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Monday, January 13, 2014

Iran, world powers reach deal opening nuke program

January 13, 2014

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has agreed to limit uranium enrichment and to open its nuclear program to daily inspection by international experts starting Jan. 20, setting the clock running on a six-month deadline for a final nuclear agreement, officials said.

In exchange, the Islamic Republic will get a relaxation of the financial sanctions that have been crippling its economy. The announcement that Iran and six world powers had agreed on the plan for implementing an interim agreement came first from Iranian officials and was later confirmed elsewhere. Some U.S. lawmakers have been leery of the agreement, calling for tougher sanctions against Iran, rather than any loosening of controls.

Iran's official IRNA news agency on Sunday quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying the deal, which sets the terms of a landmark agreement reached in November, would take effect from Jan. 20. IRNA said Iran will grant the United Nations' watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — access to its nuclear facilities and its centrifuge production lines to confirm it is complying with terms of the deal.

Araghchi later told state television that some $4.2 billion in seized oil revenue would be released under the deal. Senior officials in President Barack Obama's administration put the total relief figure at $7 billion.

In a statement, Obama welcomed the deal, saying it "will advance our goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon." "I have no illusions about how hard it will be to achieve this objective, but for the sake of our national security and the peace and security of the world, now is the time to give diplomacy a chance to succeed," Obama said.

Under the November agreement, Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent — the grade commonly used to power reactors. The deal also commits Iran to stop producing 20 percent enriched uranium — which is only a technical step away from weapons-grade material — and to neutralize its 20 percent stockpile over the six months.

In exchange, economic sanctions Iran faces would be eased for six months. During that time, the so-called P5+1 world powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — would continue negotiations with Iran on a permanent deal.

The West fears Iran's nuclear program could allow it to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes, such as medical research and power generation. Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported Sunday that under the terms of the deal, Iran will guarantee that it won't try to attain nuclear arms "under any circumstance." However, Araghchi stressed Iran could resume production of 20 percent uranium in "one day" if it chose.

The senior U.S. officials said U.N. inspectors would have daily access to Iranian nuclear sites and would make monthly reports. Iran will dilute half of its nuclear material during the first three months of the agreement, the officials said, and all of it by the end of the agreement.

In exchange, Iran would have access to parts for its civilian aviation and automotive industries. Iran also would be allowed to import and export gold, as well as export petrochemicals, the officials said. The deal also gives Iran access to international humanitarian and medical supplies, though Iran still could not use U.S. banks and the majority of sanctions would remain in place, they said.

The senior U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the specific terms of the agreement were not released publicly. European Union negotiator Catherine Ashton praised the deal in a statement, saying "the foundations for a coherent, robust and smooth implementation ... have been laid." German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the deal "a decisive step forward which we can build on."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also welcomed the deal in a statement, saying further negotiations "represent the best chance we have to resolve this critical national security issue peacefully, and durably."

But Kerry cautioned that despite a fledgling detente with Iran, the nuclear negotiations have all but exhausted both sides' time, keeping them from being able to work on other shared global interests, including the civil war in Syria.

"We have been so focused and so intent on the nuclear file that we really have not dug into (Syria) in any appreciably substantive way," Kerry told reporters in Paris, where he was meeting with other Western foreign ministers and the head of the main moderate opposition group, which is seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, ahead of peace talks scheduled in just over a week in Switzerland. Iran is the main backer of Assad's regime.

Suspicions remain high in both Tehran and Washington after decades of hostility dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran that ousted the U.S.-backed shah dynasty. Iran's new reformist president, Hassan Rouhani, has reached out to the West, but must depend on support from Iran's top decision-maker, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for his initiatives amid criticism from hard-line factions.

Obama must fend off efforts by U.S. lawmakers, including many of his fellow Democrats, who want to pass new sanctions legislation. The measure proposes to blacklist several Iranian industrial sectors and ban banks and companies around the world from the U.S. market if they help Iran export any more oil. The provisions would only take effect if Tehran violates the interim nuclear deal or lets it expire without a follow-up accord.

However, that has caused anxiety in Iran, where hard-liners have already called the deal a "poison chalice" and are threatening legislation to increase uranium enrichment. Araghchi also said any new sanctions would halt the deal.

In his statement, Obama said "unprecedented sanctions and tough diplomacy helped to bring Iran to the negotiating table," but cautioned against implementing any more. "Imposing additional sanctions now will only risk derailing our efforts to resolve this issue peacefully, and I will veto any legislation enacting new sanctions during the negotiation," he said.

Associated Press writers Philip Elliot in Washington, John-Thor Dahlberg in Brussels, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Lara Jakes in Paris and Jon Gambrell in Cairo contributed to this report.

Zarif to visit Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon: Source

Sun Jan 12, 2014

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is to set off on a three-nation tour of the Middle East for talks on bilateral ties as well as regional developments.

Zarif’s trips, next week, to Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon are in line with Iran’s active regional diplomacy and come on the heels of the top diplomat’s previous regional tours which took him to Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, IRNA quoted an informed source speaking on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Ambassador to Iran Fadi Haj Ali confirmed to IRNA on Saturday that Zarif is due in Beirut on Monday.

Among the key issues that Zarif is to discuss with Lebanese officials during his visit is the twin terrorist blasts outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut and the ensuing developments, including the apprehension of the mastermind behind the explosions Majed al-Majed, who died in Lebanese custody, and the probe into the terrorist incident, said the ambassador.

Zarif’s regional tours come as more countries are showing interest in boosting their relations with Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister had said earlier that recent visits to Tehran by European parliamentary delegations suggest the West is inclined to forge closer ties with Iran in “the current political atmosphere.”

He made the remark in a meeting with Chairman of the Oireachtas (Irish National Parliament) Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee Pat Breen, who is in Tehran at the head of a parliamentary delegation.

Prior to the Irish delegation’s trip, a four-member British parliamentary team headed by former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw paid a three-day visit to the Iranian capital.

On January 7, the Romanian ambassador to Iran said a parliamentary delegation from his country will pay an official visit to Tehran next week.

Zarif has also invited European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton to visit Iran.

Ashton has coordinated nuclear talks with Iran on behalf of the six world powers, comprised of Britain, China, France, Russia and United States, plus Germany.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/01/12/345087/iran-fm-to-begin-3nation-me-tour/.

Cambodia suspends Russia tycoon extradition

January 13, 2014

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court on Monday suspended a request for the extradition of a Russian property developer wanted in his homeland for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars.

The ruling on Sergei Polonsky's fate in a closed-door hearing also saw the 41-year-old businessman released after being detained in Cambodia two months ago following a request by Moscow. It was not immediately clear whether Polonsky could still face extradition at a later date, and court officials were not available for comment.

Polonsky was expected to go on trial in Cambodia for allegedly attacking the crew of a boat after a dispute erupted during a New Year's Eve outing in 2012. Polonsky was charged in Russia last year with embezzling more than 5.7 billion rubles ($175 million) from 80 property investors.

The International Criminal Police Organization, Interpol, recently added Polonsky to its "red list" of internationally wanted criminals for "large-scale fraud."