Vol. 79/No. 16      May 4, 2015

Under mounting international pressure and widespread outrage in Yemen, the Saudi monarchy announced April 21 it was stopping its brutal, nearly monthlong bombardment of Yemen, part of the Saudi rulers’ sharp conflict with Iran, their biggest economic, political and military rival in the region. However, the next day warplanes bombed Taiz and fighting continued across the country.

Within a week of the announced nuclear accord, top Iranian officials disputed the White House version of what’s in the unwritten “framework” that guides negotiations between now and June 30.

“We will not sign any agreement unless all economic sanctions are totally lifted on the first day of the implementation of the deal,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said April 9. The Obama administration insists that the plan is to gradually lift the imperialist sanctions strangling Iran’s economy, matching steps Tehran takes to comply with limits on enriching and storing uranium.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared the same day, “Iran’s military sites cannot be inspected under the excuse of nuclear supervision,” discrediting Obama’s April 2 claim that Iran had “agreed to the most robust and intrusive inspections … for any nuclear program in history.”

The Israeli government opposes the deal. “The terms of the framework — which will leave an unreformed Iran stronger, richer and with a clear path to a bomb — make war more likely,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon wrote in an April 8 Washington Post column. He dismissed the idea that inspections would prevent Tehran from developing the capacity to build nuclear weapons, arguing for keeping the sanctions in place to secure a “better deal.”

The government of Saudi Arabia issued a cautious statement April 6 saying it hoped the talks would achieve “a binding and definitive agreement that would lead to the strengthening of security and stability in the region.” The same statement called for “noninterference in the affairs of Arab states” by Tehran, referring to Iranian support for militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

The assault on Yemen is largely a proxy war against Iran, which Riyadh says is backing Houthi rebels who recently overturned a U.S.- and Saudi-backed government. The Saudi-led bombardment, which began March 26, has destroyed hospitals, schools, mosques and factories and killed nearly 1,000 people. Saudi-led forces also imposed a naval blockade on Yemen that has cut off urgently needed food and medical supplies. The war has forced 150,000 residents to flee their homes, according to the U.N.

While Washington says Iran has a history of political and material support for the Houthis, Tehran denies giving direct military aid. Iranian officials announced April 8 they were sending two warships to the coast of Yemen to “safeguard naval routes for vessels in the region” near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The same day Washington, which is providing intelligence and logistical support for the Saudi regime’s war in Yemen, warned Iran not to interfere. “The United States is not going to stand by while the region is destabilized or while people engage in overt warfare across lines — international boundaries — in other countries,” Secretary of State John Kerry said.

On April 20 U.S. officials said aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and a guided missile cruiser would join 10 other U.S. warships in the waters off Yemen, explicitly as a warning to Iran.

In face of broad opposition from both Republicans and Democrats, Obama agreed April 14 to sign a bill that will allow Congress to block whatever final nuclear deal is negotiated with Tehran. It would delay any relief from economic sanctions by a month or more, and allow a two-thirds majority in Congress to prevent the sanctions from being lifted, which would scuttle any accord. Obama had previously insisted that reaching an agreement was within the purview of the executive, not Congress.

“We are not negotiating with the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives,” Iranian President Rouhani responded, noting that the talks include the governments of China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom, as well as Washington. “If there is not going to be an end to the sanctions in this round of the talks, there is not going to be a deal.”

At an April 17 news conference, Obama said U.S. diplomats should use “creative negotiations” to find a course toward lifting sanctions that the rulers in Tehran would find it easier to sell.

“How sanctions are lessened, how we snap back sanctions if there’s a violation, there are a lot of different mechanisms and ways to do that,” Obama said.  
 
 
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