisive war with the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel],” said Major General Hassan Firouzabadi on Wednesday.

Iran has been planning for such a battle for years by carrying out various drills, he said, stressing that Iran’s Armed Forces are prepared to fend off any military aggression.

The top commander warned that in case of aggression against Iran, all the US and Israeli interests will be targeted, “We warn that if our forces come under attack from any territory, we will hit all the positions which belong to that [territory],” Firouzabadi said.

He said Iran harbors no hostility towards any of the countries in the region, but “if we are attacked from US bases in the region, we will target that place.”

The senior commander made the remarks in reaction to US officials’ threats in recent weeks that all options, including the military one, are on the table against Iran.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also said on Tuesday that the rhetoric of threat against the Iranian nation is “worthless and childish.”


“On behalf of the nation of Iran, I declare with a clear voice that threatening the nation of Iran is worthless and childish since our nation has, over the past 35 years, stood up to various threats from the enemy and been victorious,” the president said in an address to a massive gathering of people celebrating the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran on Tuesday.

'Moderate' Iranian Pres Rouhani's 'Admin' executed 500 people in six months.

'Moderate' Iranian Pres Rouhani's 'Admin' executed 500 people in six months.(NCRI).

The first world congress of opponents in Paris condemns the international silence on the regime’s crimes.

Source: El País, February 8, 2014 (Translated from Spanish)

On the eve of the 35th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the monarchy in Iran, 300 opposition associations from all around the world gathered for the first time in Paris.

The opposition congress denounced that the regime has executed 500 people in the last six months, since the so-called moderate Rouhani took office and also denounced “the silence of the international community and especially of the United States, Europe and the UN on the barbaric and systematic violation of human rights in their country”.

Among the executed there are common criminals but also opposition figures and members of ethnic or cultural minorities, according to the associations gathered in Paris.

The convention was organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in a building of the Parisian neighborhood of La Défense and thousands of activists coming from the United States, Europe, Australia and Canada took part.

The conclusions call on the international community to “overthrow the clerical regime and establishing a democratic republic based on the separation of mosques and the State”, and they warn that “making the nuclear issue the main problem with Iran should not allow the regime to continue exporting terrorism and being a threat to the peace and safety of the region and the world.”

The document recalls that human rights violations remain constant under Rouhani, who is defined as “a continuation, someone who has been involved in every crime committed by the regime since the first day”, and as a loyal to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader.

The exiled opposition stressed that Tehran has executed 120,000 people in 35 years and emphasizes than it still commits torture, deprives women of their fundamental rights, suppresses ethnic minorities and is being devoured by corruption.

According to the conclusions, “far from what the official propaganda says, the clerical regime is in an extremely vulnerable state and the Iranian society is still in an explosive situation” that would make not that hard to overthrow the regime if the pressure is increased. But it adds: “if the foreign states negotiate with Tehran under the pretext of strengthening the moderates and ignore the people’s wishes of change, this would only contribute to legitimize the regime.”

About the Geneva talks, the opposition reminds that Tehran has accepted “to step back on it nuclear projects” because of the sanctions, the economic crisis and the fear of an uprising and it warns that the second round of negotiations “will only work with a firm policy that maintains the sanctions and get assurances of the closing of all the nuclear sites to prevent the terrorists who govern the country to get access to the nuclear bomb”.

The Iranian opposition also condemns the active support of their country to the bloody Syrian dictator Bashar el-Assad, “murdering its own people” and paid homage to the 51 members of the PMOI killed last September 1st in Ashraf (Iraq).

Maryam Mirzai, a 20-year-old university activist, born in Atlanta told this meeting that “the Obama administration is being naïve negotiating a nuclear agreement with Tehran. The regime is fooling everyone with their moderate propaganda. It is sad that democracies fall into their game. The only thing they want is to get the bomb. International community must demand a radical change of regime, return of democracy or stop the talks”.Hmmm......So far Rouhani has executed more Iranians in 6 months than Usually Under Ahmadinejad in a year........Moderate my A**

Related:

Total number of executions in 2012 under Ahmadinejad:

Total in 2012: 522
Announced By Government in 2012: 292

Total in 2013: Total in 2013: 624

Announced By Government in 2013: 334

2013 number executed under Rouhani's presidency starting August 2013 see chart.

Notice the halt of executions in May 2013 and the sudden Restart under Rouhani as from October!

Iran says it won't respond to alleged studies & claims from IAEA not backed by authentic documents.

Iran says it won't respond to alleged studies and claims from IAEA not backed by authentic documents.(Taz).

Iran will not accept any claim from IAEA unless the claim to be specified in a document, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Ali Akbar Salehi said, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on Feb. 12.

Salehi went on to add that the documents should specify the basis for the charges.

"Iran has informed IAEA that it cannot accuse the country of something, based on sheets, which were submitted by some people," Salehi said.

"The authenticity of the document should be proved first, otherwise Iran will not talk with the IAEA," he said. "It will be a wrong approach, if the IAEA submits a new baseless document every day and claim that Iran is doing something suspicious."

On August 27, 2007 the IAEA and Iran agreed upon a workplan for addressing allegations surrounding two sets of documents that suggest that Iran had run a covert nuclear weapons research program for years.

One document is the so-called "Uranium Metal" document. The other documents - collectively known as the "alleged studies" - were produced by western intelligence agencies in late 2005.

Commenting on the recent negotiations with IAEA Salehi said that the two sides have agreed on seven more practical steps, five of which are within the framework of the Geneva nuclear deal.

He did not reveal any details about the other two steps.Hmmmm.....As i said many times before A "Turkish bazaar backroom deal."