Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, November 25, 2013

11/25 Links Pt1: Iran Nuke Deal Reactions, PA Sheikh: Only Solution for Jews is the Sword

From Ian:

David Horovitz: When the US let Iran off the hook

And as its economy revives, nuclear-threshold state Iran will gradually assert itself as a regional heavyweight, with the leverage and clout to pursue its rapacious territorial and ideological goals, most emphatically including the ongoing effort to weaken and isolate and demonize and threaten Israel. And Israel will find its capacity to respond necessarily limited.
Landau has not entirely given up hope. She notes that a comprehensive deal would need to cover all aspects of the Iranian program, include “highly intrusive verification mechanisms, expose all past weaponization activities and ensure rollback from all military aspirations.” For that to be achieved, she stresses, the international community will have to hold firm on sanctions pressure as Iran complains and obfuscates and argues and exploits divisions in the P5+1 and uses every other trick in the book in the coming months. “You’ll need all possible leverage to get a full deal,” she says. “And without a full deal, you’ve lost.”
Trouble is, the Americans signaled the easing of that crucial leverage in Geneva on Sunday. The US, that is, let Iran off the hook.

Iran deal is riskier than meets the eye

Iran can be expected to spend the next six months trying to divide this shaky coalition, and, aided by the lifting of some sanctions, will seek to whet the appetite of firms from around the world, to lure them back to do valuable business with it in the future.
Today it remains unclear how the White House would respond if the second stage of diplomacy with Iran fails. The US’s military deterrence is deflated, and the Obama administration’s credibility is too badly damaged in the region to cause either Riyadh or Jerusalem to trust the White House’s assurances.
A lack of firm international resolve in responding to failed talks would spell the beginning of the end of the sanctions regime, and leave Iran with its nuclear program intact.

Analysts: Iran Deal “Beginning of End” of Sanctions Regime, U.S. Caved on Enrichment “Right”

More controversially, Iran seems to have secured language under which the international community acknowledges that a comprehensive agreement will still allow Tehran to enrich uranium. The U.S. has long rejected Iran’s claim that it has a “right” to enrich, and last October lead U.S. negotiator Wendy Sherman told Congress that “the President has circumscribed what he means by the Iranian people having access… access, not right, but access to peaceful nuclear energy in the context of meeting its obligations.” The interim language, however, describes a future comprehensive solution as involving “a mutually defined enrichment program with practical limits and transparency measures to ensure the peaceful nature of the program.” Iranian state media carried boasts by among others Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif that the U.S. had caved on its long-standing position. The U.S. and Britain both flatly denied Iran’s interpretation of the interim language with Secretary of State John Kerry saying as much and the White House further denying it on a late-night background call.

Obama advised Netanyahu of Iran talks in September

In the confines of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on September 30, just after the Jewish high holidays, Obama revealed to Netanyahu that his administration had been engaged in secret, high-level diplomatic talks with the mortal enemy of the Jewish state. Netanyahu’s immediate public reaction betrayed no surprise, but a day later he launched a full-frontal attack on Iran, delivering a blistering speech at the UN General Assembly in which he said the Islamic Republic was bent on Israel’s destruction and accused Rouhani of being a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Congress plans tough Iran sanctions if deal fails

Such distrust that Iran was negotiating in good faith ran across the political spectrum in a Congress that otherwise is deeply divided. And ready-to-go sanctions seemed to have rare bipartisan support across both of Congress’ chambers.
President Barack Obama convinced Senate leadership to hold off consideration of the measure while negotiators pursued an agreement. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada agreed to the request but said his chamber would take up new sanctions in December — with or without an agreement with Iran.

15 Senators Vow New Iran Sanctions

“A nuclear weapons-capable Iran presents a grave threat to the national security of the United States and its allies and we are committed to preventing Iran from acquiring this capability," the group said. “We will work together to reconcile Democratic and Republican proposals over the coming weeks and to pass bipartisan Iran sanctions legislation as soon as possible.”

American Jewish Leaders Censure Nuclear Deal; Lauder Says No Way Iran Will Honor Agreement

“Iran must be judged by its actions, not its words and promises, because they are not worth the paper they are written on,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder told The Algemeiner. “Nothing in the deceptive behavior of Iran and its leaders in recent years should make the world believe that they will honor this agreement.”
Those thoughts were shared by the leadership of Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center: ”The sanctions had the Ayatollahs on the ropes and the U.S. and West let them win the round and perhaps the match,” Rabbi Marvin Hier and Rabbi Abraham Cooper told The Algemeiner.

What message is being sent?

‘Always believe the threats of your enemies, more than the promises of your friends,” Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel has said. This wise advice is becoming a cold reality for many of America’s longtime allies in the Middle East, amid an unprecedented breakdown in US foreign policy and credibility in the region.
Indeed, America’s allies in an extremely volatile part of the world have been left stunned by a foreign policy – from Egypt to Syria and now to Iran – which has been bumbling at best and damaging at worst. This foreign policy fumble has serious long-term implications for US national security.

Poll: Israelis don't believe Iran will stop nuclear program

According to the poll, commissioned by Israel Hayom from the New Wave Research Institute, 76.4% of respondents said they did not believe Iran would halt its nuclear program, while only 12.6% said they did believe Iran would put a stop to its program. Eleven percent said they did not know.
The poll also found that 57.8% of Jewish Israelis believe that the U.S. harmed Israeli interests by signing the nuclear deal with Iran. Only 20.6% said that the U.S. did not harm Israeli interests by signing the deal, while 21.6% said they did not know.

Dershowitz: Iran Deal Could Be a 'Chamberlain Moment'

"Iran's goal has always been to create a wedge between Israel and the U.S. They are the smartest enemy the U.S. and Israel have faced in recent years. They have proven they are smarter. We fell for the pretext of a new president with a smiley face. It will only turn out for the best if Congress takes strong action."
Dershowitz, a liberal Democrat, added: "I've become a big Lindsey Graham fan. He saw this coming."

Canada to enforce sanctions against Iran despite nuclear deal

Baird told reporters Sunday Canadian sanctions against Iran will remain in "full force" and that Canada will "evaluate this deal not just on the merits of its words," but on verifiable evidence that Iran respects the terms of the deal.
"I remain deeply skeptical of Iran's intentions with respect to their nuclear program," he said.
"Understandably, Prime Minister Netanyahu leads a country which previous leaders of Iran, a mere months ago, have said they want wiped off the face of the Earth.
"Sanctions have been effective," Baird said. "We will be watching closely."

PA Sheikh: Only Solution for Jews is the Sword

The sheikh, Omar Abu Sara’a, made the remarks in a sermon he gave at the Al-Aqsa mosque during which he blasted the “traitor” Palestinian Authority.
He argued that the Oslo Accords did not bring about any results, and that in fact it is now recognized that they were nothing but a mistake that led to "the sale of land to Jews". He stressed that “Palestine” is holy Islamic land and should not be given up under any circumstances.
The solution, said Abu Sara’a, is in the words of the prophet of Islam Muhammad, who said, "Fight them" and did not say that Jews should be negotiated with. In this context he mentioned the tradition quoted by the prophet Muhammad, where a tree and a stone call a Muslim and tell him, “A Jew is hiding behind me, come and kill him."

Court indicts east Jerusalem man for Hamas fundraising

The Jerusalem District Attorney's Office on Monday filed an indictment against Maged Juaba in the Jerusalem District Court for allegedly serving as a money man for the families of imprisoned Hamas terror operatives.
Juaba, 33, of Jerusalem, was formally charged with membership in a terrorist organization and activities relating to funding terrorist purposes.

‘US intends to seek Iran’s help in solving Syrian civil war’

Having overseen an interim deal with Iran on its nuclear program, the Obama administration now intends to try to involve Iran in wider Middle East diplomacy, including an attempt to find a solution to the Syrian civil war, Israeli television reported Sunday night.

Syria War Has Killed More than 11,000 Children, New Report Finds

The Oxford Research Group, which specializes in global security, said in a new study that there were 11,420 recorded deaths of children aged 17 years and under.
The report, entitled "Stolen Futures: The hidden toll of child casualties in Syria", analyses data from the beginning of the conflict in March 2011 until August 2013.

Syrian Rebels Unite, Call for Islamic State

To that effect, leaders of prominent Islamist opposition brigades announced the establishment of he "Islamic Front" (in Arabic, "Al-Jabhat al-Islam") - calling it "a political, military, and socially independent body."
The founding statement of the new body, which was broadcast Friday, said that the new body "seeks to completely topple the Assad regime in Syria" and "to establish an Islamic state which follows the right path."

PA officials condemn Palestinian suspect in Beirut bombing on Iranian embassy

The Palestinian authorities said that Adnan Mousa Muhammad's participation "in such a cowardly criminal act represents (only) the individual," Ma'an News Agency reported.
"This act serves only the enemies of our cause and the enemies of our nation," they added.

Michael Totten: Blowback is a Bitch

Hezbollah did not invent terrorism, of course. Nor would the Middle East be stable and happy if it weren’t for its suicide bombers. But there is a karmic sort of justice at work now that a terrorist army and its biggest state sponsor are themselves victims of their own deplorable tactics.
That deplorable tactic tells us all we need to know about the perpetrators, too, by the way. Whatever Sunni faction carried out the attack, we know for damn sure they are not freedom fighters. Freedom fighters don’t murder diplomats—not even diplomats representing terrorist states like Iran who declare open season on diplomats—nor do they deliberately target civilians. They will murder anyone and everyone who gets in their way and stomp their boots on the faces of the survivors.

Hezbollah fears more suicide attacks

“We fear that [new] suicide attacks might target [Hezbollah] headquarters and Shiite gatherings such as the [bombings] in Iraq," sources close to Hezbollah's leadership told the daily.
The sources also said that Tuesday’s attacks against the Iranian embassy heralded a “most dangerous” stage.
“It is the stage of suicide attacks that no measure could deal with.”

Egypt: "Why Not Us?"

Egypt has an abundance of natural resources and is situated at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe. It should be an economic powerhouse capable of providing jobs and economic well-being for its people, who have suffered enough. But no one in his right mind will invest in a country where persecution – and not the rule of law – is the norm.
Until Islamist clerics learn to follow their own advice and stay out of politics – and allow women and Christians to live in peace – Egypt will remain a backwater. Only when Egyptians look within and admit to themselves that it is their own decisions that are really causing so much unnecessary misfortune, will Egypt be transformed to a modern state.

Israel haters try to ram a BDS resolution through American Studies Association

From Inside Higher Ed:

The National Council of the American Studies Association is deliberating a proposed resolution to endorse a boycott of Israeli universities, and a decision is expected before Thanksgiving, according to the executive director of the association, John F. Stephens. The council had a long meeting on Sunday morning, at which many thought there would be a decision, but the meeting is still technically considered to be in session.

The resolution, which was proposed by the ASA’s Academic and Community Activism Caucus, has been endorsed by the current president and president-elect of the association, and attracted strong support from members during an open forum at the association’s annual conference on Saturday. A letter opposing the resolution on academic freedom grounds was signed by more than 50 members, including seven past presidents. Comments on the resolution continue to pour in.

The National Council, which is a body of about 20 elected representatives within the ASA, may choose to endorse or reject the resolution as is, to rewrite or revise it, or to refer it to the general membership for a vote, among other options.

...[S]entiment at Saturday's open forum for ASA members skewed pro-boycott by a huge margin.

Isn't it interesting that so many of these anti-Israel initiatives are scheduled on Saturdays?

Both pro- and anti-boycott scholars claim the mantle of academic freedom. Opponents of the boycott cite the AAUP's stance that boycotts cut off free exchange between scholars, while those in favor describe a desire to increase academic freedom for Palestinian students and scholars specifically. The resolution presented to the National Council outlines concerns about the closure or destruction of schools as a result of Israeli military strikes and restrictions on the ability of Palestinian students and scholars to travel.

“It’s very important that when we think about this issue, if we’re going to think about it, as well we should, in the context and framework of academic freedom, that we keep primarily in mind the freedom and ability for Palestinians to study free of a military occupation,” said Steven Salaita, an associate professor of English at Virginia Tech.

So let's punish Israeli schools because, allegedly, Palestinian Arabs can't easily get to school!

Proof that this was a well-organized anti-Israel initiative meant to overwhelm the ASA council comes from this telling detail:

Speakers on Saturday overwhelmingly urged the council to immediately act and approve the resolution -- any delay, they argued, was a tactic for defeat.

Like a car salesman telling you that if you don't buy it today, the opportunity will be lost forever. Don't think! Don't deliberate! Just do as I say! Now! or else there will be terrible consequences! The last thing these haters want is a sober discussion of the facts, because the facts are not on their side. These pseudo-academics are using emotion to subvert the very standards of objectivity and evidence that they pretend to uphold.

Can you imagine the outcry if people said to boycott Palestinian Arab schools because of the pro-terror atmosphere they encourage? Even though some Palestinian Arab universities are directly complicit in terrorism?

Yet boycotting Israeli universities - whose connection to the crimes alleged by the haters is extraordinarily tenuous - gets respectful hearings from academics???

It is obvious that the motivation here isn't academic freedom for Palestinian Arabs. If it was, then they would mention the restrictions that Palestinian students face in Lebanese public universities, including a quota system limiting "foreign students" (aimed specifically at Palestinians) and some courses and majors that are simply off limits if you are Palestinian.

Yet no one is bringing that up. No one is criticizing Lebanon for its institutionalized bias against Palestinians, including specifically against Palestinian students.

This isn't about education. This isn't about helping Palestinian Arab students. This is a thinly veiled attack on Israel, period. It uses "academic freedom" as an excuse to betray academic freedom.

Some see this clearly:

Simon J. Bronner, a distinguished professor of American studies and folklore and chair of the American Studies Program at Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg, criticized what he described as “the curtailing of academic freedom in the name of somehow guaranteeing academic freedom.” The letter opposing the boycott, which Bronner signed, states that the adoption of a boycott resolution would “do violence to this bedrock principle of academic freedom."

“Scholars would be punished not because of what they believe – which would be bad enough – but simply because of who they are based on their nationality. In no other context does the ASA discriminate on the basis of national origin – and for good reason. This is discrimination, pure and simple."

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East wrote a lengthy and devastating fisking of the anti-Israel resolution, pointing out its lies and errors.

Simon Bronner set up a petition to counter the anti-Israel resolution. If you are an academic you may want to sign and give your reasons. (Although it appears that the anti-Israel petition is being signed by non-academics as well.)

Rafah closed yet again. NGOs still pretty quiet.

For the fourth day in a row, Egypt has closed the Rafah border to Gaza.

Here is a calendar showing how often the crossing was open in recent weeks:

Rafah, October-November-December

S	M	Tu	W	Th	F	S
27	28	29	30	31	1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
1	2	3	4	5	6	7

Green- open

Red-closed

Even the days it was open the number of people who could cross were severely limited. While the average number of travelers allowed to cross in June averaged over 1800 people daily, during the days Rafah was open in November the number of people allowed across averaged closer to 100 a day.

Which means that, practically speaking, Rafah has been closed the entire time.

The handful of people who have been allowed to cross include medical patients.

By contrast, Israel has been allowing about a thousand people a week to cross through Erez.

Sometimes NGOs will mention Rafah. They might even betray puzzlement as to Egypt's arbitrary rules for opening and closing the crossing. But they never, ever condemn Egypt for its siege of Gaza.

The willful blindness of the Israeli Left

From +972, quoting Daniel Seidemann, founder of Ir Amim:

This afternoon, I paid a working visit to a friend in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sur Bahir, barely a kilometer from my home. When we took leave of one another, I headed home in my car. I had the misfortune of ending up in a traffic jam in the center of the village, just as school was getting out.

I didn’t see it coming, but should have: I was a sitting duck. The rock was probably thrown at point blank range; it smashed the side window with enough force to leave a deep gash in the back of my head. I was fortunate: I did not lose consciousness, nor my sense of orientation. Thankfully, the traffic jam loosened up a bit. Within a minute or so I was out of danger and on my way to get treatment.

This ended with a few stitches and no serious damage (confirmed by a CT).

...I don’t romanticize the prick that cracked my head open. But I don’t find it particularly important if he is or is not apprehended. (OK – I do fear that he might have just been practicing on me, and that more deadly violence can be expected of him in the future).

But this ends not when Palestinians behave better, or when our Shin Bet becomes more efficient. It ends when occupation ends. Until then, I remain a symbol of that occupation, and not without reason. And no good deeds, as it were, will redeem me or protect me.

Seidemann is not a stupid man. But the idea that Arab violence will end if Israel withdraws to the 1949 armistice lines is willful blindness of the worst kind.

He knows that before "occupation" there were Palestinian Arab attacks on Israel - and not on Jordan, which occupied the West Bank at the time. He knows that before the state of Israel was reborn the Arabs (not called Palestinians then) would routinely attack Jews (not called Israelis then.)

"Occupation" is not the cause of violence, but a trendy excuse for violence. Nothing proves that more than the rocket attacks that not only didn't end after Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, but that increased.

Yet he is willing to ignore all of that, and even his now first-hand knowledge of the dangers of the "non-violent resistance" that Mahmoud Abbas encourages that includes stone throwing. No, he is - like so many in the Israeli Left - so singlemindedly obsessed with "occupation" that simple facts have no meaning to him anymore.

It would behoove him to read this article from earlier this year from a former member of his religion of Leftism:

I participated in the Dialogue for Peace Project for young Israelis and Palestinians who are politically involved in various frameworks. The project’s objective was to identify tomorrow’s leaders and bring them closer today, with the aim of bringing peace at some future time.
...
The Israeli side, which included representatives from right and left, tried to understand the Palestinians’ vision of the end of the strife– “Let’s talk business.” The Israelis delved to understand how we can end the age-old, painful conflict. What red lines are they willing to be flexible on? What resolution will satisfy their aspirations? Where do they envision the future borders of the Palestinian State which they so crave?

We were shocked to discover that not a single one of them spoke of a Palestinian State, or to be more precise, of a two-state solution.

They spoke of one state – their state. They spoke of ruling Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Akko, Haifa, and the pain of the Nakba [lit. the tragedy – the establishment of the State of Israel]. There was no future for them. Only the past. “There is no legitimacy for Jews to live next to us” – this was their main message. “First, let them pay for what they perpetrated.”

In the course of a dialogue which escalated to shouts, the Palestinians asked us not to refer to suicide bombers as “terrorists” because they don’t consider them so. “So how do you call someone who dons a vest and blows himself up in a Tel Aviv shopping mall with the stated purpose of killing innocent civilians,” I asked one of the participants.

“I have a 4-year-old at home,” answered Samach from Abu Dis (near Jerusalem). “If God forbid something should happen to him, I will go and burn an entire Israeli city, if I can.” All the other Palestinian participants nodded their heads in agreement to his harsh words.

When an Israeli peacenik is attacked, he is instantly willing to forgive. When an Arab liberal is attacked, he is instantly drawn to revenge, even if it takes generations.

Real peace is impossible. All the Daniel Seidemanns in the world willing to work to help all the Palestinian Arabs in the world will not bring them one step closer to accepting Israel's existence. Believing otherwise is not moral - it is delusional. And it will result in more attacks, more terror and more deaths, not less.

(h/t YM)

Long lost 1913 film of Jews in Israel restored (updated)

Haaretz reports:

For 80 years, the movie “The Life of the Jews in the Land of Israel: 1913” was thought to be lost. The film, shot in prestate Israel in 1913, disappeared during World War I. In 1975, a copy was found in a private collection in the United States. However, when the cases were opened, it transpired that the film reels had disintegrated.

For years, Yaakov Gross – a documentary film director and researcher of Israeli films – searched for the missing film, but was left with a feeling of disappointment. Nevertheless, he never stopped believing that another copy would some day be found, “a copy that would shed light on the mystery of the lost film,” he said.

In 1997 his dream came true, and a copy was found in the archives of the French National Center of Cinematography (CNC). Four boxes containing 170 reels were found in the archives of the CNC, an agency of the French Ministry of Culture. But there were no identifying marks or documentation for the films.

Gross was called in to aid with identifying the films. Armed with the program of the movie from 1913, which he had found in the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem, he immediately understood that the missing movie had been found.

Now, on the centenary of the making of the movie, the Israel Film Archive at the Jerusalem Cinematheque has produced a digital version of the original using today’s most advanced technology, improving the quality of the soundtrack and images. The completely restored film will be screened next week as part of the 15th Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival (on Tuesday December 3 at 6 P.M.).

Here is film of the Jewish Quarter and the Kotel:

UPDATE: Here is an hour of it (h/t Bob Knot):

Here's another word missing from the Iran nuclear deal: Parchin

Yes, Parchin.

As Reuters reported some 18 months ago:

Six world powers demanded Iran keep its promise to let international inspectors visit a military installation where the U.N. nuclear watchdog believes explosives tests geared to developing atomic bombs may have taken place.

The joint call was an unusual show of unity among the powers on Iran before a planned revival of high-level talks as well as widening disquiet about the nature of Tehran's nuclear ambitions, with Israel threatening last-ditch military action.

Heaping pressure on Iran to come clean, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany used a U.N. nuclear watchdog governors' meeting on Thursday to urge Tehran to grant prompt access to its Parchin military facility.

They voiced concern that no deal was reached between Iran and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors at talks in January and February, "including on the access to relevant sites in Iran, requested by the agency ... We urge Iran to fulfil its undertaking to grant access to Parchin."

The message was reinforced by a remarkably blunt statement from IAEA director Yukiya Amano accusing Tehran of seeking to "tie our hands" and restrict inspectors during their last two rounds of meetings.

His deputy Herman Nackaerts told Thursday's closed session of the IAEA board of governors session, according to one participant: "Due to major differences between Iran and the agency, agreement could not be reached."

Nackaerts, the IAEA's chief safeguards inspector, said it had information from satellite pictures showing "the precise location where we believe an explosive chamber is situated".

The word "Parchin" is not mentioned at all in the actual published deal.

As bad as we already know the deal to be, it is astonishing that the US-led alliance did not consider inspections at Parchin to be of paramount importance. Remember, Parchin is where evidence of a weaponization program was clearly being actively hidden by Iran, even to the point that they built large pink tarps to cover the complex to stymie satellite intel.

Simple explanation of what's wrong with the Iranian nuclear deal

The full text of the nuclear deal has been published. The best description I could find of why it is a disaster comes from former US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton:

This interim agreement is badly skewed from America’s perspective. Iran retains its full capacity to enrich uranium, thus abandoning a decade of Western insistence and Security Council resolutions that Iran stop all uranium-enrichment activities. Allowing Iran to continue enriching, and despite modest (indeed, utterly inadequate) measures to prevent it from increasing its enriched-uranium stockpiles and its overall nuclear infrastructure, lays the predicate for Iran fully enjoying its “right” to enrichment in any “final” agreement. Indeed, the interim agreement itself acknowledges that a “comprehensive solution” will “involve a mutually defined enrichment program.” This is not, as the Obama administration leaked before the deal became public, a “compromise” on Iran’s claimed “right” to enrichment. This is abject surrender by the United States.

Indeed, that's what the agreement says:

This comprehensive solution would involve a mutually defined enrichment program with practical limits and transparency measures to ensure the peaceful nature of the program.

It is hard to interpret this as anything other than the "right to enrich," something that Kerry strenuously denied last night. In this specific example, Iran clearly won.

Bolton goes on:

In exchange for superficial concessions, Iran achieved three critical breakthroughs.

First, it bought time to continue all aspects of its nuclear-weapons program the agreement does not cover (centrifuge manufacturing and testing; weaponization research and fabrication; and its entire ballistic missile program). Indeed, given that the interim agreement contemplates periodic renewals, Iran may have gained all of the time it needs to achieve weaponization not of simply a handful of nuclear weapons, but of dozens or more.

Second, Iran has gained legitimacy. This central banker of international terrorism and flagrant nuclear proliferator is once again part of the international club. Much as the Syria chemical-weapons agreement buttressed Bashar al-Assad, the mullahs have escaped the political deep freezer.

Third, Iran has broken the psychological momentum and effect of the international economic sanctions. While estimates differ on Iran’s precise gain, it is considerable ($7 billion is the lowest estimate), and presages much more. Tehran correctly assessed that a mere six-months’ easing of sanctions will make it extraordinarily hard for the West to reverse direction, even faced with systematic violations of Iran’s nuclear pledges. Major oil-importing countries (China, India, South Korea, and others) were already chafing under U.S. sanctions, sensing President Obama had no stomach either to impose sanctions on them, or pay the domestic political price of granting further waivers.

Even if you disagree with Bolton's politics, all three points seem incontrovertible.

He continues:

[T]he deal leaves the basic strategic realities unchanged. Iran’s nuclear program was, from its inception, a weapons program, and it remains one today. Even modest constraints, easily and rapidly reversible, do not change that fundamental political and operational reality. And while some already-known aspects of Iran’s nuclear program are returned to enhanced scrutiny, the undeclared and likely unknown military work will continue to expand, thus recalling the drunk looking for his lost car keys under the street lamp because of the better lighting.

Moreover, the international climate of opinion against a strike will only harden during the next six months. Capitalizing on the deal, Iran’s best strategy is to accelerate the apparent pace of rapprochement with the all-too-eager West. The further and faster Iran can move, still making only superficial, easily reversible concessions in exchange for dismantling the sanctions regime, the greater the international pressure against Israel using military force. Iran will not suddenly, Ahmadinejad-style, openly defy Washington or Jerusalem and trumpet cheating and violations. Instead, Tehran will go to extraordinary lengths to conceal its activities, working for example in new or unknown facilities and with North Korea, or shaving its compliance around the edges. The more time that passes, the harder it will be for Israel to deliver a blow that substantially retards the Iranian program.

(h/t Lauri)

PA TV hostess expresses her "respect and love" for Sbarro's suicide bomber

From Palestinian Media Watch:

Palestinian Authority TV recently interviewed released terrorist Qahira Al-Sa'adi, who drove a suicide bomber to an attack that killed 3 and injured 80 in Jerusalem on March 21, 2002. During the interview, the host chose to send greetings to another terrorist, Ahlam Tamimi, who led a suicide bomber to the Sbarro pizza shop in Jerusalem on August 9, 2001. 15 people were murdered in the attack, 7 of them children, and 130 were injured.

Apparently finding something in common with terrorist Ahlam Tamimi who studied journalism, the PA TV host expressed how Tamimi's choice to study and work in the field of media "increases the respect and love I feel for her":

PA TV host: "We send greetings to the released female prisoner Ahlam Tamimi and to all the female prisoners who were released. I focus here on Ahlam because Ahlam chose a way that increases the respect and love I feel for her. I send greetings to you, dear Ahlam, and to your husband Nizar. Ahlam chose the way of media (i.e., as a journalist), and now hosts a program for prisoners."

11/24 Links: BDS is just the same old, same old hate, IDF restores eyesight to blind Filipinos

From Ian:

BDS is just the same old, same old hate

The BDS movement is particularly strong on campuses in part because of the support from anti-Israel faculty and outside groups that target campuses.
This video explains how it’s nothing new.
The speaker is Chloé Simone Valdary promoting the Declare Your Freedom festival in New Orleans next year (h/t HenMassig):

These days, Israel is often mocked and ridiculed on school campuses. From Israel Apartheid Week to the ever popular BDS movement, the university has not historically been a pro-Israel environment. However we’re working to change that! We spend the entire year fighting slander, writing publications, and holding events, and this Spring will be the LARGEST event of the school year, put together by the University of New Orleans, Tulane University, and McNese State! It will illustrate our strength, solidarity, and perseverance as supporters of Israel.

Pro-Israel Festival in New Orleans this Spring.

Breaking the Silence: Group’s message emboldens enemies, delegitimizes Israel

NGO Monitor’s detailed analysis of the book shows that Breaking the Silence tailored the anecdotal and unverifiable accounts of low-ranking soldiers to fit a predetermined conclusion that Israeli policy is the “intimidation, instilling of fear, and indiscriminate punishment of the Palestinian population.” In fact, many testimonies contradict this harsh claim, explicitly noting that incidents of individual misconduct were opposed and punished by officers.
Audiences, then, are hearing personal political perspectives on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and not the unfiltered words of ordinary Israelis.

British university heads back Islamists in pro-segregation scandal

Outrage is sweeping across Britain’s higher education sector after it emerged yesterday that Universities UK (UUK), an organisation constructed of university vice chancellors from around the country, has caved to Islamist demands to encourage gender segregation of events on university campuses.
Against the backdrop of a wave of segregation cases on university campuses, wherein women are forced to sit separately or even in different rooms to men, the group of academics has stated that segregation is acceptable as long as men and women are seated side by side and one party is not at a disadvantage. The news has shocked anti-extremism campaigners, as well as those who believe in Western liberal values.

Brandeis president ‘reaches out’ to al-Quds counterpart in row over Jihad rally

In a statement, Lawrence said Nusseibeh had “made a number of remarks and serious accusations to the media that have not been conveyed to me personally or through my staff. I am reaching out to President Nusseibeh today and hope that he will be open to that discussion.” (h/t Bob Knot)

Incitement: The oxygen keeping the conflict alive

With such ferocious hatred being disseminated by the PA, it is little wonder that Palestinians find it hard to see an end to this conflict. Incitement is the oxygen keeping the conflict alive.
By demonising Jews and Israelis and portraying them as killers, thieves and liars, Abbas is entrenching a mindset of war among his people.
Equally, by failing to demand an end to incitement, Obama is ensuring that these peace talks, like the others, end in failure.

Iran nuclear agreement a ‘historic mistake,’ Netanyahu says

“What was accomplished last night in Geneva is not a historic agreement; it’s a historic mistake,” Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday morning’s weekly cabinet meeting. “Today the world has become much more dangerous, because the most dangerous regime in the world took a meaningful step toward acquiring the most dangerous weapon in the world.”

Israeli Ministers Line Up to Lambast Iran Nuclear Deal; Choice Was Between ‘Plague and Cholera’ Says Lapid

In an interview on Israel Defense Forces radio, Israel’s Finance Minister, Yair Lapid, widely believed to be the second most influential politician in the country, sounded a bitter tone.
“We had a choice here between the plague and cholera. We were left alone explaining the truth, and all of our options were bad,” he said. “I don’t understand how the French Foreign Minister can call an agreement that doesn’t involve the dismantling of one centrifuge a ‘victory.’ I can’t understand the world’s failure to notice the nineteen thousand Iranian centrifuges.”

Trumpeting deal, Iranians say agreement stymies ‘Zionist plot’

The agreement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, represented “a big success for Iran” and an indication that “all plots hatched by the Zionist regime to stop the nuclear agreement have failed,” according to a report from state-sponsored Islamic Republic News Agency.

MEMRI VIDEO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani: Iran's Enrichment Activities Will Proceed Similar to the Past
The art of hiding nuclear enrichment facilities

Foreign intelligence would thus prefer to keep mum on its knowledge of an attempted hidden facility, so as not to induce the country in question to increase its on-site defensive capabilities or construct another hidden facility.
Both proliferators and external intelligence organizations are faced with several dilemmas. For a proliferator, the most important ones would be to decide where the facility should be located and what defensive measures should be implemented (if any).
For external intelligence agencies, the main problem would be how to use their limited assets in the most efficient way.

Iran announces plan to build two more nuclear power plants

Iran is expected to build two new nuclear power plants in the near future, an Iranian official said Saturday.
“The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has put construction of the second and third [nuclear] power stations on its agenda due to the government’s programs and the emphasis laid by… President [Hassan Rouhani],” AEOI Deputy Chief Hossein Khalfi said, according to the Fars News Agency.

Saudi Arabia: We Won't 'Sit Idly By' if West Fails with Iran

Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, who was speaking to the British Times, called the Obama administration’s “rush” to embrace Tehran “incomprehensible.”
“We are not going to sit idly by and receive a threat there and not think seriously how we can best defend our country and our region,” Prince Mohammed, who is Saudi King Abdullah’s nephew, said.

Region will lose sleep over Iran deal -Saudi adviser

"The government of Iran, month after month, has proven that it has an ugly agenda in the region, and in this regard no one in the region will sleep and assume things are going smoothly," Askar said.
In the hours before Sunday's deal was sealed, Gulf Arab leaders, including Saudi King Abdullah and the rulers of Qatar and Kuwait, met late on Saturday night to discuss "issues of interest to the three nations".

Al-Hayat Editor: We Are In The Midst Of A Regional Sectarian War That Threatens The National Cohesion Of Countries Near And Far, Especially Lebanon

In a November 20 article in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat, the daily's editor, the Lebanese Ghassan Charbel, wrote that the war in Syria poses a horrific threat to the entire Middle East, since it has sparked a region-wide sectarian war in which Sunnis and Shi'ites travel to Syria from other countries in order to fight each other there. This, he says, has virtually eliminated the boundaries between countries and shattered their internal cohesion, creating a conflagration of unprecedented severity that cannot be controlled or contained.

Palestinian identified as 2nd Iran embassy bomber in Beirut

Lebanese authorities identified the second man involved in the deadly attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Tuesday which killed 23 people as a Palestinian with ties to a fugitive Lebanese cleric, Reuters reported Saturday.

‘Father of Suicide Bombing’ Reportedly Injured in Iran Suicide Bomb

In a he-had-it-coming-to-him-moment, the self-proclaimed father of suicide bombing appears to have been injured on Tuesday in Beirut, where the Iranian embassy was targeted by an Al-Qaeda faction, The Times of London reported. 23 people were killed in the attack, including an Iranian diplomat, and 140 were injured.
The Times said 67-year-old cleric Issa Tabatabai is a close ally of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a key go-between for Iran and its Lebanese proxy militia, Hezbollah. It cited website Ayandeh as reporting that the cleric’s wife and daughter were also wounded, and that all three were in hospital in Beirut.

Lebanese Army Defuses 250-Pound Car Bomb, Averting Major Terror Attack

The Lebanese army prevented another massive bomb attack Friday, diffusing a 250-pound car bomb just three days after twin suicide bombings targeting the Iranian embassy in Beirut killed 25 people.
The incident took place in the Bekaa Valley, a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization. The official National News Agency reported that the bomb was meant for Beirut.

Jordan’s king and the Islamists: In one boat?

In a congressional hearing, US Senator Lindsey Graham said Jordan’s king had told him he “did not think he would be in power within a year from now” because of the crisis in Syria. To which US Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey responded: “Yes, that is basically his fear.”
The weekly anti-regime protests in Jordan have almost stopped; this has been celebrated by some of the pro-king journalists in the West. Nonetheless, they have celebrated too early, because Jordanians have switched from peaceful protesting to violence.

Turkey Gives Seized Media to Erdogan Ally

Last spring, as President Obama stood beside his good friend Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the White House Rose Garden, Turkish officials were raiding the media assets of the Çukurova Group, one of the last business conglomerates whose media outlets maintained an independent rather than hagiographic take on Turkey’s prime minister. Obama, of course, was silent. Not only did Obama not speak up in defense of media freedom, but he chose Sabah, a once-independent paper seized by Erdogan’s administration and transferred to Erdogan’s son-in-law for an op-ed about Obama’s love for Turkey.

Israeli agritech IPO could be first of a controversial wave

The Evogene IPO could have an a major impact on these and other agritech start-ups, said Kardish. “Evogene is such a great example of Israeli ‘Ag Valley,’ our agricultural version of ‘Silicon Valley.’ Evogene started out as a small company with a combination of plant genetics science and hi-tech software, and now it is providing cutting edge solutions for all the big industry players worldwide. Although GMO is considered a controversial topic, I believe that to feed the growing population we’ll have to use methods that increase crop productivity, and this is what GM eventually does,” Kardish said.

Israeli delegation restores eyesight of blind Philippines residents

The Israeli medical delegation to the Philippines has managed to restore the eyesight of four residents of the Philippines, aged 40 to 74, who were blind as a result of pterygia – growths in the eyes, associated with ultraviolet-light exposure, low humidity and dust.
The patients suffered from pterygia before Typhoon Haiyan hit the islands. "Many locals had this disease, but those who are poor couldn't afford surgery," Lt.-Col Dr. Erez Tsumi told Ynet.

IDF treats 2,000th patient in the Philippines

Another baby was named for the Israeli doctors over the weekend. Louis, the head of security in Cebu, named his daughter Shai, after IDF Military Attaché to the Philippines Col. Shai Brovender. Baby Shai was born in the IDF field hospital.
The Israeli doctors and nursing staff have been treating all Philippine patients wanting to see a doctor – whether they were affected by Typhoon Haiyan or not. For many, this was the first medical care they ever received.

Duluth nurse joins Israelis to offer aid to Filipinos recovering from typhoon

The IDF has essentially turned a developing world, rural hospital into a fairly modern-day medical facility in just 48 hours, all in the context of a major disaster. They have integrated electronic records, ultrasound, digital X-ray, a fairly sophisticated laboratory, an active surgery suite and incredible medical staff with varying specialty backgrounds. I’ve been mainly working with the orthopedic specialists and surgeons. We have been treating a lot of septic wounds, fractures and fresh wounds from falls, motorcycle crashes and — particularly — soft-tissue wounds sustained in the process of the local residents’ cleanup efforts; machetes, axes, things falling, the list goes on.

Turkey, Egypt expel each others' ambassadors

From BBC:

Egypt has told the Turkish ambassador to leave the country, a day after the Turkish leader called for ousted President Mohammed Morsi to be freed.

Relations with Ankara would be lowered to charge d'affaires, officials said.

On Friday, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his criticism of the July overthrow of Mr Morsi and urged the Egyptian authorities to free him.

Egypt's foreign ministry accused Mr Erdogan of provocation and interfering in Egypt's internal affairs.

From DW:

Egypt's decision on Saturday to downgrade relations with Turkey and expel the country's ambassador, Hussein Awni Botsala, from Cairo led to an escalation in diplomatic exchanges between the two countries.

Tensions have mounted since the summer, after a military coup ousted the Islamist Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi (left in picture), of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) and his Justice and Development party have quite vocally protested.

"[Turkey's] leadership has persisted in its unacceptable and unjustified positions by trying to turn the international community against Egyptian interests and ... by making statements that can only be described as an offense to the popular will," the Foreign Ministry said.

Turkey then expelled Egypt's ambassador, who had not resided in Ankara since August. The decisions represent a dramatic reversal of the relations between the two countries, which had warmed over the past year. Both countries will remain represented in each other's capitals by embassies headed by a charge d'affaires, effectively the second in command.

If self-avowed Middle East experts are right, then in no time Sisi will send Erdogan a bouquet of flowers, because that's how things work there.

(h/t Yoel)

Ukrainian game show is source for latest anti-Israel blood libel. Really. (updated)

From Ma'an:

An Israeli soldier admitted that she shot and killed unknown numbers of Palestinian people, including children, on a Ukrainian television program that aired in early November.

Elena Zakusilo, a Ukrainian Jewish woman who moved to Israel in order to serve in the Israeli army, revealed on the Nov. 4 episode of the program "Lie Detector" that she had killed Palestinians and had shot at Palestinian children, but was unsure how many she managed to kill.

Zakusilo, who goes by the name Elena Gluzman in Israel, also explained that she trained army dogs to raid Palestinian villages and conduct video surveillance that she monitored from up to 10 kilometers away.

Zakusilo said on the show that one of the times when she shot Palestinians was during protests that broke out after Yasser Arafat died in 2004.

"It's scary, especially when children run with Molotov cocktails, and they send children, to turn the attention to them, little kid, barely walking, 3-4 years old," she added, explaining that she was unsure how many Palestinian children she had shot dead.

Although Zakusilo said was "not proud" of these acts, she blamed Palestinian mothers for sending their children to be "suicide bombers" and suggested that they did not care about their children's lives.

Zakusilo also spoke about her work training dogs for reconnaissance missions into Palestinian villages, which involved placing headphones and cameras on them and directing them to attack Palestinians they encountered until soldiers could arrive.

"The doggy gets a little bag in teeth, it can be a video camera."

"It has an electronic collar, and a camera that hangs on the collar, and the trainer has the remote control, and he, from a distance up to ten kilometers, can watch and give orders to the dog, to attack or not attack," she added.

Zakusilo explained that she was a "senior trainer" and trained a total of 150 dogs, and for her work she was promoted to the rank of major.

Zakusilo's mother was also present during the show's filming, and when asked if she knew her daughter had killed people, said, "Of course, how can you be in the military without (killing)."

Zakusilo responded in the affirmative when asked by the game show host if she was "willing to go back to Israel and continue killing enemies" if she had financial difficulties in Ukraine, and said that she was unafraid of potential repercussions for revealing what she had done while in the Israeli forces.

She also explained that she goes by the name of Gluzman in Israel, "so that they won't hear there our Ukrainian family name, and with the other name (Gluzman), with Jewish roots, they'd treat (me) differently."

Zakusilo added that while at first she hesitated to kill people, she came to see her fellow soldiers as "family," and they helped her come to terms with killing Palestinian children and other feelings she had.

Referring to her commander, she said, "He is a general, he tells you to go and shoot like this, so you go. But if you come to him and say, just for example, you know, I was walking down the road, and there was a kitten there, ran over by a car, or a person hit, and I feel bad."

"He will sit with you for an hour to talk, and try to understand why you feel bad."

So a person on a game show - a game show that encourages people to try to beat a lie detector - is the latest source for supposed Israeli atrocities.

Her story about her supposed IDF service was peripheral to the point of the show; she was saying to her mother than she'd rather kill children than live with her, which is why she says she went to Israel as a lone soldier. She also claims she was abused both by her mother and by her schoolmates. She does not sound like a very reliable source. (On the show, she passed the lie detector test, but people who believe their own lies would pass easily.)

The IDF investigates every killing, in great detail, especially children. But Zakusilo says she has no idea how many children or adults she killed. She says she only would speak about her troubles to her superior - a general! - and he would calm her down about a dead kitten!

There have been extraordinarily few killings by women in combat in the IDF.

On the day that Arafat died, exactly one Palestinian Arab was killed during riots, and it was not a child. (Two more were killed in Gaza during a house raid.) None were killed the day after nor the day after that.

I have never heard of IDF dogs being "controlled" by remote control from ten miles away without any soldiers around, and a quick search came up empty, even though this is supposedly a 10-year old technology. I also find it highly unlikely that a woman whose specialty is training dogs would also be thrown into a live fire situation with rioters, let alone be responsible for multiple deaths.

The Israelis I asked about this say it is not even close to being plausible. Russian language social media in Israel are also extremely skeptical about these claims.

But none of that matters to the Israel-haters, who will believe anything as long as it fits their preconceived notions of evil bloodthirsty Israeli soldiers who enjoy aiming at children.

UPDATE: The IDF says she is full of it.

John Kerry praises Iran and insults US allies as warmongers (updated)

Here are excerpts from John Kerry's speech last night defending the easing of sanctions against Iran:

Don't you feel safer now?

UPDATE: Here are PM Netanyahu's remarks (English closed captioning)

A reader who commented on my Thomas Friedman article last week at The Algemeiner pointed me to a stupefyingly ludricous passage in Friedman's celebrated book, "From Beirut to Jerusalem," pp 126-127:

Ariel Sharon never sent Yasir Arafat flowers.

Whatever one thinks of the former Israeli general and Defense Minister, Sharon did not play games with his enemies. He killed them. After a few years in Beirut, I came to understand a little why the Jews had a state and the Palestinians didn't. The European Jews who built Israel came out of a culture of sharp edges and right angles. They were cold, hard men who always understood the difference between success and failure, and between words and deeds. Because the Jews were always a nation apart, they developed their own autonomous institutions and had to rely on their own deep tribal sense of solidarity. This gave them a certain single-mindedness of purpose. They would never settle for a substitute homeland; life for them was not just another Mediterranean life cycle or fatalistic shrug.

The single-mindedness of the European Zionists also had a certain ruthless aspect to it. They emerged from ghettos in which they were never invited by the outside world to drink coffee. They were never part of a Middle Eastern kaleidoscope, like Lebanon, where today's enemy could be tomorrow's friend. For the Jews coming out of Europe, today's enemy was tomorrow's enemy. The world was divided into two: the Jews and the goyim, or Gentiles. The Arabs, for the Zionists, fell into two subsets of goyim—agents and enemies. Agents you ordered and enemies you killed.

The rhythm of life in the Arab world was always different. Men in Arab societies always tended to bend more; life there always moved in ambiguous semicircles, never right angles. The religious symbols of the West are the cross and the Jewish star—both of which are full of sharp, angled turns. The symbol of the Muslim East is the crescent moon—a wide, soft, ambiguous arc. In Arab society there was always some way to cushion failure with rhetoric and enable the worst of enemies to sit down and have coffee together, maybe even send each other bouquets.

This passage is incomprehensibly idiotic on so many levels. Besides the obvious - do I really have to point out how inane his point about religious symbols is? - Friedman is generalizing his experiences in relatively cosmopolitan and liberal Beirut to the Arab world as a whole.

Sure, Arabs love to have coffee - but the idea that this means they accept compromise with Jews is the exact inversion of the truth.

No one represents Friedman's disgusting characterization of bigoted, menacing, trigger-happy European Jews more than Menachem Begin. You know - the person who traded territory that was double the size of Israel itself for a piece of paper.

The real Arab world is a place where antisemitism is mainstream and where rejectionism of Israel is absolute even in countries that have "peace treaties" with Israel. It is the Arabs who have announced boycotts of Jews since the 1920s, Arabs who stated the "three no's" of Khartoum, Arabs who accuse even Hamas terrorists of being too pro-Israel.

Even in Friedman's wonderful, tolerant Beirut, we see absolute rejection of anything that tastes remotely Zionist.

It is the Arabs who utterly reject normalization with Israel, and those hardheaded European Jews who want to be accepted in the Middle East. (The Jews from the Arab world tend to be more hawkish, because they understand the mentality of the Arabs a lot better than Friedman does.)

Oh, I think its also a fair bet that moderate, compromising Arafat never sent Ariel Sharon flowers either.

How can anyone take Friedman seriously after reading trash like this?

(h/t Gary)

Iranian nuclear deal reached, not many details yet, but looks bad (UPDATE: US factsheet)

From CNN:

A historic deal was struck early Sunday between Iran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear program, a first step in ending a decades-long standoff over the country's nuclear intentions.

The agreement was expected to be signed within hours, capping days of marathon talks in which diplomats worked to overcome issues surrounding the wording of an initial agreement that reportedly would temporarily freeze Iran's nuclear development program and lift some sanctions while a more formal deal is worked out.

According to a senior U.S. administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, the deal halts Tehran's nuclear program, including halting the development at the Arak reactor and requiring all of the uranium enriched to 20 percent -- close to weapons-grade -- to be diluted so it cannot be converted for military purposes.

But there were conflicting reports about whether Iran's right to enrich uranium had been recognized.

The senior administration official said the deal does not recognize the right, while Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi -- on a Twitter feed commonly attributed to him by Iranian media -- said that "our enrichment program was recognized."

"Congratulation to my nation which stood tall and resisted for the last 10 years," Araghchi said in the post.

Iranian media imply that they made practically no concessions:

The interim deal allows for Iran to continue its activities in its nuclear sites in the cities of Arak, Fordo, and Natanz.

According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the agreement also stipulates that no additional sanctions will be imposed on Iran because of its nuclear energy program.

Iran will also receive access to USD 4.2 billion in foreign exchange as part of the nuclear deal.

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, said the agreement recognizes the country's "enrichment program."

Araqchi had earlier emphasized that Tehran could not accept any deal that did not recognize Iran's enrichment right.

Farsi media are saying that some specific sanctions on oil, gold and other precious metals are being eased.

Early indications make this sound like a joke. The problem with reducing sanctions is that they are not easily reversible, while Iran's promise to only enrich to 3.5% is easily reversible.

The key is enrichment (plus the Arak reactor, which could be used to make plutonium.) And from the initial reports, the West received very little in the way of concessions.

As expected, it appears that the language is vague enough that Iran can claim that they have a "right" to enrich uranium, while the US can claim there is no such right - all the while allowing Iran to build more centrifuges.

It looks like Iran won because the West does not have the backbone to stick to its principles.

UPDATE: Here's the US version from a factsheet released by the White House:

Iran has committed to halt enrichment above 5%:

· Halt all enrichment above 5% and dismantle the technical connections required to enrich above 5%.

Iran has committed to neutralize its stockpile of near-20% uranium:

· Dilute below 5% or convert to a form not suitable for further enrichment its entire stockpile of near-20% enriched uranium before the end of the initial phase.

Iran has committed to halt progress on its enrichment capacity:

· Not install additional centrifuges of any type.

· Not install or use any next-generation centrifuges to enrich uranium.

· Leave inoperable roughly half of installed centrifuges at Natanz and three-quarters of installed centrifuges at Fordow, so they cannot be used to enrich uranium.

· Limit its centrifuge production to those needed to replace damaged machines, so Iran cannot use the six months to stockpile centrifuges.

· Not construct additional enrichment facilities.

Iran has committed to halt progress on the growth of its 3.5% stockpile:
· Not increase its stockpile of 3.5% low enriched uranium, so that the amount is not greater at the end of the six months than it is at the beginning, and any newly enriched 3.5% enriched uranium is converted into oxide.

Iran has committed to no further advances of its activities at Arak and to halt progress on its plutonium track.
Iran has committed to:

· Not commission the Arak reactor.
· Not fuel the Arak reactor.
· Halt the production of fuel for the Arak reactor.
· No additional testing of fuel for the Arak reactor.
· Not install any additional reactor components at Arak.
· Not transfer fuel and heavy water to the reactor site.
· Not construct a facility capable of reprocessing. Without reprocessing, Iran cannot separate plutonium from spent fuel.

Unprecedented transparency and intrusive monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program

Iran has committed to:
Provide daily access by IAEA inspectors at Natanz and Fordow. This daily access will permit inspectors to review surveillance camera footage to ensure comprehensive monitoring. This access will provide even greater transparency into enrichment at these sites and shorten detection time for any non-compliance.

· Provide IAEA access to centrifuge assembly facilities.

· Provide IAEA access to centrifuge rotor component production and storage facilities.

· Provide IAEA access to uranium mines and mills.

· Provide long-sought design information for the Arak reactor. This will provide critical insight into the reactor that has not previously been available.

· Provide more frequent inspector access to the Arak reactor.

· Provide certain key data and information called for in the Additional Protocol to Iran’s IAEA Safeguards Agreement and Modiﬁed Code 3.1.

As far as the easing of sanctions, this is the US spin:

[Iran agrees to] Not impose new nuclear-related sanctions for six months, if Iran abides by its commitments under this deal, to the extent permissible within their political systems.

· Suspend certain sanctions on gold and precious metals, Iran’s auto sector, and Iran’s petrochemical exports, potentially providing Iran approximately $1.5 billion in revenue.

· License safety-related repairs and inspections inside Iran for certain Iranian airlines.

· Allow purchases of Iranian oil to remain at their currently signiﬁcantly reduced levels – levels that are 60% less than two years ago. $4.2 billion from these sales will be allowed to be transferred in installments if, and as, Iran fulﬁlls its commitments.

· Allow $400 million in governmental tuition assistance to be transferred from restricted Iranian funds directly to recognized educational institutions in third countries to defray the tuition costs of Iranian students.

...Over the next six months, we will determine whether there is a solution that gives us sufﬁcient conﬁdence that the Iranian program is peaceful. If Iran cannot address our concerns, we are prepared to increase sanctions and pressure.