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How easily nuclear brinkmanship can slide into nuclear war

The U.S. state presumably does not intend to provoke a hot war with Russia and China.. But directing intensive protowar against powerful nuclear-armed states is to risk the possibility of ‘sleep walking’ into the abyss through miscalculation, or through a gradual hightening of conflicts which finally go out of control. 

Nuclear Brinksmanship: Obama’s ProtoWar Against Russia and China By Eric Sommer Global Research, May 31, 2014 Counterpunch Russia and China are both under attack by a multi-pronged U.S.-led ‘proto-war’ which could erupt into ‘hot war’ or even nuclear war.   ‘Protowar’ or ‘proto-warfare’ is the term I have coined to describe the use of multiple methods intended to weaken, destabilize, and in the limit-case destroy a targeted government without the need to engage in direct military warfare.

Protowar methods include threats against the targeted country; economic sanctions; military encirclement around its borders. cyber-warfare, drone warfare, and use of proxy forces from within or from outside the country for political and/or military action against the local government.

U.S.-led protowars also invariably include propaganda campaigns against the targeted governments. The media campaigns are  waged by the five giant media conglomerates which now control 90% of the U.S. media and which are directly  linked to the U.S. foreign-policy establishment through various means including corporate memberships in the Committee for Foreign Relations.

You can recognize these media campaigns because they frequently employ the words ‘human rights’ or ‘democracy’ as the pretext  for U.S. state protowars against other countries.  Sometimes, of course, these words cannot possibly be applied at all, as in the massive support currently given to the murderous military dictatorship in Egypt or the midevilist kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  In these cases  the U.S. media and government substitute the words ‘U.S. National Interest’ for ‘human rights’ as the pretext for targeting another country.

Proto-warfare often precedes, or leads up to, hot wars, as when a decade of economic sanctions, media demonization, and media-supported lies about ‘weapons of mass destruction’ led up to the Iraq war.   Thousands of young American men and women were sent over to kill and be killed, or to be injured or traumatized, to say nothing of the up to a million Iraqis who died as a result of the war.  However, Iraq did not possess nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, so there was no danger of a nuclear conflagration.   Matters are much different with respect to Russia and China, both nuclear powers.

The ProtoWar Against Russia and China

U.S.-led proto-warfare against Russia and China has a number of elements.  To begin with, it conforms to two popular doctrines in U.S. foreign policy circles.  The first doctrine states that the U.S. must never allow another super-power to emerge, and must remain the unchallenged dominant force on Earth.  This doctrine is clearly set-out in the original version of the U.S. Defence Department policy document  known as ‘the Wolfowitz doctrine:

“Our first objective is to prevent the re-emergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat on the order of that posed formerly by the Soviet Union. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to generate global power.”

The document containing this statement and similar notions was changed for public consumption after the original provoked an outcry when it was leaked to the press. The second doctrine underpinning proto-warfare against Russia and China is that U.S. dominance of the planet depends on control of the Eurasian land mass, on which Russia and China occupy key positions.  This doctrine has been heavily  promoted by  former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.  “For America,”  he has written, ” the chief geopolitical prize is Eurasia… Eurasia is the globes largest continent and is geopolitically axial. A power that dominates Eurasia would control two of the worlds’ three most advanced and economically productive regions… Eurasia is thus the chessboard on which the struggle for global primacy continues to be played.

In pursuit of Eurasian dominance a whole gamut of protowar tools are now being used by the U.S. in its campaigns against Russia and China.  Militarily, the U.S.-led Nato military alliance has progressively squeezed Russia’s’ strategic space by enlisting one former Russian aligned state in Eastern Europe after another.  Now, with a U.S.-supported coup-imposed government in power in Kiev, there is open talk of Nato also incorporating Ukraine, a country right on Russia’s’ border……………

On the other side of Eurasia, U.S. military encirclement of China has also recently proceeded apace.   Military bases and transfers of billions of dollars in military equipment have been positioned around China for years in areas such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.

Now, with the Obama administrations’ so-called ‘pivot to Asia’, a new more ambitious program called ‘Air-Sea battle plan’ involves deployment of large amounts of very hi-tech military systems and equipment in the pacific area all aimed at China.

At the same time, new U.S. military bases are being opened across the Pacific arena, from the Philippines to Australia, with no other conceivable target but China.

In conjunction with this Pacific military build-up, the U.S.state is attempting to use previously minor disputes over ownership of maritime resources to turn a number of smaller Asian nations into proxies to help it destabilize China.  These nations include Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines.  By offering its support, and in some cases promises of military assistance in any maritime conflict with China, the U.S. has stoked the ambitions and aggressive nationalist tendencies of these smaller nations vis-a-vis China.

Coinciding with the military build-up against China is extensive cyber-penetration of China by the U.S. NSA (National Security Agency), as revealed by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

This penetration includes wholesale capture of hundreds of thousands or millions of Chinese mobile text messages; the monitoring of mobile phone conversations of Chinese leaders; and serious intrusions into the computer network backbone system of Beijings’ Tsinghua university, which is linked to large numbers of Chinese research centers including labs engaged in  sensitive military-related work………

The danger of the U.S.Eurasian protowar erupting into hot war – or even nuclear war – stems from a single factor:  Previous U.S.-led protowars which erupted into hot wars were against countries like Serbia, Iraq, or Libya.  Those countries did not have nuclear weapons and could not effectively defend themselves against U.S. military and other pressures   Russia and China are in a different category – they are nuclear- armed and can defend themselves.

The U.S. state presumably does not intend to provoke a hot war with Russia and China.. But directing intensive protowar against powerful nuclear-armed states is to risk the possibility of ‘sleep walking’ into the abyss through miscalculation, or through a gradual hightening of conflicts which finally go out of control. . In 1914, with the European powers of the day already on edge, it took just the assassination of a minor duke in a peripheral country to trigger World War I.   As an old adage has it, “If you play with fire, you may get burned.” http://www.globalresearch.ca/nuclear-brinksmanship-obamas-protowar-against-russia-and-china/5384644

 

June 2, 2014 Posted by | politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Niger still short-changed in new uranium deal with AREVA

areva-medusa1Niger, Areva in hard-won uranium deal, Yahoo 7 Finance, 26 May 14—The government of Niger and French nuclear energy group Areva announced on Monday that they had signed a deal to renew a decades-old agreement for the operation of two uranium mines.

Under the deal, negotiated for 18 months, Areva agreed that a 2006 mining law sharply increasing taxes on mineral extracted would apply to the Somair and Cominak operations in the north of the country which it partially controls.

“We have heard the government’s legitimate call for higher receipts coming from uranium,” said Luc Oursel, Areva CEO, on a visit to Niamey to sign the deal.

However, a joint statement said that the operations would be exempt from sales tax over the course of the five-year deal.

The revenue issue had been the main sticking point in the talks since the government considered that the previous contracts, which expired at the end of last year, were unfavourable to the country, the fourth-biggest producer of uranium in the world.

The French arm of charity Oxfam, which has been a sharp critic of state-controlled Areva’s uranium dealings with Niger, said the new deal continued to shortchange Nigeriens, who stood to lose “10 to 15 million euros a year.” ($13.6 to $20.5 million)……. https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/niger-areva-hard-won-uranium-085912953.html

May 27, 2014 Posted by | business and costs, Niger, politics international | Leave a comment

South Korea and China in agreement on threat of North Korea’s nuclear activities

China agrees North Korea’s nuclear activities a serious threat, says South Mon May 26, 2014 SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea and China agreed on Monday that recent nuclear activity by North Korea posed a serious threat to the peace and stability of the region and Pyongyang must not conduct a nuclear test, Seoul said after a meeting of their top diplomats.

Renewed activity at North Korea’s nuclear test site has indicated Pyongyang may be preparing a fourth nuclear test in contravention of U.N. sanctions.

Analysis have suggested the North may be close to miniaturising a nuclear warhead to mount on a missile, alarming regional powers that have for two decades tried to rein in Pyongyang’s atomic programme.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his South Korea counterpart Yun Byung-se to discuss the North’s nuclear programme, as well as an upcoming visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Seoul this year, South Korea’s foreign ministry said.

“The two ministers agreed to step up cooperation based on the united position that they object to the North’s nuclear test and that recent nuclear activities by the North pose a serious threat to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the region,” the ministry said.

China, North Korea’s lone major ally, is usually very guarded in its opinion on Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, usually expressing its desire for a nuclear-free “Korean peninsula” and careful not to be seen to be taking sides…….http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN0E61LJ20140526

May 27, 2014 Posted by | India, North Korea, politics international, South Korea | Leave a comment

Iran has sharply reduced enriched uranium – IAEA report

diplomacy-not-bombsflag-IranIAEA Confirms: Iran Sharply Reducing Uranium Stockpile http://news.antiwar.com/2014/05/23/iaea-confirms-iran-sharply-reducing-uranium-stockpile/  20 Percent Enriched Uranium Almost Used Up by Jason Ditz, May 23, 2014 Many of the contents of the IAEA report on Iran were already leaked the day before it came out, and the good news of Iran abiding by the P5+1 interim nuclear deal was as expected. There’s more to the report, however. One of the biggest pieces of data in the report shows Iran’s stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium, the highest level they made, has sharply fallen as the nation continues to convert it into fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor.

Though 20 percent is far short of the level needed for nuclear weapons, it was repeatedly pushed by the US as a “threat,” and Iran stopped enriching at that level at the start of the nuclear deal. Only about 40 kg are left to be converted to fuel rods, a trivial amount. The Tehran Research Reactor, built by the US in 1967, provides materially all of the medical isotopes in Iran. The aging facility will eventually be replaced with a modern one using unenriched uranium, but in the meantime Iran has created what seems to be all of the fuel rods it can use for the conceivable lifespan of the facility.

Iran is now only enriching to 3.5 percent, the level used in the Bushehr Power Plant. Iran is in talks with Russia to build more power plants in the nation, with a deal for as many as 8 reported to be close.

May 26, 2014 Posted by | Iran, politics international, Uranium | 1 Comment

Indian government contemplating nuclear attack on Pakistan?

flag-indiaNarendra Modi will have to ‘press the nuclear button’ if Pakistan does not ‘mend its ways’, says Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray DNA, 25 May 2014 – : Mumbai | Agency: PTI “……..In a statement issued in Mumbai, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said, “So far only India has taken initiative of forgetting the past and starting afresh. Hence, it is difficult to trust Pakistan. But we trust Modi’s leadership and hence we do not want to create hurdles for him. If Pakistan does not mend its ways, Modi will have to press the nuclear button.” ………http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-narendra-modi-will-have-to-press-the-nuclear-button-if-pakistan-does-not-mend-its-ways-says-shiv-sena-chief-uddhav-thackeray-1991286

May 26, 2014 Posted by | India, politics international | Leave a comment

USA charges Chinese officials with nuclear cyberspying

spy-versus-spyChinese officials indicted in nuclear cyberspying case, By Eric Tucker, The Times of Israel, 19 May 14 US announces unprecedented charges against military hackers who targeted big-name firms, stole trade secrets WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States announced on Monday unprecedented cyber espionage charges against five Chinese military officials accused of hacking into US companies to gain trade secrets The hackers targeted big-name makers of nuclear and solar technology, stealing confidential business information, sensitive trade secrets and internal communications for competitive advantage, according to a grand jury indictment……..

The indictment says that five hackers — members of the People’s Liberation Army — worked from a building in Shanghai to steal proprietary information from the companies and the labor union, including communications that could have helped Chinese firms learn strategies and weaknesses of American companies involved in litigation with the Chinese government or Chinese firms.

The defendants are all believed to be in China and it was unclear whether they would ever be turned over to the US for prosecution. But the Justice Department, publicizing the charges, identified all five by name and issued “wanted” posters………

The indictment will put a greater strain on the US-China relationship and could provoke retaliatory acts in China or elsewhere.

“What we can expect to happen is for the Chinese government to indict individuals in the United States who they will accuse of hacking into computers there,” said Mark Rasch, a former US cybercrimes prosecutor. “Everybody now is going to jump into the act, using their own criminal laws to go after what other countries are doing.”

Rasch said the indictments attempt to distinguish spying for national security purposes — which the US admits doing — from economic espionage intended to gain commercial advantage for private companies or industries, which the US denies it does. Classified documents disclosed by former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden described aggressive US efforts to eavesdrop on foreign communications that would be illegal in those countries.

“These five people were just doing their jobs. It’s just that we object to what their jobs are,” Rasch said. “We have tens of thousands of dedicated, hard-working Americans who are just doing their jobs, too.”

Unlike in some countries, there are no nationalized US industries. American officials have flatly denied that the government spies on foreign companies and then hands over commercially valuable information to American companies.  http://www.timesofisrael.com/chinese-officials-indicted-in-nuclear-cyberspying-case/#ixzz32JH7SA85

May 20, 2014 Posted by | China, politics international, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Poverty-stricken African nations exploited by mining companies, especially Australian uranium miners

THE SCRAMBLE FOR URANIUM IN AFRICA http://www.phantomreport.com/the-scramble-for-uranium-in-africa 19 May 14, Africa’s resources are extracted by outsiders, with benefits only reaching the involved non-African mining companies and non-African end-users of the commodity. Africa is the next frontier to meet energy needs. Oil and gas are being exploited as never before, exacerbating conflict in Darfur and Nigeria, social inequality in Angola, and environmental damage in Chad.

At the same time, renewed demand for uranium is being explored on the continent more than at any other time in history.

Yet the continent’s huge potential for renewable energy is not fully being realised. The government of Malawi granted a uranium mining licence to an Australian uranium mining company without having any legislation on the mining, handling and transportation of radioactive materials. Malawi is now home to twelve potential uranium mines.

In Niger mining companies from Australia, Canada, France and other parts of the world are scrambling for licences to explore uranium in a country which is already the world’s sixth producer of uranium. In the Central African Republic (CAR) there is a scramble amongst Chinese, American and French companies which are all interested in mining the Bakouma region.

In Tanzania the Australian Omega Corp obtained the Mkuju River concessions through its subsidiary, Mantra Resources. Other Australian juniors are represented in Tanzania, including Sabre Resources, Goldstream Mining, Uranex and Deep Yellow.

In Zambia, the Australian Energy Ventures through its subsidiary Africa Energy Resources started drilling the Kariba Valley in May 2008. Another Australian enterprise, Albion Ltd,, is also undertaking exploration.

In Nigeria, representatives of the South Korean Institute for Geoscience and Mineral Resources visited Nigeria in late 2005 to discuss exploration and co-operation. In Namibia uranium has been mined since 1976 at Rössing, which has the world’s largest open cast excavation. Closure has been staved off by the rise in the price of uranium. A second Australian-owned mine, Langer Heinrich, has come into operation inside the fragile Namib-Naukluft National Park and run by the same company which has invested in uranium at Kayelekera in Malawi. Other mines are scheduled to come on stream in the near future, at Venecia and Trekkopje, and exploration continues in a dozen other areas. Recently a moratorium has been placed on granting further exploration licences. Uranium is found in arid areas where water and energy are scarce. Namibia is also considering nuclear energy, and already has overtures from Russia and South Africa to offer reactors. Read More at Wise International

May 20, 2014 Posted by | AFRICA, AUSTRALIA, politics international, Uranium | Leave a comment

North Korea warned by China against conducting 4th nuclear test

China warns North Korea against fourth nuclear test, Australia Network News, 20 May 14   China has used diplomatic channels to warn North Korea against conducting a fourth nuclear test after the reclusive state renewed its threat of “counter-measures” against perceived US hostility.

North Korea, which regularly threatens the South and the United States with destruction, is already under heavy sanctions imposed by several UN resolutions beginning in 2006 but has defied pressure to abandon its missile and nuclear programs.

It last conducted a nuclear test in February 2013.

“China has told North Korea that there is no justification for a new nuclear test and that they should not do it,” a Western diplomat who was briefed by Chinese officials said.

The sources said China had used diplomatic channels in Beijing and Pyongyang to convey its anxiety about the possibility of a fourth test to the North……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-20/an-china-warns-nkorea/5463466

May 20, 2014 Posted by | China, North Korea, politics international, weapons and war | 1 Comment

Long standing issues complicate nuclear negotiations with Iran

diplomacy not bombs 1The phantom at the Iran nuclear talks: weaponisation, Guardian, Julian Borger 15 May 14,  How far should Iran go to resolve concerns over past weapons research to reach a comprehensive deal? ………. there is another issue waiting in the wings – the past. The general western intelligence consensus is that Iran had an organised weaponisation programme exploring how to build a warhead up to 2003, and that if research continued it was in a more dispersed manner………

even if Iran started working on weapons in the wake of the Iran-Iraq war (in which it saw the West as backing Saddam’s use of chemical weapons against Iran) but was now prepared to give up any such aspirations, it might still refuse to contemplate a confession. It would be a huge embarrassment in view of the Supreme Leader’s fatwa against nuclear weapons. Tehran could also see pressure for such a confession as a trick designed to justify a military attack. The question then for the West is whether to allow those fears stand in the way of deal that would constraint Iran’s future programme.

The mood music being put out by diplomats in Vienna suggests that the issue will not be a deal breaker for now. One solution, set out in a detailled report produced by the International Crisis Group, is for the problem to be kicked down the road. A comprehensive deal clinched in the next few months would commit Iran to resolving the issue satisfactorily with the IAEA. It would not let Iran off the hook but neither would it jeopardise non-proliferation gains that could be achievable now. http://www.theguardian.com/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2014/may/15/iran-nuclear-talks-weapons

May 16, 2014 Posted by | Iran, politics international | 1 Comment

Cause for optimism in Iran nuclear deal with the West

diplomacy-not-bombsOptimism Grows for a Comprehensive Iran Nuclear Deal Several Core Elements of Agreement Have Emerged WSJ, By  JAY SOLOMON And 
LAURENCE NORMAN May 12, 2014
 WASHINGTON—Several core elements of agreement between Iran and the West have emerged in recent weeks, heightening optimism that a comprehensive deal can be reached by the July 20 deadline, according to U.S., Iranian and European officials involved in the diplomacy.

Still significant differences remain that could scuttle a deal or force negotiators to extend talks, officials briefed on the talks said.

“People are less pessimistic than they have been in the past—certainly,” one European official said. “There are certain areas where some kind of consensus” is emerging. “But in certain areas, there is still a huge gulf.” One of the key areas of agreement is the future of an Iranian plan to convert its heavy-water reactor in the city of Arak to produce significantly less weapons-grade plutonium, according to various officials.

Iran also has begun to more substantively address evidence presented in parallel talks with the U.N’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, that it conducted research and testing to develop atomic bombs, the officials said.

However, the U.S. and Europe are demanding significant progress in accounting for past work as part of the agreement. Iran, which has denied it ever sought nuclear weapons, is being pressed to agree in coming days to provide answers on several other aspects of its past work.

Negotiators will begin drafting terms of a final agreement on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program this week in Vienna. A deal would end a decadelong standoff between Tehran and the West and put into place greater assurances that Iran won’t be able to build a bomb, in return for a major easing of Western sanctions……..

The meetings in Vienna will mark the fourth round of high-level talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany—known as the P5+1—since the two sides reached an interim agreement last November.The interim deal resulted in Tehran freezing parts of its nuclear program in return for an easing of some Western sanctions. It will expire on July 20 but could be extended by six months if both sides agree they need more time.

The main area of disagreement continues to be the scope of Iran’s uranium-enrichment facilities, which could be used to produce weapons-grade fuel for a bomb, according to U.S. and European officials. Tehran currently has 19,000 centrifuges used to enrich uranium and has plans to build 30,000 more.

The Obama administration, conversely, is demanding Tehran scale back its capacity to as little as 5,000 operating machines to ensure Iran can’t quickly “break out” and rush to build a nuclear bomb in less than six months.

Iran and the P5+1 are seeking to develop a formula that limits both the number and quality of centrifuges as well as stockpiles of fissile materials to guard against the capability to quickly build a bomb.

But Iran’s theocratic leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly stated in recent weeks that he won’t accept a significant scaling back of his country’s nuclear capabilities.

U.S. and European officials said they were unsure whether Mr. Khamenei’s position on the centrifuges is a tactical move ahead of the drafting sessions this week in Vienna, or if he has set a red line for his negotiators……..http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303851804579558162293087156

May 13, 2014 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

President Rouhani calls for more clarity in the nuclear debate

RouhaniIranian president calls for more open, better-informed nuclear debate https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/23426769/iranian-president-calls-for-more-open-better-informed-nuclear-debate/ May 11, 2014, By Michelle Moghtader and Mehrdad Balali DUBAI (Reuters) – President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday he wanted Iran to do a better job of explaining its nuclear programme to prevent “evil-minded” people misleading world opinion, two days before Tehran resumes talks with world powers on its disputed atomic activity.

Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia will reconvene in Vienna to try to iron out differences over how to end a long standoff over suspicions that Tehran has sought the means to develop nuclear weapons.

Western powers have long demanded greater openness from Iran to address those concerns and head off the risk of a downward spiral towards a new Middle East war, with Israel threatening to attack its arch-foe if diplomacy does not rein it in.

“What we can offer the world is greater transparency,” Rouhani, a relative moderate who replaced a conservative hardliner who antagonised the West – said in a speech at a ceremony celebrating Iran’s scientific achievements.

In his remarks, Rouhani reiterated that Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons and would never halt its atomic programme, which was for peaceful purposes. He also repeated a denial of Western charges that Iran has carried out any secret nuclear bomb work.But along with achieving scientific progress, Rouhani added, Iran ought to develop its abilities in the legal, political and information realms to prevent “the enemy” making problems for its nuclear developments.

“If one engages in a technological endeavour but is not doing good legal and political work, then the enemy might come up with a fictional excuse to cause trouble for you,” he said.

The Islamic Republic’s leaders normally use the term “the enemy” to refer to the United States and Israel.

“If you don’t have good public relations and are not able to communicate well, then you might find other evil-minded people misleading world public opinion,” Rouhani said.

“So our effort today is to even out our efforts on multiple levels … We don’t want to retreat one step from our pursuit of technology, but we want to take a step forward on the political front.”

His comments appeared to be a criticism of hostile statements from within the hardline conservative establishment, including his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called U.N. resolutions against Iran on the nuclear dispute a “worthless piece of paper”………..
“RIGHT DIRECTION”

Ahmadinejad’s strident rhetoric during his eight years in office on issues like the Holocaust and Israel served to shore up international resolve to curb Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran in January halted its most sensitive nuclear operations under a preliminary deal with world powers, winning some relief from painful economic sanctions that have damaged its oil-dependent economy by forcing a sharp reduction in crude exports.

Rouhani said Iran if it so chose could resume enrichment of uranium gas to a fissile purity of 20 percent – its most sensitive nuclear activity because it is a relatively short technical step away from the level required for nuclear weapons.

“We wanted to tell the world that our activities are moving in the right direction: If we say we can enrich to 3.5 percent, we can do it. If necessary we will do (it to) 20 percent,” he said.

Iran agreed under its Nov. 24 deal to shelve enrichment to 20 percent. It has since diluted some of its 20 percent-enriched stockpile to a lower concentration and converted some into an oxide less suited to processing into bomb-grade material.

Iran has justified its 20 percent enrichment drive by saying it was meant to replenish the fuel supply of a Tehran medical research reactor. But Western officials are sceptical, saying Iran had refined far more than it required for such a purpose.

While Iran stopped 20 percent enrichment in January, it is allowed under the November pact to keep producing uranium refined to up to 5 percent, the level required for fuelling civilian nuclear power stations.

May 12, 2014 Posted by | Iran, politics, politics international | Leave a comment

USA signs up to Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty

Flag-USAUnited States Signs Protocol to Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/05/225681.htm

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC
May 6, 2014
 Today in New York on the margins of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee Meeting, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia signed the Protocol to the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty. The CANWFZ Treaty complements the NPT and enhances the international nonproliferation regime by prohibiting, among other things, the development and testing of nuclear weapons within Central Asia. Under the CANWFZ Treaty, the five Central Asian zone states may not allow the stationing of nuclear weapons within their territories. The Central Asian states are also required to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol, which provides the IAEA with expanded access and authorities to ensure that all nuclear activities are used only for peaceful purposes.

The United States is not eligible to be a party to the CANWFZ Treaty itself, but as an NPT nuclear weapons state is eligible to join the Treaty’s Protocol. The Protocol provides legally-binding assurances not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against CANWFZ Treaty parties. The United States understands the importance of such negative security assurances to states that have foresworn nuclear weapons and abide by their nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

The Administration is satisfied that the CANWFZ Treaty is consistent with U.S. and international criteria for such zones. The United States believes that such zones, when fully and rigorously implemented, contribute to our nonproliferation goals and to international peace and security. The United States has concluded that the CANWFZ Treaty and its Protocol will not disturb existing U.S. security arrangements or military operations, installations, or activities. The CANWFZ Treaty and its Protocol will also promote regional cooperation, security, and stability and provide a vehicle for the extension of legally-binding negative security assurances, consistent with the strengthened negative security assurance announced in the 2010 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review.

The United States previously signed similar protocols to the Treaties of Pelindaba and Rarotonga concerning nuclear-weapon-free zones in Africa and the South Pacific, respectively, and has ratified the protocols to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which established a nuclear-weapon-free zone for Latin America and the Caribbean. With respect to the nuclear-weapon-free zone treaty in force in Southeast Asia, the United States looks forward to continuing consultations with zone parties to explore possible U.S. support for signature and ratification of the applicable protocol.

May 7, 2014 Posted by | politics international, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Iran’s President Rouhani up against hard-liners, over nuclear talks

RouhaniHassan Rouhani faces growing criticism in Iran over nuclear talks,  in Tehran, theguardian.com, Sunday 4 May 2014

Rightwing activists claim negotiators are ignoring national interests and that west has not shown the same honesty as Iran The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, is facing growing criticism from a broad array of political hardliners and rightwing opponents who say his government is being duped by the US in an over-hasty attempt to clinch a nuclear deal with the west and end economic sanctions.

At a meeting at the former American embassy building in central Tehran on Saturday, a newly formed group of MPs and rightwing activists calling itself “We’re Worried” claimed Iran‘s negotiating team was ignoring national interests in the nuclear talks, which resume on 13 May in Vienna.

“The whole nation believes the main intention of the United States is to fully halt the Iranian nuclear programme,” said Fatemeh Alia, a central committee member of the hardline Islamic Revolution Resistance Front, previously allied to the former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad…….

The US and Britain have expressed guarded confidence that a final nuclear deal with Iran can be reached by the deadline of 20 July, describing the talks as “very substantive”.

Rouhani and his chief negotiator, Mohammad Javad Zarif, have echoed those sentiments. “Iran is optimistic about the results of the talks and has taken great steps to reach a comprehensive deal and aims to achieve a win-win result,” Rouhani told Iranian television last week.

Rouhani hit back angrily at his critics. “Through lies and hype some people are trying to derail the government from its path, and this is against national interests and the leader’s order … Iran does not compromise on the people’s interests,” he said………http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/04/hassan-rouhani-iran-nuclear-talks

May 5, 2014 Posted by | Iran, politics international | 1 Comment

Japan’s Prime Minister Abe hastens sale of nuclear power plant to UK

flag-UKAbe’s visit spurs signing of deal to build nuclear plant Ft.com, By Kiran Stacey and Guy Chazan 2 May 14, Britain’s nuclear power industry was given a boost on Thursday as one of Japan’s largest companies flag-japantook a step closer to building a £10bn nuclear power plant in the north-west.

Toshiba, the engineering and technology company, signed an agreement giving it the right to build at Sellafield, in west Cumbria, during a visit by Shinzo Abe, Japanese prime minister, to London, in an effort to boost trade and investment between the two countries.

Abe,-Shinzo-nuke-1

The land option agreement for the new nuclear site will involve total payments by Toshiba and its partners to Britain’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority of over £200m by the time the option is exercised, the energy department said……….

The NuGen consortium, a joint venture between Toshiba/Westinghouse and France’s GDF Suez, owns a site near Sellafield in west Cumbria that has been earmarked for three new reactors. …….

The leaders of the two countries also agreed to launch negotiations on sharing supplies and transport services between their militaries, as well as accelerating a plan to jointly develop military equipment.

Mr Abe’s willingness to discuss military co-operation is a sign of his efforts to make Japan a more significant player on the world stage, something he refers to as making a “greater contribution to peace”.

But while officials in both countries welcomed the deal as a sign of healthy trading ties, the warm words mask deeper Japanese unease about Britain’s role in Europe. Mr Abe used his visit to Downing Street to press home the urgency of signing a trade agreement between Japan and the EU, something he wants to achieve by 2015……….http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6fa6824e-d144-11e3-bdbb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz30asoDSeZ

May 2, 2014 Posted by | Japan, politics international, UK | Leave a comment

Iranian public ready to back a fair nuclear deal

flag-IranIran FM says people would support fair nuclear deal, The Daily Star, Lebanon News,
April 27, 2014 TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that the majority of Iranians would support a comprehensive nuclear deal that “respects Iran’s rights and the demands of the people.”

“That would be the only agreement that myself and President (Hassan) Rouhani will agree (to),” Zarif said during a joint news conference in Tehran with his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz.

When asked whether hardliners could derail the nuclear talks, Zarif said: ” Iran is not a monolith … we will have those who will not favour an agreement, but at the end of the day what will count is the view of the majority of the Iranian people.”

In November, Iran clinched a deal with world powers under which it froze some nuclear activities in return for limited relief from crippling international sanctions.

Tehran has been engaged in negotiations with the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany — aimed at reaching a lasting accord on its nuclear ambitions……. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Apr-27/254561-iran-fm-says-people-would-support-fair-nuclear-deal.ashx#ixzz30DTTdBDN

April 28, 2014 Posted by | Iran, politics, politics international | Leave a comment