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| Kerry Presses Iranians to Prove Nuclear Work Is for Peaceful Purposes | Kerry Presses Iranians to Prove Nuclear Work Is for Peaceful Purposes |
| (7 months later) | |
| DAVOS, Switzerland — One day after Iran’s president took the stage here seeking to assure the world that his country did not aspire to develop nuclear weapons, Secretary of State John Kerry pushed back on Friday, challenging him to demonstrate that the Iranian nuclear program was peaceful. | |
| “He told you that Iran has no intention of building a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Kerry said in a speech to the World Economic Forum. “Starting now, Iran has the opportunity to prove these words beyond all doubt to the world.” | “He told you that Iran has no intention of building a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Kerry said in a speech to the World Economic Forum. “Starting now, Iran has the opportunity to prove these words beyond all doubt to the world.” |
| Mr. Kerry laid down several requirements for the comprehensive nuclear agreement that Iran and six world powers are now preparing to negotiate, saying that Tehran must accept extensive verification, abandon plans to build a heavy-water reactor that can produce plutonium, and resolve longstanding concerns by the International Atomic Energy Agency over past Iranian compliance. | Mr. Kerry laid down several requirements for the comprehensive nuclear agreement that Iran and six world powers are now preparing to negotiate, saying that Tehran must accept extensive verification, abandon plans to build a heavy-water reactor that can produce plutonium, and resolve longstanding concerns by the International Atomic Energy Agency over past Iranian compliance. |
| Mr. Kerry’s remarks were part of a wide-ranging speech that he said was intended to rebut critics who have contended that American influence in the Middle East has diminished under President Obama’s administration. | Mr. Kerry’s remarks were part of a wide-ranging speech that he said was intended to rebut critics who have contended that American influence in the Middle East has diminished under President Obama’s administration. |
| Worries that American power in the Middle East has ebbed have been a major topic of discussion among many of the United States’ historical allies. The concerns have grown as President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has defied American demands that he cede authority to a transitional government, or even allow the delivery of food to besieged towns in the Syrian civil war. In addition, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq has brazenly occupied Falluja, a city in western Iraq that was secured by United States forces during the American-led invasion, at the cost of scores of American lives. | Worries that American power in the Middle East has ebbed have been a major topic of discussion among many of the United States’ historical allies. The concerns have grown as President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has defied American demands that he cede authority to a transitional government, or even allow the delivery of food to besieged towns in the Syrian civil war. In addition, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq has brazenly occupied Falluja, a city in western Iraq that was secured by United States forces during the American-led invasion, at the cost of scores of American lives. |
| Before Mr. Kerry spoke, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said on a panel here that he had been told by Middle East officials that American influence in the region was “on the wane,” especially after Mr. Obama withdrew the threat of cruise missile strikes in Syria in return for an agreement by Mr. Assad to eliminate his chemical weapons, which have accounted for only a tiny fraction of the estimated 130,000 people killed in the conflict. | Before Mr. Kerry spoke, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said on a panel here that he had been told by Middle East officials that American influence in the region was “on the wane,” especially after Mr. Obama withdrew the threat of cruise missile strikes in Syria in return for an agreement by Mr. Assad to eliminate his chemical weapons, which have accounted for only a tiny fraction of the estimated 130,000 people killed in the conflict. |
| During a panel discussion on Friday afternoon, one Arab expert questioned whether stopping the war in Syria was a top priority for the White House. “For the Americans, Syria is Priority 5 or 6,” said the expert, Ghassan Salamé, the dean of the Paris School of International Affairs. | During a panel discussion on Friday afternoon, one Arab expert questioned whether stopping the war in Syria was a top priority for the White House. “For the Americans, Syria is Priority 5 or 6,” said the expert, Ghassan Salamé, the dean of the Paris School of International Affairs. |
| But Mr. Kerry sought to challenge what he called the “myth of disengagement,” with an account of his energetic attempts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, organize a peace conference on Syria and pursue a Middle East peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. | But Mr. Kerry sought to challenge what he called the “myth of disengagement,” with an account of his energetic attempts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, organize a peace conference on Syria and pursue a Middle East peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. |
| After a decade that was “defined first and foremost by force, we are entering an era of American diplomatic engagement that is as broad and as deep as at any time in history,” he said. “The most bewildering version of this disengagement myth is about a supposed U.S. retreat from the Middle East.” | After a decade that was “defined first and foremost by force, we are entering an era of American diplomatic engagement that is as broad and as deep as at any time in history,” he said. “The most bewildering version of this disengagement myth is about a supposed U.S. retreat from the Middle East.” |
| On the nuclear issue, Iran has started to carry out a six-month agreement intended to freeze its nuclear program. The purpose is to give international negotiators time to reach a more comprehensive accord that would substantially lengthen the time that Iran would need to develop enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear device. | On the nuclear issue, Iran has started to carry out a six-month agreement intended to freeze its nuclear program. The purpose is to give international negotiators time to reach a more comprehensive accord that would substantially lengthen the time that Iran would need to develop enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear device. |
| On Thursday, Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, told the forum here that Iran was ready to negotiate such a comprehensive accord. “I do not see a serious impediment in the way of this agreement; the Iranian will is strong,” Mr. Rouhani said. | On Thursday, Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, told the forum here that Iran was ready to negotiate such a comprehensive accord. “I do not see a serious impediment in the way of this agreement; the Iranian will is strong,” Mr. Rouhani said. |
| At the same time, he hinted that “pressure from other parties” to negotiate especially tough terms might jeopardize the push for an agreement, a thinly veiled reference to Israel. | At the same time, he hinted that “pressure from other parties” to negotiate especially tough terms might jeopardize the push for an agreement, a thinly veiled reference to Israel. |
| Seeking to put the burden on Iran, Mr. Kerry said the Iranians must back up Mr. Rouhani’s reassuring words. | Seeking to put the burden on Iran, Mr. Kerry said the Iranians must back up Mr. Rouhani’s reassuring words. |
| Mr. Kerry “is signaling that the U.S. will set a high bar for an acceptable comprehensive agreement,” said Robert J. Einhorn, a former State Department official who specializes in nonproliferation issues. | Mr. Kerry “is signaling that the U.S. will set a high bar for an acceptable comprehensive agreement,” said Robert J. Einhorn, a former State Department official who specializes in nonproliferation issues. |
| “He is making clear that the Arak reactor and Fordo enrichment facility are unacceptable, at least as currently configured,” Mr. Einhorn said, referring to the plutonium-producing reactor Iran had started to build near the town of Arak and an underground uranium enrichment plant known as Fordo near Qum. | “He is making clear that the Arak reactor and Fordo enrichment facility are unacceptable, at least as currently configured,” Mr. Einhorn said, referring to the plutonium-producing reactor Iran had started to build near the town of Arak and an underground uranium enrichment plant known as Fordo near Qum. |
| On Syria, Mr. Kerry repeated his insistence that Mr. Assad had lost legitimacy within the country and had to relinquish power, though Mr. Kerry provided no road map of how he hoped to persuade the Syrian leader to do so. | On Syria, Mr. Kerry repeated his insistence that Mr. Assad had lost legitimacy within the country and had to relinquish power, though Mr. Kerry provided no road map of how he hoped to persuade the Syrian leader to do so. |
| During a separate appearance here, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, sought to claim the moral high ground by calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Syria. But Mr. Zarif did not detail the conditions for their withdrawal or acknowledge that members of Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force have been operating there. | During a separate appearance here, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, sought to claim the moral high ground by calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Syria. But Mr. Zarif did not detail the conditions for their withdrawal or acknowledge that members of Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force have been operating there. |
| Much of Mr. Kerry’s speech was devoted to his persistent effort to break the deadlock in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Kerry met here with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. But comments that Mr. Netanyahu made about Israeli settlers in lands claimed by the Palestinians for a future state appeared to raise even more formidable obstacles. | Much of Mr. Kerry’s speech was devoted to his persistent effort to break the deadlock in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Kerry met here with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. But comments that Mr. Netanyahu made about Israeli settlers in lands claimed by the Palestinians for a future state appeared to raise even more formidable obstacles. |
| “I have no intention of evacuating a single settlement,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a news conference, in perhaps his most definitive statement on the subject since the start of the American-brokered peace talks last summer. “I do not intend to uproot a single Israeli.” | “I have no intention of evacuating a single settlement,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a news conference, in perhaps his most definitive statement on the subject since the start of the American-brokered peace talks last summer. “I do not intend to uproot a single Israeli.” |
| On the issue of Israeli security, Mr. Kerry was recently criticized by Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, for presenting a security plan for the West Bank that Mr. Yaalon said relied too heavily on technology and was inadequate to protect Israel from threats. | On the issue of Israeli security, Mr. Kerry was recently criticized by Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, for presenting a security plan for the West Bank that Mr. Yaalon said relied too heavily on technology and was inadequate to protect Israel from threats. |
| Israel has long insisted that it needs to keep Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley near the border between Jordan and a future Palestinian state to protect Israel’s security. The Palestinians have rejected that as an affront to their sovereignty. | Israel has long insisted that it needs to keep Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley near the border between Jordan and a future Palestinian state to protect Israel’s security. The Palestinians have rejected that as an affront to their sovereignty. |
| In his speech, Mr. Kerry made a special point of defending the American security proposals, which drew heavily on the work of John R. Allen, a retired Marine general and the former commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. | In his speech, Mr. Kerry made a special point of defending the American security proposals, which drew heavily on the work of John R. Allen, a retired Marine general and the former commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. |
| Mr. Kerry said he was convinced that General Allen’s plan could be the basis of a security system that would be developed in consultation with Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians, and would “meet the highest standards anywhere in the world.” | Mr. Kerry said he was convinced that General Allen’s plan could be the basis of a security system that would be developed in consultation with Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians, and would “meet the highest standards anywhere in the world.” |