In the aftermath of Barak Obama`s State of the Union Address, and his announcement that he will veto any congressional actions increasing sanctions on Iran, the Republican Party proceeded to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, making the latter on par with Winston Churchill for the most ever appearances by a foreign dignitary before a joint session of Congress.
On Sunday, 25 January 2015, Jadaliyya Turkey Page Co-Editor Aslı Bâli participated in KPKA`s Middle East in Focus radio show. Below is her response to hosts Estee Chandler and Nagwa Ibrahim`s questions concerning Iranian, US, and Israeli goals and objectives vis-a-vis current international negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program. Bali`s response covered the following topics (time codes provided for easy navigation):
- Summarizing an article she wrote in 2013 concerning the nature of US-Iranian nuclear negotations under the Bush Jr. presidency and the first Obama Administration
[Time code: 00:00-02:18]
- How the US approach under the second Obama Administration departs from previous approaches
[Time code: 02:19-03:31] - The interests of domestic actors in the United State and Iran that have a stake in derailing currrent negotations
[Time code: 03:32-07:37] - How the Republication invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau fits into strategic concerns regarding ongoing nuceal negotations
[Time code: 07:38-08:35] - Making sense of the divergence between Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, and Netanyahu regarding new sanctions on Iran
[Time code: 08:36-12:15] - What economic benefits exist to certain Israeli actors from derailing an agreement on Iran`s nuclear program
[Time code: 12:16-16:00]