Iran-US detente gives Israel, Gulf states jitters
WASHINGTON - As hopeful, albeit vague, statements about talks in Geneva between Iran and the great powers continued to issue from the Swiss city, foes of detente between Washington and Tehran maintained their own high tempo of work. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its supporters in the powerful Israel lobby, which exerts its greatest influence through the United States Congress, appear to be working overtime to persuade the administration of President Barack Obama not to ease economic sanctions on Iran until their maximalist demands are met. On the eve of the two-day talks between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 (United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany), a bipartisan group of ten key US senators published a letter they sent to President Barack Obama urging Washington's delegation to stake out positions in Geneva - specifically, that Iran end all uranium enrichment on its own soil - which most Iran specialists belie...