Washington, DC, March 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This Wednesday at 12:00 EDT, EMET is hosting Gabriel Noronha to speak. Noronha previously served on the Iran desk at the State Department and maintains contacts there and in the National Security Council and European Union who are directly involved in the negotiations. 

His colleagues were so appalled at the concessions the US gave Iran that they asked him to leak details, about which his Twitter thread can be found here. During the webinar, he will go over what we know so far and what this new agreement would look like. 

Register for the event here. 

Bipartisan opposition to returning to the nuclear deal is growing. It is clear that this new deal is shorter and weaker, giving huge concessions to Iran. Recently, a bi-partisan letter from House members highlighted these concerns. 

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has also been extremely vocal, giving an hour-long presentation in the Senate in February regarding the threat of an Iranian nuclear program and urging the administration not to allow Iran to force us into a deal.

In Menendez’s own words: “Our goal must be the right deal, not just any deal.” 

49 Republican senators signed a letter expressing their disapproval of the new deal and reiterating that this new deal was far weaker, did not solve the Iranian nuclear problem, and would perpetuate their violent activity in the region. 

A similar letter in the house led by Rep. Gallagher (R-Wisc.) gathered around 200 signatures.

Here is some background information:

• This is a recent interview with Russia’s lead negotiator in the Vienna talks, who also served as the water carrier between the US and Iran.

• Russia made last-minute demands to protect its trade with Iran from the US sanctions. The US capitulated to these demands, inserting language into the new agreement that allows free trade between Iran and Rosatam, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company.
  • Rosatam was already under consideration for additional sanctions for the war in Ukraine and currently controls the nuclear power plants recently captured by Russian forces. 
  • The fact that we allowed this last-minute change to be inserted into a new agreement is further proof that our negotiating team is desperate to reach a deal no matter the cost.
• Last week, the IAEA reported that Iran had begun converting part of its Uranium stockpile into a form much harder to dilute and transport out of the country. This is evidence that Iran is attempting to impede the West’s ability to remove Iran’s stockpile after a new agreement is implemented. 
• The US was willing to remove IRGC sanctions in return for a verbal promise from Iran. Instead, Iran offered to submit a secret side letter that would not be made public. Now, the IRGC has suggested it would accept continued sanctions rather than some form of agreement. The fact that Iran is not even willing to verbally commit to contain its malevolent activity in the region is worrying and implies they have no intention to do so. 
• Over the weekend, the Houthi’s launched a drone attack in Saudi Arabia which partially destroyed a Saudi Aramco facility. The drones and missiles used by the Houthi’s are directly supplied by Iran and the IRGC. 
• We would also like to bring your attention to the recent discovery of an assassination plot by the IRGC against John Bolton in the United States. It is serious enough that it warranted a permanent Secret Service protective detail. The threat extends to Mike Pompeo and Brian Hook, who both currently receive 24-7 protection from the State Department costing around $2 million per month.

Naomi Grant
EMET
7853839473
ngrant@emetonline.org