#Jim Lubell

[lignes2frappe]

TRUE RELIGION, LA MARQUE DE JEANS QUE PLUS AUCUN RAPPEUR NE PORTE

10 mai 2013. True Religion Apparel Inc. confirme officiellement son rachat par la firme d’investissement TowerBrook Capital Partners pour la somme astronomique de 835 millions de dollars !

À titre de comparaison, quand, en 2007, Jay Z a conclu le plus gros deal l’histoire du rap en revendant sa marque de fringues Rocawear, le montant de la transaction n’était « que » de 204 millions de dollars.

Bien connu du milieu de la mode pour avoir par le passé déjà pris le contrôle de Jimmy Choo, Odlo ou Phase Eight, TowerBrook Capital Partners n’a évidemment pas agi sur un coup de tête. À l’instant T, True Religion n��est en effet pas juste une marque de plus en vogue, c’est LA marque en vogue.

Son logo en forme de Bouddha qui joue de la guitare acoustique et ses fers à cheval brodés sur les poches arrière de ses jeans sont depuis quelques saisons omniprésents dans les garde-robes des célébrités, que ce soit chez les habituées des tabloïds (Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan…), les acteurs et les actrices (Gwyneth Paltrow, Bruce Willis, toute la distribution de la série Desperate Housewives…), ainsi que l’entièreté du rap mainstream (Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Future, Jim Jones et les Black Eyed Peas l’ont citée dans leurs textes, Chief Keef lui a dédié l’hymne True Religion Fein, 2 Chainz a carrément intitulé l’une de ses mixtapes T.R.U. REALigion et a fait de l’ad lib « TRUUU » sa carte de visite…).

Surfant sur cette hype sans précédent, True Religion a triplé son chiffre d’affaires de 2007 à 2012, allant jusqu’à générer 490 millions de dollars par an.

L’avenir s’annonçait donc des plus radieux, la success story semblant même n’en être qu’à ses prémisses.

Ou pour citer Lynne Koplin, fraîchement nommée présidente directrice générale : « Cet investissement de TowerBrook nous permettra de maintenir notre leadership sur le marché sur le long terme. Le prochain chapitre de notre histoire sera, nous n’en doutons pas, des plus fructueux, tant pour nos employés que pour nos clients et nos actionnaires. »

Sauf que bon, la suite ne s’est pas spécialement déroulée comme prévu. Banqueroutes, fermetures, restructurations… ce fut même tout l’inverse qui s’est produit, et ce, en quelques années à peine.

Comment ? Pourquoi ? Pour tout comprendre sur cet incroyable retournement de situation, reprenons tout depuis le début.

Tomber pour mieux se relever

New York, fin des années 90. Jeffrey Lubell, la quarantaine joyeuse, « mec rock’n’roll » fan des Grateful Dead, des Rolling Stones et de Joni Mitchell, commence à se dire, après avoir passé deux décennies à bosser pour d’autres dans l’industrie de la mode, qu’il serait temps qu’il se mette à son compte.

Il convainc sa femme Kymberly de sauter le pas, et quelques mois plus tard, le couple crée deux marques de jeans, Bella Dahl et Jefri Jeans. Leur relative inexpérience dans l’entreprenariat leur vaut toutefois de connaître de sérieuses difficultés financières, tant et si bien que très vite ils se font racheter par un duo d’investisseurs, Kerry et Steve Jolna.

Pas découragé pour autant, Jeffrey décide de rebondir en 2000 en utilisant une partie des fonds mis à leur disposition pour fonder une nouvelle marque, Hippie Jeans. Les frères Jolna ne l’entendent cependant pas de cette oreille et poursuivent les deux tourtereaux en justice pour rupture de contrat, concurrence illégale et infraction à la propriété intellectuelle.

Kym et Jeffrey contre-attaquent, s’estimant injustement dépossédés de « leurs enfants ». S’ensuivent deux années de procédure judiciaire qui se terminent le 28 janvier 2002 par la victoire des frères Jolna.

Qu’à cela ne tienne, les Lubell en ont encore sous le pied et émigrent en Californie, des rêves plein la tête.

« Avec mes deux précédentes marques, j’ai fait des erreurs » admettra Jeffrey. « En repartant à zéro, je me suis dit que je préférais tout faire moi-même plutôt que de me taper un partenaire qui, parce qu’il a investi de l’argent, se permet d’avoir un avis sur tout. »

Le couple met ainsi sur pied la société de gestion Guru Denim Inc., une structure qui va leur permettre de lancer en décembre 2002 une nouvelle marque qui n’appartient qu’à eux, True Religion.

La religion du jean

Très vite, les différentes pièces du puzzle se mettent en place.

Jeffrey et Kym Lubell déposent leurs valises dans la petite ville de Manhattan Beach (35 000 habitants), recrutent un designer et un chargé de production, et se mettent sans plus attendre à l’ouvrage.

Leur credo ? Des jeans, encore des jeans, toujours des jeans.

« La seule vraie religion dans le monde, ce sont les gens. Et partout dans le monde, les gens portent des jeans. À nous de nous concentrer sur la coupe, la qualité et le style pour qu’hommes et femmes se sentent le mieux possible dedans. »

Pour atteindre cet objectif, True Religion mise d’entrée de jeu sur le premium avec des jeans coûtant entre 170 et 300 dollars – des prix particulièrement élevés pour l’époque, très éloignés de ceux proposés par la concurrence.

Jeffrey Lubell n’en a cure. Ce qui compte pour lui, c’est d’abord la qualité du produit. Le reste ne vient qu’après.

« Si vous voulez acheter du pas cher, allez chez Wal-Mart ou chez Target » s’agace-t-il.

Outre la qualité du tissu vendu comme supérieur, et de surcroît « made in USA », l’idée est que le consommateur bénéficie d’un produit reconnaissable au premier coup d’œil.

Il y a donc ces coutures très épaisses, les fers à cheval, et bien sûr, le fameux Bouddha « World tour » qui apporte une touche new age à l’ensemble.

L’un dans l’autre, True Religion c’est le textile un peu cool, un peu vintage, un peu cowboy, qui s’adresse à tous les imaginaires.

La formule plaît, et en moins de deux ans, les résultats se font spectaculaires.

Le monde chico

Après une année 2003 confidentielle (2,4 millions de dollars de ventes assortis d’un léger déficit), True religion éclot réellement en 2004 (27,6 millions de dollars de ventes, 4,2 millions de bénéfices), avant d’exploser en 2005 grâce à une série de deals à l’international. Distribué au Japon, au Canada, en Italie, en Allemagne, en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande, ses ventes dépassent la barre des 100 millions de dollars, tandis que son bénéfice frôle les 20 millions de dollars !

Adoubé dans la presse spé (Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar…), True Religion débarque dans la cour des grands et commence à vendre ses vêtements dans les chaînes les plus prestigieuses du pays afin de capitaliser sur son côté élitiste (Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales…).

Sa progression ne s’arrête toutefois pas là.

Après l’inauguration d’un premier magasin dans son fief de Manhattan Beach en 2005, fort de ses moyens nouveaux, True Religion inaugure une politique d’expansion des plus agressives : quatre ans plus tard, la marque possède plus de 100 points de ventes répartis aux quatre coins du globe.

Mieux, chacun de ces magasins participe à renforcer son identité avec un décor là encore immédiatement reconnaissable : des boiseries partout, du plancher et une ambiance mi-zen, mi-saloon.

Brillant de mille feux au début des années 10, True Religion se permet non seulement de regarder droit dans les yeux tous les gros noms du denim (G-Star, Diesel, Levis Strauss…), mais peut à terme raisonnablement espérer de tous les dépasser.

« Toute personne sur Terre un brin dans le coup est un client potentiel de True Religion » résume Jeffrey Lubell.

Les premiers nuages, puis la tempête

Si en public l’ambiance est à la fête, en coulisse plusieurs voyants se mettent à clignoter, à commencer par le divorce de Jeffrey et Kym en 2007 après 20 ans de vie commune (le départ de Kym quelques mois plus tard scellera la fin d’une époque), ou en 2009 l’échec de True Religion à pénétrer le marché asiatique malgré des investissements conséquents.

Rien d’extrêmement alarmant en soi, si ce n’est qu’un vent d’inquiétude commence à se faire sentir lorsqu’en 2011, pour la première fois de son histoire, les profits ne progressent pas aussi rapidement que l’année précédente.

Désireux de rester dans une bonne dynamique, investisseurs et actionnaires poussent le président Mike Egeck au départ. C’est malheureusement l’effet inverse qui va se produire.

Résolument opposé à ce licenciement, Jeffrey Lubell rentre en guerre avec ces derniers. Toujours plus branché mode que business, comme avec les frères Jolna, il est défait.

Non reconduit à son poste de directeur de la création en 2012, il quitte la compagnie – en échange cette fois d’un package de six millions de dollars en guise de lot de consolation.

Lynne Koplin est ensuite nommée directrice générale par intérim. Un an plus tard, TowerBrook Capital Partners entre dans la danse.

L’ironie de la chose, et la cause du drame qui s’annonce, c’est qu’en dépit du départ de ses fondateurs et des velléités réformatrices affichées, True Religion s’arrime à la formule qui a fait son succès depuis bientôt une décennie.

Dans un univers de la mode en proie à un changement drastique des tendances et des comportements, cet immobilisme ne pardonne pas.

Concurrencé par le pas cher (la fast fashion) et le confortable (le sportswear), True Religion est en sus attaqué sur son propre terrain, celui des jeans à plusieurs centaines de dollars, par l’avènement des « luxury brands » à la Balenciaga, Fear of God & Co.

Pire, engoncé dans ses veilles pratiques, True Religion néglige complètement le virage du e-commerce avec un site internet et un marketing d’un autre âge – en 2010, les commandes en ligne généraient moins de 3% de son chiffre d’affaires…

Résultat, en quelques années, c’est tout l’édifice qui s’effondre.

Déficitaire à hauteur de 78 millions de dollars rien que sur 2016, True Religion cumule un total de 471 millions de dollars de dettes (!) et n’a d’autre choix que de se déclarer en faillite à l’été 2017.

Le grand huit

Contre toute attente, le move s’avère particulièrement réussi.

Désireux de sauver le navire, TowerBrook revend la quasi-totalité de ses actions pour injecter un maximum de liquidités dans la machine, tandis qu’un nouveau partenaire entre danse, la banque Citizens, qui investit une centaine de millions de dollars.

Réduite à 120 millions de dollars, la dette est rééchelonnée jusqu’en 2022.

Bien que pas encore sorti d’affaire, True Religion évite de mettre la clef sous la porte.

Pas de chance, l’épidémie de Covid-19 stoppe net cette belle dynamique. Le ralentissement global de l’économie lui vaut d’enregistrer 50 nouveaux millions de pertes en 2019. Pour la seconde fois, True Religion connaît les affres de la banqueroute en avril 2020.

Ce coup du sort amorce cependant la vraie renaissance de la marque.

Nommé à la tête de la société en octobre 2019 après avoir servi comme cadre entre 2006 et 2010, Michael Buckle opère cette fois un véritable changement de cap. Conscient que jouer la carte de la nostalgie n’est pas suffisant, il opte pour une baisse drastique des prix et un renouveau des designs.

« Il était impératif pour nous d’écouter ce que nos clients avaient à nous dire. Ce qu’ils voulaient, d’où ils venaient, ce qui les intéressaient. À partir de là, il a fallu nous repositionner. Oui, True Religion est vendu moins cher qu’il y a dix ans, mais la marque n’a pas pour autant perdu sa symbolique. »

C’est d’ailleurs dans cette optique de concilier le présent et le passé que True Religion s’est offert en 2021 une collaboration qui a beaucoup fait parler avec Supreme, puis a célébré cette année en grande pompe son vingtième anniversaire en faisant poser Chief Keef dans ses publicités.

Réchappé in extremis du club des ringards à la Juicy Couture et Ed Hardy, True Religion s’enorgueillit désormais d’un chiffre d’affaires qui flirte avec les 200 millions de dollars.

Certes, chacun pensera ce qu’il voudra des récentes collections que beaucoup qualifient de merguez, certes, les chiffres ne sont pas ceux des années fastes, mais Michael Buckle préfère voir le verre à moitié plein.

« Ce que nous voulons, c’est peser 500 millions par an d’ici à quatre ans. Rien ne nous interdira ensuite de devenir une marque qui pèse un milliard. »

Qui sait, rappeurs et célébrités se laisseront peut-être tenter de renfiler les tonnes de jeans qui dorment dans leurs placards depuis dix ans ?

Publié initialement sur Booska-p.com le 30 décembre 2022.

[alieseocarner-blog]

Create a Healthy and Stunning Place with Top-Notch Landscape Design & Installation Services

Welcome to Aspen Patio Covers, we are the leading Aspen Landscaping & Construction Company specializing in offering top-notch and cutting-edge Landscape Design & Installation Services in Central Valley, CA to suit your landscape and construction needs. With a decade of working experience in the home improvement industry, we specialize in Solid Patio Covers, Lattice Patio Covers and Solara Patio Covers.

Jim Lubell, a member of California Landscape Contractors Association, has specialities in patio covers and stamped concrete. Serving the Central Valley and surrounding communities, Jim Lubell has built his business on craftsmanship, honesty and full customer satisfaction.  

When you want an outdoor living area shielded from the sun, snow, rain, or other elements, let patio cover is a number one choice. We offer a comprehensive range of top quality and durability products that are highly inventive in terms of both structure and product design. Our patio covers provide a standard and classic style to your outdoor living space to extend your home into the outdoors. Our network of large scale trained contractors applies professionalism from start to finish.

Aspen Landscaping provides a wide array of landscape and construction services including Residential design and installation, Stamped colored concrete, Commercial design and installation, Custom yard and garden design, Artificial turf, Sod and seeded lawns, Irrigation systems, Landscape accent lighting, Custom patios and barbeques, Decks, Patio covers, Ponds and waterfalls, Motorized security gates and Retaining walls, at an unbeatable price.

If you are searching for Aluminum Patio Covers in Lathrop, Artificial Turf in Manteca, Metal Patio Cover in Salida, Patio Covers in Lod, Shade Cover in Elk Grove, Shade Structures in Lathrop and Solid Patio Covers in Elk Grove, you have come to the right place. When you decide to work with Aspen Patio Covers, you are choosing a company that will be here for you at all times. Give us a call today at 209-462-2000 or visit us at one of our locations in Lodi, Stockton, Galt, Manteca, Tracy, Ripon, Salida, Elk Grove and the California central valley.

[marviinmelton]

This summer’s most inspiring design books

Summer is a time for creative renewal, and for many of us, that means new books. 2018’s most exciting new design books have something for everyone, whether you just want to peruse coffee table eye candy or you finally have time to pore over the essays you didn’t have a chance to read during the winter. We’ve compiled some of the most compelling new and forthcoming releases, from significant design research to pure, unadulterated fun. Find the first 10 titles below, and stay tuned for part two.

Architects’ Houses

By Michael Webb

[Cover Image: Princeton Architectural Press]

What happens when an architect becomes his or her own client? That’s the premise of the projects in Architects’ Houses, which looks at the stories behind homes designed by architects for themselves. Take the husband and wife team, Antón Gargía-Abril and Débora Mesa, whose studio spent more than a year on structural calculations for their remarkable balancing act of a home. When the architect is in the driver’s seat, the typical process–and timeline–for finishing a house can easily go out the window. Often, that’s what makes these buildings so worthy of our attention.

$41.82 on Amazon

California Captured

By Marvin Rand, Emily Bills, Sam Lubell, and Pierluigi Serraino

[Cover Image: Phaidon]

Marvin Rand is the most famous architectural photographer you’ve never heard of. Like his better-known peer Julius Shulman, Rand chronicled the aspirational architecture of mid-20th century California, but his work remained largely unknown until 2012, when journalist Sam Lubell discovered an archive of more than 50,000 of the photographer’s negatives and transparencies. California Captured (Phaidon) showcases nearly 250 of these images. Sleek, single-family homes by architects such as Richard Neutra, Craig Ellwood, and John Lautner figure prominently, in addition to Googie landmarks like the Theme Building at LAX and Tiny Naylor’s drive-through–all rendered in Rand’s crisp, unfussy style.

$40.19 on Amazon

California Crazy: American Pop Architecture

By Jim Heimann

[Cover Image: Taschen]

Almost 40 years ago, Jim Heimann published a book called California Crazy. It brought the state’s folly-filled pop architecture to the mainstream, documenting its theme parks, fast-food stands, and roadside buildings. In June, the book is being republished anew. It still features page after page of rich, archival photos of countless SoCal typologies–from buildings shaped like pumpkins, cameras, and ice cream cones, to studio sets and faux castles. But Heimann also reflects on what makes California such fertile ground for architectural experimentation and the “dicey business” of preservation, including how the first edition inspired new research into many of these formerly obscure structures (some of which no longer exist). Here’s hoping that the 40-year-update will become a regular thing.

$60 preorder on Amazon.

Coffee Lids: Peel, Pinch, Pucker, Puncture

By Louise Harpman and Scott Specht

[Cover Image: Princeton Architectural Press]

Did you know the Smithsonian has more than 50 coffee cup lids in its permanent collection? Thanks to the work of architects Louise Harpman and Scott Specht, who have been collecting lids for years, this form of “invisible” design will be preserved forever. The duo’s new book about the typology, titled simply Coffee Lids, is a glimpse into the depthless variation and ingenuity of an object that few people have ever even considered. “Looking something as simple as a humble coffee lid is an entry into that conversation,” Harpman told Co.Design‘s Katharine Schwab, “to slow down, take notice, wonder, ask questions–what is that, how is it made, who designed it?”

$18.08 on Amazon.

How To Make Repeat Patterns: A Guide for Designers, Architects and Artists 

By Paul Jackson

[Cover Image: Laurence King Publishing]

Channel your inner M.C. Escher with How To Make Repeat Patterns (Laurence King). The guide, by paper artist Paul Jackson, reveals the rules of symmetry that undergird complex patterns and offers tips for producing your own designs, whether for wallpaper, architectural facades, or digital products.

$24.33 on Amazon

Inside North Korea

By Oliver Wainwright

[Cover Image: Taschen]

The humans in Oliver Wainwright’s photos of North Korean buildings look like scale models: Tiny figures, invariably dressed in drab tones, that serve only to underline the yawning size and shimmering jewel-tones of Pyongyang’s architecture. “It looks as if someone has emptied a packet of candy across the city, sugary pastilles jumbled up with jelly spaceships,” writes Wainwright, the Guardian architecture critic who visited the country on a tour in 2015, when he shot the photos in this Taschen tome that will be released in August. Unlike most accounts of the city, Inside North Korea (Taschen) offers a thoughtful analysis of Pyongyang’s urban history, situating its widely photographed architecture in context with the Kim dynasty and the way it seeks to articulate its goals through building. It’s sobering, and mesmerizing, at the same time.

$60 preorder on Amazon.

Lorna Simpson Collages

By Lorna Simpson

[Cover Image: Chronicle Books]

The collages in this monograph are a revelation. Artist Lorna Simpson takes models from vintage Ebony and Jet ads and gives them elaborate new hairstyles, using ink washes, geological formations, and other mysterious imagery. The book features 160 artworks that, together, form a meditation on the language of hair and black identity. As poet Elizabeth Alexander writes in the introduction: “The repetitions in these images suggest that we are thought of by some as a dime a dozen: undervalued, yes, but also, abundant. Black women are everywhere glorious and unsung.”

$29.95 preorder on Amazon.

Shakespeare Dwelling: Designs for the Theater of Life

By Julia Reinhard Lupton

[Cover Image: University of Chicago Press]

This inventive book by an English and comparative literature professor at UC Irvine examines the spaces that bring Shakespeare’s tales to life. Author Julia Reinhard Lupton analyzes dwellings in five classic works–Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Pericles, Cymbeline, and The Winter’s Tale–and draws on theory from the likes of Martin Heidegger and Don Norman to offer insight into everything from “the ethics of habitation and hospitality” to “the literary dimensions of design.”

$27.50 on Amazon.

Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours: Adapted to Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Anatomy, and the Arts

By Patrick Syme and Abraham Gottlob Werner

[Cover Image: Smithsonian Books]

Skimmed-milk white. Arterial blood red. Celandine green. In the 19th century, naturalists were struggling to standardize the colors they observed in nature–without the utility of post-Industrial Revolution digital precision of CMYK or RGB. Werner’s Nomenclature Of Colours, published in 1814, gave scientists, artists, and naturalists a common language to talk about color–even Darwin famously used the color dictionary on his travels. This spring, the Smithsonian re-released the book in a small, pocket-sized version, perfect for travelers or anyone who spends time outdoors. It’s an evocative creative document–and a lovely antidote to life lived online.

$13.46 on Amazon.

Women Design

By Libby Sellers

[Cover Image: Frances Lincoln]

Women Design (Frances Lincoln) assumes the Herculean task of highlighting women’s contributions to design–including architecture, industrial design, digital design, and graphics–from the 20th century to the present day. It has no business being just 176 pages, but author Libby Sellers, a prominent British gallerist and curator, manages to pack a wealth of information in profiles of 21 women designers. Historic pioneers such as Denise Scott Brown, Ray Eames, and Lella Vignelli get their due, as well as contemporary stars like Neri Oxman, Patricia Urquiola, and Kazuyo Sejima. “Women have always been, and remain, a significant part of the design profession,” Sellers writes. “…Yet, if asked to name the design world’s greats, most people would produce a list of predominantly male names.” This book attempts to correct the narrative, and it tells some rollicking stories along the way. Be sure to check out the section on the “Damsels of Design,” a group of women industrial designers GM hired to address what a 1957 press release described as “woman driver��s problems” like “anything in cars that might snag their nylons.”

$30 preorder on Amazon.

This summer’s most inspiring design books published first on https://petrotekb.tumblr.com/

[dani-qrt]

Pushing to bury Iran deal, Israel says no one wants war with Tehran

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israel said on Tuesday it does not seek war with Iran and suggested U.S. President Donald Trump backed Israel’s latest attempt to kill the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by disclosing purported evidence of past Iranian nuclear arms work.

A senior Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had informed Trump at a March 5 meeting about alleged evidence seized by Israel in what Netanyahu on Monday presented as a “great intelligence achievement”.

U.S. and Israeli officials said the information showed Iran had lied about its past work to develop nuclear arms but intelligence experts said there was no smoking gun showing that Tehran had violated the nuclear deal under which it curbed its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

Tehran, which denies ever pursuing nuclear weapons, dismissed Netanyahu as “the boy who cried wolf,” and called his presentation propaganda.

Trump agreed at the March meeting that Israel would publish the information before May 12, the day he is due to decide whether the United States should quit the nuclear deal with Iran, an adversary of both countries, the Israeli official said.

Word of the consultations between Trump and Netanyahu serves to underscore perceptions of a coordinated bid by both leaders to bury the international agreement, which Trump has called “horrible” and Netanyahu has termed “terrible.”

Others briefed on the material in March included Mike Pompeo, who was then CIA director and is now secretary of state; Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and former White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, a former U.S. official said.

DEADLINE LOOMS

Trump gave Britain, France and Germany a May 12 deadline to fix what he views as the deal’s flaws – its failure to address Iran’s ballistic missile program, the terms by which inspectors visit suspect Iranian sites, and “sunset” clauses under which some of its terms expire – or he will reimpose U.S. sanctions.

Trump has yet to say whether he will withdraw from it.

While nonproliferation experts and a U.S. official said it was clear Netanyahu wanted to undermine the deal, they said Trump could also choose to use the Israeli information to demand deeper inspections of Iran’s nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has the right under the 2015 deal to seek access to suspect Iranian sites and the Israeli claims could provide it a roadmap.

Olli Heinonen, a former IAEA deputy director, said the purported records seized by Israel appeared to show Iran failed to disclose all aspects of its nuclear weapons program to the agency as required by the Iran nuclear deal.

“They were supposed to tell everything to the IAEA,” he said. “Now I have to raise the question: did they really comply with these requirements? The IAEA has to go back to see how far they really got in this program and was it really stopped.”

The U.S. intelligence community and the IAEA have previously concluded that Iran, despite its denials, had a nuclear weapons program that it largely stopped in 2003, although some activities continued. In December 2015, the IAEA said it had no indications any such activities took place in Iran after 2009.

Israeli officials on Monday briefed nonproliferation experts about the material they say they seized but did not say whether they believed it proved Iran had violated the nuclear deal, several people familiar with the briefing told Reuters.

‘FALSE PRETENSES’

In his televised presentation, Netanyahu said Israel had obtained tens of thousands of pages of what he described as Iran’s “secret atomic archives” from what looked from the outside to be a dilapidated Tehran warehouse.

The senior Israeli official said Israel knew about the Iranian archive for a year, got hold of it in February and informed Trump about it at a meeting in Washington on March 5.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters that the Israeli announcement offered proof that the Iran deal was made “under false pretenses” as Trump decides whether to withdraw the United States.

“The president has been very clear that he thinks the deal is one of the worst that we’ve ever seen and we’ll keep you posted on when he has made a final decision,” she said.

On Tuesday Netanyahu told CNN that “nobody” sought a conflict with the Islamic Republic, a prospect seen by some as a possible result of the deal’s collapse.

Asked if Israel is prepared to go to war with Tehran, Netanyahu said: “Nobody’s seeking that kind of development. Iran is the one that’s changing the rules in the region.”

But Netanyahu’s presentation said the evidence showed Iran lied going into the deal, a landmark agreement seen by Trump as flawed but by European powers as vital to allaying concerns that Iran could one day develop nuclear bombs.

Iranian officials rejected the Israeli claims.

“We warn the Zionist regime and its allies to stop their plots and dangerous behaviours or they will face Iran’s surprising and firm response,” Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Tasnim on Tuesday. Hatami called Netanyahu’s accusations “baseless”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference at the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a series of tweets on Tuesday, said the information disclosed by Israel was proof of why the agreement should be retained.

“There was no negotiation – and all of that changed with (the deal). Blow up the deal and you’re back there tomorrow!” said Kerry, who negotiated the pact.

Writing by Maayan Lubell and Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, François Murphy in Vienna, Mark Heinrich in London, Alastair Macdonald in Brussels, Bozorgmehr Sharefedin in London and Steve Holland, John Walcott and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by William Maclean and James Dalgleish

The post Pushing to bury Iran deal, Israel says no one wants war with Tehran appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2rexNKd via Online News

[newestbalance]

Pushing to bury Iran deal, Israel says no one wants war with Tehran

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israel said on Tuesday it does not seek war with Iran and suggested U.S. President Donald Trump backed Israel’s latest attempt to kill the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by disclosing purported evidence of past Iranian nuclear arms work.

A senior Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had informed Trump at a March 5 meeting about alleged evidence seized by Israel in what Netanyahu on Monday presented as a “great intelligence achievement”.

U.S. and Israeli officials said the information showed Iran had lied about its past work to develop nuclear arms but intelligence experts said there was no smoking gun showing that Tehran had violated the nuclear deal under which it curbed its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

Tehran, which denies ever pursuing nuclear weapons, dismissed Netanyahu as “the boy who cried wolf,” and called his presentation propaganda.

Trump agreed at the March meeting that Israel would publish the information before May 12, the day he is due to decide whether the United States should quit the nuclear deal with Iran, an adversary of both countries, the Israeli official said.

Word of the consultations between Trump and Netanyahu serves to underscore perceptions of a coordinated bid by both leaders to bury the international agreement, which Trump has called “horrible” and Netanyahu has termed “terrible.”

Others briefed on the material in March included Mike Pompeo, who was then CIA director and is now secretary of state; Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and former White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, a former U.S. official said.

DEADLINE LOOMS

Trump gave Britain, France and Germany a May 12 deadline to fix what he views as the deal’s flaws – its failure to address Iran’s ballistic missile program, the terms by which inspectors visit suspect Iranian sites, and “sunset” clauses under which some of its terms expire – or he will reimpose U.S. sanctions.

Trump has yet to say whether he will withdraw from it.

While nonproliferation experts and a U.S. official said it was clear Netanyahu wanted to undermine the deal, they said Trump could also choose to use the Israeli information to demand deeper inspections of Iran’s nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has the right under the 2015 deal to seek access to suspect Iranian sites and the Israeli claims could provide it a roadmap.

Olli Heinonen, a former IAEA deputy director, said the purported records seized by Israel appeared to show Iran failed to disclose all aspects of its nuclear weapons program to the agency as required by the Iran nuclear deal.

“They were supposed to tell everything to the IAEA,” he said. “Now I have to raise the question: did they really comply with these requirements? The IAEA has to go back to see how far they really got in this program and was it really stopped.”

The U.S. intelligence community and the IAEA have previously concluded that Iran, despite its denials, had a nuclear weapons program that it largely stopped in 2003, although some activities continued. In December 2015, the IAEA said it had no indications any such activities took place in Iran after 2009.

Israeli officials on Monday briefed nonproliferation experts about the material they say they seized but did not say whether they believed it proved Iran had violated the nuclear deal, several people familiar with the briefing told Reuters.

‘FALSE PRETENSES’

In his televised presentation, Netanyahu said Israel had obtained tens of thousands of pages of what he described as Iran’s “secret atomic archives” from what looked from the outside to be a dilapidated Tehran warehouse.

The senior Israeli official said Israel knew about the Iranian archive for a year, got hold of it in February and informed Trump about it at a meeting in Washington on March 5.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters that the Israeli announcement offered proof that the Iran deal was made “under false pretenses” as Trump decides whether to withdraw the United States.

“The president has been very clear that he thinks the deal is one of the worst that we’ve ever seen and we’ll keep you posted on when he has made a final decision,” she said.

On Tuesday Netanyahu told CNN that “nobody” sought a conflict with the Islamic Republic, a prospect seen by some as a possible result of the deal’s collapse.

Asked if Israel is prepared to go to war with Tehran, Netanyahu said: “Nobody’s seeking that kind of development. Iran is the one that’s changing the rules in the region.”

But Netanyahu’s presentation said the evidence showed Iran lied going into the deal, a landmark agreement seen by Trump as flawed but by European powers as vital to allaying concerns that Iran could one day develop nuclear bombs.

Iranian officials rejected the Israeli claims.

“We warn the Zionist regime and its allies to stop their plots and dangerous behaviours or they will face Iran’s surprising and firm response,” Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Tasnim on Tuesday. Hatami called Netanyahu’s accusations “baseless”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference at the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a series of tweets on Tuesday, said the information disclosed by Israel was proof of why the agreement should be retained.

“There was no negotiation – and all of that changed with (the deal). Blow up the deal and you’re back there tomorrow!” said Kerry, who negotiated the pact.

Writing by Maayan Lubell and Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, François Murphy in Vienna, Mark Heinrich in London, Alastair Macdonald in Brussels, Bozorgmehr Sharefedin in London and Steve Holland, John Walcott and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by William Maclean and James Dalgleish

The post Pushing to bury Iran deal, Israel says no one wants war with Tehran appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2rexNKd via Everyday News

[cleopatrarps]

Pushing to bury Iran deal, Israel says no one wants war with Tehran

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israel said on Tuesday it does not seek war with Iran and suggested U.S. President Donald Trump backed Israel’s latest attempt to kill the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by disclosing purported evidence of past Iranian nuclear arms work.

A senior Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had informed Trump at a March 5 meeting about alleged evidence seized by Israel in what Netanyahu on Monday presented as a “great intelligence achievement”.

U.S. and Israeli officials said the information showed Iran had lied about its past work to develop nuclear arms but intelligence experts said there was no smoking gun showing that Tehran had violated the nuclear deal under which it curbed its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

Tehran, which denies ever pursuing nuclear weapons, dismissed Netanyahu as “the boy who cried wolf,” and called his presentation propaganda.

Trump agreed at the March meeting that Israel would publish the information before May 12, the day he is due to decide whether the United States should quit the nuclear deal with Iran, an adversary of both countries, the Israeli official said.

Word of the consultations between Trump and Netanyahu serves to underscore perceptions of a coordinated bid by both leaders to bury the international agreement, which Trump has called “horrible” and Netanyahu has termed “terrible.”

Others briefed on the material in March included Mike Pompeo, who was then CIA director and is now secretary of state; Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and former White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, a former U.S. official said.

DEADLINE LOOMS

Trump gave Britain, France and Germany a May 12 deadline to fix what he views as the deal’s flaws – its failure to address Iran’s ballistic missile program, the terms by which inspectors visit suspect Iranian sites, and “sunset” clauses under which some of its terms expire – or he will reimpose U.S. sanctions.

Trump has yet to say whether he will withdraw from it.

While nonproliferation experts and a U.S. official said it was clear Netanyahu wanted to undermine the deal, they said Trump could also choose to use the Israeli information to demand deeper inspections of Iran’s nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has the right under the 2015 deal to seek access to suspect Iranian sites and the Israeli claims could provide it a roadmap.

Olli Heinonen, a former IAEA deputy director, said the purported records seized by Israel appeared to show Iran failed to disclose all aspects of its nuclear weapons program to the agency as required by the Iran nuclear deal.

“They were supposed to tell everything to the IAEA,” he said. “Now I have to raise the question: did they really comply with these requirements? The IAEA has to go back to see how far they really got in this program and was it really stopped.”

The U.S. intelligence community and the IAEA have previously concluded that Iran, despite its denials, had a nuclear weapons program that it largely stopped in 2003, although some activities continued. In December 2015, the IAEA said it had no indications any such activities took place in Iran after 2009.

Israeli officials on Monday briefed nonproliferation experts about the material they say they seized but did not say whether they believed it proved Iran had violated the nuclear deal, several people familiar with the briefing told Reuters.

‘FALSE PRETENSES’

In his televised presentation, Netanyahu said Israel had obtained tens of thousands of pages of what he described as Iran’s “secret atomic archives” from what looked from the outside to be a dilapidated Tehran warehouse.

The senior Israeli official said Israel knew about the Iranian archive for a year, got hold of it in February and informed Trump about it at a meeting in Washington on March 5.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters that the Israeli announcement offered proof that the Iran deal was made “under false pretenses” as Trump decides whether to withdraw the United States.

“The president has been very clear that he thinks the deal is one of the worst that we’ve ever seen and we’ll keep you posted on when he has made a final decision,” she said.

On Tuesday Netanyahu told CNN that “nobody” sought a conflict with the Islamic Republic, a prospect seen by some as a possible result of the deal’s collapse.

Asked if Israel is prepared to go to war with Tehran, Netanyahu said: “Nobody’s seeking that kind of development. Iran is the one that’s changing the rules in the region.”

But Netanyahu’s presentation said the evidence showed Iran lied going into the deal, a landmark agreement seen by Trump as flawed but by European powers as vital to allaying concerns that Iran could one day develop nuclear bombs.

Iranian officials rejected the Israeli claims.

“We warn the Zionist regime and its allies to stop their plots and dangerous behaviours or they will face Iran’s surprising and firm response,” Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Tasnim on Tuesday. Hatami called Netanyahu’s accusations “baseless”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference at the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a series of tweets on Tuesday, said the information disclosed by Israel was proof of why the agreement should be retained.

“There was no negotiation – and all of that changed with (the deal). Blow up the deal and you’re back there tomorrow!” said Kerry, who negotiated the pact.

Writing by Maayan Lubell and Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, François Murphy in Vienna, Mark Heinrich in London, Alastair Macdonald in Brussels, Bozorgmehr Sharefedin in London and Steve Holland, John Walcott and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by William Maclean and James Dalgleish

The post Pushing to bury Iran deal, Israel says no one wants war with Tehran appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2rexNKd via News of World

[party-hard-or-die]

Pushing to bury Iran deal, Israel says no one wants war with Tehran

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israel said on Tuesday it does not seek war with Iran and suggested U.S. President Donald Trump backed Israel’s latest attempt to kill the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by disclosing purported evidence of past Iranian nuclear arms work.

A senior Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had informed Trump at a March 5 meeting about alleged evidence seized by Israel in what Netanyahu on Monday presented as a “great intelligence achievement”.

U.S. and Israeli officials said the information showed Iran had lied about its past work to develop nuclear arms but intelligence experts said there was no smoking gun showing that Tehran had violated the nuclear deal under which it curbed its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

Tehran, which denies ever pursuing nuclear weapons, dismissed Netanyahu as “the boy who cried wolf,” and called his presentation propaganda.

Trump agreed at the March meeting that Israel would publish the information before May 12, the day he is due to decide whether the United States should quit the nuclear deal with Iran, an adversary of both countries, the Israeli official said.

Word of the consultations between Trump and Netanyahu serves to underscore perceptions of a coordinated bid by both leaders to bury the international agreement, which Trump has called “horrible” and Netanyahu has termed “terrible.”

Others briefed on the material in March included Mike Pompeo, who was then CIA director and is now secretary of state; Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and former White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, a former U.S. official said.

DEADLINE LOOMS

Trump gave Britain, France and Germany a May 12 deadline to fix what he views as the deal’s flaws – its failure to address Iran’s ballistic missile program, the terms by which inspectors visit suspect Iranian sites, and “sunset” clauses under which some of its terms expire – or he will reimpose U.S. sanctions.

Trump has yet to say whether he will withdraw from it.

While nonproliferation experts and a U.S. official said it was clear Netanyahu wanted to undermine the deal, they said Trump could also choose to use the Israeli information to demand deeper inspections of Iran’s nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has the right under the 2015 deal to seek access to suspect Iranian sites and the Israeli claims could provide it a roadmap.

Olli Heinonen, a former IAEA deputy director, said the purported records seized by Israel appeared to show Iran failed to disclose all aspects of its nuclear weapons program to the agency as required by the Iran nuclear deal.

“They were supposed to tell everything to the IAEA,” he said. “Now I have to raise the question: did they really comply with these requirements? The IAEA has to go back to see how far they really got in this program and was it really stopped.”

The U.S. intelligence community and the IAEA have previously concluded that Iran, despite its denials, had a nuclear weapons program that it largely stopped in 2003, although some activities continued. In December 2015, the IAEA said it had no indications any such activities took place in Iran after 2009.

Israeli officials on Monday briefed nonproliferation experts about the material they say they seized but did not say whether they believed it proved Iran had violated the nuclear deal, several people familiar with the briefing told Reuters.

‘FALSE PRETENSES’

In his televised presentation, Netanyahu said Israel had obtained tens of thousands of pages of what he described as Iran’s “secret atomic archives” from what looked from the outside to be a dilapidated Tehran warehouse.

The senior Israeli official said Israel knew about the Iranian archive for a year, got hold of it in February and informed Trump about it at a meeting in Washington on March 5.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters that the Israeli announcement offered proof that the Iran deal was made “under false pretenses” as Trump decides whether to withdraw the United States.

“The president has been very clear that he thinks the deal is one of the worst that we’ve ever seen and we’ll keep you posted on when he has made a final decision,” she said.

On Tuesday Netanyahu told CNN that “nobody” sought a conflict with the Islamic Republic, a prospect seen by some as a possible result of the deal’s collapse.

Asked if Israel is prepared to go to war with Tehran, Netanyahu said: “Nobody’s seeking that kind of development. Iran is the one that’s changing the rules in the region.”

But Netanyahu’s presentation said the evidence showed Iran lied going into the deal, a landmark agreement seen by Trump as flawed but by European powers as vital to allaying concerns that Iran could one day develop nuclear bombs.

Iranian officials rejected the Israeli claims.

“We warn the Zionist regime and its allies to stop their plots and dangerous behaviours or they will face Iran’s surprising and firm response,” Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Tasnim on Tuesday. Hatami called Netanyahu’s accusations “baseless”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference at the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a series of tweets on Tuesday, said the information disclosed by Israel was proof of why the agreement should be retained.

“There was no negotiation – and all of that changed with (the deal). Blow up the deal and you’re back there tomorrow!” said Kerry, who negotiated the pact.

Writing by Maayan Lubell and Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, François Murphy in Vienna, Mark Heinrich in London, Alastair Macdonald in Brussels, Bozorgmehr Sharefedin in London and Steve Holland, John Walcott and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by William Maclean and James Dalgleish

The post Pushing to bury Iran deal, Israel says no one wants war with Tehran appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2rexNKd via Breaking News