The Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Javad Zarif responds to an open letter of 47 US Senators to Iranian leaders

Asked about the open letter of 47 US Senators to Iranian leaders, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Javad Zarif, responded that "in our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy.  It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history.  This indicates that like Netanyahu, who considers peace as an existential threat, some are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content.

Zarif expressed astonishment that some members of US Congress find it appropriate to write to leaders of another country against their own President and administration. He pointed out that from reading the open letter, it seems that the authors not only do not understand international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy.

Foreign Minister Zarif added that "I should bring one important point to the attention of the authors and that is, the world is not the United States, and the conduct of inter-state relations is governed by international law, and not by US domestic law. The authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfil the obligations they undertake with other states and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations.

 The Iranian Foreign Minister added that "Change of administration does not in any way relieve the next administration from international obligations undertaken by its predecessor in a possible agreement about Iran`s peaceful nuclear program." He continued "I wish to enlighten the authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement with the stroke of a pen, as they boast, it will have simply committed a blatant violation of international law.

He emphasized that if the current negotiation with P5+1 result in a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, it will not be a bilateral agreement between Iran and the US, but rather one that will be concluded with the participation of five other countries, including all permanent members of the Security Council, and will also be endorsed by a Security Council resolution.

Zarif expressed the hope that his comments "may enrich the knowledge of the authors to recognize that according to international law, Congress may not modify the terms of the agreement at any time as they claim, and if Congress adopts any measure to impede its implementation, it will have committed a material breach of US obligations.

The Foreign Minister also informed the authors that majority of US international agreements in recent decades are in fact what the signatories describe as "mere executive agreements" and not treaties ratified by the Senate.

He reminded them that "their letter in fact undermines the credibility of thousands of such mere executive agreements that have been or will be entered into by the US with various other governments.

Zarif concluded by stating that "the Islamic Republic of Iran has entered these negotiations in good faith and with the political will to reach an agreement, and it is imperative for our counterparts to prove similar good faith and political will in order to make an agreement possible."

Propaganda War against Syria, Hezbollah and Iran

I already posted when the Der Spiegel article came out Click here for that

My thoughts on Syria having a nuclear program, weather for weapon or power, is completly fabricated and BS. The cost and time aloone would be prohibitive. Asssad is currently financial cut off. So conserving what Syria has in treasure and man power would come first.
 - Ian Bach

Timothy Alexander Guzman, Silent Crow News – Former White House Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama and the current Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel once said “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” Der Spiegel’s report on Syria’s alleged nuclear weapons program titled ‘Assad’s Secret: Evidence Points to Syrian Push for Nuclear Weapons’ is a true testimony to what Emanuel meant. The terror attacks in the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo took place on January 7th; two days later Der Spiegel’s report is published. The timing is perfect. Israeli media is running with it. The Tel-Aviv based www.ynetnews.com published an article titled ‘Syrian rebels: Iranian officers spotted near site of reported nuclear facility’ which confirms Der Spiegel’s accusations:

Following reports Syrian President Bashar Assad was building an underground nuclear facility, a senior Syrian rebel official told Saudi paper Okaz on Sunday that the Free Syrian Army has noted suspicious Syrian and Iranian movements in the town of Qusayr on the outskirts of Homs, where the facility is said to be.

According to the official, Abu Muhammad al-Bitar, the Free Syrian Army noted the presence of Iranian officers and “unprecedented” Hezbollah security in the area. Al-Bitar said the Friday report on Der Spiegel has been discussed at length in command meetings of rebel factions in the Kalamoon area. He went on to say that “what can be confirmed is that what’s going on there is happening under direct Iranian supervision and the Syrian regime is only a cover-up for this”

Now the Free Syrian Army is a trusted source of information? Why would the editors of Der Spiegel release their findings regarding “Assad’s Secret” nuclear weapons program right after the terrorist attack in Paris? Officials in Iran and Syria reject Der Spiegel’s claims. According to ynetnews:

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. rejected the Der Spiegel report on Sunday as “ridiculous,” saying “the magazine’s allegation is one of the attempts made by those circles whose life has been based on violence and fear to cloud the international community with illusion and create imaginary concerns about the Islamic Republic,” according to the FARS news agency

Would Iran jeopardize the upcoming summit with U.S. officials concerning its nuclear program by assisting the Syrian government in developing nuclear weapons? A media source told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA):

that Syria refutes these allegations in their entirety, asserting that the allegations, which were made by a magazine that often publishes preposterous allegations devoid of credibility, contradict the most basic rules of journalism ethics, and that they are part of the conspiracy and media misdirection campaign targeting Syria

Part of the report specifically focuses on the “intercepted Communication” by a high-ranking Hezbollah official and Ibrahim Othman, the head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission:

However, the clearest proof the report cited was an intercepted communication by radio traffic recently intercepted local spies, in which the voice identified as belonging to a high-ranking Hezbollah official can be heard calling the place an “atomic factory” specifically naming Qusayr as the area.  More importantly, the Hezbollah official frequently updated Ibrahim Othman, the head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission. The Syrian regime has transferred 8,000 fuel rods to the plant that had been planned for a facility at Al-Kibar, it added

The new propaganda campaign against the Syrian government is a dangerous elevation towards war. Der Spiegal’s report can be a starting point for a Western media propaganda blitz that will follow their government’s line, especially in the U.S. The allegations bring back memories of Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi politician who provided false information regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD’s) and Saddam’s alleged connection to Al-Qaeda. The information led to the Bush administration’s decision to invade and eventually occupy Iraq in 2003.

Der Spiegel and Israeli media are following Rahm Emanuel’s advice with the recent terror attacks in Paris. With more than 40 World leaders in attendance at a Paris solidarity movement against Islamic extremism this past Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were at the forefront with French President Francois Hollande. Can Netanyahu be exploiting the terrorist attacks in Paris for an Israeli propaganda campaign against its adversaries back home because they too, face terrorism on a daily basis? Can he be as cynical as Madonna when she sent a “Je Suis Charlie” image on Instagram with a Hashtag promoting her new album ‘Rebel Heart’? Yes, of course he can. The point is that people in power especially politicians, will exploit any crises to their advantage, in this case, new accusations that Syria is in the process of developing nuclear weapons. Israeli officials in the past has warned that terrorists can eventually use “nuclear suitcases” in New York and other European cities as reported by the Washington Examiner in 2013:

An Israeli official warned that the agreement could result in a nuclear attack on the United States. “If a nuclear suitcase blows up in New York or Madrid five years from now, it will be because of the deal that was signed this morning,” Naftali Bennett, the nation’s minister of trade, industry, and labor

Bennet was speaking about Obama’s diplomatic efforts concerning Iran’s nuclear program. The Israeli government wants hegemony in the Middle East but it has a few obstacles in the way, and that is Syria and Iran. Many people in Israel prefer that the U.S. and its European allies to attack Syria. In 2013, a Gal Hadash poll was published in Israel Hayom, an Israeli national Hebrew-language newspaper and stated that more than 66 percent of respondents are in favor of a U.S. and European military intervention in Syria. For the Israeli government, a U.S-NATO attack on Syria would give the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) an open opportunity to pursue a war with Hezbollah and eventually Iran. Israel can use Der Spiegel’s report to its advantage no matter how preposterous it sounds. Right now, the world is mourning the 12 people who were gunned down in cold blood by Islamic extremists in Paris, France and you can bet Israel will exploit the tragedy to discredit its perceived enemies in the Arab world.

Israel is prepared for another war with Hezbollah as it is also awaiting the outcome of the upcoming nuclear talks between Iranian and U.S. officials which will resume on January 14th. One thing is for sure, 2015 is proving to be a very dangerous year for war and it can begin in Syria. Der Spiegel has ignited a new propaganda campaign against Syria as did the New York Times who made the same tragic mistake right before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. But the question we need to ask is, will the world buy their story?

Posted in Geopolitics, Middle East on 12 January 2015 

Is Assad building nuclear facility in Homs?

The German magazine “Der Spiegel” is reporting:

Der Spiegel map

It is deep underground, near the town of Qusayr and has access to electricity and water supplies, the magazine said in a pre-released version of the story made available ahead of Saturday’s publication. It said it had had access to “exclusive documents,” satellite photographs and intercepted conversations thanks to intelligence sources.

Accrdong to the report, the most recent satellite images show six structures which conceal entrances to the reported facility, said to be below ground. The site was also reported to have special access to Syria’s power grid, connected to the nearby city of Blosah.

According to the report, a particularly suspicious detail is A deep well which connects the facility with a local lake: “Such a connection is unnecessary for a conventional weapons cache, but it is essential for a nuclear facility,” the report said.

However, the clearest proof the report cited was an intercepted communication by radio traffic recently intercepted local spies, in which the voice identified as belonging to a high-ranking Hezbollah official can be heard calling the place an “atomic factory” specifically naming Qusayr as the area.

More importantly, the Hezbollah official frequently updated Ibrahim Othman, the head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission. The Syrian regime has transferred 8,000 fuel rods to the plant that had been planned for a facility at Al-Kibar, it added.

Western experts suspect, based on the documents, that a reactor or an enrichment plant could be the aim of the project, whose codename is “Zamzam,” Der Spiegel said. The report said North Korean and Iranian experts are thought to be part of the “Zamzam” project.

Site of nuclear site allegedly hit in 2007 (Photo: AP/GeoEye Satellite Image)

In 2007, a bombing raid on an undeclared Syrian nuclear facility at al-Kibar was widely understood to have been an Israeli strike, but it was never acknowledged by the Jewish state.

In a 2009 interview with Spiegel, Assad claimed to “want a nuclear-free Middle East, Israel included.” But a later IAEA investigation from 2011 found that “the destroyed building was very likely a nuclear reactor.”

AFP contributed to this report

Also it looks like some of these reports came from Israel

Hezbollah reportedly guarding new nuclear facility, being built with help of North Koreans; site said to be attempt to build facility allegedly destroyed by Israel in 2007 attack.

Roi Kais

Published: 01.10.15, 10:42 / Israel News

Intelligence suggests that Syrian President Bashar Assad is building a secret underground plant with the aim of developing nuclear weapons, Germany’s Der Spiegel news magazine reported Friday.

Syria’s new nuclear facility?

If true, the paper claimed that the facility serves as was proof that the Syrian régime has not forgone its desire to attain nuclear arms, despite a 2007 attack attributed to Israel on what was reportedly to be a heavy water reactor secretly built in Syria.

The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, which supports Assad’s regime in the bloody conflict in Syria, is guarding the secret project, it added.

Citing information made available by unidentified intelligence sources, Der Spiegel said the plant was in an inaccessible mountain region in the west of the war-ravaged country, two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Lebanese border.