VIENNA (Reuters) – Efforts to reach a deal over Iran’s nuclear programme are in a “critical phase” ahead of a late November deadline for an agreement to end the decade-old dispute, an EU spokesman said on Thursday after high-level negotiations in Vienna.
“We are trying hard to make progress and remain fully engaged to achieve a comprehensive solution” by the Nov. 24 deadline, said Michael Mann, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
AFP – “All bases are covered” in a multinational coalition effort against the Islamic State, top US diplomat John Kerry says, as Washington harnesses diplomatic and public support to smash the militants. That’s why the secretary of state is now just continuing his efforts to travel throughout the region to get others to join us in this effort.
Huffington Post: The Islamic Republic has exercised a tactical shift with regards to its mass strategic signaling about its military and ballistic capabilities, development of nuclear technologies, covert operations, and long-range missiles. Iranian officials have considerably altered their tone, becoming less strident with regards to sending messages to others about their nation’s strategic and military capabilities.
AFP: Who strikes and where? Who provides the weapons? Who provides the intelligence? And who provides the cash? The international conference in Paris on Monday will seek to divide up the roles between nations with often diverging interests. Britain’s resolve may well have been stiffened however, by the execution of one of its citizens, aid worker David Haines, by IS militants.
Los Angeles Times: The conference in Paris is billed as a forum for global leaders to discuss how to confront the Islamic State. French officials have said they would like Iran to attend. At the Ankara news conference, however, Kerry called Iran a “state sponsor of terror” and cited the presence of Iranian forces in Syria helping the government of President Bashar Assad.
Reuters: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s promises of greater freedoms for the Islamic Republic have not resulted in any major improvements regarding human rights and freedom of expression, the U.N. chief said in a new report on Iran. U.N. Secretary-General’s annual report to the General Assembly on human rights in Iran also expressed alarm at the reported recent increase in executions in Iran.
Roll Call: As Iraq teeters on disintegration, some on Capitol Hill are floating the idea of collaborating with Iran in order to defeat the threat posed by the terror group Islamic State (ISIS). But, would this really serve American interests? As dangerous as ISIS is, our would-be partners in Tehran present an even greater security threat to the region and America’s core interests.
AP: Even as it discouraged Iran from joining diplomatic talks on how to defeat the Islamic State militant group, the United States could not outline Friday what other nations have volunteered to contribute to a worldwide effort against the insurgency that has overtaken a third of Iraq and Syria and threatens to upend the Mideast.
Breitbart: The Iranian regime is definitely the biggest loser of Minister Nouri Al-Maliki withdrawing his candidacy for a third term as Iraq’s Prime Minister. During eight years of divisive and sectarian rule, Maliki had proved himself to be the Iranian regime’s greatest ally in the region, dedicating his power and resources to furthering Iran’s agendas in Iraq and the region.
Al-Monitor: “I am worried that if we all focus on Iraq and miss nuclear weapons in Iran, we have the danger of missing the biggest threat to international cohesion and the security of the US,” said Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., the co-author of sanctions legislation that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has blocked from getting to the floor.
