Speaking out after 35 yrs as Reuters reporter covering UN, WHO, human rights, Swiss news. Légion d'honneur, Overseas Press Club Award @georgetown @columbiajourn
Amazing if four months of war comes to an end with J.D. Vance getting an email "Please DocuSign these documents: IranUSA_MOU_Final_FINAL_ActuallyFinal_V43"
A Western source tells @Reuters that the deal could be signed as soon as Sunday by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, with #Geneva seen as the likeliest venue.
Switzerland will decide on a proposal to cap its population at 10 million in a referendum that some have likened to Britain's Brexit vote, which could have far-reaching consequences for the economy and EU relations https://t.co/DcoTCLe9lm
I spent months reporting how the World Cup came to North America.
It’s a 16-year saga that ran through boozy hotel bars in Zurich, Hawaii and Aruba; four U.S. presidents; DOJ raids; and a global lobbying campaign.
Read it here in @POLITICOMag:
https://t.co/yOTTeBx1jD
🔴 BREAKING: Switzerland’s Geneva is being floated as a potential location for the signing of a deal between the US and Iran next week, Al Arabiya sources say.
Iran’s Mehr news agency publishes the purported text of the draft agreement with Trump. It will keep the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian control, will promise Iran $300 billion in reconstruction money in addition to an immediate cash transfer of $24 billion, a suspension of sanctions and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East. Also, a commitment not to bother Iran again about its missiles and proxies, and restraining Israel in Lebanon.
The U.S. gets in exchange a pinky promise to respect the NPT.
Let’s see what happens in coming days.
Link: https://t.co/MFCRLUCHDw
Full text:
A permanent and immediate cessation of war on all fronts, including Lebanon.
A U.S. commitment not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs and to respect the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Full lifting of the naval blockade within 30 days.
A U.S. commitment to withdraw its forces from areas surrounding Iran.
Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days under arrangements determined by Iran.
Suspension of sanctions on the sale of oil, petrochemical products, and related derivatives, along with full Iranian access to the resulting financial revenues.
The United States and its allies would be required to present reconstruction plans for Iran worth at least $300 billion.
A 60-day negotiation period aimed at reaching a final agreement covering nuclear issues and the complete removal of U.S. primary and secondary sanctions, as well as the repeal of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors.
Reaffirmation by Iran of its commitment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) not to produce nuclear weapons.
During the negotiation period, the United States would commit not to deploy additional forces to the region and not to impose any new sanctions.
The release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets during the 60-day final negotiation period. Half of this amount must be made available to Iran before negotiations begin.
Establishment of a monitoring mechanism to oversee implementation of the agreement.
The final agreement would be approved through a UN Security Council resolution.
Final negotiations would not begin before the release of half of Iran’s frozen assets, the suspension of oil sanctions, and the lifting of the naval blockade. The final agreement would focus exclusively on the future of enriched nuclear material and uranium enrichment, sanctions relief, and a program for rebuilding Iran’s economy. Discussion of Iran’s missile program and its support for resistance groups would be definitively excluded from the agenda.
As stated by the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, this text still requires review and final approval by the relevant authorities in Iran.
Why Donald Trump keeps abusing female journalists - my conversation on ABC news podcast based on my Substack piece on how White House reporters, and their employers, could do more to protect colleagues.
https://t.co/7u8XIJoydS
The Iran conflict is beginning to take hold of Donald Trump’s presidency. So @EdwardGLuce drew a comparison between Trump and Jimmy Carter, managing he says, to annoy a lot of different people with one piece of analysis:
NEW: Our visual analysis suggests the United States hit two drinking-water facilities overnight in southern Iran with precision-guided munitions. Deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime. w/ @ckoettl@johnismay@ArtemisChats
If you read one article today, it should be former CIA analyst Paul Pillar’s alarm bell of how the Senate wants to force the US to share sensitive intel with Israel at the expense of the US itself.
“In intelligence, Israel is more of an adversary than an ally. Being an adversary in intelligence means indulging in the hostile act of espionage. Israel has a long record of conducting that type of hostile act against the United States.”
https://t.co/KpdR33YrTw
Some very unusual stuff happened in the White House Situation Room last summer. Adapted from @maggieNYT and my forthcoming book, "Regime Change" - gift link: https://t.co/mxkrYAwqFV
NEW @TheAthleticFC
Infantino floats in & out of the Oval Office, hangs out with Trump officials, squeezes host cities for cash & cloaks FIFA in MAGA.
Now, FIFA wants to be considered powerless.
Free to read column on Gianni’s visa disasterclass.
https://t.co/f4xDFOgQsx
Switzerland goes to the polls on June 14 to vote on whether to cap its population at 10 million people in a referendum some have likened to a ‘Swiss Brexit,’ alarming many businesses who fear an economic blow should the proposal succeed https://t.co/z0Xpa9Kfgl
"No two human beings, let alone US presidents, could be less alike than Trump and Carter. But they have Iran in common. Once the idea forms that a US president is prisoner to what others decide, the scent of impotence is hard to shake." My column https://t.co/bJ6ZmvXBvT
SCOOP: The Trump administration is pre-blaming Europe for any spread of Ebola as the World Cup comes to America.
Top Trump aides are frustrated with Europe's limited travel restrictions and want it to abandon the WHO's Ebola playbook. https://t.co/KNYeAGpiMr
The Senegalese 🇸🇳 delegation gets this treatment on arrival in the USA. Full tarmac searches, shoes off, bags turned inside out like criminals.
This is straight up humiliation and a disgrace. They’d never put white boys through the same.