Prostate cancer may kill Iran deal (Revelation 13)

 

Concerns over Khamenei’s health may jeopardize nuke deal

Supreme leader may have months to live, Iranian press suggests; ensuing power struggle between hardliners, moderates could derail talks

By TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF AND AP June 15, 2015, 6:33 am

Concerns over the health of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who reportedly suffers from prostate cancer, are mounting as the P5+1 and Tehran negotiate an agreement over Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

According to recent reports in the Iranian press, Khamenei may only have months left to live, The Telegraph reported on Sunday, and an ensuing power struggle between hardliners and moderates over Iran’s top role could derail talks currently taking place ahead of the June 30 target date.

In March, Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the clerics who appoint and can dismiss the country’s supreme leader, elected ultraconservative Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi as their new chairman.

According to the report, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, a protege of Khamenei’s and a hardliner, has been positioning himself for the role, conducting purges of the more moderate potential candidates.
Larijani is the brother of Ali Larijani, Iran’s former chief nuclear negotiator and now chairman of the Iranian parliament, the Majlis

A senior Western diplomat told the Telegraph that the West is now worried this power struggle could jeopardize the deal.

“With so many people jockeying for position, the hardliners will be tempted to prove their revolutionary credentials by vetoing any deal with the US,” he was quoted as saying. “The fear now is that this could jeopardize any progress we make in resolving the issue and lifting the sanctions.”
In April, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany agreed in Lausanne, Switzerland to the outlines of a deal aimed at ending the decade-old standoff over Iran’s nuclear program.

According to this framework, due to be finalized this month, Iran will dramatically scale down its nuclear activities in order to render any dash to making nuclear weapons all but impossible.
In return Iran, which denies wanting nuclear weapons, will see painful sanctions lifted by the six powers — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

Khamenei Is Actually A Moderate (Dan 8:4)

 

The Other Iranian Ticking Time Bomb: The Life Expectancy of the Ayatollah

Apr. 7, 2015 10:00am
Alasdair Denvil

I studied philosophy and religion at VCU and NYU, and like to write about moral and political issues. I’m also dedicated to civil debate, and to teaching people how to discuss issues passionately without resorting to invective. Civil debate doesn’t mean refusing to criticize ideas you disagree with or compromising on what you believe. It means arguing for your beliefs without name-calling, without demonizing or distorting your opponents. It’s like fair play in sports: work hard to defeat the other team, but don’t cheat.

Make no mistake: whatever it says, whatever fatwas it may have issued, Iran has been trying to get a nuclear weapon. It’s been found with information on how to form uranium into an implosion-ready sphere, and we know it researched fitting nuclear warheads onto missiles.

Maybe the nuclear deal in the works (with the new deadline of June 30) will put a stop to all that, maybe not. But let’s not overlook the other Iranian bomb in the works: Iran’s Supreme Leader – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – is going to die.

Khamenei – in power for 25 years – is now 75, and recently had surgery on his prostate. Iran won’t divulge too many details about his health, so we can’t know for certain how long he might Khamenei’s mortality has to shape everything we do with Iran, because little will change there politically so long as he stays in power. When Khamenei dies, there’s a possibility for change, change that the U.S. can at least indirectly influence.

For instance, if Khamenei dies in the wake of stiffening economic sanctions – let alone an attempt by Israel or the U.S. to bomb Iran’s nuclear program into oblivion – then Khamenei will likely be replaced by someone just as bad or even worse. Someone who can get away with still more abuses against the Iranian people in the name of solidarity against the “Great Satan.” Iran will be even more determined to get a nuclear weapon.

And that will prompt Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt to think about developing their own nukes, leading to more worry about nukes being used or falling into the wrong hands.

On the other hand, if Khamenei dies as Iran is being woven into a network of trade that holds out the prospect for the Iranian people – or at least, the ruling elite – to make money, then there’s a better chance that Khamenei will be replaced by someone who behaves differently. Someone who will realize that Iran’s belligerent behavior does more to tear down its future than to build it up.

President Barack Obama’s negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program leave a lot to be desired. But notice that he’s doing basically the same thing as previous presidents: impose sanctions, offer to lift them in exchange for concessions, and engage in sabotage wherever possible (e.g., the Stuxnet virus). There just aren’t a lot of great options. If the Obama administration is flailing, that’s due at least as much to the complexity of the situation as their own incompetence.

There is a monumental political struggle going on in Iran, a struggle that will play out again in February 2016, when elections are held for the clerical bodythat selects Iran’s Supreme Leader. While some of Iran’s leadership is dangerously fanatical, some of it is far more pragmatically self-interested; bombing Iran might seriously undermine their nuclear program, or it might only delay it a year or two; the people of Iran chafe under the theocratic-military dictatorship that mismanages both their economy and their international reputation, but they will rally behind those leaders if they feel backed into a corner.

All of this could tip one way or the other when Khamenei – who turns 76 this July – dies.
Whatever you think of the nuclear deal that’s being proposed, think about whether and how it makes the most of the political change coming to Iran. Because that change may be coming sooner than we think.

Death to America, Death to Khamenei? (Dan 8:5)

Author Marc Benhuri: Nuke Talks to Teeter If Khamenei Dies

Wednesday, 01 Apr 2015 05:15 PM

By Bill Hoffmann

The U.S.-Iran nuclear talks will be thrown into further turmoil with the approaching death of the Ayatollah Khamenei, Iranian author Marc Benhuri tells Newsmax TV.

“All this talk doesn’t matter”Ayatollah Khamenei is terminally ill. He has a cancer that has already spread to his liver and … toward his brain. His days are numbered. It may be two months, maybe less or maybe a little bit more.”Benhuri — author of “Price for Freedom,” published by Dorrance — said Khamenei has appointed Ayatollah Yazdi to review the 12 ayatollahs of the Islamic Counsel and choose a new supreme leader.

But Yazdi may ultimately keep the position for himself.

“He is one of the hardliners, but doesn’t matter. In the history of the world, there is always a tyrant,” Benhuri said.

Benhuri’s remarks came as negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program were extended another day into Thursday.

 

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsmax-Tv/Marc-Benhuri-Khamenei-death-cancer/2015/04/01/id/635858/#ixzz3WANbIxoR

The First Horn Is About To Be Shattered (Daniel 8:7)

Iran’s Khamenei, suffering from cancer, rumored to be in critical condition

AFP
March 5, 2015
Report citing Western intelligence said Khamenei’s doctors give him just two years to live

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is rumored to have been hospitalized in critical condition according to Arabic media reports, just days after a report by Le Figaro stated that doctors had given Khamenei only two years to live.

The report can not be immediately verified but Le Figaro, citing Western intelligence officials, reported Wednesday that the 76-year-old leader, is suffering from stage four prostate cancer which has spread to other parts of his body.

The 75-year-old cleric, who has ruled since the death in 1989 of the Islamic republic’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini underwent prostate surgery in September which official Iranian news said had been successful.

As Iran’s supreme guide, Khamenei has the final word on all matters of state and his authority far exceeds that of the country’s elected politicians, including President Hassan Rouhani.

Khamenei’s powers include direct control of the regime’s media apparatus — through state television and radio — and thus he would have personally taken the decision to publicize his surgery.

Speculation about the leader’s health has previously circled during periods of public silence from him but in recent weeks he has made numerous speeches and public appearances.

Before being appointed as head of state 25 years ago, Khamenei served as president for almost eight years during the Iran-Iraq war.

In 1981, he survived an assassination attempt which left his right arm paralyzed.

Khamenei’s powers in military matters are particularly important, as he can pronounce peace or declare war by mobilising the armed forces of which he is effectively commander-in-chief.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts, comprised of 86 religious figures elected by the people, is responsible for appointing the supreme leader and monitoring his actions.

The head of state is granted an indefinite term but the assembly has the power to dismiss him.
(with AFP)