Jonathan Powell

Britain’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell believed a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran was within reach just days before the United States and Israel launched their military campaign, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.

Powell attended the final round of indirect negotiations in Geneva and judged Tehran’s proposals on its nuclear programme “surprising” and substantial enough to prevent an immediate slide into war.

Two days after the talks ended — and with technical negotiations scheduled for Vienna — the US and Israel began strikes on Iranian targets.

Powell was present at meetings held at the residence of Oman’s ambassador in Cologny, where the talks were mediated by Omani foreign minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi.

Unexpected concessions from Tehran

Officials briefed on the discussions say Iran offered several concessions that surprised Western negotiators.

Tehran reportedly proposed permanently abandoning stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and agreed to down-blend roughly 400kg already produced under supervision from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran also signalled it could pause domestic uranium enrichment for three to five years, though US negotiators later pushed for a 10-year halt.

Diplomats involved in the process believed the proposals represented real progress, even if a final agreement had not yet been reached.

Powell, who previously served as chief of staff to Tony Blair, reportedly brought a UK technical team to the talks amid concerns that Washington’s delegation lacked nuclear expertise.

Diplomacy halted as war began

The US negotiating team was led by Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, who relied heavily on technical input from IAEA chief Rafael Grossi during discussions.

A follow-up round of negotiations scheduled for 2 March in Vienna never took place. The US and Israel launched their attack on Iran two days earlier.

Powell’s presence at the talks helps explain Britain’s reluctance to back the military action. Officials in Downing Street reportedly saw no clear evidence of an imminent Iranian nuclear breakout or missile threat to Europe.

The episode has strained relations between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump, with Washington accusing Britain of failing to support the campaign.

For London, the issue remains simple: war began while diplomacy, in its view, was still very much alive.

UK security adviser attended US-Iran talks and judged deal was within reach

Israel is the aggressor here with Trump backing them up. It never was about the nuclear issue it was always about Israel wanting to destroy Iran.

They had to attack & set the region on fire before a deal was reached.

I hope it backfires on them spectacularly I doubt there will ever be peace as long as Israel still exists and they continue on the same path.

How convenient.

Powell is the man who is in large part responsible for the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) handover to Mauritius. It's his deal and he is being savaged for it, especially by the Trump administration.

Now, while under immense pressure to rip up the deal, he has special insight on the failed Iran negotiations.

This man has misjudged. Iran made similar offers previously and had retracted them when it came time to finalize the offer. Iran had this down to an art form, leading negotiators on, only to pull back after months of discussion. This was Iran's strategy over a decade: Drag the. negotiations out and then come up with a reason not to proceed.

Iran also refused to stop funding terrorist groups, to stop interfering in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.He did not mention that.

On the same day, the head of the US National Counterterrorism Center has resigned.

I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby

https://www.thejc.com/news/usa/joe-kent-counter-terror-resigns-iran-war-israel-lobby-tomu4otb

A recent appointment, so not some holdover from a previous administration who could be bad mouthed

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/trump-names-washingtons-joe-kent-to-lead-counterterrorism-agency/

As a soldier, Green Beret, and CIA officer, Joe has hunted down terrorists and criminals his entire adult life,” Trump wrote on X. “Joe will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the World, to the cartels in our backyard

The sort of square jawed bloke the President gets a hard on for. Lost his wife, who was also serving her nation, in 2019 to a DAESH suicide bomber, in Syria, which is what he is now calling a war "manufactur by Israel". He's full on MAGA, and the Democrats didn't like him. Now lets hear people tear him down.

He’s a destructive choice to lead the National Counterterrorism Center,” Washington state Democratic Party chair Shasti Conrad said in a statement on Monday. “Someone who called for defunding the FBI and promotes conspiracy theories cannot be trusted with our national security.

Though to be fair, there was a bit of a whiff about him.

Democrats didn't like him.

8 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

How convenient.

Powell is the man who is in large part responsible for the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) handover to Mauritius. It's his deal and he is being savaged for it, especially by the Trump administration.

Now, while under immense pressure to rip up the deal, he has special insight on the failed Iran negotiations.

This man has misjudged. Iran made similar offers previously and had retracted them when it came time to finalize the offer. Iran had this down to an art form, leading negotiators on, only to pull back after months of discussion. This was Iran's strategy over a decade: Drag the. negotiations out and then come up with a reason not to proceed.

Iran also refused to stop funding terrorist groups, to stop interfering in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.He did not mention that.

Trump changed his mind 4 or 5 times regarding the Chagos deal.

First of all it was a monumental achievement, then it was an act of great stupidity after Starmer and Nato countries opposed his Greenland takeover.

Then he got upset again over Starmer's refusal to let the US use the Diego Garcia base for offensive strikes on the grounds the Iran war is illegal.

Powell did the right thing.

6 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

How convenient.

Powell is the man who is in large part responsible for the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) handover to Mauritius. It's his deal and he is being savaged for it, especially by the Trump administration.

Now, while under immense pressure to rip up the deal, he has special insight on the failed Iran negotiations.

This man has misjudged. Iran made similar offers previously and had retracted them when it came time to finalize the offer. Iran had this down to an art form, leading negotiators on, only to pull back after months of discussion. This was Iran's strategy over a decade: Drag the. negotiations out and then come up with a reason not to proceed.

Iran also refused to stop funding terrorist groups, to stop interfering in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.He did not mention that.

Love the deflection, as usual anything that throws any faults in the direction of Israel/USA is wrong, and must be defended.

What the hell has the Chagos Archipelago got to do with the US/Iran talks?

He also didn't mention Israel still bombing in Gaza, nearly 700 killed since the ceasefire, or the continued land grabs and settler violence all over the "Occupied Territories

2 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

Love the deflection, as usual anything that throws any faults in the direction of Israel/USA is wrong, and must be defended.

What the hell has the Chagos Archipelago got to do with the US/Iran talks?

He also didn't mention Israel still bombing in Gaza, nearly 700 killed since the ceasefire, or the continued land grabs and settler violence all over the "Occupied Territories

No deflection. Jonnie's timing is convenient. He''s under scrutiny for terrible giveaway and all of a sudden weeks after the Iran conflict started, has had an epiphany. And as explained, Iran dragged the negotiations on for a decade. It would offer a new concession and then all of a sudden, go, but now it will be conditional on X. Iran dragged this out as a delaying tactic. It never negotiated in good faith. Jonnie wouldn't know a good faith negotiation if it hit him upside his smarmy head.

7 minutes ago, bannork said:

Trump changed his mind 4 or 5 times regarding the Chagos deal.

First of all it was a monumental achievement, then it was an act of great stupidity after Starmer and Nato countries opposed his Greenland takeover.

Then he got upset again over Starmer's refusal to let the US use the Diego Garcia base for offensive strikes on the grounds the Iran war is illegal.

Powell did the right thing.

The UK defense professionals do not agree. It has been criticized as short sighted and poorly considered, pushed more for political reasons than anything else. Jonnie is a dud.

Hilarious though that you guys are rally to the defense of theman who supported Blair's. decision to back the war in the Gulf.

18 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

How convenient.

Powell is the man who is in large part responsible for the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) handover to Mauritius.

No he wasn't. He was appointed to the role as envoy to negotiate with British Indian Ocean Territory and Mauritius regarding the Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute in September 2024. The deal was signed on the 3rd October. While he's an exceptionally experienced diplomat and civil servant (like his brother, who served Thatcher), there is no way that deal was his. The deal had already been determined under the previous government. It was just a matter of checking diaries, booking the flights and cars, and adding a signature or two. With respect to the agreement itself, a few fingers should be pointed at Sir Philip Barton, the FCDO permanent under-secretary, given his conduct during the evacuation from Kabul, in relation to a story about Boris Johnson prioritising an evacuation of cats and dogs from Afghanistan.

5 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

No deflection. Jonnie's timing is convenient. He''s under scrutiny for terrible giveaway and all of a sudden weeks after the Iran conflict started, has had an epiphany. And as explained, Iran dragged the negotiations on for a decade. It would offer a new concession and then all of a sudden, go, but now it will be conditional on X. Iran dragged this out as a delaying tactic. It never negotiated in good faith. Jonnie wouldn't know a good faith negotiation if it hit him upside his smarmy head.

So you want me to believe that Britain’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell knows nothing, according to you?

A man with over 40 years experience:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Powell_(civil_servant)

2 hours ago, bannork said:

The US negotiating team was led by Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff,

Both Jewish. Kinda suggests that Israel's desire for war had a leg up, courtesy of the US negotiators.

4 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

The UK defense professionals do not agree. It has been criticized as short sighted and poorly considered, pushed more for political reasons than anything else. Jonnie is a dud.

Hilarious though that you guys are rally to the defense of theman who supported Blair's. decision to back the war in the Gulf.

So you share the view of George Galloway and Jeremy Corbyn then, and their brand of politics. You know FA.

2 hours ago, JimGant said:

Both Jewish. Kinda suggests that Israel's desire for war had a leg up, courtesy of the US negotiators.

Lots of evidence emerging that these two acted as assets to Israel, not servants of the US.

https://www.ms.now/news/exclusive-diplomats-claim-witkoff-undermined-iran-talks

“In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly, with no shame, that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60%,” Witkoff said in the Fox interview, referring to the uranium’s level of enrichment. “And they’re aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs, and that was the beginning of their negotiating stance.”

“They were proud of it,” Witkoff added. “They were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.”

However, a Persian Gulf diplomat with direct knowledge of the talks told MS NOW that Witkoff’s description of the conversation was false.

The Iranians told Witkoff that Iran was willing to give up the enriched uranium as part of a new agreement with Trump, according to the Persian Gulf diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Iranians also told Witkoff that Iran enriched the uranium after Trump pulled out of a 2017 nuclear agreement brokered by the Obama administration.

“I can categorically state that this is inaccurate,” said the diplomat, referring to Witkoff’s account. “He was explaining that all of this material can all go away should we have a deal and Iran can be relieved from sanctions.” 

https://www.ms.now/news/trump-iran-nuclear-reactor-war-evidence

“As the IAEA has publicly affirmed, Iran was stockpiling near-weapons grade enriched uranium while refusing to participate in serious negotiations with the United States,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement to MS NOW. “Thankfully, President Trump will never stand back and allow a country that chants ‘Death to America’ to ever obtain a nuclear weapon, and Operation Epic Fury is effectively taking out their capabilities of doing so.”

In the week since the start of the U.S.-Israeli attacks, the IAEA and the White House have issued conflicting statements as to how close Iran was believed to be toward the production of a nuclear weapon.

“This is spin, it just isn’t true, and the conversation that did take place with Director General Grossi present has been taken completely out of context by Mr. Witkoff,” a Persian Gulf diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations said in response to the claim. 

Several nuclear experts who spoke to MS NOW questioned the extent to which Witkoff and Kushner — who led the nuclear negotiations and described the Iranian position to Trump — understood the technical details of the enrichment programs at the heart of the deliberations.

Elena Sokova, the executive director of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, called the administration’s assessments of the Tehran Research Reactor “confusing and misleading” and riddled with “technical errors.” 

“It mixes up different elements of the nuclear program and their potential proliferation capabilities,” Sokova said. “Research reactors are not capable of doing enrichment of uranium, whether for civil or military purposes.”

Witkoff and Kushner did not bring technical experts from the U.S. to sit in on their talks in Geneva, according to a senior Middle East diplomat with knowledge of the talks, and the White House opted to forgo scheduled technical talks set for this past Monday in Vienna, where more detailed nuclear details were expected to be addressed.

“When it comes to nuclear nonproliferation discussions, the details matter,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. “And working out the details requires time and technical expertise, and the administration was not patient enough to apply either to this effort.”

Witkoff defended his credentials last week to lead the nuclear talks.

“I wouldn’t tell you I’m an expert in nuclear, but I’ve learned quite a bit, and I’ve studied it and have read quite a bit about it, and I’m competent to sit at the table and discuss it, and Jared [Kushner] is as well,” Witkoff said on “The Mark Levin Show.”

Charges that these two deliberately mislead the US President, somewhat backed by the resignation letter of Kent.