The Western nations currently negotiating with Iran over the fate of the country’s illicit nuclear program will “likely stop short of demanding full disclosure of any secret weapon work by Tehran,” according to a report in Reuters: Officially, the United States and its Western allies say it is vital that Iran fully addresses...

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VIENNA – With the deadline to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program only days away, negotiators in Vienna are working to bridge what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry today called “big gaps” in negotiation demands. In addition to multiple meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and various European diplomats, Kerry consulted with Israeli Prime...

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An analysis published on the Foreign Policy Initiative website yesterday by Thomas C. Moore, a former staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, proposed three ways that the outgoing Congress could influence the outcome of a nuclear deal with Iran. While acknowledging that “Congress has no immediate tools available to block...

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In a House subcommittee hearing yesterday, former Director of National Intelligence Gen. Michael Hayden said that Iran and its possible acquisition of nuclear weapons was one of the things that “keep me awake at night”. In his prepared remarks (.pdf) Hayden made four observations about Iran and its nuclear program, including that “Iran...

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Arab media sources are reporting on tensions between Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the two key allies of Iran in the Middle East. Sources close to Hezbollah admitted that the organization is suffering from “difficult days” in its war in Syria against local opposition groups attempting to overthrow Assad. According...

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VIENNA – Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have reached an impasse as foreign ministers from Iran and the P5+1 powers have announced that they are leaving Vienna, where talks have been ongoing for the past few days. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will be traveling back to Tehran later today, reportedly...

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Iran has made no significant concessions in its negotiations over its nuclear program, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said today. Steinitz made his remarks in a conference call organized by The Israel Project, which publishes The Tower. A recording of the call is available here. Steinitz noted that Iran has made “some...

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A group of 43 Republican senators sent a letter (.pdf) yesterday to President Barack Obama “promising to reject a ‘weak and dangerous deal,’” according a report in the Washington Free Beacon. The letter noted that despite assurances from Secretary of State John Kerry that any nuclear deal with Iran would “have to pass...

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Lawmakers on Tuesday and Wednesday issued statements indicating broad bipartisan support for congressional oversight of any potential deal with Iran. Yesterday, Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), who had earlier in the day been chosen by the House Republican Conference to continue to serve as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,...

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VIENNA – The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a UN-affiliated watchdog organization, criticized Iran today for its continued refusal to fully cooperate with the agency’s investigation into Iran’s nuclear program. The investigation is to formally determine whether Iran’s nuclear program is to be used to supply military weapons, as has...

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