US Secretary of State John Kerry had a surprise meeting with an Arab mediator in London a last ditch effort to conclude ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.
Kerry, who met with Yusuf bin Alawi, the foreign minister of the Gulf state of Oman, is attempting to produce a deal that will ease the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon — a possibility that some experts believe, if left unchecked, can happen within a year.
The Obama Administration was watching the situation unfold in Washington as experts have predicted that the two sides would likely not reach a conclusive deal by their Monday deadline.
David Albright, a former UN weapons inspector who is an acting adviser to the US government on the Iranian program, has highlighted the lack of progress being made with the talks, citing Tehran’s lack of transparency, unwillingness to open up a number of nuclear sites for inspection and lingering gaps between the number of centrifuges it is allowed to maintain.
Iran Seeks to Destroy Israel
Meanwhile, in Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Movahedi-Kermani, a top official within the Iranian military’s Revolutionary Guard, threatened that Islamic Republic will raze the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa and target US military bases in a fiery sermon in Tehran last Friday.
The religious leader claimed that Tehran would use “awe-inspiring” Iranian ballistic missiles to “flatten” Israel and US military bases in the Middle East if either country attempted to launch a defensive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.
The sermon, which was broadcast on Iran’s government-owned Channel 1 television station, was delivered in front of a raucous crowd that frequently interrupted the cleric with chants of “Allahu Akbar,” “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.”
Iran has insisted enrichment is entirely meant for “peaceful purposes,” although Israel and security experts around the world insist Tehran is building a nuclear weapons program meant to, as former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once stated, “wipe Israel off the map.”
What Can You Do to Keep Nukes Out of Iran
Iran has consistently told the world about its “peaceful” intentions to bring nuclear energy to a country awash in fossil fuels, while totting a completely different line back home in a country controlled by religious dogma and an obsession with applying 21st century weapons technology for 7th century aims.
A final deal with Iran isn’t something that can just be forced by an imaginary deadline; it is something that is going to require the United States and her allies to do their proverbial “homework” and listen to everything the Iranians have to say, not just what they are telling President Obama and the rest of the world.
It’s time for us to step-up and say enough is enough: Tell President Obama and the rest of the world to wake up and not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons before it is too late. Click here to sign the Petition to Keep the Pressure on Iran.
Author: United with Israel Staff