Sarkozy to meet Iran’s foreign minister
Sarkozy to meet Iran’s foreign minister Jun 2, 2009
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet Iran’s foreign minister on Wednesday to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program, in rare talks between a leader of a major power and a senior Iranian politician…………………………
Bilateral encounters at such a senior level between Iran and one of the countries involved in the nuclear issue are highly unusual. It will be the first time Sarkozy has met a top Iranian minister since he took office in 2007.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
The West accuses Iran of secretly developing atomic weapons. Iran, the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, denies the charge and says it only wants nuclear power to generate electricity………………………………..Sarkozy is due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday in France and Iran is certain to be on the agenda.
Sarkozy to meet Iran’s foreign minister Wednesday | International | Reuters
French Naval Base Opens Today
French Naval Base Opens Today
Khaleej Times T. Ramavarman26 May 2009 “……………….The base to be manned by about 500 personnel, drawn mainly from the French Navy, will be inaugurated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy……………………….The minister said the UAE is pursuing a transparent and peaceful nuclear power programmes, and has emerged as a model to many other countries in this regard…………………….
US nuclear reactor builders GE and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp, are also trying to get a big share of the expected $40 billion market.
French firms plan to compete for the business. France’s Total, Suez and state nuclear reactor maker Areva said last year they planned to develop two third-generation nuclear reactors in the UAE.
President Sarkozy in UAE
The French president has touched down in Abu Dhabi for a state visit Time Out Dubai 27 may 09 “…………….The UAE and France are due to sign a memorandum of understanding that provides for appointing Emirati diplomats at French missions in countries in which the UAE has no diplomatic missions………………………….Under the agreement, the UAE and France set up a high-level joint committee to supervise cooperation in the areas of nuclear power generation, water desalination,
President Sarkozy in UAE – The Knowledge News – TimeOutDubai.com
Arab nuclear ambitions embolden spurs nuclear renaissance
Arab nuclear ambitions spur nuclear renaissdance
The Huffington Post Ahmed Shihab Eldin 25 May
The nuclear deal with the UAE would allow joint ventures with US firms to assist the UAE in building several civilian nuclear power plants and has been signed despite the UAE’s record as a transshipment port for weapons-related materials to Iran.The “123 agreement”, as it is known, includes an “exchange of scientific and technical information and documentation…an exchange and training of personnel…technical assistance and the transfer of material, equipment and components.”……………..
………………..Israel is the only country in the Middle East that currently has nuclear weapons, estimated at between 100-200 warheads. Unlike its Arab neighbours, Israel has yet to sign the NPT………………. The Middle East is filled with various elements of unresolved conflict. Israel possesses formidable nuclear weapons capabilities and Iran has latent potential and appears to be set on advancing its enrichment capabilities.
The Arab world sits anxiously between the two foes, making plans for its own nuclear ambitions and energy programmes inextricably linked to the reality of being wedged between Iran and Israel.
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin: Arab nuclear ambitions embolden spurs nuclear renaissance
Iraq’s Wrecked Environment
Half Life of a Toxic War Iraq’s Wrecked Environment ounterpunch May 1 By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR and JOSHUA FRANK – “………………….
Months of bombing during the first Gulf War by the United States and Great Britain left a deadly and insidious legacy: tons of shell casings, bullets and bomb fragments laced with depleted uranium. In all, the United States hit Iraqi targets with more than 970 radioactive bombs and missiles.
Depleted uranium (DU) is a rather benign sounding name for uranium-238, the trace element left behind when fissionable material is extracted from uranium-235 for nuclear reactors and weapons. For decades, this waste was a nuisance; by the late 1980s there were nearly a billion tons of the radioactive material piled at plutonium processing plants across the country. Then Pentagon weapons designers discovered a use for the tailings: they could be molded into bullets and bombs. Uranium is denser than lead, making it perfect for armor penetrating weapons designed to destroy tanks, armored personnel carriers and bunkers. When tank-busting bombs explode, depleted uranium oxidizes into microscopic fragments that float through the air, carried on the desert winds for decades. Inhaled, the lethal bits of carcinogenic dust stick to the lungs, eventually wreaking havoc in the form of tumors, hemorrhages, ravaged immune systems, and leukemia.
More than 15 years later, the dire health consequences of our first radioactive bombing campaign in this region are coming into focus. Since 1990, the incidence rate of leukemia in Iraq has increased over 600 percent.
Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank: Iraq’s Wrecked Environment
Israel stands ready to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites
Israel stands ready to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites
TimesOnLine The Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government…………………. An Israeli attack on Iran would entail flying over Jordanian and Iraqi airspace, where US forces have a strong presence.
Ephraim Kam, the deputy director of the Institute for National Security Studies, said it was unlikely that the Americans would approve an attack.
“The American defence establishment is unsure that the operation will be successful. And the results of the operation would only delay Iran’s programme by two to four years,” he said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6115903.ece
Yemen Drops Nuclear Power Idea; To Produce Wind and Thermal Energy
Yemen Drops Nuclear Power Idea; To Produce Wind and Thermal Energy Yemen Post 5, April, 2009
Minister of Electricity and Energy dismissed Wednesday the idea of producing nuclear energy in the country, saying it was not time to use nuclear power to deal with energy problems, mainly daily electricity cuts.However, Minister Awadh Al-Socotri affirmed the government has plans to produce wind and thermal energy instead.He said the government is about to sign deals with the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank to construct a wind-power plant in Makha province.
High Stakes for Moscow in U.S. Play for Iran
High Stakes for Moscow in U.S. Play for IranThe Moscow Times By Fyodor Lukyanov April 16, 2009 The situation in Iran will likely become the center of global tensions in the months and years ahead. Tehran’s desire to establish its status as a regional power will surely clash with Washington’s desire to solidify its own global leadership role. And Russia, which has one foot in both camps, will find itself in an increasingly difficult position………….
……………….Iran is a problem for Russia regardless of which direction Tehran goes. A nuclear-armed Iran would greatly destabilize the region. It is difficult to predict the extent and aim of Iran’s ambitions. Any attempt by the United States to apply force against Iran would mean that the military conflict would be brought to Russia’s southern border. Moreover, if Washington achieves its objectives in Iran, it would shift the strategic balance of power in favor of the United States and away from Moscow. But a failure by the United States to achieve its goals in Iran could undermine the existing balance of power.
U.S. Inks Nuclear Deal with Persian Gulf Sheikdom Cited for Human Rights Abuses
U.S. Inks Nuclear Deal with Persian Gulf Sheikdom Cited for Human Rights AbusesTuesday, April 14, 2009By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) – The State Department forged a nuclear cooperation deal with a Middle East ally that the department’s own human rights report criticizes for censorship of the media, trials without juries, arrests of homosexuals, flogging of prisoners who violate Islamic rules, and religious sermons drafted by a government agency, among other concerns.
The nuclear agreement between the United States and the UAE was concluded five days before President Barack Obama was inaugurated. The White House is expected to send it to Congress after April 20 for review. ………………………Once the nuclear cooperation deal is submitted, Congress has 90 days to review the agreement, which would allow joint ventures with U.S. firms to assist the UAE in building a fleet of civilian nuclear power plants, the first of which would be operating by 2017. The agreement would become binding absent congressional action within those 90 days. (If Congress objects through a joint resolution, the proposal could be amended or shelved.)
The agreement includes, as it states, an “exchange of scientific and technical information and documentation” between the United States and UAE; an “exchange and training of personnel;” “provisions relevant to technical assistance,” and the transfer of “material, equipment and components.” A key concern for members of Congress has been that the country has a record as a transshipment post to Iran.
CNSNews.com – U.S. Inks Nuclear Deal with Persian Gulf Sheikdom Cited for Human Rights Abuses
AFP: Iraq to create nuclear energy commission
Iraq to create nuclear energy commission7 hours ago Google News 10 April 09 BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq plans to create an atomic energy agency nearly three decades after Israeli bombers destroyed a reactor being built by the late dictator Saddam Hussein, the government spokesman said on Thursday.”The government has decided to create a national nuclear energy commission that will be responsible for controlling nuclear activities in the country and assuring they are in line with international regulations,” Ali al-Dabbagh said.”It will also deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAE) and other institutions, make suggestions on the peaceful use of atomic energy and be charged with disposing of nuclear waste,” he added.In 1976, Iraq and France signed an accord to build a nuclear reactor. Five years later, as the Iraq-Iran war raged and amid fears the nearly completed reactor might be loaded with nuclear fuel, it was bombed and heavily damaged by Israeli warplanes.There is still nuclear waste at that plant, 19 kilometres (12 miles) south of Baghdad, which must be disposed of.In February, Iraqi Electricity Minister Karim Wahid asked France to help the country build a new reactor.
Khatami: Israeli nukes the problem
Khatami: Israeli nukes the problem
The Age Daniel Flitton * March 26, 2009IRAN’s former president, Mohammad Khatami, has rejected claims that the Islamic republic is secretly developing nuclear weapons.Speaking in Melbourne yesterday, Dr Khatami said neighbouring countries with atomic arsenal pose a far greater threat to Middle East stability.”If there is a real concern about proliferation, we have to tackle the problem of these countries right now having nuclear arms in the region, not putting pressure on a country that doesn’t have such intention and there is no strategy of having nuclear weapons,” he said.Dr Khatami did not name countries, however Israel is the only Middle Eastern country said to posses nuclear weapons — a program Tel Aviv has never officially acknowledged.
A Nuclear Pandora’s Box
A Nuclear Pandora’s Box Khaleej Times Claude Salhani13 March 2009 – “,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Until now Israel was the only country in the region armed with nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver them. Now with Iran entering into the Middle East political arena, and given its ambitions to obtain nuclear capabilities, it opens up a whole new Pandora’s box.
A nuclear-powered Pandora’s box in the possession of the Islamic republic, and depending on which experts one listens to, the contents of which could become operational as early as 2010 or 2011. The danger, besides the obvious, is that of nuclear proliferation in the region. What will the reaction from other Arab countries likely be? Will Saudi Arabia and Egypt not want to follow suit?
Does adding nuclear weapons not just further complicate the peace process, if there is even such a thing left? Indeed, is the Arab-Israeli peace process, or what’s left of it, still salvageable? That question was raised this week by Aaron David Miller, a former Arab-Israeli peace negotiator and a former adviser to six US secretaries of State at a discussion held at the Nixon Center in Washington…………………………….
There are three avenues, none of which are likely to lead to a conclusive peace agreement in the Middle East. First is if Iran voluntarily reneges on its nuclear programme; chances of that happening are about as good as an ayatollah becoming pope.
Second is if Israel destroys some of Iran’s nuclear making capability, move that would only amplify the crisis and augment the level of animosity between Iran and Israel. And it would not stop Iran’s march towards nuclear armament. It would only accentuate it.
Third alternative: accept a nuclear powered Iran, a move that is very likely to kick off a nuclear proliferation race in the Middle East, as mentioned earlier.
Israel mulling strike on Iran nuclear facilities
Israel mulling strike on Iran nuclear facilities – Washington, 5 March (IranVNC)—Israel is seriously considering taking unilateral military action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, although the time frame for action is quickly fading, according to a report by top US political figures and experts released Wednesday.The nine-page report, entitled “Preventing a Cascade of Instability”, was put out by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.The bipartisan group, several of whose members met high-level Israeli officials to assess their perspective, said that Israeli leaders seem convinced that at least for now, they have a military option.
Evidence mounts of Syrian nuclear cover-up: U.S. | Reuters
Evidence mounts of Syrian nuclear cover-up: U.S.
By Mark Heinrich
VIENNA (Reuters) – The United States said on Wednesday that U.N. inspectors had found growing evidence of covert nuclear activity in Syria, and European allies said a lack of Syrian transparency demanded utmost scrutiny.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is looking into U.S. intelligence reports that Syria had almost built a North Korean-designed, nuclear reactor meant to yield bomb-grade plutonium before Israel bombed it in 2007.
Iran Says Its Missiles Can Reach Israel Nuclear Installations
Iran Says Its Missiles Can Reach Israel Nuclear Installations
By Ladane Nasseri
March 4 (Bloomberg) — Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said Israeli nuclear sites are within the range of its missiles and warned that the Persian Gulf country will defend itself in the eventuality of military strikes.
“All of the facilities in different areas of the land occupied by the Zionist regimes are within reach of Iran’s missile defenses,” the Corps’ head, Mohammad Ali Jafari, was quoted as saying by the state-run Iranian Students News Agency………………….
Israel has indicated that it may hit Iran’s nuclear sites to cut short Iran’s progress in the nuclear field. The U.S. and Israel claim that Iran’s atomic program is aimed at developing weapons while the Middle-Eastern country says it only seeks to produce electricity.
Iran has missiles with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) putting all of Israel’s land including its nuclear sites within reach, Jafari said. Iran doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish state.
1 This Month
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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