US faces calls to ‘walk away’ from Iran talks

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

A leading Republican critic of the Iranian nuclear talks is calling on the U.S. to "walk away" from the table after negotiators missed a key deadline, while other lawmakers joined in voicing concern that Iran could extract critical final-hour concessions in the scramble to salvage an agreement.

 

Negotiations resumed in Switzerland on Wednesday but were almost immediately beset by competing claims, just hours after diplomats abandoned a March 31 deadline to reach the outline of a deal and agreed to press on. And as the latest round hit the week mark, three of the six foreign ministers involved left the talks with prospects for agreement remaining uncertain.

 

Amid the confusion, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Fox News he's concerned the framework of a deal could allow Iran keep its uranium stockpiles and continue to enrich uranium in an underground bunker.

 

"You have to be willing to walk away from the table and to reapply leverage to Iran," Cotton said. "And the fact that they're not willing to do that, that we're still sitting in Switzerland negotiating when three of our negotiating partners have already left just demonstrates to Iran that they can continue to demand dangerous concessions from the West."

 

Speaking on MSNBC, former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean seemed to agree. He said that while President Obama is "right" to seek a deal, it might be time to "step away" from the table and make clear that the U.S. is not backing off key positions -- including on Iran's uranium stockpile and the pace of sanctions relief.

 

"I am worried about this," Dean said.

 

Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., also told Fox News "we're potentially [legitimizing] them having a nuclear infrastructure." She added: "We don't know exactly what's behind closed doors."

 

Despite all sides agreeing to blow by their deadline in pursuit of a rough agreement, even the White House threatened to abandon the talks if Iran wouldn't budge.

 

"If they're unwilling to make those kinds of commitments that give us that assurance -- and by us I mean not just the United States, I mean the international community -- then we'll have to walk away from the negotiating table and consider what other options may be available to us, and there is certainly the possibility that that could happen," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday.

________

 

If you've lost Howard Dean...

 

[Valin]

A blast of truth

Scott Johnson

April 1, 2015

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu has made a statement on the ongoing negotiations with Iran. The statement is a clarion call with the blast of truth. In it, Netanyahu refers to the statement by the Iran militia chief stating that Israel’s destruction is “non-negotiable.” The statement is reported here by the Times of Israel.

 

 

The Washington Free Beacon has posted this transcript:

 

(Snip)