Excerpts: No significant progress in Vienna negotiations. German FM:Iran
nuclear talks completely open. Yemeni Culture Minister gives award to
Yemen's Jews. Shiite boycott of Bahrain election. November 22, 2014

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 22 Nov.’14:”Iran Says Inspectors May Access
Suspect Nuclear Site, Still ‘No Significant Progress’ in Vienna
Negotiations”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: No significant progress in Vienna negotiations
QUOTES”inspectors are also interested in the Parchin military base”, “ Iran
has so far denied access to Parchin”
FULL TEXT:World powers and Iran have still made no real progress in
negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program and it looks "physically
impossible" to strike a comprehensive deal by Monday's[24 Nov.] deadline, a
European source said Saturday.[22 Nov.]

The source close to the negotiations said "no significant progress" has been
achieved until now and "there is even a chance that we will not" reach an
agreement by Monday's deadline.

"For us to reach an agreement, the Iranians will have to move in a
substantial way," the source told journalists on condition of anonymity.

At any rate, "the goal is to reach a precise agreement... At this stage the
idea that we can wrap up the whole thing (by Monday[24 Nov.]) is physically
impossible," the source said.

"Even if we reach a political agreement, the technical annexes will not be
ready. Now in our mind nothing will be agreed until everything is agreed,
including the annexes," the source said.

The European source suggested that an eventual political agreement would
necessarily be followed by detailed and difficult negotiations.

Earlier on Saturday[2 Nov.], U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna, their first direct
talks of the day, a U.S. official said, two days ahead of the deadline for a
nuclear deal.

"Secretary Kerry will meet with (former EU foreign policy chief Catherine)
Ashton and Foreign Minister Zarif this afternoon," the official said.

Kerry said meanwhile as he met German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier that there were still "serious gaps" in the nuclear negotiations,
two days before a deadline for a deal.

"We're working hard," Kerry said, "and we hope we're making careful
progress, but we have big gaps, we still have some serious gaps, which we’re
working to close."

He added he would "not say anything substantive about the discussions while
they're going on, but a lot of serious work is going on by a lot of people."

Moreover, Steinmeier said that the outcome of Iran's nuclear talks with six
world powers was "completely open".

Despite huge gaps in the negotiations, "we have never been closer in more
than 10 years," Steinmeier said as he joined the talks in Vienna.

"If Iran is ready to take this opportunity then movement is possible ...
Whether we can get a result is right now completely open," he said.

"We will do whatever we can and if we can't then we will leave ourselves
open to the accusation that we have missed out on something that could have
resolved this standoff," Steinmeier added.

At stake in the Austrian capital Vienna is a historic deal in which Iran
would curb its nuclear activities in exchange for broad relief from years of
heavy international economic sanctions.

It could end a 12-year standoff with the West that has even raised the
threat of Israeli military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Steinmeier was due to be briefed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who
has met with his Iranian counterpart here three times since Thursday[20
Nov.].

Iranian sources said Zarif was also due to meet the German top diplomat.

Besides Iran, Germany and the United States, the talks involve Russia,
China, France and Britain.

Later on Saturday[22 Nov.], Tehran is ready to allow nuclear inspectors
access to its Marivan military site, an Iranian official said, a facility
long suspected of being used to develop explosive weapons.

The declaration comes as Iran and six world powers hold talks in Vienna to
reach a lasting agreement on Tehran's disputed nuclear program before
November 24.

Such a deal, after 12 years of rising tensions, is aimed at easing fears
that Tehran will develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian
activities -- an ambition the Islamic republic has always fiercely denied.

The Marivan site, close to the Iraqi border, was mentioned in a 2011 report
by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's alleged pursuit
of nuclear weapons.

The UN agency suggested at the time that "large scale high explosive
experiments" may have been carried out at the complex.

Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany have been
locked in talks with Iran since February after an interim accord gave it
some relief from economic sanctions in return for nuclear curbs.

"We are ready to allow the IAEA controlled access to the Marivan site,"
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, was
quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency.

He said the IAEA's view of Marivan was based on "false" information.

IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said the watchdog "will discuss the offer" with
Tehran.

"The situation regarding a visit to the Marivan region is not as simple as
that conveyed by Iran," she told AFP.

As well as Marivan, IAEA inspectors are also interested in the Parchin
military base, where they suspect tests that could be applied to a potential
nuclear site have been carried out.

Iran has so far denied access to Parchin.

SourceAgence France Presse




+++SOURCE: Al Arabiya News 22 Nov.’14:”Outcome of Iran nuclear talks
‘completely open’ German FM”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:German FM:Iran nuclear talks completely open
FULL TEXT:German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Saturday[22
Nov.] that the outcome of Iran’s nuclear talks with six world powers was
“completely open.”
Despite huge gaps in the negotiations, “we have never been closer in more
than 10 years,” Steinmeier said as he joined the talks in Vienna.
“If Iran is ready to take this opportunity then movement is possible ...
Whether we can get a result is right now completely open,” he said.

“We will do whatever we can and if we can’t then we will leave ourselves
open to the accusation that we have missed out on something that could have
resolved this standoff,” Steinmeier added.

At stake in the Austrian capital Vienna is a historic deal in which Iran
would curb its nuclear activities in exchange for broad relief from years of
heavy international economic sanctions.

It could end a 12-year standoff with the West that has even raised the
threat of Israeli military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Steinmeier was due to be briefed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who
has met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammed Javad Zarif here three times
since Thursday[20 Nov.]

Iranian sources said Zarif was also due to meet the German top diplomat.

Besides Iran, Germany and the United States, the talks involve Russia,
China, France and Britain.



+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 22 Nov.’14:”Yemeni minister gives award to her
country’s Jews, by Associated Press
SUBJECT:Yemini Culture Minister gives award to Yemen’s Jews

QUOTE:” Fewer than 90 Jews live in Yemen

FULL TEXT:Yemen’s culture minister, who was recently honored for her work
combatting extremism and discrimination against women, says she is giving
her award to Yemen's dwindling Jewish population.

Arwa Othman won Human Rights Watch’s Alison Des Forges Award in September.
At a Thursday [20 Nov.]celebration in Sanaa, Othman called for “tolerance”
and dedicated her award to “brothers and friends from the Jewish community.”

Othman has been subjected to a smear campaign by hardline Salafist groups
because of her civil rights work and support for the Jewish community.

According to the Jewish Agency, fewer than 90 Jews live in Yemen - half of
them in a guarded compound which protects the U.S. Embassy in the capital of
Sanaa. They are often subject to attacks by both Sunni and Shiite Muslim
militants.


+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 22 Nov,’14:”Bahrain Election Overshadowed by
(Shiite) Opposition Boycott”, by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Shiite boycott of Bahrain election

QUOTE:”The key U.S. ally remains divided”, “ ‘the lack of an accord could
lead to an ‘explosion’ of unrest in Bahrain home of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth
Fleet

FULL TEXT:Bahrain went to the polls Saturday[22 Nov.] for its first
legislative elections since a failed pro-democracy uprising in 2011, with
the opposition boycotting the vote in the tiny Gulf monarchy.

The key U.S. ally remains divided nearly four years after security forces in
the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom crushed Arab Spring-inspired protests led by
majority Shiites.

Al-Wefaq, the main opposition group, warned on the eve of the vote that
failure by the kingdom's rulers to ease their "monopoly" on power could
trigger a surge in violence.

Clashes between young demonstrators and security forces erupted in Shiite
villages outside the capital Manama ahead of the polls, according to
witnesses.

Plumes of smoke were seen rising from blazing tyres placed in the streets of
several districts.

Bahrain's electorate of almost 350,000 is being called to choose 40
deputies. Most of the 266 candidates are Sunnis in a vote denounced by
critics as a "farce".

Polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) and are due to close at 8:00
pm. Municipal elections are being held at the same time.

In Rifaa, a Sunni-dominated district south of Manama, dozens of people,
mostly men dressed in traditional long white robes, lined up ahead of the
start of voting.

"This election will help the development of the country under the leadership
of the king," said Naima El-Heddi, a civil servant in her 30s.

Voters were scarcer further north in the Shiitehafs, where a witness
reported seeing just 100 people casting ballots in the first two hours.

The boycott means turnout will be a key marker of the validity of the vote.

On the eve of elections, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of
the Shiite village of Diraz, with police firing tear gas to disperse them.

"Boycott! Boycott!" they chanted.

In other villages Agence France Presse reporters saw downed trees, concrete
blocks and burnt rubbish bins authorities said were aimed at preventing
people from going to vote.

"The elections have no meaning," said Yassin, an unemployed 35-year-old.

Umm Hussein, a woman draped in black, said "it's a farce," describing the
boycott as a "success".

Shiite demonstrators frequently clash with security forces in villages
outside the capital, and hundreds have been arrested and tried since the
month-long uprising was crushed in early 2011.

Al-Wefaq withdraw its 18 lawmakers after the crackdown.



- Reform demands -

The country's political rivals have struggled to bury their differences
through a so-called "national dialogue" that fell apart despite several
rounds of negotiations.

Al-Wefaq chief Sheikh Ali Salman said the lack of accord could lead to an
"explosion" of unrest in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and a
partner in the US-led campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and
Iraq.

The boycott stems from "the people's demand for democratic reforms," Salman
told AFP, predicting a maximum 30 percent turnout.

The opposition wants a "real" constitutional monarchy with an elected prime
minister independent from the Al-Khali.

But the Saudi-backed Sunni dynasty that rules over the majority Shiite
kingdom has rejected the demand.

In October, a court banned Al-Wefaq for three months for violating a law on
associations.

The movement refused to resume talks with the authorities in September
despite a new proposal announced by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad
al-Khalifa.

Salman said he did not expect the opposition to reach an agreement with the
government, following Shiite-led protests he said had cost "at least 100
lives" over the past three years.

Information Minister Samira Rajab stressed ahead of the polls that the
government would not tolerate "chaos, unrest and foreign meddling" -- a
reference to Shiite Iran.

Authorities ignored pleas by human rights groups last year to release
political prisoners, instead increasing the punishment for violent crimes.

Attacks that cause death or injuries can now be met with capital punishment
or life imprisonment.

SourceAgence France Presse

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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis