nuclear-news

A Jewish plea for sanity on Iran

 The only realistic option is to allow Iran to enrich uranium in return for enhanced oversight and inspection of its nuclear program.

Leaders of Cleveland’s Jewish community urgently need to promote discussion of this best option for Israel and the U.S. before it is too late.

Allow Iran to enrich uranium, http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/opinion/op-eds/article_56abe920-5c9b-11e1-88cc-001871e3ce6c.html  Cleveland Jewish News, February 17, 2012  Norman Robbins  If you’re pro-Israel and want to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, it’s time to leave the U.S./Israeli echo chamber that gives only two ineffective options – more sanctions or war.
First, some background. It is vitally important to distinguish between nuclear “break-out” capability and the actual building of a nuclear weapon. As long as Iran is not attacked, it has many reasons to achieve nuclear capability but not manufacture.

An attack on Iran by nuclear powers such as Israel and the U.S. in the absence of concrete evidence of actual nuclear bomb manufacture would violate international law and be intensely criticized by most of the world. It would legitimize a subsequent crash-program of bomb-making by Iran, as many experts anticipate. Therefore, not making a bomb actually serves Iran as a better deterrent than manufacture, which would cross an obvious “red line.”

In addition, Iran has genuine religious compunctions about building a weapon of mass destruction, as it showed by choosing not to use chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war , by Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa against nuclear weapons and by Iran’s support of a nuclear-free Middle East. Also, it is inconceivable that Iran would pre-emptively use a nuclear weapon against Israel, when it would kill huge numbers of Palestinians, contaminate Islam’s third-most holy site, enrage the entire Muslim world, and suffer Israel’s terrible retaliation. In fact, three directors of Israel’s intelligence (Ephraim Halevy, Meir Dagan and Tamir Pardo), who should know best, have said that Iran poses no “existential” threat to Israel. Continue reading →

February 22, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

No agreement between IAEA experts and Iran

U.N. experts leave Iran without nuclear agreement, By the CNN Wire Staff February 22, 2012  Two days of talks with Iran have failed to produce agreement on how to verify that Iran’s nuclear program remains peaceful, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced
Tuesday. Iran also refused to allow a team from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency to visit its military base at Parchin, southeast of Tehran, during the two-day visit, the IAEA said.
“Intensive efforts were made to reach agreement on a document facilitating the clarification of unresolved issues in connection with Iran’s nuclear program, particularly those relating to possible military dimensions,” an IAEA statement on the visit read. “Unfortunately, agreement was not reached on this document.” The high-level team of experts was on its way back from Iran late Tuesday, the agency said.

There was no immediate comment on its account from Iranian authorities….. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/21/world/meast/iran-nuclear/?hpt=wo_c2

February 22, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Why is Iran singled out on the nuclear issue?

What exactly is Iran’s crime? Guardian UK, Anna Romano, 7 Feb 12,  (EU risks oil embargo, 27 January)? Its burgeoning nuclear activities are not in contravention of international law.

There are several countries that have nuclear weapons and are not subject to scrutiny and inspection from the IAEA, most notably Israel. It remains a source of contention that this institution is prepared to tolerate Israel’s policy of deliberate ambiguity.

Additionally, countries such as India and Pakistan could never have obtained their nuclear capability without the consent of the US. Neither of these nations is a signed up member of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, while Iran is.

Iran has little reason to trust the west. Its first more or less democratically elected leader, Mossadegh was toppled from power in a CIA coup in 1953, with Britain’s blessing and support.

Iran’s real offence is to strongly criticise the west’s double standards regarding foreign policy in the region and to remain in control of its resources. The crux of the matter lies within this power structure, and so the west must support wars in the Middle East every two or three years to preserve’s Israel’s position as the only viable, militarised nuclear state in the region. Indeed, the aim of recently imposed sanctions may well be to go even further and covertly instigate regime change, illegal under international law.

Reference to Iran’s’ repressive government has little leverage in light of Saudi Arabia’s record and its repression of democracy in Bahrain. David Cameron’s recent visit to the region to sell more weapons to Saudis reflects this amorality. http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2012/feb/07/letters?newsfeed=true

February 8, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Double standards of the West in sanctions against Iran

Like sanctions, war will not work either. A war could not deter Iran from pursuing its nuclear program and seeking nuclear weapons. 

The flaw in the arguments used by the United States, Israel and the European Union against Iran’s nuclear program is the apparent double standard. How can the US expect to persuade Iran to relinquish its nuclear program when America has acquiesced to India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea acquiring nuclear weapons? The US has even signed a nuclear partnership pact with India…….

Accepting the inevitable: A nuclear Iran, DAILY NEWS EGYPT, By   Mamdouh G. Salameh      January 22, 2012, The only sanctions able to hurt Iran are those that ban its crude oil exports, but getting the international community to agree on such sanctions is virtually impossible.

The international political and economic repercussions of these sanctions would be so huge that they are not worth pondering. Even if, by the very unlikely chance, such sanctions were agreed upon by the United Nations Security Council, Iran’s retaliation would be immediate and destructive.

Iran could easily mine the Strait of Hormuz in the face of the 17 million barrels of oil a day (mbd) exported by the Arab Gulf oil producers. This would push the price of oil to more than $150-$200 a barrel (it is currently about $100 a barrel). The biggest loser, of course, would be the biggest oil consumer — namely the United States, which imports 12-14 million barrels of oil every day. This would spell an economic catastrophe for the United States in particular and the world-at-large. Continue reading →

January 24, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Murder of nuclear scientist has enraged Iranians and their religious leaders

Anti-US Chants as Slain Iran Nuclear Expert Buried, abc News,  By ALI AKBAR DAREINI   TEHRAN, Iran January 13, 2012 (AP) Thousands of mourners chanted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” on Friday during the funeral of a slain nuclear expert whom Iranian
officials accuse the two nations of killing in a bomb blast this week as part of a secret operation to stop Iran’s nuclear program. Continue reading →

January 14, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Ahmadinejad points out that Iran has done nothing wrong

Ahmadinejad says Iran has done nothing wrong By Jeff Franks, HAVANA | Wed Jan 11, 2012  (Reuters) – Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flashed the victory sign and said Iran had done nothing to warrant enmity from its enemies after he arrived in Cuba on Wednesday amid heightened international tensions.

He said nothing about the bomb attack that killed an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran earlier in the day, which his government blamed on Israel and the United States, the leaders of international opposition to Iran’s nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad was to meet with President Raul Castro later, but shortly after arrival in the Cuban capital he told students in veiled remarks at the University of Havana that Iran was being “punished” for no good reason.

“Have we assaulted someone? Have we wanted more than we should have? Never, never. We have only asked to speak about and establish justice,” Ahmadinejad said……

January 12, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment