Obama hails Iran nuclear deal, prisoner swap and 'strong American diplomacy'

[webfact]

Obama hails Iran nuclear deal, prisoner swap and 'strong American diplomacy'



"These things are a reminder of what we can achieve when we lead with strength and with wisdom"

WASHINGTON: -- President Obama on Sunday hailed the implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran and the release of US prisoners, saying: “These things are a reminder of what we can achieve when we lead with strength and with wisdom”.

His remarks were an implicit rebuke to Republicans, who have criticised the president for his engagement with a country that has long been an enemy of the United States.

Speaking at the White House, Obama said that world powers had cut off every path Tehran had to a nuclear bomb and that the outcome of the negotiations shows “what’s possible through strong American diplomacy”.

“Yesterday marked a milestone in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran has now fulfilled key commitments under the nuclear deal and perhaps most important of all we have achieved this historic progress through diplomacy, without resorting to another war in the Middle East,” Obama said.

The president said the United States still had significant differences with Iran and would continue to enforce sanctions against its ballistic missile programme.

But he was hopeful the outcome of the nuclear talks signalled an opportunity for Iran to work more cooperatively with the rest of the world.

On the prisoner-swap, Obama drew a clear link with the success of the nuclear talks.

“On the sidelines of the nuclear negotiations, our diplomats at the highest level including Secretary Kerry used every meeting to push Iran to release our Americans. I did so myself in my conversation with President Rouhani,” he said.

“Several Americans, unjustly detained by Iran, are finally coming home.”

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-01-18

[webfact]

Triumph or travesty, US-Iran ties warming over nuclear deal
By BRADLEY KLAPPER and MATTHEW LEE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Diplomatic triumph or travesty, America's relationship with one of its most intractable foes took two giant leaps forward this weekend when Iran released four Americans in a prisoner swap after locking in last summer's nuclear deal and receiving some $100 billion in sanctions relief.

The announcements culminated a stunning few days of activity for the Obama administration and particularly Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the diplomatic outreach to Tehran at President Barack Obama's direction through years of slow-grinding negotiations.

Speaking from the White House, Obama on Sunday hailed the "historic progress through diplomacy," long the centerpiece of his foreign policy vision, instead of another war in the Middle East.

Three of the American detainees — Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati and pastor Saeed Abedini — arrived in Germany en route to a U.S. military hospital. They will return home after medical evaluations.

The fourth, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, opted to remain in Iran, officials said.

The Islamic Republic released the prisoners in exchange for pardons or charges dropped against seven Iranians — six of whom hold dual U.S. citizenship — serving time for or accused of sanctions violations in the United States. A fifth American, student Matthew Trevithick, who had been detained in Iran for roughly 40 days, was released separately.

For all the celebrations, the timing of the deal, finalized hours after Saturday night's U.N. confirmation that Iran made good on pledges to significantly back away from atomic bomb-making capacity, suggested that the Americans possibly were used as pawns by the Iranian government to win long-sought economic relief, as critics allege.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's declaration unlocked some $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets overseas, and potentially even greater economic benefits through suspended oil, trade and financial sanctions by the U.S. and European Union.

Critics of Obama's Iran policy at home and abroad pounced on the details of the prisoner exchange and the new economic opportunities being afforded Tehran while it still supports Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

"This deal is a problematic deal, and it reflects a pattern we have seen in the Obama administration over and over again of negotiating with terrorists, and making deals and trades that endanger U.S. safety and security," Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a GOP presidential candidate, said on "Fox News Sunday."

Nevertheless, the back-to-back breakthroughs reflected painstaking diplomacy by Kerry and administration officials.

The efforts were beset by several hitches, including the detention of 10 U.S. sailors by Iran last week in the Persian Gulf and U.S. plans in late December to impose new sanctions on Iran for ballistic missile testing.

The sailors were released after Kerry's intervention with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The sanctions were delayed until Sunday, after the U.S. detainees left Iran.

U.S. and Iranian officials hashed out the prisoner exchange over 11 or 12 meetings over a process that took a little longer than a year, sprouting from the even longer set of talks that led to last July's landmark nuclear accord.

Just before Zarif announced the final pact with his EU counterpart Frederica Mogherini, Kerry raised the issue of the detained Americans.

A photograph of Kerry speaking with Zarif and Iranian President Hasan Rouhani's brother, Hossein Fereydoun, captured the moment.

Things progressed significantly by November, when Iran was included for the first time in a meeting in Vienna on Syria's civil war. Kerry and Zarif met there to discuss the prisoners.

"We actually shook hands thinking we had an agreement," Kerry said. "I thought it was done."

But the deal bogged down in Tehran and never went through.

"So we went back to work," Kerry told reporters on his plane back to Washington late Saturday.

He described the negotiations as difficult, especially as the Iranians made what he said were unacceptable demands. Kerry said the United States made clear it wouldn't release an accused murderer or narcotics offender.

"For a long time, this didn't move because of the people they were asking for," Kerry recalled. "We said, 'No, and no, and no.'"

"And believe me, it's hard when somebody says to you, 'Hey, you give us this guy, we let them all out.' And you have to say no. And you know you're keeping people in a not very nice place for the next whatever number of months," he said.

"But there have to be an enforcement of our principles and our standards here. And in the end, we came out in the right place on that."

More progress was made by Kerry's meeting with Zarif on Dec. 18 in New York. By then, American and Iranian teams in Geneva were working hard on the details of the swap.

The U.S. team, led by Brett McGurk, the special envoy for the fight against the Islamic State group, was prepared to release individuals who violated nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, Kerry said. By Saturday night, those sanctions had been rescinded.

"In the end, the president made the call," he said.

One of the last hiccups that delayed the Americans' departure was an Iranian military official's misunderstanding about Rezaian's wife and mother joining him on the flight. After Kerry spoke to Zarif, permission was granted.

But the various administrative holdups meant that the Swiss crew set to fly the plane ran into a mandatory crew rest. That set back takeoff several hours.

The U.S. and Iran haven't had diplomatic relations since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The administration says this weekend's agreements won't change that situation, but relations are clearly warming. Cooperation on ending Syria's civil war and even discussions about coordinating their fights against the Islamic State point to the budding ties.

That has many of America's closest partners in the region, not to mention Republican and some Democratic lawmakers in the United States, fretful. Republicans have denounced the outreach as a dangerous and undeserved concession to Iran.

Israel remains steadfastly opposed to the Iran deal and any rapprochement with Tehran. Sunni Saudi Arabia has had tension with Iran since executing a Shiite cleric on Jan. 2, which led to a severing of diplomatic ties between the two.

Both of these countries, and others, are wary of an emboldened Iran. Some Republicans say the prisoner exchange could mean Iran seizes more Americans as hostages to facilitate future trades.

But Kerry said the successful talks over prisoners and nuclear matters raise the prospects of more U.S.-Iranian cooperation on other matters.

Zarif, he said, indicated that if they got the two tasks done, "There are ways to try to translate this and hopefully be constructive in other things. He specifically said Syria and Yemen."

"I put a big, 'Who knows?'" on that, Kerry said, but expressed hope.

Kerry said he would remain at work on other Americans still being held in Iran.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-01-18

[ezzra]

By going ahead with this deal with the Iranian, Obama has stooped to new lows and brought America

to it's knees chocolate coating it with good diplomacy, and on the way, he has also

given the middle finger to Netanyahu telling

him in fact ' hey buddy, now what you gonna do huh ?, I did what I wanted to do anyway '.......

Edited January 17, 2016 by ezzra

[tonbridgebrit]

America has taken a step in the right direction, peace in the Mddle East is what we all want.
Iran is NOT interested in invading the European Union or the USA.

The removal of sanctions against Iran, allowing them to sell oil, is surely a good thing ? It will send the world oil price lower, it will benefit most people.

[kamahele]

By going ahead with this deal with the Iranian, Obama has stooped to new lows and brought America

to it's knees chocolate coating it with good diplomacy, and on the way, he has also

given the middle finger to Netanyahu telling

him in fact ' hey buddy, now what you gonna do huh ?, I did what I wanted to do anyway '.......

Um, no. Obama has shown great leadership and strength by not doing as other politicians do (both American, Iranian and Israeli). He has ended their nuclear ambitions for decades and negotiated the safe release of five Americans jailed by their government. All without a shot fired. He brought the world together to bring sanctions against Iran, forcing them to the bargaining table where five nations and the UN negotiated a deal. What you don't see is that Netanyahu and Iran's Supreme Leader and The Revolutionary Guard all benefit from being seemingly, continuously on the brink of war. Bypassing Netanyahu is the smartest thing America has done in the Middle East in recent memory.

[Srikcir]

The joke is on Iran!

Iran gave up part of its sovereignty with the nuclear deal so it could resume selling oil to capitalize 10 years of economic stagnation.

In return oil prices have fallen to levels not seen after 2005.

With millions of barrels in expensive storage Iran oil will now flood the market and further depress oil prices.

Iran will break OPEC economic strength and further drive the Russian economy into the gutter.

Western economies will benefit from a vigorous Iranian buying and development spree

What a deal.

[Alwyn]

By going ahead with this deal with the Iranian, Obama has stooped to new lows and brought America

to it's knees chocolate coating it with good diplomacy, and on the way, he has also

given the middle finger to Netanyahu telling

him in fact ' hey buddy, now what you gonna do huh ?, I did what I wanted to do anyway '.......

Um, no. Obama has shown great leadership and strength by not doing as other politicians do (both American, Iranian and Israeli). He has ended their nuclear ambitions for decades and negotiated the safe release of five Americans jailed by their government. All without a shot fired. He brought the world together to bring sanctions against Iran, forcing them to the bargaining table where five nations and the UN negotiated a deal. What you don't see is that Netanyahu and Iran's Supreme Leader and The Revolutionary Guard all benefit from being seemingly, continuously on the brink of war. Bypassing Netanyahu is the smartest thing America has done in the Middle East in recent memory.

What? You're obviously a scholar of history then.... Sanctions have been in place against Iran since 1979. If you believe the Iranians when they say they have no interest in building nuclear weapons you're more deluded than the Iran's Muslim buddy, Obama. This will not lead to peace in the middle east, it will merely mean a shift in the balance of power in the middle east. Iran will flood the market with cheap oil and gas first. Next will be an increase in hostilities with Saudi and thereafter probably the biggest and probably fastest war in history as Iran turn on Israel.

[Chicog]

By going ahead with this deal with the Iranian, Obama has stooped to new lows and brought America

to it's knees chocolate coating it with good diplomacy, and on the way, he has also

given the middle finger to Netanyahu telling

him in fact ' hey buddy, now what you gonna do huh ?, I did what I wanted to do anyway '.......

It's refreshing to see pretty well everyone give Benny the finger.

No-one listens to his silly nonsense and childish cartoons any more.

[Chicog]

What? You're obviously a scholar of history then.... Sanctions have been in place against Iran since 1979. If you believe the Iranians when they say they have no interest in building nuclear weapons you're more deluded than the Iran's Muslim buddy, Obama. This will not lead to peace in the middle east, it will merely mean a shift in the balance of power in the middle east. Iran will flood the market with cheap oil and gas first. Next will be an increase in hostilities with Saudi and thereafter probably the biggest and probably fastest war in history as Iran turn on Israel.

Perhaps in the parallel universe in which your imagination resides, but Iran will be no more of a threat to Israel than it has been since the revolution.

Pure fantasy on your part.

As for Saudi, they are are reaping what they sowed: They wanted a sustained, low oil price - now they've got it!

Edited January 18, 2016 by Chicog

[Alwyn]

What? You're obviously a scholar of history then.... Sanctions have been in place against Iran since 1979. If you believe the Iranians when they say they have no interest in building nuclear weapons you're more deluded than the Iran's Muslim buddy, Obama. This will not lead to peace in the middle east, it will merely mean a shift in the balance of power in the middle east. Iran will flood the market with cheap oil and gas first. Next will be an increase in hostilities with Saudi and thereafter probably the biggest and probably fastest war in history as Iran turn on Israel.

Perhaps in the parallel universe in which your imagination resides, but Iran will be no more of a threat to Israel than it has been since the revolution.

Pure fantasy on your part.

As for Saudi, they are are reaping what they sowed: They wanted a sustained, low oil price - now they've got it!

I'm glad you're smiling about it. No more of a threat than since the revolution? You're talking pish. Iran, now with possibility to build nuclear weapons, supported by both Russia AND the USA is no more of a threat? What have you been smoking?

[Chicog]

What have you been reading? Breitbart? Drudge?

[Johnpound46]

By going ahead with this deal with the Iranian, Obama has stooped to new lows and brought America

to it's knees chocolate coating it with good diplomacy, and on the way, he has also

given the middle finger to Netanyahu telling

him in fact ' hey buddy, now what you gonna do huh ?, I did what I wanted to do anyway '.......

These are serious matters, Ezzra, and I'm extremely glad they're being dealt with by serious, level-headed grown-ups. That picture/caricature that you posted really made me laugh, but probably not for the reasons you posted it

[arjunadawn]

By going ahead with this deal with the Iranian, Obama has stooped to new lows and brought America

to it's knees chocolate coating it with good diplomacy, and on the way, he has also

given the middle finger to Netanyahu telling

him in fact ' hey buddy, now what you gonna do huh ?, I did what I wanted to do anyway '.......

Um, no. Obama has shown great leadership and strength by not doing as other politicians do (both American, Iranian and Israeli). He has ended their nuclear ambitions for decades and negotiated the safe release of five Americans jailed by their government. All without a shot fired. He brought the world together to bring sanctions against Iran, forcing them to the bargaining table where five nations and the UN negotiated a deal. What you don't see is that Netanyahu and Iran's Supreme Leader and The Revolutionary Guard all benefit from being seemingly, continuously on the brink of war. Bypassing Netanyahu is the smartest thing America has done in the Middle East in recent memory.

Obama has shown considerable leadership, but not as you suggest. It does take leadership to cobble together so many people dead set against empowering Iran. From the defense department to State, from Israel to all sunni players, great leadership was shown in manipulating/persuading them to follow a course that is so obviously against their/our best interests. Strength? Obama kept at his committed madness through to the end. This shows strength. However, both qualities are of a decidedly sick mind. There is no wisdom in buying peace for an hour when betraying war for an age. "All without a shot fired" must be figurative because Iran/proxies has fired more shots outside of Iran since Obama began this debacle then in recent memory. Perhaps that statement just sounded good.

Note; Bypassing _____ is hardly the smartest thing America has done... in recent memory- it was not just Israel that was bypassed/betrayed by our community organizer (that's the extent of his street creds; plus 7 prior years of nearly nonstop policy failures or deciets). The US has fractured the middle east permanently in the modern age and permitted all... all secular skeletons out of the closet into warring camps. Um, yes!