Obama: "I'm ready to negotiate with you, Iran." Iran: "Fuck you."

[Undertoad]

well i was a day early in my thinking but

[xoxoxoBruce]

Iran was successful, the US Government in Washington DC, is shut down tomorrow.

[Undertoad]

US To Syria: "In a sign of openness, we are ready to initiate relations with you after a five-year absence."

Assad of Syria: "Wait for it...."

(flies to Tehran)

Ahmadinejad and Assad, in unison and harmony: "Fuuuuuuuck Yoooooooou".

WaPo: Iran, Syria mock U.S. policy; Ahmadinejad speaks of Israel's 'annihilation'

The presidents of Iran and Syria on Thursday ridiculed U.S. policy in the region and pledged to create a Middle East "without Zionists," combining a slap at recent U.S. overtures and a threat to Israel with an endorsement of one of the region's defining alliances.

... The United States also recently announced that it will send an ambassador to Damascus after a five-year absence, part of an effort to weaken Syria's relations with Iran and discourage the country's support for militant groups antagonistic to Israel.

But the message delivered by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a joint news conference was sharp and spoke to a shared sense that Iran is gaining influence in the region despite U.S. efforts. Until the outcome of the broader struggle over Iran's nuclear program becomes clear, analysts here say, it is unlikely Syria will change direction -- or that progress can be made toward an Israel-Syria peace agreement.

Ahmadinejad, a Holocaust denier, spoke of Israel's eventual "demise and annihilation" and said the countries of the region could create a future "without Zionists and without colonialists."

[TheMercenary]

I wonder how much of this is nothing more than a saber rattle. They are certainly inviting a black eye from someone. I did note that Clinton was seeking support for further sanctions against the military industrial complex.

[piercehawkeye45]

Yeah, Clinton has been pushing tough sanctions on Iran for a while. Also Merc, I'm guessing Iran are looking for external "threats" to take attention off their latest crackdowns. Too bad no one really knows what the hell is going on in that country.

[tw]

Meanwhile Iran did something completely confusing. They moved all their nuclear material to the surface. Literally put a big target on their maybe 20% pure nuclear materials. In a country where it is never obvious who is really in control, this has only created even more confusion with analysts? Why would they make those nuclear materials a perfect target for an extremist Israeli government? And again, who really is in charge?

[classicman]

If anyone, ie: Israel attacks that one building, it will be the uniting force the Iranian Gov't so sorely needs. It will give them the common enemy they need and refocus all the energy, of those currently rallying against the Iranian leadership, back onto Israel or whatever other outside enemy.

[Undertoad]

US: "Syria, now that we have re-engaged diplomatic relations, the first thing we would like to talk about is Hezbollah. We would like you to stop sending them missiles."

Syria: "Missiles? Fuck you! What missiles?"

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152777.html

The U.S. administration has asked Syrian President Bashar Assad to immediately stop transferring arms to Hezbollah. American officials made the request during a meeting Friday with the Syrian ambassador to Washington.
...
During [Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William] Burns' meeting with Assad, the Syrian leader denied all American claims that his regime was providing military aid to terrorists in Iraq, or to Hezbollah and Palestinian terror groups.

Assad essentially told Burns that he had no idea what the American was talking about.

[lookout123]

It seems like we've seen foreign policy play out like this before but for the life of me I just can't remember where.

[classicman]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran said Sunday it has launched a new production line of highly accurate, short range cruise missiles, which would add a new element to the country's already imposing arsenal.

The world is already concerned about Iran's military capabilities, especially the implications of its nuclear program. The U.S. and some of its allies, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency, say Iran is apparently trying to produce nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

The West is considering stiffer sanctions against Iran to try to force it to halt uranium enrichment, a process that has civilian uses but can be also used for nuclear arms if the uranium is enriched over 90 percent.

Link

[TheMercenary]

There has been a re-newed discussion about the restriction of gasoline sales to Iran. I wonder what the black market response would be through Iraq or other friendly countries.

As the Obama administration struggles to devise a strategy for dealing with Iran's intransigence on the uranium enrichment issue, it appears to be gravitating toward the imposition of an international embargo on gasoline sales to that country. Such a ban would be enacted if Iranian officials fail to come up with an acceptable negotiating plan by the time the UN General Assembly meets in late September — the deadline given by the White House for a constructive Iranian move.

Iran, of course, is a major oil producer, pumping out some 4.3 million barrels per day in 2008. But it is also a major petroleum consumer. And its oil industry has a significant structural weakness: Its refinery capacity is too constricted to satisfy the nation's gasoline requirements. As a result, Iran must import about 40% of its refined products. Government officials are attempting to reduce this dependency through rationing and other measures, but the country remains highly vulnerable to any cutoff in gasoline imports.

http://www.fpif.org/articles/iran_ga..._war_with_iran

[classicman]

How is that diplomacy thing working out anyway....

Tehran said Monday it had banned two U.N. nuclear inspectors from entering the country because they had leaked "false" information about Iran's disputed nuclear program.
The ban is the latest twist in Iran's deepening tussle with the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency and the West over its nuclear program. The United States and its allies warn that Iran's program is geared toward making nuclear weapons.
Tehran denies the charge saying its nuclear activities are only for peaceful purposes like power generation.
The IAEA report in question stated that in January Iran announced it had conducted certain experiments to purify uranium, which could theoretically be used to produce a nuclear warhead. Iran then denied the experiments had taken place a few months later.
When the inspectors in May visited the Jaber Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Research Laboratory in Tehran, where the alleged high temperature pyroprocessing experiments were conducted, they said the equipment involved had been removed.

Link

Now what?

[classicman]

Countering the new US embargo on petroleum and oil distillates embargo on Iran, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Iranian Oil Minister Masud Mir-Kazemi Wednesday, July 14 signed a series of far-reaching energy-related agreements, including a deal to sell Tehran Russian petroleum products and petrochemicals.

debkafile's Moscow sources report that the pacts aim squarely at the law signed by President Barack Obama on July 2 to hit Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps' prime source of income, imported refined oil products including gasoline. The Russian and Iranian energy ministers contracted specifically to "increase cooperation in transit, swaps and marketing of natural gas as well as sales of petroleum products and petrochemicals."
The accords also set up "a joint bank to help fund bilateral energy projects."

This latter provision bypasses the US ban on the banks and insurance companies involved in funding refined oil supplies to Iran by creating a shared banking instrument for handling the funding of fuel purchases. Russian insurance firms connected with the new joint bank may insure shipments.
By this step, Moscow moved to offset the penalties America imposed on Iran in the wake of UN Security Council sanctions of June 9 and challenged the United States to blacklist Russian firms by invoking the new US law closing American markets to companies and banks doing energy business with Iran.

Link

Obama: "I'm ready to negotiate with you, Iran." Iran: "Fuck you." ...
I guess we can add Russia & Turkey to the list.

[Lamplighter]

This caught my eye... maybe it was the words "Bushehr reactor"
Does our friend, GWB, hold the trademark ?

BBC World News article
13 August 2010 Last updated at 07:00 ET
Iran nuclear plant start date set

Russia says it will undertake a key step next week towards starting up a reactor at Iran's first nuclear power station.
Russia's state atomic corporation, which is building the plant, said engineers will begin loading the Bushehr reactor with fuel.

The fuel will be charged in the reactor on 21 August. From this moment, Bushehr will be considered a nuclear installation," spokesman Sergei Novikov said.

Russia will run the plant, supply the fuel and take away the fuel waste.
For that reason, nuclear experts say there is little immediate danger of the reactor being used to build nuclear weapons.

[classicman]

Iran has said it is prepared to return to talks with major world powers but the exact nature of such negotiations has yet to be defined.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week Iran would not talk to the United States unless sanctions and military threats were lifted.

Sounds like another hearty "Fuck You" to me.