Excerpts: Jordan,Russia discuss military cooperation. Rohani: All sanctions
must be lifted Thursday, April 16, 2015
+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 16 April ’15:”Jordan, Russia discuss military
cooperation”,by Petra
SUBJECT: Jordan,Russia discuss military cooperation
FULL TEXT:AMMAN — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben
on Wednesday[15 April] received Russian Ambassador to Jordan Boris Bolotin,
and discussed military cooperation.
The Russian military attaché in Amman also attended the meeting, held at the
General Command of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army.
+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette:16 April ’15:”Nuclear deal possible only if
sanctions lifted, says Rohani”. By Agencies
SUBJECT: Rohani:all sanctions must be lifted
QUOTE:”Iran President Hassan Rohani said on Wednesday(15 April] Tehran will
not accept a comprehensive nuclear deal with major powers if all sanctions
imposed on Tehran are not lifted”
FULL TEXT:ANKARA — Iranian President Hassan Rohani said on Wednesday Tehran
will not accept a comprehensive nuclear deal with major powers if all
sanctions imposed on Tehran are not lifted, state television reported.
“If there is no end to sanctions, there will not be an agreement,” Rohani
said in a televised speech in the northern Iranian city of Rasht.
“The end of these negotiations and a signed deal must include a declaration
of cancelling the oppressive sanctions on the great nation of Iran.”
Iran wants sanctions that include nuclear-related United Nations resolutions
as well as US and EU nuclear-related economic sanctions, to be lifted at
once. The US says that sanctions against Iran would be removed gradually.
In what was seen as a setback for Barack Obama, the US president agreed on
Tuesday]14 April]that Congress should have the power to review any deal with
Iran, backing down to pressure from Republicans and some in his own party.
The move blocks Obama’s ability to waive many US sanctions on Tehran while
Congress reviews the deal. It also allows Congress a final vote on whether
to lift sanctions imposed by US lawmakers.
Rohani said this was an internal issue for Washington.
“What the US Senate, Congress and others say is not our problem. We want
mutual respect ... We are in talks with the major powers and not with the
Congress,” Rohani said, adding that Iran wanted to end its isolation by
having “constructive interaction with the world and not confrontation”.
Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Wednesday[15 April]
that his country was pleased with the Congress deal. Israel was hugely
critical of a preliminary accord reached between Iran and world powers on
April 2, saying it would not prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has never welcomed
intrusive inspections and has in the past kept some nuclear sites secret.
A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United
Nations’ nuclear watchdog, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday[15 April] for
scheduled technical talks, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
Talks with the IAEA are parallel to Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the
powers seeking a permanent agreement on curbing the country’s nuclear
activities by June 30.
Iran’s foreign minister could meet counterparts from the major powers in New
York later this month to press efforts for a comprehensive nuclear
agreement, his ministry said on Wednesday[15 April].
Mohammad Javad Zarif and the top diplomats from the six powers will be in
New York to address the five-yearly review conference of the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty which opens on April 27.
“It could be possible that negotiations take place on the sidelines,”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham told a news conference.
The New York meeting will open just a week after negotiators from Iran and
the powers launch talks on turning a framework agreement they reached on
April 2 into a final deal.
Zarif has said those talks will begin on April 21 although he did not say
where. — Agencies
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA
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