Is Iran's Anti-Nuke Edict Cited By President Obama Last Week A Phony?

Phony Fatwa? Group Claims Iranian Anti-Nuke Edict Cited By Obama A Hoax -- FOX News

President Obama could be hanging his hopes for productive nuclear negotiations with Iran on a hoax, according to one Middle East-focused think tank.

On Friday, Obama cited a “fatwa,” or religious edict, from Iran’s all-powerful Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, banning the pursuit of nuclear weapons.

“I do believe that there is a basis for a resolution [because] Iran’s Supreme Leader has issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons,” Obama told reporters.

But although talk of such a fatwa has been around for at least eight years, there’s no evidence it was ever issued, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, which flatly called the fatwa a hoax. MEMRI claims the phony fatwa is promoted by Iranian diplomats and Turkey’s Islamist prime minister, Recep Erdogan.

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My Comment: I recall posting a similar story a year or two ago where I found that even though Iranian officials were always quick to talk about such a fatwa .... trying to find it in any of Khamenei's edicts was impossible. Fast forward to today .... it is amazing that the President of the United States is now saying the same thing even though he (and his administration) also cannot cite the source for such a claim. From claims of weapons of destruction in Iraq to claims to fatwas in Iran .... one has to question if this is just another intelligence failure or a policy that is strongly influenced by White House politics.