UNITED
NATIONS,
August 10 --
The Iran
Deal UN
Security
Council resolution
was adopted by
the UNSC 15-0
on July 20.
On
August 10 when
the Security
Council held
closed door
meeting on the
crackdown in Burundi
that resulted
in very
little, the
pitch to
ambassadors as
they went in
was not about
Burundi but
rather to attend
a Reuters
event about
the Iran Deal
on August 11,
"moderated by
Thomson
Reuters
Editor-at-Large
Sir Harold
Evans."
Not
even all
Security
Council
Ambassadors
were invited,
Periscope
here for now;
longer here here
is video of
Sir Harry's
"interview" of
Bernard Henri
Levi
earlier this
year, in which
Harry asserted
that the
failure to
oust Assad led
to ISIS. That
is certainly
the Administration's
line: but what
does it
portend for
this event?
From the UN we
note Reuters
as an outright
censor, not
only seeking
to get the
investigative
Press thrown
out, but that
making a false
claim
to Google that
its "for the
record"
complaint to
the UN was
somehow
copyrighted,
here. The
Electronic
Frontier
Foundation (Chilling Effects)
opined that
this is
problematic.
But Reuters'
Sir Harry
rides on.
Back
on July 24,
Kerry came to
New York to
field
questions at
the Council on
Foreign
Relations on
Park Avenues,
then to meet
the Conference
of Presidents
of Major
American
Jewish
Organizations
and the
American
Jewish
Committee.
At
CFR, Kerry
argued that a
nuclear arms
race in the
Middle East is
less likely
with the Deal
than without
it. He
mentioned
Yemen,
bragging that
he stopped
Iran from
landing a ship
there (no
mention was
made of the
new U.S. APCs
in Aden). He
said that
Saudi Arabia
spends $80
billion a year
on defense,
"fancy toys."
Look at the
impact of
those toys on
Yemen.
Kerry said
that France's
Fabius is
going to Iran,
and that
Germany will
be going
(actually,
it's already
gone).
Moderator
Richard Haass
apologized for
how few
questions were
taken from the
floor, saying
Kerry had
other meetings
to go to. But
would he be
protested
there?
Back on July
20 in the
Security
Council in
speeches after
the unanimous
vote, Russia's
Vitaly Churkin
shouted out
Kazakhstan as
well as
Austria and
Switzerland,
which hosted
the talks. US
Samantha Power
vowed to
pursue Iran on
others issues.
Iranian
ambassador
Gholamali
Khoshroo was
to speak
inside the
Security
Council, then
Israel's Ron
Prosor outside
at the
stakeout.
The day after
the Iran Deal
was announced
in Vienna by
the EU's
Federica
Mogherini then
Iran's Javad
Zarif, on July
15 a draft
resolution was
circulated in
the UN
Security
Council, with
paragraphs on
sanctions
snap-back and
other
provisions.
Inner City
Press put the
draft,
obtained from
multiple
sources,
online here.
As detailed
below, the
vote is set
for July 20, 9
am in New
York.
On
the US Sunday
morning
political talk
shows, not
only
Republican
Senator from
Wyoming John
Barrasso but
also Democrat
Ben Cardin of
Maryland said
the Obama
administration
shouldn't take
the deal to
the UN until
Congress
considers it.
Republican Tom
Cotton of
Arkansas,
speaking from
London, said
the same,
citing Cardin
and Steny
Hoyer.
On
July 19, the
US State
Department in
Washington
said:
"Pursuant
to the Iran
Nuclear
Agreement
Review Act of
2015, today
the State
Department
transmitted to
Congress the
Joint
Comprehensive
Plan of
Action, its
annexes, and
related
materials.
These
documents
include the
Unclassified
Verification
Assessment
Report on the
JCPOA and the
Intelligence
Community's
Classified
Annex to the
Verification
Assessment
Report, as
required under
the law.
Therefore, Day
One of the
60-day review
period begins
tomorrow,
Monday, July
20."
Then at 5 pm
on July 16,
Inner City
Press reported
that the UNSC
vote on the
draft would
occur on
Monday, July
20 at 9 am.
Hours later,
the UN
confirmed
this, and a US
Mission
spokesperson tweeted
the timing.
Reuters,
typically,
then published
a story
quoting an
UNnamed "U.S.
official" on
the timing;
the CBS former
head of the UN
Censorship
Alliance
echoed the
timing
targeting the
P3 with
nothing but
photos. (The current
head of the
Censorship
Alliance
was invisible,
checked out.)
This is how
the UN works,
or doesn't. At
the underlying
UNSC experts'
meeting there
were only two
journalists.
But Western
missions
served up
information
later to
non-present
correspondents,
who by quoting
unnamed
sources seemed
knowledgeable.
This is
today's UN.
On July 16,
the Security
Council's 15
members at the
Expert level
met about the
draft. Inner
City Press and
one other
journalist
staked-out the
meeting (Periscope
video for now
here),
held in
basement
Conference
Room 8 and
afterward
asked
attendees what
the next step
would be.
While several
said "No
comment" --
since it will
presumably
help them,
including the
US Legal
Expert and a
former French
mission
spokesman --
from others
Inner City
Press was told
of a 9 am
Monday July 20
vote on the
resolution.
It was said
that France
was pushing
for a weekend
vote, on
Sunday,
related to
Foreign
Minister
Fabius desire
to travel to
Tehran with
the vote
already done.
This was
resisted -
now, 9 am
Monday, before
a Security
Council Arria
formula
meeting about
Gaza,
sponsored by
Malaysia and
Jordan. Watch
this site.
Here embeddd
is the draft.
Operative Paragraphs
11, 12
and 15
bear
particular
interest,
with their
purported
automaticity.
See also, InnerCityPro.com.
Iran
Deal Draft
UNSC
Resolution as
Uploaded by
Inner City
Press by Matthew
Russell Lee
On July 14 the
US White House
held a
background
press call,
"embargoed
until
conclusion."
This meant, no
tweets. But on
the call,
after Reuters
asked a
softball about
Obama's
involvement,
several Senior
Administration
Officials
gushed about
Obama's calls
to Vienna,
updates from
Susan Rice,
concern for
Israel's
security.
It was said
Obama would
not only call
Netanyahu but
also of course
the King of
Saudi Arabia.
(He did both,
adding
Russia's Putin
as well.)
Earlier on
July 14, Ban
Ki-moon chimed
in nearly
immediately to
welcome the
deal. This
stood in
contrast to
his 60 hour
silence after
his own faux
Yemen Deal
failed amid
airstrikes.
Success has
many wannabe
parents;
UNsuccessful
many fewer.
Obama
from
Washington at
7 am said he
will veto any
legislation
slowing this
down; The
Elders chaired
by Kofi Annan
spoke quickly
against any
“ideological
preconceptions
[or] narrow
political
interests.”
Journalists
camped out
under the
Evita-like
balcony of the
Coburg Hotel
for more than
two weeks
gushed about
UN Security
Council action
"in days," as
France's
Fabius put it.
Now we know
why. Watch
this site