Iranian Atomic Urgency
• A number of papers cited NY Times coverage of the nuclear talks. The main proposal for the mullahs to mull would “sharply constrain Iran’s stockpile of the most dangerous enriched uranium, in return for a modest lifting of some sanctions.” So why is Tehran upbeat?
But the six powers dropped their demand that Iran shut down its enrichment plant at Fordo, built deep underneath a mountain, instead insisting that Iran suspend enrichment work there and agree to take a series of steps that would make it hard to resume producing nuclear fuel quickly. The six also agreed, in another apparent softening, that Iran could keep a small amount of 20 percent enriched uranium — which can be converted to bomb grade with modest additional processing — for use in a reactor to produce medical isotopes. . .
A senior European diplomat was even more skeptical, saying that the technical meeting was essentially to explain the proposal to the Iranians once again, and that Iran might very well come back in April with an unacceptable counterproposal that swallows the “carrots” of the six and demands more.
• For commentary/analysis on the talks, see Meir Javedanfar.
Arab Spring Winter
• According to the NY Times, the US is now training Syrian rebels and expanding non-lethal assistance.
• Time examines Iran’s entrenchment in Syria.
• A Muslim Brotherhood member,Yasser Al-Dakany, is due to become top dog at Egypt’s state-run Nile News Channel. I know what you’re thinking, and Nile TV’s outgoing director said the same thing. The Egypt Independent (via Elder of Ziyon) writes:
If confirmed, Dakany will replace Ahmad Sharaf, who accuses the minister of turning the channel into a Brotherhood mouthpiece.
• Egypt seized 60 anti-tank missiles smuggled from Libya. A security official told AP the missiles were headed for the Sinai.
• Jihad finally meets its match:
• Hezbollah’s rhetoric took a funny turn when one of its spokesmen referred to the Al-Nusra Front in Syria and other Islamist rebels as “Sunni jihad.” Asharq al-Awsat‘s editor, Adel Al Toraifi noted the irony:
In truth it is interesting that Hezbollah leaders have begun to scaremonger by portraying others as jihadists, while the same rhetoric applies to them.
• For more commentary on Hezbollah’s headaches, see the Daily Star and Haaretz.
(Image of Abbas via YouTube/Ahmed Zakaria)
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
