China Balks as Geithner Presses on Iran Curbs

In many respects, 2015 has been the year of the cyberwars.  Over the past nine months, Washington has gone out of its way to identify a list of hacker adversaries and predictably, The Pentagon has identified the “usual suspects” (so to speak). Apparently, China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea are behind the vast majority of the “breaches” and indeed, hacking has become one of the most contentious issues between Washington and Beijing. 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched an intensive campaign on Sunday to convince world powers to toughen terms of a proposed nuclear deal with Iran ahead of negotiations reconvening this week in Geneva.

On the threat of a nuclear Iran, Israel’s long-serving hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frequently cited the wisdom of Israel Zangwill, an early 20th-century British Zionist who tried to establish a Jewish homeland in places as diverse as Canada, Australia and Uganda. Mr. Zangwill’s motto, as the former commando and diplomat has often recalled favourably, was “obsta principiis,” Latin for “resist beginnings,” or as he described it, “oppose bad things when they are small.”

Back in March, when the Saudis were in the early stages of executing Operation Decisive Storm (the air campaign aimed at routing the Iran-backed rebels who had recently taken control of Yemen prompting President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to flee to Riyadh), the world began to get very nervous after the Houthis entered a military base at the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

A US-led group of countries and Iran may be on the verge of signing a landmark nuclear accord that the US believes will diminish Tehran's pathways to a nuclear weapon.

Iran said Tuesday it would not scrap any of its nuclear facilities, drawing a red line in negotiations with six world powers seeking deep cutbacks in Tehran’s atomic program in exchange for an end to crippling economic sanctions. The statement by Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested tough talks ahead, constituting a rejection of a central demand by the six countries. The talks are designed to build on a first-step deal that came into effect last month and commits Iran to initial curbs on its nuclear program in return for some easing of sanctions.