Epstein Secrets

of an Iranian commitment to dismantle its nuclear program. Tehran would stop enrichment at all levels—even for nonmilitary purposes. It would close Fordow, its underground enrichment facility, and the Arak reactor, which is capable of producing plutonium for a bomb. Iran would also have to ship out it

EFTA00663301 concern for both the U.S. and Israel because it is largely impervious to airstrikes, or to dismantle any of its centrifuges. Even if Rouhani signed off, meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could veto the deal. Still, the Obama administration's chief nuclear negotia

eading to a post- Asad era. The international community, including Russia and Iran, has no interest in an unstable Syria. The election of President Hassan Rouhani of Iran is another opportunity that should be exploited to determine if his conciliatory words toward constructive engagement with the internationa

ran will offer enough concessions in the current talks for the administration to seriously consider softening or lifting the current sanctions. The Rouhani government has insisted on the right to continue enriching uranium on its own soil, something the White House opposes. Tehran has also yet to signa

, which consists of many facilities, widely dispersed and well protected. The most critical one, nestled deep underground within a mountain, is the Fordow site, and its -three thousand-plus centrifuges have enabled Iran to spin out enriched uranium from uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6) to a level of 19.

econd is that the sanctions haven't forced Iran to abandon its insistence on having a fuel cycle, and there's no evidence that they will. Even were Rouhani inclined to make such a concession in order to gain relief for the sagging Iranian economy—and there's no evidence that that's the case—he would ne

ill keep the process alive. This accounts for Netanyahu's combative mood. He found it easy to muster international support for a hard-line against Rouhani's predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was losing political ground at home and whose inflammatory rhetoric made him a reviled figure in much of th

are various ways of making sure that this reactor will remain exclusively peaceful." Asked about a U.S. demand to close the enrichment facility at Fordow, built into a mountainside, Zarif said: "If you sit in Iran, and you see people having concerns about Fordow, the only conclusion you can draw is t

ese discussions are premised on a number of principles, which President Obama stated in his letters both to the Supreme Leader as well as President Rouhani. Those are principles of equal footing, mutual respect and mutual interest. So we need to conduct these negotiations from these premises. That is,

. He also noted that some hard-liners in Iran who oppose a deal with the West "have asked for my removal." But Zarif insisted that he and President Hassan Rouhani lead a consensual process in all areas of foreign policy, including regional issues such as Syria. "Iran believes there is no military solution for

military inte=vention seems probable. In particular, a negotiated agreement where Iran i= required to suspend its enrichment activity in Natanz and Fordow might be.acceptable for the regime as long as the construction of the heavy water r=actor in Arak is allowed to continue. An agreement of this kind

r would be quite large. If a military operation would leave the Arak =eactor intact and only focus on the three other critical facilities in Nat=nz, Fordow and Isfahan, Iran could use the reactor for producing material =or a nuclear bomb in the aftermath of the attack. In practice, this means =hat if a

me to pass, many will argue th=t economic sanctions, imposed by the UN Security Council, the EU and the U=, have achieved their objective. President Hassan Rouhani was elected this=year with a mandate to ease the economic plight of his people. Ali Khamene=, the supreme leader, has at least partly conceded that