Kerry admits: Some Iran sanctions relief will go to terrorists

[mystery-ak]

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/266619-kerry-some-iran-sanctions-relief-will-go-to-terrorists

 By Rebecca Kheel - 01/21/16 03:00 PM EST

Some money from Iran's sanctions relief is likely to go to terrorists, Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged Thursday.

Still, he said, he has yet to see that happen, adding there will be consequences if Iran uses the money to fund terrorism.

“I think that some of it will end up in the hands of the IRGC or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists,” he said in an interview with CNBC, referring to the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Over the weekend, the United States lifted sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program after it certified Tehran was in compliance with the nuclear agreement.

Lawmakers opposed to the deal have argued that the billions of dollars Iran gets after sanctions are lifted will be funneled into supporting terrorist organizations.

In an interview from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Kerry conceded the United States can’t prevent that from happening.

“You know, to some degree, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that every component of that can be prevented,” he said. “But I can tell you this: Right now, we are not seeing the early delivery of funds going to that kind of endeavor at this point in time."

Of the $100 billion to $150 billion in sanctions relief, Kerry estimated Iran would end up with $55 million because some of the money is obligated to foreign debts.

He later told a group of reporters on the sidelines of the forum that the Revolutionary Guards are "already complaining that they are not getting the money,” according to The Associated Press.

“If we catch them funding terrorism, they're going to have a problem in the U.S. Congress and other people, obviously," he said.

A group of Republican senators vowed Thursday to introduce new sanctions should the administration not take a tough stance against the country.

[musiclady]

Yeah............. no big deal, right, Lurch??

Sheesh........... I don't know how this country survives until next January.........   

[Bigun]

And some of it will go into the pockets of John F'n Kerry unless I miss my guess!

[musiclady]

And some of it will go into the pockets of John F'n Kerry unless I miss my guess!

No chance you miss your guess.........

[rangerrebew]

Watch: Kerry admits Iran sanctions windfall will go to terror
After Tehran gets $150 billion, Kerry acknowledges it will go to entities 'labeled terrorists,' says it 'can't be prevented.'
 
By Ari Yashar
First Publish: 1/21/2016, 8:00 PM

Days after Iran received hundreds of billions of dollars in sanctions relief from the controversial nuclear deal, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday admitted a good portion of the massive funds will go to terror.

Speaking at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kerry spoke about the massive kickback Tehran is receiving after nuclear sanctions were lifted last weekend.

"I think that some of it will end up in the hands of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists," he acknowledged to CNBC.

"You know, to some degree, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that every component of that can be prevented. But I can tell you this, right now, we are not seeing the early delivery of funds going to that kind of endeavor at this point in time."

Iran itself is designated as a state sponsor of terror by the US, and the US Department of Treasury designated the IRGC's Quds Force that is responsible for missions abroad as a terrorist organization back in 2007. Iran likewise has been propping up its Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah, an internationally recognized terror group which has an estimated 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel.

Kerry also tried to play down the estimates of just how much Iran is receiving in sanctions relief, with estimates placing the figure at between $100 billion and $150 billion.

He claimed those estimates were incorrect, saying that Iran owes a large amount in foreign debt and therefore it will "only" be left with a windfall of $55 billion to fund its terrorism.

Heavy concerns remain over the nuclear deal, given that Iran will be allowed to inspect its own covert nuclear sites such as Parchin, and likewise can simply wait for the limitations on its nuclear program to expire under the deal in 15 years. The leading state sponsor of terror has continued to show a hostile stance vis-a-vis America, recently capturing and releasing ten US Navy sailors.

Kerry defends missile sanctions

Earlier on Thursday Kerry responded to Iranian anger over new sanctions imposed by the US on Sunday against Iran's ballistic missile program, following serious breaches.

"We have made it very clear that we use sanctions when we think they are appropriate in order to counter behavior that we believe has broken the law or has challenged the United Nations Security Council or threatened the United States and we stand by our sanctions," Kerry said.

"We think they have been used judiciously and effectively and we are looking to move on now to put to test the willingness of Iran and other countries in the region to try to reduce tensions and move in a different direction."

Iran lost no time responding to the sanctions, vowing on Monday it will defy the new sanctions and continue expanding its ballistic missile program.

The new missile sanctions come after Iran conducted an Emad medium range ballistic missile test on October 10, in addition to other tests. UN sanctions monitors confirmed the Emad rocket is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, making it a violation of a UN Security Council resolution.

Iran has since flouted other expectations in the deal. Earlier this month Iran publicly revealed its 14 underground "missile towns," with the latest facility being shown on Iranian media as convoys of the nuclear-capable Emad missiles were transferred in.

In response to the missile tests, US President Barack Obama in late December threatened to implement new sanctions on Iran's rocket program. A day later Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened that Tehran would accelerate the development of its arsenal, and a day after that Obama backed down and delayed the new sanctions.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/206840#.VqIJe1nbDvS

[mountaineer]

Iran: ‘We Welcome War with the United States’
By Robert Spencer January 21, 2016
PJ Media

John Kerry said Monday that “the world is safer today” because of the Iran nuclear deal. Details of how loud and long the mullahs laughed have not been released.

In reality, the world is more threatened than ever by an aggressive and assertive Iran, confident and swaggering after besting Kerry at the negotiating table.

As the International Atomic Energy Agency certified Iran’s compliance with the stipulations of the nuclear deal and the U.S. and EU ended sanctions against the Islamic Republic, the head of Iran’s armed forces, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, was not in a conciliatory mood. After Iran seized two U.S. Navy boats and briefly held ten American sailors hostage, Firouzabadi declared:   

This incident in the Persian Gulf, which probably will not be the American forces’ last mistake in the region, should be a lesson to troublemakers in the U.S. Congress.

And Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), crowed:   

American sailors started crying after arrest, but the kindness of our Guard made them feel calm.

He added:   

Since the end of the Second World War, no country has been able to arrest American military personnel.

There was more. Said IRGC commander Ahmad Dolabi:

    I saw the weakness, cowardice, and fear of American soldiers myself. Despite having all of the weapons and equipment, they surrendered themselves with the first action of the guardians of Islam.     American forces receive the best training and have the most advanced weapons in the world, but they did not have the power to confront the Guard due to weakness of faith and belief.

They did not have the power to confront the Guard. One might almost get the impression that Dalabi thought of the incident as a battle in a larger war.

Indeed, Iranian spokesmen have been declaring their willingness, and even desire, to confront the U.S. militarily for quite some time. On February 11, 2014, the 35th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said:

    The Defense Ministry is working to ensure that the Iranian people are armed and ready to confront any enemy threat. Yesterday’s successful test of Iranian-made ballistic missiles was also a crushing response to the nonsense of the American officials who frequently threaten Iran. It is a clear answer to their military option.

    The Defense Ministry and the Iranian nation are always ready, and Iran will welcome it if the Americans again put themselves to the test and face the consequences. The Americans will again be defeated, just as they were in the Iran-Iraq war. If they implement their nonsense, the Iranian nation will hand them a crushing defeat.

This saber-rattling has long been common among Iranian officials. Firouzabadi once boasted:   

Iran is prepared for the decisive war against the U.S. and the Zionist regime. … Iran has been making plans, conducting maneuvers, and preparing its forces for this battle for years now.

In May 2014, senior Iranian commander Massoud Jazayeri warned that if the U.S. attacked Iran, not only would the result be “the annihilation of the Israeli regime,” but war in the U.S. itself:   

[The Americans] know that aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran would mean annihilation of Tel Aviv and spread of war into the United States.

Fadavi added:   

Today the Americans and the entire world know that one of our operational goals is destroying U.S. Navy Forces.

A specific target would be aircraft carriers:   

[Carriers] provide U.S. airpower in combat; therefore it is natural that we want to sink them … destroying, annihilating, and sinking U.S. boats has and will be in our plans.

In February 2015, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps conducted a drill dubbed Great Prophet 9 in which Iranian forces destroyed a replica of an American aircraft carrier. IRGC commander Jafari said that the drill was intended to be a “message of (Iran’s) might” to “extraterritorial powers.”

Iranian TV coverage of the drill focused on a banner that read:   

If the Americans are ready to be buried at the bottom of the waters of the Persian Gulf -- so be it.

This is a direct quotation from the father of the Islamic Republic, the Ayatollah Khomeini.

During this drill, the IRGC tested what it called a “new strategic weapon” that it said would be an important part of their coming war with the United States. Said Admiral Fadavi:   

The new weapon will have a very decisive role in adding our naval power in confronting threats, particular by the Great Satan, the United States.

In May 2015, the IRGC’s Salami actually said that Iran wanted war with the United States:

We have prepared ourselves for the most dangerous scenarios and this is no big deal and is simple to digest for U.S.; we welcome war with the U.S. as we do believe that it will be the scene for our success to display the real potentials of our power.

The lieutenant commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Navy General Alireza Tangsiri, was even more bellicose in October 2015, issuing this warning to the United States:   

I declare now that if the enemy wants to spark a war against Iran, we will chase them even to the Gulf of Mexico and we will do it.

This war would involve jihad-martyrdom suicide attacks. Tangsiri:   

[The Americans] have tested us once and if necessary, there are people who will blow up themselves with ammunitions to destroy the U.S. warships.

With the nuclear deal, has Iran now discarded all this bellicosity and rejoined the family of nations? Only the most naïve and self-deluded would bet the future on it.

But the most naïve and self-deluded -- Barack Obama, John Kerry, and their followers – happen to be placing our bets.