https://youtu.be/iaHe9PBnFdA

Yet somehow it was “out-of-bounds” for the U.S. to throw in the release of U.S. hostages.

This admission by Secretary Kerry is reflective of two things:

#1) The administration was desperate to come away with a deal, any deal; and

#2) Affirming what Obama has stated – the weapons being released (under the lifting of the embargo) will come from China and Russia – and the only way to stop those arms from reaching Hamas will be to engage shipments from Russia and/or China, which opens up another entire can of worms regarding regional stability and U.S. interests…

Unreal.

“So this [deal] focused on getting rid of the principal problem in the region, which is Iran’s threat to Israel, their threat to the region, to have a nuclear capacity.”

(more…)

WASHINGTON DC – Secretary of State John Kerry, in a talking point similar to White House official Ben Rhodes earlier this week, claimed on Fox News Sunday he never seen discussed the idea of “anywhere, anytime” inspections in the Iran nuclear deal.

Host Chris Wallace mentioned the 24-day period Iran can stave off inspections as part of the agreement and how that hardly constituted meeting those standards before Kerry rebuked him.

“Well, that’s not accurate,” Kerry said. “I never, in four years, had a discussion about anywhere, anytime.”

Like Rhodes’ statement, this contradicts earlier statements made by the Obama administration, and it also makes it painfully clear the White House never thought this extremely important verification measure was ever realistic. (Via WFB)

It’s U-Tube parody, but it’s funny as heck.  Well, I mean, if the issue wasn’t so serious, it’d be this funny…. and it is, so it’s not, but it’s still pretty damned funny.

Senator Tom Cotton is the best thing to rise in the Senate since *DeMint’s coalition formed in ’10.

Cotton brings the context home with this defining line: “9 years ago, this regime was trying to kill me“…

Reminder (because it’s becoming increasingly more important to emphasize): Tom Cotton won his election bid with the widest margin of all 2014 Senate Races. Cotton’s  victory was despite the MSM and Establishment Republican team undercutting his efforts at every moment. Everyone in the beltway professional political class told him to “moderate”, he didn’t. Cotton refused to take the advice of the big GOP, and in so doing he destroyed his political opponents.

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Check out this exchange with Major Garrett from CBS news:

After the presser Major Garret discussed his question via CBS (more…)

Here’s the first provable lie.  (Video prompted 03:20)

[…]  That means this deal is not built on trust. It is built on verification. Inspectors will have 24/7 access to Iran’s nuclear facilities. (transcript)

TRUTH: … Negotiators failed to meet the standard of achieving “anytime, anywhere” access that several members of the United States Congress had demanded as a part of any nuclear deal. Instead, in the event Iran objects to an IAEA request for access to a specific site, a “clock” will begin that grants the two sides 14 days to negotiate.

If that period expires without any resolution reached directly between Iran and the IAEA, the Joint Commission would have seven days to advise them on a way forward. Iran would then have three days to comply with the commission’s final advice, bringing the total time on the clock to 24 days.  (link)

(more…)

BREAKING NEWS: Iran, major powers have reached a historic nuclear deal – Iranian diplomat

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 14, 2015

Marking an achievement sought for years, Iran and six world powers reportedly have agreed to a deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling international sanctions.

The historic deal, which was reported early Tuesday in Vienna, comes after years of wrangling between Iran and the U.S. and other world leaders who have long demanded that Iran suspend its nuclear program — which critics say could be used to build a nuclear arsenal — in exchange for tens of billions of dollars in economic sanction relief.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for domestic purposes, but members of the U.N. Security Council say the nation has the infrastructure to one day produce significant amounts of weapons-grade plutonium. (more…)

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif released a video urging the U.S. to have “courage” to compromise and reach an agreement.

…“At this 11th hour, despite some differences that remain, we have never been closer to a lasting outcome,” Zarif said. “But there is no guarantee. Getting to yes requires the courage of compromise, the self-confidence to be flexible, the maturity to be reasonable, the wisdom to set aside delusions, and the audacity to break old habits.”  (link)

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Wolverine, Arkansas) responded today:

Several former advisers to President Barack Obama have rejected the likely terms of a nuclear deal with Iran, adding their names to an open letter that declares: “The agreement will not prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapons capability”.  (link)

In the face of these increasingly loud voices, and in an effort to quickly close a deal, President Obama has given up the demand of nuclear inspections for military facilities as part of the agreement with Iran.   Now the State Dept. wants to stop the unfavorable reports ASAP….

VIENNA—Officials with the Department of State threatened to call security Monday on a Washington Free Beacon reporter who was attempting to report on a briefing held by senior Obama administration figures in Vienna on the eve of an expected nuclear agreement with Iran.

Two State Department officials booted the Free Beacon from a room where Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, was talking to reporters, despite the Free Beacon’s being credentialed by the Austrian government for the ongoing Iranian nuclear talks.

Western observers present in Vienna for the talks linked the State Department’s behavior to jitters over media coverage revealing a still growing list of concessions being made to Iran by the Obama administration. (more…)