Berlin Calls for Resolving Differences Over Iran’s Nuclear File

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin on Thursday (EPA)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin on Thursday (EPA)
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Berlin Calls for Resolving Differences Over Iran’s Nuclear File

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin on Thursday (EPA)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin on Thursday (EPA)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday called for resolving differences over the Iranian nuclear efforts and expressed his concern about the “real danger” posed by Tehran's program.

Speaking alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after talks in Berlin, Scholz said Germany and other countries are working to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. “Israel should not be threatened,” he affirmed.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu wrote on his Twitter account that Israel will do what it needs to do to defend itself against those who want to annihilate the Jewish state.

“Israel will also act against Iran's aggression and terrorism. Those who perpetrate terror attacks against Israel and those who send them will pay a heavy price,” he said.

On March 7, France, Germany and the UK (E3) gave a joint statement to the IAEA Board of Governors on Iran’s implementation of its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA.

The E3 said they are especially alarmed by the recent sampling at Fordow, which showed the presence of highly enriched uranium (HEU) particles to 83.7%.

“This is significantly inconsistent with the level of enrichment declared by Iran and Iran has yet to convince us that this was due to its claimed ‘unintended fluctuations,” the statement said.

Earlier this month, IAEA said Iran has given sweeping assurances to the UN nuclear watchdog that it will finally assist a long-stalled investigation into uranium particles found at undeclared sites and even re-install removed monitoring equipment.

IAEA is asking Iran for more inspections and the reactivation of surveillance cameras and monitoring equipment at some of the country's nuclear sites. Also, Iran should offer the UN nuclear watchdog convincing explanations on the origin of uranium particles enriched to 83.7% purity - very close to weapons grade - at Iran's underground Fordow.

Meanwhile in Tehran, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said Thursday that Deputy Director General and Head of the Safeguards Department of the UN nuclear watchdog (IAEA) is on his way to Tehran for talks with Iranian officials.

Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said that Massimo Aparo will pursue the negotiations recently held by experts of the IAEA and those of the AEOI during Grossi’s recent visit to Iran this month.

Kamalvandi noted that the safeguards and technical discussions will be in line with the joint statement of the IAEA and the AEOI that was issued during the visit.

Meanwhile, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called on Iran, in a phone call with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, to speed up the implementation of the agreement between Tehran and the IAEA, according to Iranian websites.

The call came a few hours after Grossi said he’s sending a technical team to Iran in the next few days to follow up on Tehran’s commitments.

“We still need to start the process of getting these additional, further monitoring and verification capacities,” Grossi said, explaining that the process could take “maybe weeks or days.”

“I hope there won’t be any trouble,” the IAEA chief added, according to WSJ reporter Laurence Norman.

Also, US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said he met with Grossi and discussed the IAEA chief’s recent meetings in Tehran this month.

“We stressed that Iran should follow through on its commitments made to IAEA and should facilitate any access deemed necessary by the agency,” Malley wrote on his Twitter account.

Meanwhile, Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said, “somebody needs to engage the US on finalization of the Vienna talks on restoration of the nuclear deal in order to avoid the high risk of uncontrolled escalation.”



Trump Says He Will Nominate Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP)
Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP)
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Trump Says He Will Nominate Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP)
Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP)

US President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has picked as his secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for the so-called "woke" policies of Pentagon leaders including its top military officer.

Hegseth, if confirmed by the US Senate, could make good on Trump's campaign promises to rid the US military of generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.

It could also set up a collision course between Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, a former fighter pilot with command experience in the Pacific and the Middle East, who Hegseth accused of "pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians."

The 44-year-old NATO-skeptic is perhaps Trump's most surprising pick as he fills out his cabinet ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration, and the decision drew swift condemnation from some of Trump's opponents.

"The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position," Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said on X.

Trump, announcing his decision, praised Hegseth, who is an Army National Guard veteran and according to his website served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First," Trump said in a statement. "With Pete at the helm, America's enemies are on notice - Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down."

While Hegseth has articulated only limited policy positions in the past, he has railed against NATO allies for being weak and said that China is on the verge of dominating its neighbors.

Hegseth has said he left the military in 2021 after being sidelined for his political and religious views by an Army that didn't want him anymore.

"The feeling was mutual - I didn't want this Army anymore either," Hegseth said in his book "The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free."

There is already anxiety in the Pentagon that Trump aims to root out military officers and career civil servants he perceives to be disloyal.

Culture war issues could be a trigger for firings.

Trump told Fox News in June he would fire generals he described as "woke," a term for those focused on racial and social justice but which is used by conservatives to disparage progressive policies.

Hegseth could be an advocate for such firings.

"The next president of the United States needs to radically overhaul Pentagon senior leadership to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Lots of people need to be fired," he wrote in his book.

Hegseth also took aim at Brown in particular, asking whether he would have gotten the job if he were not Black.

"Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We'll never know, but always doubt - which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn't really much matter," he wrote.

Trump's former US generals and defense secretaries are among his fiercest critics, with some declaring him unfit for office. Trump has suggested that his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, could be executed for treason.

Hegseth has also slammed Milley for failing to execute Trump's policies dutifully when in office and accusing him of being "a partisan to the end" to aid Democrats.

'SELF-RIGHTEOUS AND IMPOTENT' ALLIES

Hegseth has been sharply critical of America's European allies and his selection could fuel even greater anxiety in NATO about what a Trump administration will mean for the alliance.

"Outdated, outgunned, invaded, and impotent. Why should America, the European 'emergency contact number' for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to?" Hegseth wrote in his book.

"Maybe if NATO countries actually ponied up for their own defense — but they don't. They just yell about the rules while gutting their militaries and yelling at America for help."

In appearances on podcasts and television he has said China is building a military "specifically dedicated to defeating the United States of America."

"They have a full spectrum long-term view of not just regional but global domination," Hegseth said on a podcast last week.

Trump has been critical of President Joe Biden's assistance for Ukraine, fueling concern about the future of support for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government under a Republican-controlled White House, Senate and possibly House of Representatives.

"If Ukraine can defend themselves... great, but I don't want American intervention driving deep into Europe and making (Russian President Vladimir Putin) feel like he's so much on his heels," Hegseth said.