Fifth assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist
Iranian nuclear chemist killed by motorbike assassins, Saeed Kamali Dehghan and Julian Borger, guardian.co.uk, 11 January 2012 Tensions escalate with US and Israel as Tehran accuses the Mossad in fifth murder of scientists
A chemist working at Iran‘s main uranium enrichment plant was killed on Wednesday when attackers on a motorbike stuck a magnetic bomb to his car. The assassination – the fifth against Iranian nuclear scientists in the past two years – is likely to further escalate tensions between Iran and the west.
It took place at 8.30am, at the height of rush-hour in Tehran, according to witnesses quoted in the Iranian media. A motorcycle pulled up alongside a silver Peugeot 405 carrying the deputy director of the Natanz enrichment plant, Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, 32.
The pillion passenger stuck a charge to the door next to the chemist, which detonated as the motorcyclist drove off. The car’s driver was also killed and a pedestrian was wounded, but the charge used appeared to have a sophisticated shape that focused the blast into the car. While the door ended up in nearby trees, much of the car remained intact.
Ahmadi-Roshan was the fifth nuclear scientist to be attacked in Tehran in 24 months. Only one target has survived the daytime attacks, apparently carried out by a well-trained hit team. Iran has said the US and Israel are behind the assassinations, and blamed the Mossad for Wednesday’s killings….. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/11/iran-nuclear-chemist-killed?newsfeed=true
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……
Attack on Iran’s nuclear plant likely to radioactively pollute Kuwait
Kuwait faces more risk than any other country in the region….. This gives Kuwait the right to request that the United States refrain from any military action that would put the Iranian plant at risk, the experts believe.
Bushehr plant damage risks 90% radiation in Kuwait KUWAIT TIMES, 11 Jan 12, : Kuwait is not prepared for any negative impact from military action against the Bushehr nuclear power plant, experts say. “A radiation leak from the Bushehr Plant puts at least 90 percent of Kuwait’s population at risk of being affected by the worst kinds of cancer that affect the brain and kidney”, according to studies mentioned recently by experts from inside and outside Kuwait who are following the development of Iran’s nuclear projects.
The expert, quoted in an Al-Dar daily report published yesterday, indicated that Kuwait is not prepared to thwart risks of a radiation leak that could happen as a result of a military strike or natural disaster affecting the plant.
The report quotes the experts as saying that an environmental organization assigned to monitor radiation levels is not equipped to give accurate readings regarding hazardous radiation leaks and spread levels. Continue reading
Iran enriching uranium at underground site
UN nuclear agency confirms Iranian uranium enrichment at bunker, increasing nuke fears, Washington Post, 8 Jan 12 VIENNA — The U.N. nuclear agency on Monday confirmed that Iran has begun enriching uranium at an underground bunker to a level that can be upgraded more quickly for use in a nuclear weapon than the nation’s main enriched stockpile….. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/diplomats-confirm-new-iranian-uranium-enrichment-say-work-increases-nuke-fears/2012/01/09/gIQAZFN1kP_story.html
Israel to close its unsafe Dimona nuclear reactor, in fear of war with Iran
Iranian war fears spark closure of Israel reactor THE AUSTRALIAN, January 09, 2012 ISRAEL is preparing to shut its nuclear reactor at Dimona, where it makes nuclear weapons, because of the site’s vulnerability in a war with Iran. Continue reading
Threats make Iran more anxious to have nuclear weapons
The ultimate irony, of course, is that the more the West tries to punish Iran for pursuing
nuclear weapons, the more they prove to the Iranian leadership the necessity of acquiring them.
A nuclear-armed state doesn’t get pushed around by bigger bullies,
Standoff Over Iran’s Oil and Nuclear Program Isn’t Going Away, Atlantic Wire, DASHIELL BENNETT 6 Jan 12, Iran promises more military action in the Strait of Hormuz, as western
nations try turn up the economic pressure in an attempt to stop the country’s nuclear program. After the Iranians conducted 10 days of drills near the all-important entrance to the Persian Gulf and threatened to close the Strait altogether if the U.S. and Europe impose more oil sanctions … Europe and the U.S. decided to consider more sanctions.
So Iranian naval officials announced a new set of war games that would take place in February. Meanwhile, Israel is talking about having its own missile defense exercise and the European Union is openly talking about a near total ban on Iranian oil imports, ratcheting up tensions instead of deflating them. Continue reading
Depleted uranium has wreaked havoc on health in Iraq
The US and UK militaries have sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted uranium, but Iraqi doctors like Alwachi and Alani, and along with researchers, blame the increasing cancer and birth defect rates on the weapon.
Abdulhaq Al-Ani, author of Uranium in Iraq, has been researching the effects of depleted uranium on Iraqis since 1991. He told Al Jazeera he personally measured radiation levels in the city of Kerbala, as well as in Basra, and his Geiger counter was “screaming” because “the indicator went beyond the range”.
Fallujah babies: Under a new kind of siege, Doctors and residents blame US weapons for catastrophic levels of birth defects in Fallujah’s newborns, Al Jazeera, Dahr Jamail 06 Jan 2012 Fallujah, Iraq – While the US military has formally withdrawn from Iraq, doctors and residents of Fallujah are blaming weapons like depleted uranium and white phosphorous used during two devastating US attacks on Fallujah in 2004 for what are being described as “catastrophic” levels of birth defects and abnormalities.
Dr Samira Alani, a paediatric specialist at Fallujah General Hospital, has taken a personal interest in investigating an explosion of congenital abnormalities that have mushroomed in the wake of the US sieges since 2005. ”We have all kinds of defects now, ranging from congenital heart disease to severe physical abnormalities, both in numbers you cannot imagine,” Alani told Al Jazeera at her office in the hospital, while showing countless photos of shocking birth defects.
As of December 21, Alani, who has worked at the hospital since 1997, told Al Jazeera she had personally logged 677 cases of birth defects since October 2009. Just eight days later when Al Jazeera visited the city on December 29, that number had already risen to 699. Continue reading
Israel’s nuclear threat to world peace
It should be emphasised that the European Jewish Congress (EJC),does not represent all Europe’s Jews, despite how it purports to do so.
Iran may be less than candid about its nuclear ambitions but it has signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel has not.
Forget Iran – Israel is bigger threat to world peace New Europe, by David Cronin, JANUARY 4, 2012 Is a war with Iran inevitable? I don’t have the answer to that question. But I do feel a
sense of déjà-vu when I scan the headlines. Iran is capable of assembling a bomb within a year, Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, told CBS News recently. Though not as outlandish, his “warning” carried a chilling reminder of Tony Blair’s claim that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes.
One especially unsavoury aspect of the debate around Iran is how it is being driven by ‘public relations’ professionals, who try to dress up their bloodlust in respectable clothing. Without exception, these “opinion-formers” are supporters of Israel, Continue reading
Iran’s latest nuclear claim does not mean it is closer to the bomb
Analysis: Nuclear fuel test won’t hasten Iran bomb: experts By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA Jan 4, 2012 (Reuters) – Iran’s latest claim of a breakthrough in its nuclear program seems unlikely to bring it any closer to having atomic bombs soon, but serves rather as another defiant message to the West. This week’s announcement that Iran has successfully made and tested fuel rods for use in nuclear power plants appeared designed to show that sanctions are failing to halt its technical advances and to strengthen its hand in any renewed negotiations with the major powers.
Spent fuel can be reprocessed to make plutonium, potential bomb material, but Western worries about Iran’s nuclear program are focused on its enrichment of uranium, which can also provide the core of nuclear weapons if refined much more.
“The (fuel rod) development itself doesn’t put them any closer to producing weapons,” said Peter Crail of the Arms Control Association, a U.S.-based research and advocacy group.
It could be a way of telling Tehran’s foes that time is running out if they want to revive an atomic fuel swap deal that collapsed two years ago but is still seen by some experts as offering the best chance to start building badly needed trust.
Diplomats believe Iran has in the past overstated its nuclear progress to gain leverage in its standoff with Western capitals, and the testing of domestically made fuel does not mean the country is about to start using it to run reactors…….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/04/us-nuclear-iran-fuel-idUSTRE8030ND20120104
Obama govt doing a balancing act with sanctions on Iran
Sanctions against Iran a balancing act for U.S. FINANCIAL POST, Reuters Jan 2, 2012 By Andrew Quinn WASHINGTON – The United States has armed itself with some of the toughest sanctions yet targeting Iran but must carefully assess how to avoid catching energy-importing allies such as Japan, South Korea and India in the crossfire.
President Barack Obama signed the law on Saturday imposing sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran’s central bank, the main clearinghouse through which OPEC’s No. 2 oil exporter deals with clients around the world. Continue reading
Reuters reports on diplomatic dance – USA and Iran on nuclear development
However, Obama asked for scope to apply the measures flexibly, and will have discretion to waive penalties. Senior U.S. officials said Washington was consulting foreign partners to ensure the new measures did not harm global energy markets.
Despite its missile tests, war games and threats to close the Hormuz Strait, Iran has also made conciliatory gestures, saying it wants to resume talks with major powers, stalled for a year, about its nuclear research programme…..
Iran reports nuclear progress as sanctions loom Jan 1, 2012
* Missile test and fuel rod breakthrough challenge West
* Obama signs sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports
* Tehran offers fresh nuclear talks in letter to EU
By Parisa Hafezi TEHRAN, Jan 1 (Reuters) – – Iran announced a nuclear fuel breakthrough and test-fired a new radar-evading medium-range missile in the Gulf on Sunday, moves that could further antagonise the West at a time when Tehran is trying to avert harsh new sanctions on its oil industry. Continue reading
Iran developing nuclear fuel rods and plates
First nuclear fuel rod tested in Iran TEHRAN, Tehran Times 1 Jan 12 – Scientists and researchers at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have successfully tested the first domestically produced nuclear fuel rod containing natural uranium, Iranian news agencies reported on Sunday.
According to the reports, the first nuclear fuel rod was loaded into the core of the Tehran research reactor as part of an experiment to test its performance in operation.
Now Iran should convert fuel rods into fuel plates to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.
Iran has constructed an advanced plant at the Isfahan nuclear facility for manufacturing nuclear fuel plates. With the construction of the plant, Iran is now among the few countries that can manufacture both nuclear fuel rods and plates. The nuclear plant for converting enriched nuclear fuel into fuel rods was inaugurated in Isfahan in early spring 2009. ….
http://tehrantimes.com/politics/94128-first-nuclear-fuel-rod-tested-in-iran
Sanctions and diplomacy a much wiser action than attacking Iran
open nuclear war between Israel and Iran is very unlikely. Israel knows that the consequences would be grave and in Iran’s case, the regime knows that it would result in their demise.
Iraq’s fledgling democracy is also likely to be negatively affected by war with Iran. And Saudi Arabia is also likely to be targeted, too. Syria may need to crackdown even more repressively on its internal protesters in order to support Iran.
there is no guarantee that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites would eliminate all of Iran’s nuclear sites,
war with Iran is likely going to unite the people behind an unpopular government. This should be avoided.
The Standoff With Iran: Challenges and Options, Huffington Post, PAUL HEROUX , 31 Dec 11 War is said to be the result of political failure. The tense standoff with Iran is heating up again since Iran has threatened to shot down the 34-mile-wide Strait of Hormuz. 15 million barrels of oil are shipped through the Strait every day, which makes up about 1/3 of the world’s sea shipped oil. Continue reading
Iran ready for diplomatic solution to nuclear question
With Israel and Washingtonkeeping open the possibility of pre-emptive strikes on Iran to stop it getting nuclear weapons, negotiations are a possible way of avoiding what analysts say would be military action that could inflame the Middle East.
‘Iran ready to renew nuclear talks with powers’ Jerusalem Post, 12/30/2011 Iranian FM Salehi says Tehran prepared to reenter negotiations with P5+1 nations based on Russian “step by step” plan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that the Islamic Republic is prepared to renew talks with the P5+1 group of world powers over its controversial nuclear program, the Tehran Times reported on Friday.
Speaking with Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhai Jun in Tehran, Salehi said that Iran was prepared to reenter negotiations with the group made up of the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany based on the “step by step” plan proposed by Moscow in July. The plan calls for a gradual easing of sanctions against Iran in exchange for the Islamic Republic disclosing details about its nuclear program…..
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US President Barack Obama in July of Moscow’s “step-by-step” approach under which Iran could address questions about its nuclear program and be rewarded with a gradual easing of sanctions.
Salehi’s comments came amid increased tensions between Iran and the West, particularly the United States. Iran has threatened to close shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf if the West imposes sanctions on its oil exports. The US Fifth Fleet responded on Wednesday that it would not allow any disruption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a strip of water separating Oman and Iran.
Also on Thursday, the US announced that it will sell $29.4 billion in fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, in a deal the White House said would help reinforce regional security in the Gulf amid mounting tension with Iran. http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=251599
A military strike on Iran could be more catastrophic than accepting a nuclear Iran
The Gathering Storm: A pessimistic prognosis for 2012 A military attack on Iran, by either Israel or the U.S., might lead to no less catastrophic consequences than a nuclear-armed regime in Tehran. Haaretz, By Chemi Shalev, 30 Dec 11 “….. with Israel and Iran’s nuclear programs, it is a clear and present danger visible to all, discussed and dissected day
in and day out in newspapers, think tanks and intelligence forums throughout the world. Therefore, let’s dispense with looking back at 2011, and concentrate on the day of reckoning that will arrive, by all indications, over the course of 2012……..
Israel and the U.S. will soon be called upon to decide between a preemptive military strike and coming to terms with Iran as the world’s tenth nuclear power….. Continue reading
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