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ShahryarHedayat

Junior Member
Iran's Revolutionary Guard chief backs nuclear talks



TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard praised the work of the country's nuclear negotiators after they struck a deal with world powers, state television reported Tuesday, a major endorsement from the Islamic Republic's most powerful institution.

The comments by Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari came as some 200 hard-liners protested in Tehran against the framework deal reached last week in Switzerland. Jafari's endorsement likely will isolate those still opposing the deal further amid the widespread support negotiators have received and may smooth any potential parliamentary vote over it.

"With God's grace, the revolutionary children of Islamic Iran have succeeded in defending the rights of the Iranian nation and the Iranian nation and the Guard appreciate their honest political efforts," Jafari was quoted as saying on state TV's website.

The Revolutionary Guard is the single most powerful institution in Iran. It exerts a strong behind-the-scenes role in Iranian affairs and likely would have to agree to any potential demands reached in negotiations, such as increased international monitoring at nuclear and related sites.

Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all major issues, including the nuclear program, has backed the negotiators, further stepping up the pressure on remaining hold-out hard-liners.

The rally Tuesday by 200 hard-line protesters took place in front of the parliament in the Iranian capital as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif briefed lawmakers there in a closed-door session. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that the protesters launched their demonstrations without the permission of authorities.

Protesters carried banners calling the agreement a "defeat" — despite the overwhelming backing of the deal by the government of moderate President Hassan Rouhani.

The deal, which is to be finalized by June 30, is to curb Iran's bomb-capable technology while giving Tehran quick access to bank accounts, oil markets and financial assets blocked by international sanctions.

The West long has feared Iran's nuclear program could allow it to build an atomic bomb. Iran has said its program is for peaceful purposes.


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I cant believe that ......Even the Revolutionary guys are happy with the dial
 

ShahryarHedayat

Junior Member
Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia .... Heavy clashes between Saudi soldiers and local fighters going on for last five hours in Awamiyah



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delft

Brigadier
Ambassador Bhadrakumar on the changing position of Iran and Pakistan and the failure of Indian diplomacy:
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India stranded as region readies for Iran’s surge

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April 9, 2015

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today with Islamabad dateline quoting local officials that China is willing to build the Iran-Pakistan [IP] gas pipeline doesn’t come as surprise. But the apparent finality about what has been up until now in the realm of intelligent speculation signifies a tectonic shift in the politics of the region.

The expected dismantling of the sanctions regime against Iran is triggering reverberations in regional politics and the IP gas pipeline project is evidence of it. Tehran, Islamabad and Beijing are positioning themselves to tap into the new vistas opened by Iran’s integration into the international community.

The IP pipeline eminently qualifies to become part of China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, with the underpinning provided by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and China’s Silk Road Fund. There is a strong likelihood that the pipeline will get extended to China along the so-called Economic Corridor that is being planned via the Karakorum.

Conceivably, Iran will welcome an extension of the IP pipeline into China, which, in political terms, would make Beijing a ‘stakeholder’ in the Iran-Pakistan relationship and in turn help stabilize that troubled relationship. A China-Pakistan-Iran strategic axis built on shared concerns of regional stability has far-reaching implications for an entire arc of countries stretching from the Persian Gulf through Afghanistan and Central Asia to China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

Needless to say, the realization of the IP pipeline, overcoming the pressure from Saudi Arabia on Pakistan to desist from going ahead with the project, constitutes a major policy statement by Islamabad. Simply put, Islamabad is probing a way out of the stranglehold of the Saudi orbit, finally. The Saudi embrace has been a blessing and a curse for Pakistan and Iran will be the net beneficiary if Pakistan asserts its independence from Saudi Arabia.

China’s involvement in the IP pipeline will mean that the Chinese presence in Gwadar is being stepped up dramatically. Pakistan, in turn, is poised to become a major transit route for China to the markets in the Persian Gulf, West Asia and Africa. In sum, Sino-Pakistani strategic partnership is about to touch a qualitatively new level.

On the other hand, the focus on the IP pipeline dampens the prospects of the alternate Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India [TAPI] gas pipeline, which the US has been promoting. China wouldn’t want the Turkmen gas reserves to be diverted to South Asia, while Iran too has been averse to competition from the TAPI. In short, India’s hopes of having the TAPI may turn out to be a mere ‘pipe dream’.

From the Indian viewpoint, this is of course a sad moment. Isolation in one’s own region is never a good thing to happen, but Indian diplomacy seems to be failing to build partnerships riveted on regional cooperation.

The blame lies entirely with the Narendra Modi government. The Modi brand of foreign policy is largely built on hot air and grandstanding and lacks substance. Very little conceptual thinking seems to be going into Modi’s foreign-policy peregrinations. It is all turning out to be sound and fury signifying nothing.

The Modi government doesn’t know how to respond to China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiatives; it has one foot inside the US’ ‘pivot strategy in Asia’ and another foot outside; it plays the ‘Tibet card’ against China but also expects Chinese investments to pour in; and, it regards China as an intruder into its sphere of influence in South Asian and Indian Ocean region.

As for Pakistan, the less said the better. No one knows what is on Modi’s mind. His government keeps blowing hot and cold. The Pakistani side seems to have understood that Modi is in no real hurry to resolve the disputes and differences between the two countries, and is marking time. Accordingly, it has decided not to unduly press India further for a constructive engagement with India.

When it comes to Iran, that country also probably senses that in the scheme of things of the Hindu nationalist government in India, Islamophobia is the leitmotif for the Hindutva ideologues. The Modi government has neglected to mend India-Iran ties, which have been in a state of disrepair.

The Modi government never really understood the dynamics and alchemy of the US-Iranian engagement through the past year. The stunning fact is that there has not been a single high-level visit from India to Iran during Modi’s stewardship through the past 10-month period. It must be a world record of sorts.

Thus, the plain truth is that India today lacks a coherent, consistent approach toward China, Pakistan or Iran. And no wonder, India is being visibly left behind at the station while the China-Pakistan-Iran train is pulling out.
This will strengthen Iran and Pakistan, as well as China, and is bad news for the terrorists mentioned in post #1058.
 
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