Iran building secret new nuclear site, exiled dissidents sayIran building secret new nuclear site, exiled dissidents say

An exiled Iranian opposition group said on Monday it had information about an underground nuclear site being built in Iran and that this was among a number of secret venues for an atomic bomb program.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) exposed Iran'suranium enrichment plant at Natanz and a heavy-water facility at Arak in 2002. But analysts say the NCRI has a mixed track record and a clear agenda of regime change in Tehran.

The Islamic Republic and six world powers will resume negotiations on Wednesday aimed at agreeing the first stage towards a comprehensive deal to end a decade-long standoff with Tehran defusing fears that it could develop nuclear weapons.

Iranian authorities deny any such intention, saying their nuclear program is for peaceful energy only. A diplomatic window to a peaceful solution of the dispute was opened by the election in June of moderate Hassan Rohani as president.

The Paris-based NCRI said members of its affiliated People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI) inside the country had obtained reliable information on a new and covert site designated for Iran's nuclear project. But it had no details of what kind of nuclear activity was being carried out there.

"According to specific information obtained by the Iranian resistance, the clerical regime is establishing or completing parallel secret and undeclared sites for its nuclear project," NCRI official Mehdi Abrichamtchi told reporters.

Via: Haaretz

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Oil prices may plunge if Iran gets a nuclear deal

Oil futures bounced off an earlier four-month low on Friday, but analysts told CNBC that prices could plunge if an agreement on Iran's nuclear program is made this weekend.

Secretary of State John Kerry unexpectedly joined the ongoing negotiations in Geneva, sparking speculation that a preliminary deal could be reached soon. Iranian oil exports have been decimated by sanctions placed against the country's energy sector by the United States and Europe in response to its nuclear ambitions.

"I want to emphasize there is not an agreement at this point in time," Kerry told reporters in Geneva. "There are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved. It is important for those to be properly, thoroughly addressed."

(Read more: Kerry: Iran nuclear talks face 'important gaps')

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Geneva on Friday.

However, energy analysts said that Kerry's participation—along with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle—is a positive sign. The dignitaries are all expected to meet with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Friday.

"This news reinforces our existing expectation for an 'agreement in principle' or 'preliminary deal' or 'first step,'" analyst Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners said in a note to clients. "We reiterate our bearish bias for Brent crude.

Via: CNBC

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NY Times Caught Editing Story On Iran Nuclear Negotiations After White House Denial

The White House scrambled late Saturday to deny a New York Times report claiming Iran has agreed to meet directly with U.S. officials to discuss its nuclear program, sending New York Times editors rushing to quietly but substantially revise their initial reporting on a key foreign policy issue for the second time in as many months.

According to the Times, which anonymously quoted senior administration officials, Iran told diplomats it wanted to wait until after the November presidential election to put plans for the meeting in motion.

“It has the potential to help Mr. Obama make the case that he is nearing a diplomatic breakthrough in the decade-long effort by the world’s major powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions,” the Times report said.

Within hours, White House officials responded the report was mostly inaccurate.

“It’s not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections,” National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. ”[However, the White House has] said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally.”

“The President has made clear that he will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and we will do what we must to achieve that,” Vietor added. “It has always been our goal for sanctions to pressure Iran to come in line with its obligations. The onus is on the Iranians to do so, otherwise they will continue to face crippling sanctions and increased pressure.”

Meanwhile, a senior administration official told NBC News on background that back-channel talks with Iran were in progress, but confirmed that no definite agreement about a meeting had been reached. (RELATED OPINION: Obama, Iran in secret nuclear deal)

When the New York Times updated its story late Saturday to reflect Vietor’s statement, the paper made no mention of the update or any correction to the story, leaving readers with the impression that the White House’s denial had been in the story all along. In fact, the initial version of the story portrayed the development as a tentative victory for the Obama administration, which has recently been faced with foreign policy crises in the Middle East and Libya.

Via: Daily Caller

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Netanyahu To Obama: ‘Wait For What? Wait Until When?’

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making it clear that Israel will not wait to take out Iranian nuclear facilities.

In heated comments toward the United States, the Israeli prime minister said that it’s becoming clear that diplomacy will not work with Iran.

“The world tells Israel, `Wait. There’s still time,’” Netanyahu said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. “And I say: `Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

The Obama administration has consistently stated that they don’t want to go the military route against Iran and give more time for the sanctions to force Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Netanyahu worries Iran will continue developing nuclear technology without giving the Islamic nation a firm timeline to stop.

“If Iran knows that there is no deadline, what will it do? Exactly what it’s doing. It’s continuing, without any interference, towards obtaining nuclear weapons capability and from there, nuclear bombs,” he said, according to Haaertz.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak tried to downplay the harsh rhetoric, saying in a statement to Haaertz that the tension between the U.S. and Israel should be ironed out “behind closed doors.”

The Israeli paper also reports that the White House denied Netanyahu’s request to visit President Obama at the end of this monDCth.

Via: CBS DC

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