Geneva Peace Talks and Iran - 2nd Term Blues

Guardian: Reports the following on the stalled Syrian Peace Talks, " Syria summit on brink over Iran refusal to endorse transitional government...UN general secretary, Ban Ki-moon, 'dismayed' by failure of attempts to get Tehran to concede on issue ".

Lets Get Real:

Since the revolution in 1979 Iran has caused problems for the Middle East and the US, it bought down the Presidency of Jimmy Carter with the holding of US Diplomats in till he left Office, in total for 444 days.    The lowest point of the Reagan Administration was the Iran - Contra affair, at its core the the US sold arms to Iran in the hope of getting its hostages out, then used profits from the scheme to arm the Contra freedom fighters.   Once the scheme came out President Reagan was in hot water, he got through but it hurt, as to results, well Reagan left Office with a 63% Approval rating and his VP, Bush 41 become President, thus in the end it didn't hurt in the long term for Reagan.  Iran is never good for US Presidents, lets hope President Obama does not get hurt as Carter and Reagan did in some respects.    The Syrian Civil War is a proxy War between the biggest players in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran,  they have the money and the time to play this out, long enough to out last the Obama Presidency, there is NO deal without SA and the Syrian Rebels, they want Assad OUT, the Tehran Regime needs him power as Assad is a close ally and allows them to show their power in the region, which is negative for Israel and the US in the long term.   The UN made this mess  by the invite to Iran, it has to clear up this mess, none of the Western sides are going to give in on this, neither are the Syrian rebels, the UN just might have sunk the peace talks before they even started IN Geneva.  What a diplomatic disaster for the UN. 

Update: Both Sky and BBC News confirm that the invite for Iran to attend the Syrian talks has been withdrawn by the UN.   Lets see what the talks bring, this blog has doubts that there will be any real agreement, the action is in Syria, not in Europe. 

The UN and Syria - 2nd Term Blues

BBC News: Reports that the US has demanded that the UN recall its invite to Iran to attend the Geneva talks on Syria, as Iran has not signed up to the points already agreed. 

Lets Get Real:

The Oval is having a tough time stopping the US Congress passing tougher sanctions on Iran after its deal with Tehran, it does not have the political weight at home to allow Iran to attend, the Syrian opposition has made it clear it will not attend if Syria's close ally attends.   The meeting is pointless anyway, as President Assad has made it clear in recent days that he is not going anywhere, thus this is what happens when the US has a weak President, the UN tries to run such meeting, under the assumption that the Oval will fold, it cant, if it does it will be accused for furthering a policy of appeasing Iran.   The Syrian Civil War will go on, the Gulf States will back the rebels, while Syria is supported by Russia and Iran.  More deaths and sadness for the people of Syria and the Middle East. 

The US and Iran Deal - 2nd Term Blues

The White House: Statement from the White House Press Secretary on the UN and Iran deal, " Today, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran has taken the initial specific steps it committed to on or by January 20th, as part of the Joint Plan of Action between the P5+1 (the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, coordinated by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton), and Iran.  As a result, implementation of the Joint Plan of Action will begin today. 

Specifically, the IAEA has verified in a written report and subsequent briefing for P5+1 technical experts, that Iran has, among other things, stopped producing 20% enriched uranium, has disabled the configuration of the centrifuge cascades Iran has been using to produce it, has begun diluting its existing stockpile of 20% enriched uranium, and has not installed additional centrifuges at Natanz or Fordow.  These actions represent the first time in nearly a decade that Iran has verifiably enacted measures to halt progress on its nuclear program, and roll it back in key respects.  Iran has also begun to provide the IAEA with increased transparency into the Iranian nuclear program, through more frequent and intrusive inspections and the expanded provision of information to the IAEA.  Taken together, these concrete actions represent an important step forward.

In reciprocation for Iran's concrete actions, the United States and its P5+1 partners - the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, as well as the European Union -  will today follow through on our commitment to begin to provide the modest relief agreed to with Iran.  At the same time, we will continue our aggressive enforcement of the sanctions measures that will remain in place throughout this six-month period.

Following the actions taken today, the P5+1, EU, and Iran will also begin the process of negotiating a long-term, comprehensive solution that seeks to address the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program.  The United States remains committed to using strong and disciplined diplomacy to reach a peaceful resolution that will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  ".

Lets Get Real:

This is a trick by the Tehran Regime, they see a Oval that wants a deal no matter the cost, thus they will play President Obama in till they get close to the bomb or get the bomb.  One suspects that Iran has other hidden plants, one can  assume that Israeli Intelligence the Mossad will be looking for these plants.   This blog has been saying for some time that Israel will hit Iran, this blog still holds to that viewpoint, lets see if Israel has the steel backbone to over rule the White House.