This may end up being one of the most significant tipping points we have seen in our prophecy watch for several reasons. There are numerous articles to review but below is the bottom line and a summary of why this is so significant and important:
- This "deal" does nothing to prevent or slow down Iran's nuclear development.
- Israel knows this and they also know that there is only one remaining option for their survival and that involves taking out these facilities by force.
- If Israel does indeed undertake military action against Iran, the powder-keg will most definitely blow, which will ultimately lead to the battle of "Gog-Magog" as described in Ezekiel 38-39 (possibly with the proxy war of Isaiah 17 taking place immediately prior to Gog-Magog).
In brief - this is a very big development.
There will be more to learn about this in the coming days, but the very last statement below says it all, as stated by Israel's Naftali Bennett: "Deal or no deal, Israel will do what it needs to protect itself and its citizens"... If there is a silver lining to this cloud, it seems that the 'deal' has united Israelis from all side of the political fence, left - right and everything in-between. Without exception (at least as of today), Israeli politicians are united in stating that this is a horrible deal for Israel.
There will be more to learn about this in the coming days, but the very last statement below says it all, as stated by Israel's Naftali Bennett: "Deal or no deal, Israel will do what it needs to protect itself and its citizens"... If there is a silver lining to this cloud, it seems that the 'deal' has united Israelis from all side of the political fence, left - right and everything in-between. Without exception (at least as of today), Israeli politicians are united in stating that this is a horrible deal for Israel.
Iran and world powers reached a framework agreement on Thursday on curbing Iran's nuclear programme for at least a decade, a step towards a comprehensive accord that could end 12 years of brinkmanship, threats and confrontation.
The tentative agreement, after eight days of marathon talks in Switzerland, clears the way for talks on the future settlement that should allay Western fears that Iran was seeking to build an atomic bomb and in return lift economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The framework is contingent on reaching an agreement by June 30 and all sanctions on Iran remain in place until a final deal is reached.
A nuclear deal with Iran based on the political framework reached in Switzerland between Tehran and the P5+1 world earlier Thursday “threatens the survival of the State of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Barack Obama during a phone call to discuss the accord.
Obama phoned Netanyahu hours after the framework was struck. Netanyahu has been strongly opposed to the emerging deal, arguing that it does not have the necessary safeguards and will pave the way to a nuclear Iran.
“A deal based on this framework would threaten the survival of Israel. Just two days ago, Iran said that “the destruction of Israel is non-negotiable,” and in these fateful days Iran is accelerating the arming of its terror proxies to attack Israel. This deal would legitimize Iran’s nuclear program, bolster Iran’s economy, and increase Iran’s aggression and terror throughout the Middle East and beyond,” Netanyahu told Obama during the call.
“Such a deal would not block Iran’s path to the bomb. It would pave it. It would increase the risks of nuclear proliferation in the region and the risks of a horrific war. The alternative is standing firm and increasing the pressure on Iran until a better deal is achieved,” he added.
Obama, calling from aboard Air Force One, said the deal “represents significant progress towards a lasting, comprehensive solution that cuts off all of Iran’s pathways to a bomb and verifiably ensures the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program going forward,” according to a read-out released by the White House.
Earlier, immediately after the deal was announced, an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, castigated the framework agreement as a dangerous capitulation to Tehran which would result in the Islamic republic’s nuclear armament.
“This is a bad framework that will lead to a bad and dangerous deal,” he said. “If an agreement is reached based on the guidelines of this framework, that would be an historic mistake which will transform the world into a much more dangerous place.”
Netanyahu, however, has not opposed a diplomatic solution in principle, but rather the deal as it has been taking shape. “The framework gives Iran’s nuclear program, the sole purpose of which is to produce nuclear bombs, international legitimacy,” the Israeli official said.
“Iran will still have extensive nuclear capabilities. It will continue to enrich uranium. It will continue its centrifuge research and development. It will not close even one of its nuclear facilities, including the underground facility at Fordo. This and more.
“The bottom line,” the official warned, “is that this deal ensures the full removal of the sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program while assuring that it will keep its nuclear capabilities.
The 'Most Astonishing Thing' About Iran Framework Agreement
Conservative political pundit Charles Krauthammer skewered the tentative deal with Iran Thursday evening and revealed the “most astonishing thing” he found about the framework agreement.
Speaking on Fox News’ “Special Report,” Krauthammer contended that “it is possible” when the agreement is signed that “there will be a huge relief of sanctions.”
“And when Obama speaks about snapping them back, if the Iranians are cheating, there is not chance in the world that the Chinese, the Russians or even the Europeans are going to snap on sanctions again,” he said. “We would be acting alone, we would be completely isolated.”
“So, number one, they are going to get their economy back and that’s all they really wanted,” Krauthammer continued.
However, what really stunned the political pundit was another portion of the deal.
“But the second, the most astonishing thing is that in return, they are not closing a single nuclear facility,” Krauthammer said. “Their entire nuclear infrastructure is intact.”
“The soundbite you showed of the president, and that was in December, no more than a year and a half ago, he talked about you don’t need the Fordow facility, they are keeping it, it’s not going to close,” he continued.
“So, they are going to have the entire infrastructure in place either for a breakout after the agreement expires or when they have enough sanctions relief and they want to cheat and to breakout on their own,” Krauthammer concluded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also hammered the tentative agreement Thursday night, saying it would “threaten the survival of Israel” and increase the chances of a “horrific war.”
The capital’s longest street, Val-e-Asr Avenue, was lined with cars as drivers sounded their horns in approval of a framework deal intended to lead to a comprehensive agreement with world powers in June.
"Whatever the final result of the negotiations, we are winners,” 30-year-old Behrang Alavi said on Val-e-Asr at around 1:00 am as the noise reverberated around him.
Iran and world powers on Thursday announced that following the latest round of nuclear negotiations, Western powers agreed to permit Iran to continue operating the core aspects of its nuclear program and that all sanctions of the Islamic Republic would be terminated.
Zarif said many of these issues are closer to being resolved.
“None of those measures” that will move to scale back Iran’s program “include closing any of our facilities,” Zarif said. “We will continue enriching; we will continue research and development.”
“Our heavy water reactor will be modernized and we will continue the Fordow facility,” Zarif said. “We will have centrifuges installed in Fordow, but not enriching.”
The move to allow Iran to keep centrifuges at Fordow, a controversial onetime military site, has elicited concern that Tehran could ramp up its nuclear work with ease.
Just hours after the announcement of what the United States characterized as a historic agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, the country’s leading negotiator lashed out at the Obama administration for lying about the details of a tentative framework.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused the Obama administration of misleading the American people and Congress in a fact sheet it released following the culmination of negotiations with the Islamic Republic.
Zarif bragged in an earlier press conference with reporters that the United States had tentatively agreed to let it continue the enrichment of uranium, the key component in a nuclear bomb, as well as key nuclear research.
Zarif additionally said Iran would have all nuclear-related sanctions lifted once a final deal is signed and that the country would not be forced to shut down any of its currently operating nuclear installations.
Following a subsequent press conference by Secretary of State John Kerry—and release of a administration fact sheet on Iranian concessions—Zarif lashed out on Twitter over what he dubbed lies.
“The solutions are good for all, as they stand,” he tweeted. “There is no need to spin using ‘fact sheets’ so early on.”
Zarif, echoing previous comments, said the United States has promised an immediate termination of sanctions.
“Iran/5+1 Statement: ‘US will cease the application of ALL nuclear-related secondary economic and financial sanctions.’ Is this gradual?” he wrote on Twitter.
The pushback from Iran’s chief diplomat follows a pattern of similar accusations by senior Iranian political figures after the announcement of previous agreements.
Following the signing of an interim agreement with Iran aimed at scaling back its nuclear work, Iran accused the United States of lying about details of the agreement.
On Thursday evening, Zarif told reporters the latest agreement allows Iran to keep operating its nuclear program.
“None of those measures” that will move to scale back Iran’s program “include closing any of our facilities,” Zarif said. “We will continue enriching; we will continue research and development.”
“Our heavy water reactor will be modernized and we will continue the Fordow facility,” Zarif said. “We will have centrifuges installed in Fordow, but not enriching.”
The move to allow Iran to keep centrifuges at Fordow, a controversial onetime military site, has elicited concern that Tehran could ramp up its nuclear work with ease.
Zarif also revealed that Iran will be allowed to sell “enriched uranium” in the international market place and will be “hopefully making some money” from it.
Kerry’s Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, boasted: “We will continue enriching (uranium); we will continue research and development.”
Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told CNN, however, that those “celebrating in Lausanne are disconnected from reality, one in which Iran has refused to make concessions on the nuclear issue and continues to threaten Israel and all other countries in the Middle East.”
“Since the statement is far from being a real agreement, we will continue our efforts to explain and convince the world in the hope of preventing a bad agreement, or at least make the necessary amendments and improvements,” Steinitz said.
Reacting to the framework nuclear deal announced by US President Barack Obama on Thursday, World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder warned there is a good chance Iran will breach the deal and use it to its advantage in pursuing nuclear weapons.
"I fear a scenario in which, in ten years, we will have resuscitated the Iranian economy without curbing Iran’s nuclear arms development," said Lauder.
"Iran must prove beyond doubt that it is willing to implement all aspects of any agreement prior to the lifting of sanctions; failure by Tehran to honor the details of an agreement in full, or any renewed attempts to pursue a covert nuclear weapons program, must immediately trigger new, stronger sanctions and render this agreement null and void," said Lauder.
The WJC president concluded, "a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a grave threat to the wider world and trigger a dangerous arms race in the Middle East. We must not let that happen by putting too much faith in this regime."
Jubilant Iranians took to the streets on Thursday night to celebrate news of a breakthrough in nuclear negotiations with the West, and to express their hopes that the deal will end years of international isolation and economic hardship – and avert the threat of war.
The news from Switzerland was especially sweet coming as Iranians celebrated the final day of their Nowruz new year holidays. Even though newspapers, bazaars and state institutions were closed, many welcomed the landmark agreement which they believe will have a dramatic effect on the lives of ordinary Iranians.
Drivers in the streets of Tehran honked their car horns as news of the deal started to break. At 1am in the morning, t the capital’s longest street, Val-e-Asr Avenue, was still lined with cars, with men and women waving flags and flashing V-for-victory signs from open windows.
“Whatever the final result of the negotiations, we are winners,” Behrang Alavi told AFP. “Now we will be able to live normally like the rest of the world.”
Left and right in Israel were on Thursday night united in their opposition to the new framework agreement reached between Iran and six world powers on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Israeli government officials said that the framework deal will be remembered as a "historic mistake".
"If an agreement is reached on the basis of this framework, it is an historic mistake which will make the world far more dangerous," said the officials, briefing journalists on condition of anonymity.
"It is a bad framework which will lead to a bad and dangerous agreement. The framework gives international legitimacy to Iran's nuclear program, the only aim of which is to produce a nuclear bomb," they added.
Meanwhile, Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid wrote on Facebook that “there is no opposition and coalition when it comes to the Iranian nuclear issue.”
“We all share the concern that the Iranians will bypass [the agreement], and Israel must protect its security interests. The ayatollah regime in Iran has been engaged in years of fraud and deception and promotes its nuclear program under the nose of the West,” he continued
Obama calls Netanyahu; Jerusalem protests ‘historic mistake’ that will make world ‘more dangerous'; says Iran keeps all its facilities, escapes sanctions
An Israeli official late Thursday castigated the nuclear deal struck between Iran and world powers earlier in the evening as a dangerous capitulation to Tehran which would result in the Islamic republic’s nuclear armament.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, railed furiously against the framework agreement shortly after it was hailed by US President Barack Obama as a “historic agreement.”
“This is a bad framework that will lead to a bad and dangerous deal,” the Israeli official said. “If an agreement is reached based on the guidelines of this framework, that would be an historic mistake which will transform the world into a much more dangerous place.”
Obama openly acknowledged that they “don’t agree” on how to stop Iran, while telling Netanyahu that the new deal was “the most effective” and “best option.”
The Jerusalem source strongly disagreed. “The framework gives Iran’s nuclear program, the sole purpose of which is to produce nuclear bombs, international legitimacy,” the Israeli official said.
“Iran will still have extensive nuclear capabilities. It will continue to enrich uranium. It will continue its centrifuge research and development. It will not close even one of its nuclear facilities, including the underground facility at Fordo. This and more.
“The bottom line,” the official warned, “is that this deal ensures the full removal of the sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program while assuring that it will keep its nuclear capabilities.
“There is no demand that Iran stop its aggression in the region, its terrorism around the world or its threats to destroy Israel, which it has repeated again over the past several days,” the official complained.
“This deal kowtows to Iranian dictates and it will not lead to a nuclear program for peaceful purposes, but rather to a military nuclear program.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a very blunt message to President Barack Obama Thursday following the announcement of a tentative deal with Iran aimed at curbing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Netanyahu told the president that the current framework would threaten the survival of Israel, according to the prime minister’s spokesman Mark Regev.
Netanyahu added that the deal would legitimize Iran’s nuclear program and not block their path to a bomb, but instead pave its way.
In Jerusalem, officials slammed the framework as “a capitulation to Iranian dictates.” The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, called it “a bad framework that will lead to a bad and dangerous agreement. If finalized, it would make the world “far more dangerous.”
One of Obama’s toughest challenges will be convincing lawmakers to hold off on legislation that would authorize new sanctions on Iran. He warned anew Thursday that approving new sanctions in the midst of the delicate diplomacy could scuttle the talks.
Obama said his administration would fully brief lawmakers on the agreement and he planned to speak to congressional leaders later in the day.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif followed with the same statement in Farsi. He called the deal a “win-win” agreement.
Still, he stressed, Iran would not be closing “any of our facilities” — something the “proud” Iranian people would not have accepted — would “continue enriching,” and would continue R&D.
The giant underground enrichment site at Fordo – which Israeli and some American officials fear is impervious to bombing – will be partly converted to advanced nuclear research and the production of medical isotopes… A major reactor at Arak, which officials feared could produce plutonium, would operate on a limited basis that would not provide enough fuel for a bomb.”
Obama has invested significant political capital in the nuclear negotiations. The talks have strained the U.S. relationship with Israel and deepened tensions with Congress.
Israeli leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the announced deal, demanding that it “significantly” roll back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and vowing to fight the agreement before it is finalized in the coming months.
"It is a bad framework which will lead to a bad and dangerous agreement. The framework gives international legitimacy to Iran's nuclear program, the only aim of which is to produce a nuclear bomb," they added.
Lapid said that he is convinced that Iran's leaders will try to deceive the international community as they did in the past.
"There is no basis for determining that today Iran was prevented from achieving nuclear weapons. Israel should cooperate with the United States and the international community to ensure that there is no case of deception which endangers Israel's security and the security of the world,” he wrote.
MK Yariv Levin (Likud), head of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, warned that the framework is bad and dangerous to the world, to the region and to Israel.
"The agreement, which is based on deception, will turn Iran into a nuclear threshold state and give an unprecedented boost to Iran's efforts to take control of large parts of the Middle East,” said Levin.
"Given the blindness of Western leaders, Israel will continue to fight in a determined manner to halt the Iranian nuclear program and fight the radical Islamic terrorism sponsored by it," he added.
Responding to the agreement earlier, Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett said that Iran had “received today an official kosher stamp for its illicit nuclear program.”
“This is a regime that cannot be trusted and which has already violated consecutive UN resolutions. Today's deal paves the way for Iran to eventually obtain a nuclear weapon, to further destabilize the Middle East and to continue spreading terror across the globe,” he warned.
“Today, it is important to stress: Deal or no deal, Israel will do what is needed to protect itself and its citizens,” said Bennett.
Long time no see from me, yeah. I never left, I've just been hiding lol.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an interesting deal and I'm curious to see how everything continues from here.
Scott, I'm not sure if you've looked into this or not but you might do some research on Jade Helm 15. This is a very dangerous "exercise" (as they claim) that is about to go down this summer. More and more states are being added to it as well.
Audio -If thats the 'military exercises" in the southwest, I may have (honestly, I can't keep up these days with what gets posted vs what I have read and not posted!) - but if not I certainly will
ReplyDelete