Iran - Sanctions vs Nuclear Negotiations

IRAN Germany, France, UK tell Congress to hold back on Iran legislation WASHINGTON -- Top diplomats from Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the European Union are asking Congress to refrain from passing new nuclear-related legislation on Iran, warning a bill could derail negotiations over its nuclear program. In an op-ed published Thursday in the Washington Post, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and EU high representative for foreign affairs Federica Mogherini say a new bill would give Iranian opponents of a comprehensive nuclear accord "new arguments" for subterfuge. http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Germany-France-UK-tell-Congress-to-hold-back-on-Iran-legislation-388602 "Israeli TV Shows Satellite Imagery of New Iranian Long-Range Missile On the Launch Pad - January 22, 2015... http://tmblr.co/ZC3D0x1bMbiCF " [via Matthew Aid] Give diplomacy with Iran a chance By Laurent Fabius, Philip Hammond, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federica Mogherini January 21 at 8:27 PM  [...] Our objective remains clear. We want a comprehensive solution that both recognizes the Iranian people’s right to access peaceful nuclear energy and allows the international community to verify that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. Any agreement must provide concrete, verifiable and long-lasting assurances that Iran’s nuclear program is and will remain exclusively peaceful. Nothing less will do. It is now up to Iran to make a strategic choice between open-ended cooperation and further isolation. To be sure, difficult challenges lie ahead, and critical differences between Iran and the international community must be addressed. That is why we extended the negotiating window until later this year. In this context, our responsibility is to make sure diplomacy is given the best possible chance to succeed. Maintaining pressure on Iran through our existing sanctions is essential. But introducing new hurdles at this critical stage of the negotiations, including through additional nuclear-related sanctions legislation on Iran, would jeopardize our efforts at a critical juncture. While many Iranians know how much they stand to gain by overcoming isolation and engaging with the world, there are also those in Tehran who oppose any nuclear deal. We should not give them new arguments. New sanctions at this moment might also fracture the international coalition that has made sanctions so effective so far. Rather than strengthening our negotiating position, new sanctions legislation at this point would set us back. [...] EXTRACTS - FULL @ WASHINGTON POST - HERE. COMMENT This isn't looking all that good for the West. France, UK, Germany and the EU are virtually publicly begging for no disruption of the Iran nuclear negotiations. Meanwhile, Iran's got some kind of massive long-range missile (middle article). And US Congress is running amok. At this point, I'm spooked and would go with anything Israel decides because they're probably better at assessing the pros and cons than anyone else. ---------------------------------------------- PS The European politicians could have done a direct appeal to the US government, without doing the dramatic public appeal in Washington Post. Is all this drama in Israel, in the US Congress and among European foreign ministers, just a bit of a show they're putting on?