Conflict between Iran, USA, Israel unlikely, despite sabre rattling
Iran’s nuclear issue escalates, but unlikely into conflict, On Dec. 14, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive defense bill, which requests new sanctions on Iran, targeting foreign financial institutions that do business with the Islamic republic’s central bank. BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) –– Iran’s nuclear issue has escalated again recently with the West mulling sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank and its crude exports, but the seeming saber-rattling on the part of both sides is unlikely to evolve into an imminent conflict. Continue reading
Talks between USA and Israel about bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities
U.S., Israel Discuss Triggers for Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Infrastructure, The Daily Beast, Eli Lake, Dec 28, 2011 The Obama administration is trying to assure Israel privately that it would strike Iran militarily if Tehran’s nuclear program crosses certain “red lines”—while attempting to dissuade the Israelis from acting unilaterally. Eli Lake reports Continue reading
Threat to cut off oil exports- Iran – if there are more sanctions over its nuclear development
Iran threatens to cut off oil exports if sanctions imposed over nuclear activity Reuters Dec 27, 2011 By Ramin Mostafavi TEHRAN — Iran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil.
Western tensions with Iran have increased since a November 8 report by the UN nuclear watchdog saying Tehran appears to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be pursuing research to that end. Iran strongly denies this and says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Iran has defiantly expanded nuclear activity despite four rounds of UN sanctions meted out since 2006 over its refusal to suspend sensitive uranium enrichment and open up to UN nuclear inspectors and investigators…..
Countries in the 27-member European Union take 450,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil, about 18 percent of the Islamic Republic’s exports, much of which go to China and India. EU officials declined to comment on Tuesday….. http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/27/iran-threatens-to-cut-off-oil-exports-if-sanctions-imposed-over-nuclear-activity/
The political realities of Iran and the nuclear issue
Concerns built around the fiery anti-western and anti-Israeli rhetoric of Ahmadinejad and his clerical contemporaries again seem to be purposefully ignoring the realities of political theatre,
US troops have been deployed along two of its major borders for more than a decade. Perhaps it is because, despite assisting coalition forces against the Taliban in 2001, Iran was singled out as one of the major targets of George W Bush’s infamous 2002 ‘Axis of Evil’ speech. Perhaps, with an unrivalled number of American-backed and led regime changes in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa over the past 10 years, Tehran is getting even more wary of the impact of US exceptionalism in the region. Perhaps Tehran knows that, had Saddam actually possessed nuclear weapons in 2003 there is no way in hell the US would have pulled a blitzkrieg on Baghdad.
Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear arsenal makes perfect sense from a defensive and deterrence standpoint.
Stop worrying and learn to love the Iranian bomb, The Drum, Ben Rich 28 Dec 11, Prominent figures within the Israeli and US governments are beating the war drum over the issue of Iran’s progress towards nuclearisation. Regardless of whether or not Iran will actually seek to weaponise its nuclear program, the chances of it utilising WMDs for anything more than posturing remain next to zero.
Critics of Iran’s nuclear program loudly contend that Tehran is irrational and will not operate within the accepted nuclear paradigm of modern states. This claim is at best, obtuse conjecture, and in all likelihood, purposeful disinformation.
Iranian foreign policy has traditionally been cautious, and post-revolutionary Iran has never initiated a conventional conflict. Claims that Tehran’s willingness to engage in clandestine operations demonstrate an inherent irrationality and hold little credibility when held up against the plethora of other states, many of them Western, who engage in the same activities and are still considered wholly rational. Continue reading
Turkish govt asks Russian nuclear firm to ‘educate’ Turkey’s anti nuclear residents
Turkey surprises Russian nuclear firm with new conditions, Today’s Zaman, ERCAN BAYSAL , ANKARA, 26 Dec 11 Russian firm Atomstroy export received two additional conditions from the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry on their contract for Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
The ministry announced the additional conditions to the Russian firm in its response to Atomstroyexport’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. One of the additional conditions placed by the ministry asks the firm to persuade the residents of Akkuyu and be sensible to their objections regarding the nuclear plant. Continue reading
United Nations concerned about Libya’s unsafe uranium stores
UN watchdog worries about Kadhafi uranium in Libya Google News, (AFP) 23 Dec 11 UNITED NATIONS — The UN atomic watchdog has told Libya to urgently find a home for yellow cake uranium from the Moamer Kadhafi era left in thousands of deteriorating barrels, a UN envoy said Thursday.
Kadhafi renounced efforts to make weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear bombs, in 2003, but a major storage base with the raw uranium was found in the uprising which led to his death in October.
An International Atomic Energy Agency team completed a visit to the Tajoura nuclear complex in Tripoli and the Sabha uranium storage base, in the desert of southern Libya, on December 9, UN envoy to Libya, Ian Martin, told the UN Security Council….
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hQJCokPyuiEQ14EK2iCPsN0zw_yA?docId=CNG.e2eaa3a1d5b6df35ac9841bb3a6ef85b.431
USA policies, especially on Israel, motivate Iran to get nuclear weapons
an almost purposeful U.S. policy to drive others to obtain the “doomsday explosive”
by allowing Israel to develop the weapons, the U.S. and friends already stimulated the Middle East arms race. It is mainly due to the United States, Great Britain and France that Israel has nuclear capability. As a consequence, Middle East nations sought means to neutralize the Israel bomb…..
US Policies Motivate Iran To Obtain Nuclear Weapon by: Dan Lieberman December 18, 2011 When the United States sent the B-29 Superfortress bomber, Elona Gay, to drop “Little Boy” on an unwary Hiroshima and ushered in the nuclear age, its administration neglected to plan for a major concern; how to prevent nuclear proliferation. America could not effectively deter the Soviet Union and China from developing a nuclear capability and maybe it did not want its British and French allies from feeling deprived. Nevertheless, all of those nations, with the United States in the lead, had the power to cower India and Pakistan into being content with conventional armaments. Belatedly and ineffectively, the U.S. tried to discourage Pakistan in its bomb-making activities by terminating economic and military aid in
Oct. 1992. The bluster did not work. Continue reading
Sanctions against Iran’s central bank may bring about global economic repercussions
What Happened to Obama’s Nuclear Option? In a showdown over how to deal with Iran, it appears that the president has bowed to Congress. Mother Jones. By Hamed Aleaziz Dec. 16, 2011 Now that the essential Defense Authorization Bill has
passed through the House and Senate, it carries with it a hard-line amendment that would level sanctions against Iran’s central bank. The policy, experts say, could not only inflict pain on Iran for its nuclear weapons ambitions, but also potentially cause global economic
repercussions. The White House has been against the amendment. Congress overwhelmingly voted for it.
If signed into law by President Obama, the new sanctions will be enforced against foreign institutions in Europe and around the world that do business with the Central Bank of Iran. Continue reading
Cancer among nuclear workers at Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant
Radiation leaks caused illnesses, Dimona reactor employees say, December 15, 2011 JERUSALEM (JTA) –– Employees at the Dimona nuclear reactor told an Israeli court that they were sickened with cancer and other illnesses due to radioactive leaks.
During a hearing Wednesday in Petach Tikvah District Court, the attorney for 44 employees and their families presented internal memos claiming that the leak of radioactive substances was caused by safety problems.
A former deputy head of Dimona’s Negev Nuclear Research Center safety division also testified that there had been radiation leaks, Haaretz reported. The employees of the Dimona reactor and the Soreq Nuclear Research Center in the mid-1990s who filed suit want to be recognized as victims of work-related accidents. Some of the plaintiffs have died since the suit was filed. The Dimona plant is said to be the source of fuel for Israeli nuclear weapons, though Israel has remained ambiguous about whether it has such weapons. http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/12/15/3090762/radiation-leaks-caused-illnesses-dimona-reactor-employees-say
Cover-up of irradiated workers at Israeli nuclear plant
Dan Litai’s testimony came during a court hearing Dec. 12 in a case meant to determine whether former employees of the institute, located in southern Israel, should be recognized as the victims of work-related accidents after they were diagnosed with cancer.
Litai, who served as a radiation safety engineer at the Negev Nuclear Research Center, claimed that until the late 1990s there was no department tasked with calculating and assessing the levels of internal radiation contamination, only external contamination.
Last week, the court heard the testimony of Thelma Byrne, who headed the radiation safety department at the Soreq center.
“I worked with materials whose nature was unknown. They didn’t tell us what we were exposed to,” she said, adding that the cancer victims could have been spared if they would have undergone preventive radiation exposure tests, but such tests were not given.
The damages suit was submitted by 44 employees of the Dimona-based reactor and the Soreq Nuclear Research Center in the mid-1990s. Some of the plaintiff have since died. — ynetnews.com http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/63739/expert-claims-nuclear-plant-cover-up/
USA crashed drone was spying on Iran’s nuclear sites
Crashed drone was looking at Iran nuclear sites CNN By Tim Lister, with reporting by Kathleen Johnston and Pam Benson, 15 Dec 11 The Sentinel drone that crashed in Iran last week was on a surveillance mission of suspected nuclear sites in the country, U.S. military officials tell CNN.
Previously, U.S. and NATO officials had said the drone was on a mission to patrol the Afghan-Iran border and had veered off course. Continue reading
The world might have to learn to live with a nuclear Iran
Can the world live with a near-nuclear Iran?, By Mohammed Ayoob, December 14, 2011 — (CNN) –– Some analysts have attributed the recent downing of a U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel high-altitude reconnaissance drone in Iran to that nation’s increasingly sophisticated capability tolaunch cyber attacks. Others have dismissed the idea that Iran was capable of bringing down an RQ-170, arguing that Iranian air defenses do not have the capability to track an aircraft with radar-evadingtechnology.
Either way, the incident clearly demonstrates American concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear capacity, as the drone was likely sent over Iranian territory to spy on its nuclear program.
I find the argument that Iran is engaged in developing a nuclear weapons program credible. I am also convinced that Iran will not test a device, but rather will acquire the capability to produce a weapon quickly if its strategic environment deteriorates to such an extent
that it feels it must.
I am further convinced that an Israeli or American strike or strikes against its nuclear facilities would put Iran’s nuclear program back by a few years but would not be able to terminate it. In fact, such strikes would provide Tehran with the legitimacy to go ahead and
acquire nuclear weapons capability in full view of the world and with international sympathy.
It is time for world leaders to recognize the inevitability of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons capability, even if it remains untested, with Tehran following the policy and adopting the rhetoric of deliberate ambiguity. Continue reading
Nuclear sabotage likely, as Iran suffers third explosion
Third explosion fuels talk of nuclear sabotage, N.Z. Herald, By Abraham Rabinovich Dec 14, 2011 Another mysterious explosion in Iran this week, the third in a month, has stirred speculation that a mysterious hand was once again striking at Iran’s nuclear programme.
The blast on Sunday occurred at a steel plant in the city of Yazd, killing seven people and seriously wounding 12 others. A number of the victims were foreigners, according to Iranian officials….
Ron Ben-Ishai, an Israeli military analyst, wrote yesterday in the newspaper Yediot Achronot that the explosion might have been a simple accident, but in view of the other recent explosions “it is hard toreject the possibility that this was intentional sabotage”.
Ben-Ishai noted that Sunday’s blast had happened at a time not usually considered a work hour and that the mention of foreigners among the dead could have been a reference to North Korean experts who had come to train Iranians in processing the steel.
Ben-Ishai suggested that sophisticated American unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as the one which fell into Iranian hands last week, might be closely tracking all aspects of the Iranian nuclear programme, including this.
A huge explosion at a missile testing base near Tehran on November 12 killed 17 people, including the general heading Iran’s missile
programme….http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10773027
Iran will not build a nuclear bomb says United Arab Emirates leader
(Video) 
Emirates leader discounts fear of Iranian bomb By the CNN Wire Staff December 6, 2011 – Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — A leader of the United Arab Emirates discounted concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran in a CNN interview Monday, saying Tehran would find the ultimate weapon to be of little use.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Emirates’ prime minister and vice president, told CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” that he did not believe Iran would build a bomb.
“What can Iran do with a nuclear weapon?” Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, asked. “For example, will they hit Israel? How many Palestinians will die? And you think if Iran hits Israel, their cities will be safe? They will be gone the next day.”
Tehran has long insisted that its development of nuclear technology is strictly peaceful, aimed at producing civilian electricity. But it has refused international demands to halt its production of enriched uranium, bringing it under increasing sanctions in recent years. And the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency reported in November that it has credible information that Iran has carried out work toward developing a nuclear bomb.
The UAE lies just across the mouth of the Persian Gulf from Iran, with barely 80 kilometers (50 miles) separating the two nations.
“Iran is our neighbor,” Al Maktoum said. “They are Muslim, and we lived next to each other for thousands and thousands of years. I don’t believe that Iran will develop a nuclear weapon.” http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/05/world/meast/iran-nuclear-uae/index.html?iref=allsearch
Iranian people are frightened of military strike, nuclear disaster
Fear, speculation in Iran over military strike, By Parisa Hafezi and Hashem Kalantari TEHRAN Dec 8, 2011 (Reuters) – The threat of military strikes on Iran has upturned the quiet and comfortable lives once enjoyed by many Iranians, ushering in a new era of struggle and fear.
Like many Iranians, Maryam Sofi says the West and Iran are locked in a dangerous game. “I don’t think we can know just yet if war will break out, but I am concerned for my family and my country,” says university teacher Sofi, 42, a mother of two.
“I cannot sleep at night, thinking about destruction and bloodshed if Israel and America attack Iran.”
The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities Continue reading
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