Washington Post reports: “It took months of arduous bargaining before Iran and six world powers could agree on a first-step nuclear deal. But the two sides may find the going even tougher Tuesday, when they start to confront hurdles standing in the path of a final accord.”

GARETH PORTER, porter.gareth50 at gmail.com, @GarethPorter
Porter is an investigative journalist and author of the just-released book Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. He said today: “The narrative surrounding the Iran nuclear issue has been false from the beginning. The Bush administration, in close coordination with Israel, used the International Atomic Energy Agency and falsified documents to create a pretext for possible war and eventually for crippling sanctions against Iran.

“I show in my book for the first time the full story behind a set of documents said to have come from within a covert Iranian nuclear weapons program. It shows that the documents were delivered by a member of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq terrorist organization, which had worked very closely with Israel — a fact that has been hidden from the public for a decade.

“The Obama administration has introduced the subject of ‘posssible military dimensions’ into the nuclear negotiations that will begin Tuesday. That means that the United States will be demanding an explanation for ‘evidence’ that the book shows was fabricated. That is a decision that could threaten the conclusion of a final agreement with Iran.”

The book Manufactured Crisis is having its New York launch on Tuesday. February 18 from 10:30 to noon in the Hardin Room of the Church Center for the UN, at 777 UN Plaza (44th St. and 1st Avenue).