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Leaked TTIP documents cast doubt on EU-US trade deal

Greenpeace says internal documents show US attempts to lower or circumvent EU protection for environment and public health, Guardian,  , 2 May 16, Talks for a free trade deal between Europe and the US face a serious impasse with “irreconcilable” differences in some areas, according to leaked negotiating texts.

The two sides are also at odds over US demands that would require the EU to break promises it has made on environmental protection.

President Obama said last week he was confident a deal could be reached. But the leaked negotiating drafts and internal positions, which were obtained byGreenpeace and seen by the Guardian, paint a very different picture………

Jorgo Riss, the director of Greenpeace EU, said: “These leaked documents give us an unparalleled look at the scope of US demands to lower or circumvent EU protections for environment and public health as part of TTIP. The EU position is very bad, and the US position is terrible. The prospect of a TTIP compromising within that range is an awful one. The way is being cleared for a race to the bottom in environmental, consumer protection and public health standards.”

US proposals include an obligation on the EU to inform its industries of any planned regulations in advance, and to allow them the same input into EU regulatory processes as European firms.

American firms could influence the content of EU laws at several points along the regulatory line, including through a plethora of proposed technical working groups and committees.

“Before the EU could even pass a regulation, it would have to go through a gruelling impact assessment process in which the bloc would have to show interested US parties that no voluntary measures, or less exacting regulatory ones, were possible,” Riss said……. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/01/leaked-ttip-documents-cast-doubt-on-eu-us-trade-deal

May 6, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) damaging to environment and consumer safety

US-EU trade deal ‘risks’ emerge in leak, West Australian,  May 2, 2016, Brussels (AFP) – A massive US-EU trade deal would harm the environment and consumer safety, Greenpeace said Monday citing secret documents it leaked, as Brussels dismissed the release as a “storm in a teacup”.

The campaign group published 248 pages online to “shine a light” on the closed-door talks to forge a so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which would be the world’s largest ever bilateral trade pact.

Greenpeace said the deal would place corporate interests above the environment and consumer safety, and inflict a dangerous lack of standards on US and European consumers.

“This treaty is threatening to have far reaching implications for the environment and the lives of more than 800 million citizens in the EU and US,” said Greenpeace as it presented the documents in Berlin.

Washington and Brussels have been negotiating the mega-deal since 2013 and want it completed this year before US President Barack Obama leaves office, but it has faced mounting opposition on both sides of the Atlantic…….

In Europe there is deep suspicion that TTIP will erode ecological and health regulations to the advantage of big business with officials in France and Germany also increasingly voicing doubts about the deal.

Greenpeace said the papers show, for example, that the US wants to be able to scrap existing EU rules in areas such as food labelling or approval of dangerous chemicals if it they spell barriers to free trade.

“TTIP is about a huge transfer of power from people to big business,” the group said……

Greenpeace meanwhile decried the lack of mention at all in the proposed text of global goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“These leaked documents confirm what we have been saying for a long time,” said Greenpeace EU director Jorgo Riss. “TTIP would put corporations at the centre of policy-making, to the detriment of environment and public health.” https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/31488372/greenpeace-to-release-secret-documents-on-contested-eu-us-trade-deal/

May 4, 2016 Posted by | EUROPE, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

USA Defence Secretary accuses Russia of sabre-rattling

US accuses Russia of nuclear sabre-rattling, amid Nato tensions US Defence Secretary Ash Carter has accused Russia of “nuclear sabre-rattling” and of being intent on eroding international order.BBC News, 3 May 16 

He said he regretted strained relations with Moscow but said the US had to “prioritise deterrence” on Nato’s eastern flank.

US-Russian ties have been strained by the Ukraine crisis and recent military encounters in the Baltic Sea.

Russia has accused Nato of threatening its national security……http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36197856

May 4, 2016 Posted by | politics international, Russia, USA | Leave a comment

Hinkley nuclear project for UK and France political reasons: let’s stop pretending otherwise

The real point of this story is that nuclear power is not commercially viable but has become a state-sponsored technology. There is nothing wrong with state supported technology. But we could save a lot of time and money by not pretending that it is something else.

flag-UKflag-franceLets Stop Pretending Nuclear Power Is Commercially Viable http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Lets-Stop-Pretending-Nuclear-Power-Is-Commercially-Viable.html  By 
 Sat, 30 April 2016, First its new president, Jean-Bernard Levy, said French state utility EDF would delay a decision on its joint French-Chinese nuclear project in the UK, Hinkley Point. That was over a year ago. Then the CFO of EDF, Thomas Piquemal, quit reportedly because he opposed the project on fi-nancial grounds. That was a short time ago. Then after a leaked memos, the French gov-ernment just announced that EDF would be raising more money and the Hinkley decision would now come in September.

Hinkley costs
David Cameron’s government in the UK backs this exceedingly expensive project and the French government controls both EDF and Areva, the nuclear manufacturer that developed the nuclear system to be used at Hinkley Point.(Two other plants in Finland and China using this technology are still under construction, behind schedule and over budget.) As part of a plan to rescue Areva (which has lost money in each of the past four years and has negative equity, meaning the share-holder investment has been wiped out), EDF agreed, earlier in the year to buy Areva’s nuclear engineering division. Clearly, France views its nuclear ambitions as a matter of national prestige and intends to support Hinkley Point.

Now for the finances. These British nuclear units will cost roughly £18 billion ($27 billion). EDF has already sold a 35 percent share to the Chinese state nuclear company. However EDF still has to find more outside investors and get its ownership of the plant below 50 percent or it will have to consolidate Hinkley Point on its books and show all of the project’s debt on its own balance sheet.

At the end of 2015, long- and short-term debt made up 79 percent of EDF’s capital, an already high number, and two of the three major bond rating agencies have assigned EDF’s debt a “nega-tive outlook.” EDF also needs more capital to take over Areva, finish the French nukes still under construction and refurbish its own domestic fleet of aging nuclear power stations. All this will take place during what amounts to a financial crisis within the European electricity markets.
So the French government just announced a $4.5 billion capital raising for EDF (the government will buy the lion’s share of the newly issued stock). But from the look of the numbers that share offering constitutes a modest fraction of what is required by a firm that will have to compete more and more in a competitive electricity market.
Last year EDF reported a return on shareholder investment of less than 5 percent (an adequate return for bondholders not stockholders). To reduce the total debt burden to a more manageable 70 percent would require the sale of another $16 billion of stock, a painful process, especially for existing shareholders when returns and share prices are so depressed. More than likely EDF will explore asset sales and other ingenious means to rearrange assets in order to shore up its overly indebted balance sheet.

If we were gamblers we would not wager that EDF will take the obvious first step towards restor-ing its financial health and cancels the Hinkley project. Of course, if David Cameron loses the Brexit vote (a referendum to take the UK out of the European Union) and is ejected from Number Ten Downing Street, a new Prime Minister might take a more skeptical view of Hinkley Point.

The real point of this story is that nuclear power is not commercially viable but has become a state-sponsored technology. There is nothing wrong with state supported technology. But we could save a lot of time and money by not pretending that it is something else.

May 2, 2016 Posted by | France, politics, politics international, UK | Leave a comment

Hinkley nuclear deal with France turning out a very bad one for Britain

“The decision-makers on both sides are totally underestimating” the risks, says Mycle Schneider, an independent nuclear analyst in Paris. “But the farther they go on, the more difficult it is to pull out.”

Hinkley costs

French Plans for a Nuclear Plant Begin to Look Like a Bad Deal for Britain,Bloomberg 30 Apr 16 A new reactor design poses risks on both sides of the English Channel. As Britain races to replace its aging nuclear reactors and coal generators, it’s hoping to team up with France to build the most expensive power plant in history—a massive atomic facility with two reactors at Hinkley Point on England’s southwestern coast. It could provide 7 percent of the country’s electricity by 2025. But the design, intended to showcase the latest French reactor technology, poses engineering and financial problems that could create a costly morass for both countries.

State utility Électricité de France (EDF) is expected to build the plant and finance two-thirds of the estimated £18 billion ($26.2 billion) cost. That price tag assumes the Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR), the next-generation model planned for Hinkley Point, will be delivered on time and on budget. But that hasn’t been the case in France and Finland, where EPRs under construction have run into multiyear delays and billions in cost overruns.
Plans for Hinkley Point are creating turmoil within EDF, which also needs to spend €50 billion ($56.5 billion) to renovate its network of French nuclear reactors by 2025. In March, EDF’s chief financial officer quit rather than continue with the U.K. project. Ratings agencies have warned of a possible credit downgrade, and employee unions are threatening to strike. Private investors, who own 15 percent of EDF shares, are spooked: The stock is down 50 percent over the past year. On April 22, EDF said it plans to sell €4 billion in new shares to raise cash. News of the plan caused shares to drop even further.
Construction problems on EPRs in Finland and France led to billions of euros in losses at Areva, the French state-controlled nuclear group that designed and is helping to build the reactors. To rescue Areva, the government broke up the company last year and is selling its reactor business to EDF. French officials had expected to have a financing plan in place for Hinkley Point by May but have pushed it back to September, Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron told the newspaper Journal du Dimanche on April 24. China has pledged £6 billion in financing in exchange for a one-third stake in the plant.
If EDF can deliver the Hinkley site’s two reactors, the payoff would be rich. In 2012, Britain agreed to pay at least £92.50 per megawatt-hour for 35 years for the power they would generate. At the time, the rate was more than twice the average wholesale cost of electricity; today it’s more than three times the average, as cheaper oil and gas and tumbling renewable energy prices have pushed down electricity rates. The project could lock British consumers into some of the highest power prices in the world for decades…..

Public support for the project in Britain has fallen to 33 percent, down from 57 percent in 2013, according to a YouGov poll released on April 26 commissioned by New Nuclear Watch Europe, a pro-nuclear group.

 Britain can offset the closure of old nuclear and coal plants and put off the need for new reactors for another decade by increasing its investment in renewable energy, says Deepa Venkateswaran, a utility analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in London. New, less expensive technologies might be developed to store energy from wind and solar, helping to ensure reliable supply. Building Hinkley Point now, she says, “is not make-or-break.”

In the end, politics could trump finance and technology. France wants to protect thousands of well-paying jobs in its nuclear industry. And British Prime Minister David Cameron, who in March joined French President François Hollande in reaffirming support for Hinkley Point, is keen for a project that would create jobs in an economically depressed region. “The decision-makers on both sides are totally underestimating” the risks, says Mycle Schneider, an independent nuclear analyst in Paris. “But the farther they go on, the more difficult it is to pull out.”

—With Francois de Beaupuy and Rachel Morison    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-29/hinkley-point-u-k-nuclear-plant-plans-begin-to-look-like-bad-deal

April 30, 2016 Posted by | politics international, UK | Leave a comment

Vattenhall nuclear corporation in financial trouble, opposes nuclear risk premium, seeks to abolish Swedish tax

radiation-sign-sadflag-SwedenVattenfall CEO says Germany’s proposed nuclear risk premium ‘too high’ Stockholm (Platts)–28 Apr 2016

* Plan ‘disproportionate’ to utilities’ economic strength
* Nuclear, hydro taxes in Sweden should be abolished

The CEO of Swedish utility Vattenfall, which has large stakes in Germany’s Brunsbuttel and Krummel nuclear plants, said the additional amount German nuclear power producers would have to pay for decommissioning and spent fuel storage under a proposed plan is “disproportionate to the economic strength of the utilities.”

The German Commission on the Review of the Financing of the Nuclear Phaseout, or KFK, recommended to the German government that nuclear utilities pay a so-called risk premium of Eur23.3 billion ($26.4 billion) into a fund for decommissioning reactors and final storage of spent fuel, which would be administered by the state.

That payment would be on top of the almost Eur40 billion in provisions that utilities have set aside to finance decommissioning and storage.

……NUCLEAR TAX  Turning to its Swedish nuclear operations, Hall again called on the government to abolish the capacity tax on nuclear power. The tax is based on the amount of electricity reactors can generate, not on actual generation.
Hall and other Swedish nuclear utility executives have said that the tax, coupled with low electricity prices, is making nuclear power unprofitable. As a result, Vattenfall plans to shut two reactors ahead of the end of their technical lifetimes………http://www.platts.com/latest-news/electric-power/stockholm/vattenfall-ceo-says-germanys-proposed-nuclear-26430524

April 29, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, politics, politics international, Sweden | Leave a comment

Nuclear safety is beyond politics. Ukraine and Russia must c o-operate on this

‘Nuclear safety is no-politics zone’: Chernobyl plant head urges Russia-Ukraine cooperation RT.com  23 Apr, 2016 The head of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has urged Russia and Ukraine to start rebuilding relations by restoring cooperation in tackling the aftermath of the worst nuclear disaster in history, which marks its 30th anniversary this year.

CHERNOBYL: FALLOUT 30 (SPECIAL PROJECT) 

Chernobyl NPP CEO Igor Gramotkin shared his thoughts on the plant’s future in an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli published on Friday.

“Russia and Ukraine are going through difficult times, but we must now figure out how to build the relationship in the future, and why not start restoring it by jointly looking for solutions to a common problem, namely, eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe,” Gramotkin said.

He stressed that “nuclear radiation safety is an area that is beyond politics.”……https://www.rt.com/news/340741-chernobyl-nuclear-disaster-cooperation/
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April 27, 2016 Posted by | politics international, Russia, Ukraine | Leave a comment

EU and Iran co-operating on nuclear safety

EU-Iran cooperate on nuclear safety World Nuclear News, 22 April 2016 The European Commission and Iran are to launch their first nuclear safety cooperation project under a joint statement issued during an EU delegation’s visit to Tehran. ……According to the statement, the EC and the AEOI are to cooperate “in fulfillment of measures set out in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” – the agreement signed in July 2015 by Iran and the E3/EU+3 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the USA – also referred to as the P5+1 – plus the European Union) under which Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment activities, eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium and limit its stockpile of low enriched uranium over the next 15 years………http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-EU-Iran-cooperate-on-nuclear-safety-2204168.html

April 22, 2016 Posted by | EUROPE, Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

America to buy nuclear material from Iran

U.S. to buy nuclear material from Iran By Jim Sciutto and Ryan Browne, CNN April 22, 2016 Washington The U.S. will purchase from Iran 32 metric tons of heavy water, a key component of nuclear reactors, according to a senior administration official.

The official told CNN the goal of the transaction is to get the heavy water out of Iran in the same way the Iran nuclear deal compelled Iran to ship its supply of enriched uranium to Russia.
Reducing its stockpile of nuclear materials like enriched uranium and heavy water is a key component of the Iran nuclear deal.
“The importance of heavy water to a nuclear proliferator is that it provides one more route to produce plutonium for use in (nuclear) weapons,” the Federation of American Scientists said.
The U.S. will spend $8.6 million for the heavy water, with the U.S. official saying the arrangement will likely be revenue-neutral since the Department of Energy will resell the heavy water to commercial and lab facilities in the U.S., including the Oak Ridge National Lab.
The official said the U.S. can’t make heavy water domestically and, as a result, the U.S. lacks an inventory to use for science and research……… the administration official said the new arrangement complied with all elements of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the administration’s official term for the Iran nuclear deal…..http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/22/politics/us-nuclear-iran-purchase/

April 22, 2016 Posted by | Iran, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

France committed to investing in Hinkley nuclear plant, even if it bankrupts EDF

Hinkley-nuclear-power-plantflag-franceFrench ‘committed’ to investing in Hinkley C nuclear plant  Plymouth Herald  April 17, 2016 By Kate Langston The French government is “completely committed” to building the Westcountry’s new nuclear power plant at Hinkley, the country’s ministers have confirmed.

In an interview with the BBC, the French economy minister Emmanuel Macron stressed the £18 billion project is “very important” to the French state, which owns 85% of energy firm EDF.He added that backers still need to finalise some “technical and industrial” aspects of the Hinkley C deal, but should be in a position to sign in a “week or more”.

The assurances from Mr Macron come less than a week after he sparked fresh fears for the Somerset-based development by announcing he had “not yet made a decision” about the investment.

They also follow the publication of a letter from the main union representing EDF workers stating the firm is “on the edge of bankruptcy”, and should not be risking billions of pounds in the UK……..

The original date for the generator to come online has been pushed back from 20203 to 2025, and the estimated cost has soared from £16 billion to between £18 and £24.5 billion…….

Mr Macron told journalists that Hinkley is “important for [France’s] commitment to nuclear energy”. “We back Hinkley Point project, it’s very important for France, it’s very important for the nuclear sector and EDF,” he said.

“Now we have to finalise the work, and especially the technical and industrial work, very closely with EDF, with the British government, to be in a situation to sign in the coming week or more.”

The EDF board was due to meet to make a final decision on its investment in Hinkley in January, but this was postponed and is now expected to take place in May.

But John Sauven, director of environmental pressure group Greenpeace which is opposed to the new plant, has accused Mr Macron of saying one thing to a UK audience “and another to the French”.

“He has made it abundantly clear in French that no decision has been made,” he told the BBC. “The reasons are clear: the costs are rising, the problems are mounting, and the opposition in France is growing.
“The alternatives are looking increasingly attractive no matter which language you speak.”……….http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/French-committed-investing-Hinkley-C-nuclear/story-29126276-detail/story.html

April 18, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, France, politics international, UK | 1 Comment

Trouble for nuclear deal: Iranian banks unable to process global financial transactions.

Iran’s Central Bank Chief Warns Banking-Access Issues Jeopardize Nuclear Deal Valiollah Seif says Obama administration needs to help facilitate Iran’s banking transactions world-wide WSJ, By  JAY SOLOMON in Washington, ASA FITCH in Dubai, and BENOIT FAUCON in London April 15, 2016

Iran’s central bank governor, in a rare visit to Washington, demanded the Obama administration take more steps to facilitate his country’s banking transactions world-wide and warned the landmark nuclear agreement reached last year could be at risk if the U.S. doesn’t act.

Iranian banks have been unable to process international money transfers and finance trade freely in the months since the deal went into effect in January. Iran also has faced obstacles in repatriating tens of billions of dollars of its oil revenues that were frozen in overseas accounts under U.S. sanctions. Some Western banks have acknowledged avoiding dealings with Iran due to fears of crossing the U.S. Treasury.

The troubles have jeopardized the big economic dividend the government hoped to secure from the nuclear deal Iran and six world powers struck last July, and underscored the West’s lingering suspicion toward Tehran.

Iran agreed to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions that hurt its economy. “They need to do whatever is needed to honor their commitments,” Iran’s central bank governor Valiollah Seif said during a 90-minute presentation that came on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington on Friday. ”Otherwise, the [Iran nuclear deal] breaks up under its own terms,” he said.

Mr. Seif’s comments came a day after a face-to-face meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew that was largely focused on Iranian demands for more sanctions relief in the wake of the landmark nuclear accord, according to Iranian and U.S. officials.

The U.S. and other world powers agreed to lift most sanctions on Iran as part of the deal. But the Treasury still bars Iran from using the U.S. financial system or the American dollar…….http://www.wsj.com/articles/irans-central-bank-chief-warns-banking-access-issues-jeopardize-nuclear-deal-1460745930

April 16, 2016 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

USA, EU not honouring nuclear deal – says Iran official

Iran Official Accuses US, EU of Not Honoring Nuclear Deal By MARIA DANILOVA, abc news, ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Apr 15, 2016, A top Iranian official on Friday accused the U.S. and the European Union of failing to honor last year’s nuclear deal by keeping Iran locked out of the international financial system.

The White House insisted Washington is committed to fulfilling its part of the accord and said Tehran wants concessions that weren’t part of the deal.

The historic accord took effect in January and envisions Iran curtailing its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

The head of Iran’s central bank, Valiollah Seif, said in a speech Friday that Iran’s counterparts have not lived up to their commitments and that “almost nothing” has been done as part of the deal.

“In general, we are not able to use our frozen funds abroad,” Seif said at the Council on Foreign Relations through a translator. Seif was in Washington to attend the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. “They (Iran’s partners) have not honored their obligations.”

He urged Washington to do more to encourage international banks to do business with Iran and ease Iran’s access to U.S. financial institutions. Otherwise, he said, the deal “breaks up on its own terms.” He did not elaborate……http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/iran-official-accuses-us-eu-honoring-nuclear-deal-38426758

April 16, 2016 Posted by | EUROPE, Iran, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Russia Rejects N.Korea’s Claim to Status of Nuclear Power – Lavrov

   http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160412/1037880348/status-korea-nuclear.html#ixzz45eBZxtUV Moscow rejects Pyongyang’s claim to the status of a nuclear power possessing atomic weapons and means of their delivery.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow recognizes North Korea’s right to develop a peaceful nuclear program, but rejects Pyongyang’s claim to the status of a nuclear power possessing atomic weapons and means of their delivery, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.”We are very concerned about the situation on the Korean Peninsula and we consider it necessary to make all possible efforts to prevent the unwinding of a negative spiral, when actions by one side lead to additional counter-action by another side, making it a ‘vicious circle,’ Lavrov said in an interview with Mongolian, Chinese and Japanese media.

“We, as well as China, reject North Korea’s nuclear-missile ambitions,” Lavrov stressed

April 13, 2016 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, Russia | Leave a comment

USA Secretary of State defends nuclear pact with Tehran

diplomacy-not-bombsFlag-USAflag-IranKerry on Iran nuclear deal: If they’re cheating, we’ll know it Secretary of state defends pact with Tehran ahead of expected grilling by angry Republicans in Congress, Times of Israel,   BY RICHARD LARDNER April 5, 2016,WASHINGTON (AP) — US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday defended the landmark nuclear deal the United States made with Iran ahead of a congressional hearing where Senate Republicans are expected to hammer the Obama administration for considering the easing of financial restrictions against Tehran.
Kerry acknowledged the harsh criticism of the arrangement, which is designed to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, telling MSNBC there’s a furious debate even in Iran over whether Tehran should choose missiles over dialogue.
“I think what you’re seeing there is tension” between moderates and hard-liners over Iran’s future course, Kerry said.

Kerry’s remarks came just hours ahead of a scheduled hearing by the GOP-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the implementation of the nuclear accord. Thomas Shannon, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, will testify.

The committee’s hearing comes amid reports that the administration may relax the prohibition that prevents US dollars from being used in transactions with Iran. Angry lawmakers, who contend the US was taken advantage of in the deal, have countered that Tehran would be getting more than it deserves from the international nuclear pact reached last year.

While no final decision has been made, officials told The Associated Press the Treasury Department has prepared a general license permitting offshore financial institutions to access dollars for foreign currency trades in support of legitimate business with Iran, a practice that is currently illegal.

Several restrictions would apply, but the change could prove significant for Iran’s sanctions-battered economy. It also would be highly contentious in the United States, where Republican and several Democratic lawmakers say the administration promised to maintain a strict ban on dollars along with other non-nuclear penalties on Iran after last July’s seven-nation nuclear agreement.

The nuclear pact provided Iran with billions of dollars in sanctions relief for curtailing programs that could lead to nuclear weapons. But the Iranians say they haven’t benefited to the extent envisioned under the deal because of other US measures linked to human rights, terrorism and missile development concerns.

Kerry told MSNBC that Iran “needs to make some clear decisions about the role that it intends to play in the region and the world.”

Kerry added, “if they’re cheating, we will know it.”……..http://www.timesofisrael.com/kerry-on-iran-nuclear-deal-if-theyre-cheating-well-know-it/

April 6, 2016 Posted by | Iran, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Very serious consequences if Iran nuclear deal scrapped

U.S. warns of dire consequences if diplomacy-not-bombsFlag-USA By Nicole Gaouette  April 5, 2016 Washington (CNN)The Obama administration warned of dire consequences Tuesday should the next occupant of the Oval Office scrap the Iran nuclear deal.

The accord to curb Tehran’s program in exchange for sanctions relief has become a popular punching bag on the GOP presidential campaign trail, with one candidate, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, threatening to tear it up on Day One of his administration.
At a Capitol Hill hearing, a top State Department official pushed back at the Republican criticism in an effort to keep its hard-won implementation on track.
Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that if the next president withdraws from the deal, it could be calamitous.
“Any effort to step away from (the deal) would reopen a Pandora’s box in that region that would be hard to close again,” Shannon said. A decision to exit the deal could trigger Iran’s return to its nuclear weapons program, Shannon said, a possibility that many analysts say could lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East as Tehran’s regional rivals, such as Saudi Arabia, work to match it.
A U.S. rejection of the deal “would be grasped by hardliners in Iran to assert that we were an unreliable interlocutor,” Shannon said, and would be seen as “was a clear signal that they needed to return to their nuclear program.”
With the deal in place, Shannon maintained, the pact “will allow for a program that is exclusively peaceful.”
He also argued that stepping away from the deal would send ripples through close U.S. relationships as well.
“This would be an issue of concern” for those allies who negotiated the deal with Iran alongside the U.S., Shannon said, and would send a message that the U.S. isn’t able to maintain consistent policies from one administration to another……..http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/05/politics/iran-nuclear-deal-u-s-warning-gop/index.html

April 6, 2016 Posted by | Iran, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

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