THE MEDIALINE
Iranian Foreign Minister Tenders Surprise Resignation; Nuke Deal Hangs In Balance
by Charles Bybelezer
February 26, 2019

…No immediate reason was provided for the [resignation]—which needs to be accepted by President Hassan Rouhani—thereby fueling speculation of internal fighting in Tehran possibly over whether to nix the atomic accord and jump-start nuclear-related activities. The move comes on the backdrop of an Israeli intelligence assessment that Iran is “making preparations” for a dash to the bomb and has renewed production of centrifuges on an “industrial” scale while taking steps to accelerate uranium enrichment.  In response to the news, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to Zarif and Rouhani as “front men for a corrupt religious mafia…” READ MORE

BLOOMBERG Eli Lake: Iran’s Charmer-in-Chief Resigns Zarif’s resignation means very little for Iran’s relationship with the West. Indeed, it may provide Europe with a clarifying moment. This is because Zarif’s main job was to persuade his interlocutors that Iran was a normal nation-state and not a predatory rogue.

JERUSALEM POST MI-6 chief in Israel to meet with Mossad about possible Iran nuclear race British intelligence MI6’s chief Alex Younger met recently with Mossad director Yossi Cohen in Israel to coordinate intelligence efforts over concerns that Iran may be gearing up to race toward developing a nuclear weapon…The UK and the EU’s viewing of Iran’s secret nuclear files to make five nuclear weapons – shown to them after the files were obtained by a Mossad operation in January 2018 which Cohen directly presided over – is believed to have set off red flags.