Very serious consequences if Iran nuclear deal scrapped
U.S. warns of dire consequences if 
By Nicole Gaouette April 5, 2016 Washington (CNN)The Obama administration warned of dire consequences Tuesday should the next occupant of the Oval Office scrap the Iran nuclear deal.
Marketing frenzy to sell nuclear reactors to the Middle East
Nuclear Power to the People The Middle East’s New Gold Rush, Foreign Affairs May 2015 By Bennett Ramberg There’s a gold rush in the Middle East, but it isn’t gold that prospectors are seeking. It’s reactor sales; these have been talked about for decades, but they’re now picking up steam. So far, Russia has taken the lead. Having built the region’s only operational nuclear power plant—Iran’s Bushehr reactor—it will begin construction in Turkey later this year or next on four reactors, with energy set to begin flowing in the early 2020s. Russia has also stuck agreements with Algeria, Egypt, Iran, and Jordan, and it is seeking to enter the Saudi market.
Other countries are now trying to make up for lost time. South Korea has already contracted to build four plants in the United Arab Emirates, with the first expected to come online in 2017. And Argentina, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom are among those pursuing their own agreements for reactors, component parts and/or service deals.
The United States, subject to Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act—which requires that nuclear recipients adhere to a set of nonproliferation criteria to receive transfers of nuclear material, equipment, or components—finds itself more constrained in exploiting the markets. Still, in addition to supplying the Emirates with component and engineering support services under the 123 Agreement, the U.S. Commerce Department reports that GE-Hitachi and Toshiba-Westinghouse have signed contracts with Exelon to pursue reactor construction in Saudi Arabia, presuming that a 123 Agreement will be negotiated…….(registered readers only) https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2015-05-25/nuclear-power-people
Former general says Israel could destory Iran’s Nuclear Program
Ex-IAF General: Israel Capable Of Destroying Iran’s Nuclear Program, Breitbart, TEL AVIV 27 Mar 16 – The IDF is capable of destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities with a preemptive strike, the head of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) said on Saturday.
“The Israeli Air Force can meet the challenge of destroying Iran’s nuclear reactors if necessary,” Maj Gen (ret.) Amos Yadlin said in a speech reported by Channel 10 news.
Yadlin, who served as an IAF commander as well as the IDF’s military attaché to Washington, stated that if Israel were to find itself at an “intersection where you have to choose between two alternatives: One is whether Iran will have a bomb and we do nothing … and the second is whether to conduct a preemptive action to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon,” then Israel would be capable of destroying the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.
Yadlin also made reference to similar operations in the past that met with success. These include Operation Opera, in which Israel bombed Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981, and the destruction of a Syrian nuclear facility in 2007.
He noted that both operations drew sharp criticism of Israel, even though the country never claimed responsibility in the case of Syria……..http://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2016/03/27/ex-iaf-general-israel-capable-of-destroying-iranian-nuclear-program/
Iran says that its missile tests don’t violate nuclear agreement, U.N. resolution
Iran: Missile tests don’t violate nuclear agreement, U.N. resolution John Bacon, USA TODAY March 10, Iran on Thursday rejected claims that missile tests conducted this week violate the nuclear agreement it reached with the U.S. and other nations or a United Nations resolution.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said the missiles were conventional armaments for “legitimate defense” and not designed for carrying nuclear warheads, the state-controlled IRNA news agency reported……..
The nuclear deal does not directly address missile restrictions. The U.N. Security Council lifted its ban on such testing when the deal was struck, but passed a resolution that “calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles … including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”……….. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/10/iran-missile-tests-violate-no-deals/81578348/
USA’s B-52 nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to Iraq and Syria
US sending nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to ISIS fight http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/03/04/us-sending-nuclear-capable-b-52-bombers-to-isis-fight.html The United States is sending nuclear-capable B-52 aircraft to drop bombs on the Islamic State terror group, defense officials confirmed to Fox News Friday. 4 Mar 16
The B-52 Stratofortress will start its first bombing campaign against ISIS in April, the Air Force Times reports. It’s not clear how many B-52s or airmen will be involved.
Officials say the aircraft will replace nuclear-capable B-1 Lancers hitting ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria.
The Lancers returned to home bases in the U.S. in January. They flew only 3% of all strike missions against ISIS, but had dropped 40% of the bombs and other munitions. B-1s could loiter over the battlefield for 10 hours, much longer than jet fighters, and also could fly supersonic, reaching targets across Iraq and Syria within minutes.
“The B-1s are rotated out, so they’re not here right now, they’ve gone back to do some upgrades,” Lieutenant General Charles Q. Brown Jr., commander at U.S. Air Forces Central Command, told reporters. Each B-52 can carry up to 70,000 pounds of payload, officials say. The aircraft, sometimes nicknamed the “Big Ugly Fat Fella,” first took to the skies in 1954 and regularly takes part in military exercises around the world.
The B-52s are based in Louisiana and North Dakota.
Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
The Suspected Syrian Nuclear Reactor
Red Teaming Nuclear Intelligence: The Suspected Syrian Reactor, Council on Foreign Relations by Micah Zenko March 1, 2016 In former CIA and NSA director Gen. Michael Hayden’s new memoir,Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, he describes the case of Al Kibar, in which Israeli officials informed the United States in 2007 about a building under construction in Syria that they thought was a nuclear reactor. Hayden writes, “Then we gave the data to a red team, dedicated contrarians, and directed they come up with an alternative explanation. Build an alternative case as to why it’s not a nuclear reactor; why it’s not intended to produce plutonium for a weapon; why North Korea is not involved.” (p. 258)
For the full story of the red teaming of Al Kibar, read this excerpt from my book—based upon interviews with senior Bush administration officials—Red Team: How to Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy.
Red teaming is not only about using a devil’s advocate to scrutinize and challenge day-to-day operations. For institutions facing a significant decision, red teaming may also be a one-time effort. We can see how a properly administrated red team can help ensure that a crucial decision is the right one by studying the following example found in recent national security decision making.
In April 2007, Israeli national security officials surprised their American counterparts by informing them about a large building under construction at Al Kibar in a valley in the eastern desert of Syria. In oneon- one briefings, the Israeli officials provided dozens of internal and external color photographs dating back to before 2003. The evidence strongly suggested that the building was a nuclear reactor, remarkably similar to the gas-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor in Yongbyon, North Korea. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert then delivered his request to President George W. Bush: “George, I’m asking you to bomb the compound.”………http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2016/03/01/red-teaming-nuclear-intelligence-suspected-syrian-reactor/
Big win for Rouhani and Reform in Iran elections
While gains by moderates and reformists in Friday’s polls were most evident in the capital, where they won all Tehran’s 30 seats according to early results, the sheer scale of the advances there suggests a legislature more friendly to the pragmatist Rouhani has emerged as a distinct possibility.
A loosening of control by the anti-Western hardliners who currently dominate the 290-seat parliament could strengthen his hand to open Iran further to foreign trade and investment following last year’s breakthrough nuclear deal.
A reformist-backed list of candidates aligned with Rouhani was on course to win all 30 parliamentary seats in Tehran, initial results released on Sunday showed. Top conservative candidate Gholamali Haddad Adel was set to lose his seat.
“The people showed their power once again and gave more credibility and strength to their elected government,” Rouhani said, adding he would work with anyone who won election to build a future for the industrialised, oil-exporting country.
“The competition is over and the phase of unity and cooperation has arrived,” state news agency IRNA quoted his key ally, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as saying. “The time after elections is the time for hard work to build the country”.
There was silence from the conservative camp.
The polls were seen by analysts as a potential turning point for Iran, where nearly 60 percent of its 80 million population is under 30 and eager to engage with the world following the lifting of most sanctions…..http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rouhani-and-reformers-wins-big-in-first-irans-post-nuclear-deal-election_us_56d2e76ce4b0bf0dab326d46
International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is abiding by nuclear agreement
Iran Abiding by Nuclear Deal, UN Agency Says International Atomic Energy Agency’s report says Tehran keeping within limits of July agreement, WSJK By LAURENCE NORMAN Feb. 26, 2016 Iran has carried out most of its commitments under the nuclear agreement reached in July, the United Nations’ atomic agency said Friday, although for a time it exceeded the permitted amount of heavy water, which can be used to produce plutonium.
In its first report on Iran’s compliance deal since the agreement went into effect in mid-January, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran’s stock of heavy water had reached 130.9 tons, above the 130 tons limited permitted by the deal, the diplomats said.
However, the stockpile fell when Iran shipped 20 tons of heavy water out of the country on Wednesday. The IAEA verified the amount that was shipped, the report said.
One diplomat said the IAEA allows for a margin of error of 1 percentage point in such measurements, which means that Iran wasn’t technically over the limit…..
The nuclear deal saw Iran agree to scale back its nuclear activities and infrastructure in exchange for the lifting of tight, related sanctions imposed by the U.S., the European Union and the United Nations……. http://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-abiding-by-nuclear-deal-un-agency-says-1456515699
Saudi Arabia political analyst says that the kingdom has a nuclear bomb
SAUDIS CLAIM TO HAVE NUCLEAR BOMB http://www.infowars.com/saudis-claim-to-have-nuclear-bomb/ Pakistan has agreed to deliver nuclear weapons to Riyadh Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com – FEBRUARY 20, 2016 Earlier this week a Saudi political analyst told RT’s Arab network the kingdom has a nuclear weapon. Dahham Al-‘Anzi made the claim while saying Saudi Arabia is engaged in an effort to “minimize the Iranian threat in the Levant and Syria.”
Although Saudi Arabia has officially denied it has a nuclear weapons program and has publicly stated it opposes nuclear weapons in the Middle East, it has funded a military nuclear program and received scientific assistance from the United States and Pakistan.
Despite this cooperation, US Secretary of State John Kerry told the Saudis in January there would be “all kinds of NPT consequences” if Riyadh received a nuclear weapon from Pakistan.
The Saudis began financing Pakistan’s atomic weapons project in 1974. “Our achievements are yours,” the Pakistani president, General Zia-ul-Haq, told the Saudis in the 1980s.
In the late 1980s the Saudis secretly bought dozens of CSS-2 ballistic missiles from China. The CSS-2, also known as the Dong Feng, is based on the Russian 9K720 Iskander missile. The intercontinental ballistic missile is designed to carry a 3 megaton nuclear warhead to a distance up to 12,000 kilometers.
I do think that the Saudis believe that they have some understanding with Pakistan that, in extremis, they would have claim to acquire nuclear weapons from Pakistan,” said Gary Samore, Obama’s former counter-proliferation adviser.
In 2013 a senior NATO spokesman told the BBC nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are ready to be delivered. In 2009 King Abdullah warned visiting US special envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross Saudi Arabia “will get nuclear weapons” if Iran pursued a nuclear weapons program.
Following the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran, the Saudis reasserted their desire to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“I think Saudi Arabia would seriously try to get the bomb if Iran did. It’s just like India and Pakistan. The Pakistanis said for years they didn’t want one, but when India got it, so did they,”said Jamal Khashoggi, the head of a Saudi news channel owned by the Saudi royal family.
Russia is offering bribes for Egypt to buy its nuclear reactors
Negotiations over establishment of Dabaa nuclear plant ongoing: Minister of Electricity, Daily News, Egypt, 21 Feb 16 Egyptian minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker, said the ministry is still negotiating with Russia’s Rosatom over technical, financial, and technological agreements to establish the first Egyptian nuclear power plant in the Dabaa area.
He told Daily News Egypt the Russian offer has better features than other offers from French, Chinese, and Korean companies. The offer includes providing nuclear fuel supply to the nuclear power plant throughout its operating period, which is estimated to be 60 years. In addition, it will be responsible for the management of spent nuclear fuel, operation and maintenance, and training human resources……http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/02/21/negotiations-over-establishment-of-dabaa-nuclear-plant-ongoing-minister-of-electricity/
Stolen Radioactive Material: What Is Iridium-192?
Live Science, by Tia Ghose, Senior Writer | February 18, 2016 Some security experts are worried that a cache of radioactive material reportedly stolen from an oil field in Iraq could be used by organizations such as the Islamic State group to produce a dirty bomb.
A laptop-size case with about 0.35 ounces (10 grams) of the material, called iridium-192, allegedly went missing from an oil field storage facility in Basra that is run by the American company Weatherford,Reuters reported. Both the company and the Iraqi government declined to confirm the report.
“We are afraid the radioactive element will fall into the hands of Daesh,” a senior security official with the Iraqi government, told Reuters, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group, also called ISIS. “They could simply attach it to explosives to make a dirty bomb.” [Doomsday: 9 Real Ways Earth Could End]……..http://www.livescience.com/53773-what-is-radioactive-iridium-192.html
Stolen nuclear material in Iraq – risk of an Islamic State “dirty bomb”
Security firms deny responsibility for stolen nuclear material in Iraq, Islamic State dirty bomb fears linger , ABC News 19 Feb 16 Swiss inspections group SGS has denied any responsibility for security at the site in southern Iraq where radioactive material disappeared from last year, prompting fears it could be acquired by Islamic State militants……
Reuters released an exclusive report showing that Iraq is searching for “highly dangerous” radioactive material which the theft of has raised fears among Iraqi officials that it could be used to make a dirty bomb if acquired by IS militants.
A dirty bomb combines nuclear material with conventional explosives to contaminate an area with radiation, in contrast to a nuclear weapon, which uses nuclear fission to trigger a vastly more powerful blast.
“We are afraid the radioactive element will fall into the hands of Daesh,” a senior security official with knowledge of the theft, using an Arabic acronym for IS militants, said.
“They could simply attach it to explosives to make a dirty bomb.”……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-19/sgs-denies-responsibility-for-missing-nuclear-material-in-iraq/7182482
Iran has kept all its commitments on nuclear deal
U.S. Official: Iran Has Kept Commitments On Nuclear Deal So Far, Radio Free Europe, By Golnaz Esfandiari February 11, 2016
WASHINGTON — A senior U.S. official says Iran so far has kept its commitments under the nuclear agreement with world powers implemented last month.
Stephen Mull, the State Department’s lead coordinator for implementing the deal curbing Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, told the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on February 11 that there is no evidence that Tehran is cheating.
“Whenever we’ve detected that there may be a potential for moving away from the commitments, we’ve engaged with our Iranian counterparts, and they’ve addressed those concerns every single time,” Mull said.
Mull and John Smith, acting director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, testified at the first senior-level congressional hearing held on the nuclear deal since it was implemented on January 16……http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-nuclear-deal-keeping-commitments/27546065.html
In politically unstable regions, nuclear power faces special cyber attack danger
Report: Nuclear plants in unstable regions vulnerable to cyberattacks, UPI By Allyson Chiu, Medill News Service WASHINGTON, D.C., January 28, 2016 — Nuclear power plants need to improve security systems to safeguard against non-traditional terrorist attacks, but that’s challenging for developing countries, experts said Thursday…….
a report released Thursday by the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank, said many nations do not have the resources to adequately protect their nuclear facilities from insider or cybersecurity attacks.
“In particular countries in close proximity to terrorist groups with vulnerable or unstable economies, the potential for incidents is much higher,” said Debra Decker, the report’s co-author and Stimson Center senior adviser.
West African nations like Nigeria are battling terrorist groups including Boko Haram. In the Middle East, territory in Syria has been taken by the Islamic State. Both countries are considering nuclear power programs, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Attacking a nuclear power plant can disrupt power grids or even cause a nuclear meltdown. Kathryn Rauhut, co-author of the Stimson report, said the Fukushima power plant in Japan — destroyed by a meltdown caused by a tsunami — could also have been vulnerable to cyberterrorism.
“Rather than the tsunami taking out backup power supply, you could just have that engineered through a cyberattack,” she said. “We hope that nobody would ever use planes or weapons of mass destruction again, but you don’t need to do that, you can wreak the same amount of havoc through cyber intrusions.”
Unlike American nuclear power plants, which are strictly monitored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, international plants do not have any binding safety standards, Decker said…….. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/01/28/Report-Nuclear-plants-in-unstable-regions-vulnerable-to-cyberattacks/2321454019965/
Sanctions lifted as Iran complies with nuclear deal
Iran Complies With Nuclear Deal; Sanctions Are Lifted, NYT, By DAVID E. SANGER JAN. 16, 2016 VIENNA — The United States and European nations lifted oil and financial sanctions on Iran and released roughly $100 billion of its assets after international inspectors concluded that the country had followed through on promises to dismantle large sections of its nuclear program.
This came at the end of a day of high drama that played out in a diplomatic dance across Europe and the Middle East, just hours after Tehran and Washington swapped long-held prisoners.
……..“Iran has undertaken significant steps that many people — and I do mean many — doubted would ever come to pass,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday evening at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which earlier issued a report detailing how Iran had shipped 98 percent of its fuel to Russia, dismantled more than 12,000 centrifuges so they could not enrich uranium, and poured cement into the core of a reactor designed to produce plutonium……… http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/world/middleeast/iran-sanctions-lifted-nuclear-deal.html?_r=0
1 This Month
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
- 12:15 PM MT – 1:45 PM MT
- Location: Virtual – REGISTER TODAY
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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