(2021-04-04). Iranian Deputy FM Rules Out Talks With US In Vienna. eurasiareview.com 
Iran is not going to hold any talks with US representatives directly or indirectly at an upcoming session of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said. | The senior Iranian diplomat told IRINN on Sunday that Iran will not hold any negotiations with the US in the upcoming meeting of the JCPOA parties in Austria. | Following the 18th meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission that was held via videoconference on Friday, the participants decided to proceed with the talks in Vienna next week to continue the consultations and define the measures relating to the termination…
(2021-04-04). Peace With Iran Is Tricky: Is Biden Making It Impossible? dissidentvoice.org 
American policy toward Iran has long been stupid and self-defeating. Anyone here not see that? Anyone here think that's a necessary state of affairs? OK, it's true that stupid, self-defeating policy toward Iran is an American tradition of more than 70 years standing. And yes, it has had some short-term benefits, enriching the Shah's thugocracy …
(2021-04-04). Iran Regime's Nuclear Deal Puzzle — OpEd. eurasiareview.com 
By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh* | The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal was a product of the balance of power in 2015. At that time, it was unclear whether the Iranian regime would acquire a nuclear weapon in the next few months. Then-US President Barack Obama was willing for the deal to happen. The idea of Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry was that, if they agreed terms with Iran, then the regime could be managed, its foreign policy could be changed, and it would be a more moderate force in the region. | Those beliefs proved to be illusions as there are no moderates inside Iran. Instea…
(2021-04-04). Clashing With Two Great Powers At Once Is Bad Policy — OpEd. eurasiareview.com 
Right out of the gate, the Biden administration seems to be at loggerheads with both China and Russia. Richard Nixon would be disappointed. | Despite his reputation as an anticommunist, Nixon managed to get China and the Soviet Union in a competition to better relations with the United States. His diplomatic opening to the weaker and more radical Maoist China spurred the communist USSR to desire détente with the United States and the first U.S.-Soviet strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT I Treaty) for limiting long-range nuclear missiles. | To his immense credit, Joe Biden, almost immediately upon taking off…
(2021-04-04). Nowhere To Hide: Rocket Attack Hits Base Hosting US Troops In Iraq. southfront.org 
ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE | On April 4, a rocket attack targeted Balad Air Base in Iraq's central region. US troops are known to be deployed in the base. | An Iraqi security source told that al-Ain News that two rockets hit the air base, which is located 64 km to the north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad."The two rockets feel near the outer fence of the base, causing no human or material losses," the UAE-based TV channel quoted the source as saying. | Sabereen News, a Telegram channel linked to Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq, sa…
(2021-04-04). Two letters to the editor on the pandemic lockdown. indybay.org Our collective thinking has often been manipulated and corrupted (eg Vietnam, Iraq, Nicaragua, Iran). According to GlobalResearch.ca, the WHO made a late admission on Jan 20, 2021 that "the lockdown has no scientific basis" and test results are misleading. "Release the vaccines and put an end to the lockdown," urges Jens Berger, editor of nachdenkseiten.de.
(2021-04-04). Black Lives Matter's Hawk Newsome Appalled By Lack Of Coverage Of Houthi Massacre Of Ethiopians. eurasiareview.com 
The horrific deaths of scores of Ethiopian migrants in a detention center in Sanaa run by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia is further proof that anti-black racism exists on every continent, according to Hawk Newsome, a founding member of Black Lives Matter (BLM) Greater New York. | Racial tensions and the deaths of black people in police custody have provoked repeated bouts of protest and unrest in the US and Europe in recent years. | Newsome played a key role in the worldwide movement that has rocked US cities since the police killing of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. | During…
(2021-04-03). Pakistan: Christians Practice Islamic Traditions During Lent. eurasiareview.com 
By Kamran Chaudhry | Part of a classic trend in the Lent season, interfaith groups are hosting breaking-of-the-fast Iftar dinners in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. | Ashiknaz Khokhar, the Catholic leader of Active Youth group of the Sacred Heart Church, attended two such gatherings in Sahiwal in Punjab province. | "Such initiatives were common in provincial capitals. Now interfaith Iftars are being organized in small districts. They have increased love and respect for the local Muslims," he told UCA News. | Khokhar was speaking on the sidelines of a buffet on Palm Sunday eve hosted by Muttahida Aalmi (Unite…
(2021-04-03). Over objections of Dem Hawks, Biden agrees to indirect Talks with Iran in Vienna to return to the 2015 Nuclear Deal. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — AFP reports that an arrangement was reached at Friday's teleconference in Vienna between the current signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to mediate indirect talks between Iran and the United States next week. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the US had agreed to participate in the discussions …
(2021-04-03). No Talks Needed For US Return To Iran Nuclear Deal. popularresistance.org Last month, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced that Tehran is in "no hurry" to return to its obligations under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and is prepared to wait until the US lifts its illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic. | Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has stated that a possible US decision to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal, also known asthe Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), does not require any talks. | Speaking to the deal's remaining signatories during a virtual meeting on Friday, Araqchi added that "Iran will suspend its steps [scaling back compliance…
(2021-04-03). Iran Rules Out US Claim of "Step-by-Step" Lifting of Sanctions. telesurenglish.net "As has been clearly stated many times, no step-by-step plan is being considered," Khatibzadeh told Press TV. | RELATED: | "The definitive policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the lifting of all US sanctions, whether those which Trump reimposed after withdrawing from the JCPOA or those which he initiated, as well as sanctions imposed under any other heading," he said. | His remarks came in response to claims…
(2021-04-03). Why Is The United Kingdom Raising Its Nuclear Stockpile Limits? popularresistance.org On March 16, the United Kingdom announced it was significantly raising a self-imposed cap on its overall nuclear stockpile, from a previous target of 180 warheads by the mid-2020s to a new cap of 260. The decision was outlined in the United Kingdom's Integrated Review, a landmark strategic update, which also said the country will no longer declare the size of its operational warhead stockpile (previously 120), or the numbers of warheads and operational missiles deployed on submarines (previously 40 and no more than 8, respectively). A previous review in 2015 had left open the possibility of a future change in nuc…