Analyst's note: Absolutely must read. What a strong presence and even more desirable target Mr. Obama makes of our people in the eyes of our Islamist enemies. And what do you suppose he offered Iranian leaders? Unless the arrangements are worse than this story is reporting, we can be sure that he had to offer something of value upfront to even get an audience. We also know that our Department of Defense is repeatedly pleading with Israel not to strike Iran ... at least before the next presidential election. The one thing we can be sure of is that Mr. Obama and his national security staff do NOT understand this Islamist enemy and their plans. Is anyone in our federal gov't preparing for the worse case? If they are, other than marshall law preparations of late, it does not include public warnings and preparations for the citizens of this nation.
JERUSALEM – President Obama has been engaged in secret, back-channel talks with Iran in which he informed Tehran’s leaders he is completely opposed to any Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to informed Middle Eastern officials.
The officials told WND the behind-the-scenes talks aim to secure a guarantee from Iran that it will not retaliate against the U.S. in the event of any Israeli military strike, the officials said.
It was unclear what, if anything, Obama offered Iran in exchange for a pledge against targeting U.S. installations, including in the Gulf.
The State Department did not immediately return a WND request seeking comment on the alleged back-door talks.
In a wide-ranging interview March 9 with Al-Monitor, an Arab website founded in the wake of the Middle East revolutions, former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel hinted that private approaches to Iran were already occurring.
Hagel is co-chairman of Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board. While he was in the Senate he served on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Al-Monitor’s Washington correspondent, Barbara Slavin, interviewed Hagel at Georgetown University, where he teaches a weekly class.
Slavin asked Hagel: “Do you know if there any private approaches going on, or is it all through the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany?
Read about more complications for Washington, as China, Iran forming “strategic” ties.
Hagel replied, “I know more than I can tell you; there may be. I hope. I don’t see any other way around this. Because you can’t deal with something … as explosive as this is out in the public.”
