October surprise?
By Mark Ellis
Reza Khalili, the former member of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, who later became a CIA spy and escaped to the West, says secret negotiations are continuing between the U.S. and Iran that may result in a nuclear deal before the U.S. elections.
Khalili became a Christian in the U.S. after a friend gave him a copy of the JESUS Film and the New Testament.
The deal on the table is this: If Iran agrees to a temporary halt to their uranium enrichment program before the elections, then some of the sanctions on the Iranian central bank and oil industry will be removed, and there will be greater collaboration with the Obama administration after November 6th, Khalili says.
Khalili continues to cultivate high-level contacts within Iran, but won’t divulge his source. “I can’t reveal his place in the government, but he’s very high up, trustworthy, and has direct knowledge of the negotiations,” he notes.
The American and Iranian delegations met in Doha, Qatar October 1st, according to Khalili’s source. “The Iranian side was headed by Ali Akbar Velayati, the former Iranian foreign minister and a close adviser to the supreme leader Khamenei. Velayati is currently being sought by Argentina’s authorities for the Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires that killed 85 innocents in 1994.
“The American team was led by a woman, a representative of the Obama administration, who has been involved with the Democratic Party for a long time,” Khalili says. “She has met many times with Velayati. They know each other and trust each other.”
Both sides could benefit from such a deal. “For the Iranians, this is the right time, right before the elections. They don’t have to suspend their enrichment on a long-term basis. There has been a lot of pressure on the Iranian economy, with recent riots, so it will benefit them if the sanctions are removed.”
“Make no mistake, the Iranians will ask for something very big in return,” Khalili says. “The leaders of Iran are pros at these types of negotiations.”
The bargaining has continued since October 1st. “Now we have to see what the Iranians decide. If they agree to the right price, we will see an announcement,” he says. “Unfortunately, this has put Iran’s leaders in a great position and we are in a begging mode.”Iran’s leaders see themselves in a place where they could influence the outcome of the elections, Khalili observes.
Kahlili is distressed by the broader implications of these developments. “I am heartbroken when any U.S. administration negotiates with the radicals who lead Iran,” he says. “They have an agenda and they see the world through a different lens. They will become more powerful and will jeopardize world peace.”
Sadly, the people in the streets are caught up in the high-stakes geopolitical maneuvering. “The Iranians are hurting; the majority of the Iranians want change.”
Kahlili teaches at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy (JCITA), is a senior fellow with EMPact America and a member of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security. He is the author of “A Time to Betray,” a book about his double life as a CIA agent in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. “A Time to Betray” was the winner of the 2010 National Best Book Award, and the 2011 International Best Book Award. The book is set to become a movie.
Read Reza Khalili’s Christian testimony here
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