Iran continuing with uranium enrichment program
Iran nuclear work at constant pace despite sanctions -IAEA
* Iran stockpiling enriched uranium despite economic isolation
* U.N. nuclear chief sees “quite constant” enrichment pace
* Six world powers to discuss strategy towards Iran in Brussels
* New meeting may take place before end-year – Western official
By Alexandria Sage and Fredrik Dahl
PARIS/VIENNA, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Iran is enriching uranium at a
constant pace and international sanctions aimed at making Tehran
suspend the activity are having no visible impact, the U.N. nuclear
watchdog chief said in unusually blunt remarks on Tuesday.
The point made by Yukiya Amano, director-general of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, reinforced the view of many analysts that
increased Western economic pressure on Iran has failed to make it
change its nuclear course.
He spoke a day before senior officials from six world powers were to
meet in Brussels to weigh strategy towards Iran amid signs of a
renewed push to resolve the dispute diplomatically after U.S.
President Barack Obama’s re-election.
World powers, which first ushered in U.N. sanctions on Iran back in
2006, are concerned Israel may try to bomb Iranian nuclear sites
without a peaceful resolution to the row soon…..
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/20/nuclear-iran-idUSL5E8MKA6720121120
New diplomacy push for relations between Iran and the West
Iran, UN nuclear agency plan December talks Jerusalem Post, By REUTERS11/09/2012 IAEA announces plans to hold nuke talks with Iran; diplomatic mission to be headed by Nackaerts, chief UN nuclear inspector. Iran will return to talks with the International Atomic
Energy Agency next month, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday, the latest push to seek a peaceful end to a dispute that has raised fears of a new Middle East war.
The IAEA announcement came days after US President Barack Obama’s re-election, which some analysts say may give fresh impetus to diplomatic efforts to end to a decade-old standoff with a country the West accuses of working towards nuclear weapons capability…..
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=291163
Changing nature of Israel – Iran nuclear standoff
The Drone in the Desert http://isnblog.ethz.ch/ Itamar Rabinovich, 8 November 2012 TEL AVIV – A drone recently penetrated Israel’s airspace from the Mediterranean. It was allowed to fly for about half an hour over southern Israel before being shot down by the Israeli air force over a sparsely populated area.
It is still not known who dispatched the drone and from where, but it is now assumed that it was launched from Lebanon, either by Hezbollah, acting in Iran’s service, or by forces of the Iranian regime itself.
If that is indeed the case, the episode should not be regarded as yet another incident in a region fraught by conflict and violence. On the contrary, it is a significant window into the arena in which the conflict over the future of Iran’s nuclear program is being waged.
Several developments and forces are now shaping this arena. One is by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision, announced in his
speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, to suspend his threat to launch unilateral military action against Iran’s nuclear installations. He has said that Israel will give the US and the rest of the international community an opportunity to stop Iran’s progress through other means by the spring or early summer of 2013. (more…)
Iran’s Supreme Leader adopting a cautious path, about nuclear weapons
Instead of treading a straight Roman Road to a nuclear weapon, he has twice veered off course.
Could Iran’s Supreme Leader be more cautious than we think?
Telegraph, By David Blair November 1st, 2012 My interview with Ehud Barak in London on Tuesday attracted a good deal of attention and comment. The Israeli defence minister’s most striking statement concerned Iran’s decision to convert much of its stockpile of 20 per cent enriched uranium into harmless fuel rods. Without that event, Barak confirmed that the crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions would “probably” have peaked about now. Instead, Iran’s decision “allows contemplating delaying the moment of truth by eight to ten months”. Continue reading
Iran and Israel – moderate responses on nuclear issue
Could Iran’s Supreme Leader be more cautious than we think?
The Telegraph, By David Blair World November 1st, 2012 My interview with Ehud Barak in London on Tuesday attracted a good deal of attention and comment. The Israeli defence minister’s most striking statement concerned Iran’s decision to convert much of its stockpile of 20 per cent enriched uranium into harmless fuel rods. Without that event, Barak confirmed that the crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions would “probably” have peaked about now. Instead, Iran’s decision “allows contemplating delaying the moment of truth by eight to ten months”.
In his speech before the UN General Assembly in September, Benjamin Netanyahu softened Israel’s position on the possibility of an imminent military strike, saying that the critical moment would arrive next spring or summer. Barak told me that Iran’s move was “in the background of our decision”.
So the figures tucked away on page 8 of the last IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear programme turned out to be of vital importance. They showed that Iran took 71.25 kg of its stockpile of 20 per cent enriched uranium and converted it into fuel rods for the Tehran Research Reactor, a civilian facility. The uranium enriched to 20 per cent purity is the material that is closest to weapons-grade. Out of a total holding of 189.4 kg, Iran has devoted 37.6 per cent to a peaceful purpose…..
In 2003, we know that Iran suspended its research on how to build a nuclear warhead (although the evidence suggests that some work was restarted later). Now we know that during the course of this year, Iran took a big chunk of the uranium that was closest to weapons-grade and used it for a harmless purpose. Thanks to Barak’s candour, we also know that this decision probably averted a crisis.
Could Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, be more cautious than we think? Instead of treading a straight Roman Road to a nuclear weapon, he has twice veered off course. To me, that suggests that he is nervous and feeling the pressure. Is the ultimate destination of Iran’s nuclear programme still an open question? http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/davidblair/100187473/could-irans-supreme-leader-be-more-cautious-than-we-think/
Iran seeking compromise over the nuclear issue?
Senior Iranian figures push for compromise over nuclear issue Telegraph, 27 Oct 12, Senior figures inside Iran’s regime have “succumbed” to the pressure imposed by sanctions and favour compromise over the nuclear issue, according to the public comments of their colleagues. By David Blair, Chief Foreign Correspondent Continue reading
Iran’s plan for defusing the nuclear crisis
Iran Offers Plan, Dismissed by U.S., on Nuclear Crisis NYT, By DAVID E. SANGER October 4, 2012 WASHINGTON — With harsh economic sanctions contributing to the first major protests in Iran in three years, Iranian officials have begun to describe what they call a “nine-step plan” to defuse the nuclear crisis with the West by gradually suspending the production of the uranium that would be easiest for them to convert into a nuclear weapon Continue reading
Iran is not close to developing a nuclear weapon
Iran Nuclear Weapons: Development Of Armed Missile Not In Works Now, Study Finds HUFFINGTON POST 10/02/2012 1 By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA, – Iran already has enough low-enriched uranium for several atomic bombs if refined to a high degree but it may still be a few years away from being able to build a nuclear-armed missile if it decided to go down that path. Continue reading
US Senator: Senate Resolution against Iran Amounts to Preemptive War TEHRAN (FNA) 23 Sept 12, – The US Senate voted 90-1 early Saturday on a non-binding resolution to impede Iran’s advancement in nuclear technology. Voting against the resolution was Sen. Rand Paul, arguing that the bill was a de-facto declaration of war. Continue reading
History of the West’s encouragement of Iran’s nuclear programme
Hypocritical Threats Against Iran On a Pedestal of Nuclear Immorality by SAUL LANDAU, CounterPunch 21 Sept 12, The U.S. government gave U.S. nuclear-energy companies a green light to sell their knowledge and technical support to Iran. With their blessings, the Shah also established close ties to European companies, who hustled to Teheran to do business. Continue reading
USA and Israel’s demonisation of Iran
On a Pedestal of Nuclear Immorality, Counter Punch by SAUL LANDAU, 21 Sept 12, “…….Western leaders did not predict, however, the political turnaround that occurred with the Iranian revolution. The fiercely pro western orientation of the Shah quickly turned as millions of Iranians backed a nationalist and anti American ideology in which the country’s leaders rejected both western ideology and the legitimacy of its regional representative, Israel.
Teheran denounced the very idea of a Jewish state and began to refurbish the old plans to produce nuclear power, which the U.S. and Israel now claim is a cover for a nuclear weapons program. The Ayatollah Khamenei, however, has condemned nuclear weapons and denies nuclear weapon ambitions. Continue reading
If attacked, Iran might leave Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
Iran may quit nuclear non-proliferation treaty if attacked: IRGC commander English.news.cn 2012-09-17 TEHRAN, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) –– Commander of Iran ‘s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Sunday that Iran may quit the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if its nuclear facilities come under attacks, Continue reading
Nuclear energy – yesterday’s news.Let’s co-operate with Iran on renewables
Renewable Energy Sources Could Be the Key to Reaching Through to Iran Turkish Weekly , 5 September 2012, by Jen Alic, Oilprice Why are we even talking about Iran’s nuclear program when renewable energy offers a clear way out of this conundrum? If we can remove bad politics from the equation for a moment and get back to business as usual, energy diplomacy with Iran could render the nuclear question irrelevant altogether.
The West is not alone in the pursuit of renewable energy capacity. Middle Eastern countries are on the same path, and that includes Iran. Iran’s nuclear energy efforts were initially a reflection of the reality that oil and gas resources will not last forever. The answer to this reality was to fall back on nuclear energy, which has in turn become the focal point of a bitter conflict between Iran and the West.
But even nuclear energy is becoming yesterday’s news, both because of the push to harness renewable energy sources and also as a result of nuclear disasters, most recently that in Fukushima-which very clearly demonstrated the inability to protect nuclear facilities from Mother Nature. Continue reading
Diplomacy the only realistic way to keep Iran away from nuclear weapons
Diplomacy: Best Way to Keep Iran Away From the Bomb Forever
HUFFINGTON POST, Kate Gould, : 09/05/20123 Things You Need to Know about the IAEA Report As Iran war-fever again breaks out upon the release of the latest IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear program, the single most important determinant of ‘how many years Iran is from a nuclear weapon’ bears repeating: according to U.S. and Israeli intelligence , Iran has not decided to build a nuclear weapon. Amidst this media frenzy, one can forget that centrifuges spinning on their own don’t speed toward nuclear weapons. People (in governments) make the political decision about whether or not to make nuclear weapons. As countless top national security experts have pointed out , diplomacy is the best way to persuade the people in Iran — yes, there are living breathing people behind those centrifuges — to never make that decision.
1. The Report Confirms (Again): Iran Is Still Not Building Nuclear Weapons
The IAEA report highlights troubling developments about Iran’s nuclear program, but it also confirms what every other Iran report from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog has verified: Iran is still using its enriched uranium strictly for peaceful purposes. The report further confirms U.S. and Israeli intelligence assessments that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon . Continue reading
Non aligned Nations endorse Iran’s nuclear power project
NAM nations back Iran’s nuclear bid Times of India Thomas Erdbrink, NYT News Service | Sep 2, 2012, TEHRAN: The 120-nation Nonaligned Movement handed its host Iran a diplomatic victory on Friday, unanimously decreeing support for the disputed Iranian nuclear energy programme and criticizing the US-led attempt to isolate and punish Iran with unilateral economic sanctions.
But the group’s communique, issued by Iranian state news media at the end of its annual meeting, omitted any mention of support for Syria, Iran’s vital Middle East ally, which appeared to reflect a view among many members that the Syrian government’s attempt to crush the uprising there was indefensible…..
The Tehran Declaration document not only emphasizes Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy but acknowledges the right to ownership of a full nuclear fuel cycle, which means uranium enrichment – a matter of deep dispute. Continue reading
1 This Month
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