Tuesday, June 10, 2008
European Leaders Support Bush on Iran Sanctions
Opening a farewell tour of Europe, President Bush won European support on Tuesday to consider additional punitive sanctions against Iran, including restrictions on its banks, if Iran rejects a package of incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment program.
President Bush at Brdo Castle in Kranj, Slovenia, with, from left, Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission; Janez Jansa, prime minister of Slovenia; and Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief.
Iran’s leaders, the Mr. Bush said, “can either face isolation, or they can have better relations with all of us if they verifiably suspend their enrichment program.”
Mr. Bush was speaking at a news conference after what was billed as his final summit meeting with European officials before his term ends in January.
The meeting was held in the same small mountainous country as he chose for his first foray into Europe as president seven years ago.
It was, he said, a “fitting circle” to return to Slovenia. One day he would return as a tourist, he said. “You know, I’m close to retirement.”
A joint statement after the meeting urged Iran to “comply with its international obligations concerning its nuclear activities.” (NY Times)
Labels: European Union, Iran, Nuclear Power, U.S.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Israel to attack Iran unless enrichment stops: minister
An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites looks "unavoidable" given the apparent failure of sanctions to deny Tehran technology with bomb-making potential, one of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputies said on Friday.
"If Iran continues with its program for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective," Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz told the mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
"Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable," said the former army chief who has also been defense minister.
It was the most explicit threat yet against Iran from a member of Olmert's government, which, like the Bush administration, has preferred to hint at force as a last resort should U.N. Security Council sanctions be deemed a dead end.
Iran has defied Western pressure to abandon its uranium enrichment projects, which it says are for peaceful electricity generation rather than bomb-building. The leadership in Tehran has also threatened to retaliate against Israel -- believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal -- and U.S. targets in the Gulf for any attack on Iran. (Reuters)
Labels: Iran, Israel, Nuclear Power
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Iran says answered bomb allegations, "matter over"
Iran said on Thursday it had given U.N. investigators more than 200 pages of answers to questions about intelligence reports that it secretly researched how to make atom bombs and declared "the matter is over".
But Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran would heed any requests for clarification after the IAEA chief demanded "full disclosure", a call broadly endorsed by a 35-nation agency Board of Governors meeting this week.
"We gave more than 200 pages of explanations and documents to the agency on May 23. We left no question unanswered. We have done our job. This matter is over," Iranian Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh said as the four-day meeting ended.
But, he told reporters: "Some of them ... are under evaluation and assessment (by the) agency ... If they have any questions we will answer them. The trend of removing the ambiguities will continue. This is our policy." (Reuters)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power
When the nukes start dropping ...
Most men, it is generally agreed, will do anything to survive. In my favorite World War II/Holocaust movie, Lina Wertmuller's 1975 Seven Beauties, a harmless little nebbish of an Italian petty thief, Pasqualino (Giancarlo Giannini), finds himself in a horrible, hellish Nazi concentration camp; the camp setting is some sort of huge, enclosed, indoor hall, a setting so evil that the inmates never even see the sun.
To survive, Pasqualino agrees to make love to the camp commandant, a ghastly, sadistic, Brobdingnagian-girthed gorgon-like SS officer, played by Shirley Stoler. Pasqualino outlasts both the camp and the war, but his soul dies. He did what he had to do to survive.
Failing being placed in a circumstance where their lives are at stake, there are things that men don't want to do. One of those is to kiss another man. In 1978, on the NBC Network program Saturday Night Live, the troupe performed a skit lampooning the legends of white slaveowners forcing themselves onto their black slaves in the US ante-bellum south. The script called for comedian Bill Murray, playing a slaveowner, to attempt to force his desires on an unwilling slave; the comedy was in that the slave was not a woman, but America's favorite, cheerful, non-threatening African-American of the time, O J Simpson. (Asia Times)
Labels: GCC, Iran, Israel, Nuclear Power, U.S.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Developing states back U.N. probe of Iran bomb claims
Developing nations joined the West on Wednesday in throwing their weight behind the U.N. nuclear watchdog's attempt to get Iran to clarify intelligence alleging that it secretly researched ways of making atom bombs.
It was a rare sign of convergence on the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors after an inspector report on Iran that was tougher than previous ones and a call by the IAEA chief for "full disclosure" by Tehran.
The May 26 report said Iran seemed to be withholding information needed to explain intelligence reports that it illicitly melded programs to process uranium, test high explosives and modify a missile cone in a way that would accommodate a nuclear warhead.
Iran has rejected the intelligence, which comes from about 10 nations, as forged or related solely to conventional military hardware, but not furnished evidence to bolster its denials.
It is accelerating uranium enrichment that it says will be only for electricity, not bombs, but is under U.N. sanctions for hiding the work in the past, continuing to curb IAEA inspections and refusing to halt enrichment in exchange for trade benefits. (Reuters)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power, U.N.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Syria says it wants nuclear energy under Arab umbrella
Syria is not seeking nuclear weapons, but wants to have access to atomic energy for peaceful purposes through a collective Arab project, President Bashar Assad said in remarks published on Tuesday.
The Dubai-based Gulf News also quoted Assad as saying that the United States should have sought an investigation of a Syrian facility suspected of housing a secret nuclear plant before it was destroyed in an Israeli air raid last September.
"Acquiring nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is an international trend that all countries are rightfully pursuing. In Syria, we want this to be done within an Arab context, which was discussed and agreed during the Arab Summit in Riyadh," he said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Gulf Arabs have announced their own plans to develop nuclear energy for civilian purposes following a 2007 Arab summit that called on Arabs to develop atomic power.
U.S. intelligence officials in April said they believed Syria had built the suspected reactor with the assistance of North Korea, which later also helped in cleaning up the site after the Israeli strike.
"If anyone had a secret dossier on nuclear facilities in Syria with a Korean role, as they claim, then why did they wait for seven months before destroying a normal military facility by the Israeli raid? Why did they not resort to the UN nuclear energy organisation to carry out an inspection?" (Reuters)
Labels: Nuclear Power, Syria
Iran 'not seeking' nuclear arms
Iran's supreme leader has insisted it will continue its nuclear activities for civilian purposes only and will not manufacture nuclear weapons.
"No wise nation would be interested in making a nuclear weapon today. They are against rational thought," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a speech.
The comments come a day after the UN's atomic watchdog urged from Iran "full disclosure" about its atomic work.
Its report said alleged research into warheads was "of serious concern".
Some western powers accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear arms.
Iran has always denied such charges but has refused to suspend some nuclear work which could have military application, prompting three rounds of sanctions imposed by the UN.
"[Iran] is after peacefully using nuclear energy for the purposes of daily life and it will follow this path," Mr Khamenei said in the speech to mark the 19th anniversary of the death of the leader of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
"Contrary to what the enemy wishes, it will reach it [nuclear energy] with full strength," he added. (BBC)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power
ElBaradei urges Iran "full disclosure" on bomb issue
The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief said on Monday Iran seemed to be holding back information needed to clarify intelligence reports that it researched nuclear bombs in secret and he demanded "full disclosure" by Tehran.
In an unusually tough speech opening a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors, IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei said the intelligence remained a "matter of serious concern".
The Islamic Republic says the material, which was supplied by around 10 countries, primarily the United States, is forged but has not backed up its denials with evidence.
"Iran has not yet agreed to implement all the transparency measures required to clarify this cluster of allegations and questions," ElBaradei told the closed Vienna gathering.
"Iran has not provided the agency with all the access to documents and to individuals requested ... nor provided the substantive explanations required to support its statements. (Reuters)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Iran warns IAEA on nuclear cooperation
Iran said on Sunday it might have to limit its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, criticizing the agency's report which said Tehran's alleged research into nuclear warheads was a matter of serious concern.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in a May 26 report, also said Tehran should provide more information on its missile-related work.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tehran believed the U.N. agency could have submitted a better report had it not been for the "continuing pressures of one or two known countries," in a clear reference to Tehran's Western foes.
The United States accuses the Islamic Republic of seeking to develop nuclear arms. Iran denies the charge but its refusal to suspend sensitive nuclear work has prompted three rounds of U.N. sanctions since 2006.
"In regard to this report, we of course had more expectations from the agency," spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a news conference, a day before the IAEA's board of governors begin a June 2-6 meeting in Vienna. (Reuters)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power
France calls on Iran to open nuclear plants for scrutiny
Iran should open its nuclear installations to international scrutiny to clear suspicions about its nuclear ambitions, French Defense Minister Herve Morin said on Sunday.
"We support calls that Iran demonstrates through total opening of its installations that Iran is not conducting nuclear program with military purposes and goals," he told reporters on the sidelines of a security conference in Singapore.
Iran said on Saturday it would not give up its right to enrich uranium, only days before major powers submit an upgraded package of incentives to try to coax Tehran into halting the work
Iran has agreed to a visit by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana to submit the package of incentives, in exchange for a full suspension of uranium enrichment.
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia -- and Germany, known as the P5+1, offered a package to Iran in 2006 that also required Iran to halt enrichment. (Reuters)
Labels: France, Iran, Nuclear Power
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Iran says its right to enrichment is non-negotiable
Iran will not give up its right to enrich uranium, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday, days before major powers submit an upgraded package of incentives to try to coax Tehran into halting the work.
"Suspending enrichment is not negotiable ... Depriving Iran of its right cannot be on offer," Gholamhossein Elham, the government spokesman, told a weekly news conference.
Iran has agreed to a visit by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to submit the package of incentives, in exchange for a full suspension of uranium enrichment.
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia -- and Germany, known as the P5+1, offered a package to Iran in 2006 that also required Iran to halt enrichment.
Tehran rejected those proposals and the latest package is an enhanced version. (Reuters)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, Security Council
France vows to help Jordan develop nuclear technology
Jordan and France on Friday signed two agreements for cooperation in the peaceful development of nuclear technology and political coordination on regional and international issues, according to an official statement.
The accords were signed by Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner, who also held talks on latest developments in the Middle East.
The nuclear cooperation agreement provides for using nuclear reactors for generation of electricity, the extraction of uranium from phosphate mines in Jordan, the training of Jordanian manpower and arrangements for nuclear safety, Chairman of the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Khalid Touqan said.
Under the second agreement, Jordan and France set up "a political group that seeks to boost coordination on regional and international issues and forge a long term strategic relationship between the two countries," the statement said.
Bashir expressed his country's support for French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Med Union scheme and said Jordan "looked forward to the Paris summit in July when the plan will be officially launched". (Haaretz)
Labels: France, Jordan, Nuclear Power
Friday, May 30, 2008
US: Report increases Iran concerns
The chief U.S. delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency said evidence described by the nuclear watchdog Thursday increased concerns that Iran had tried to make nuclear weapons.
The documents detailed by IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen were provided to the agency by board member nations for its investigation into allegations that Iran disguised research and testing on a nuclear arms program as peaceful nuclear activities.
One document dated January-February 2004 is linked to high explosives testing of the kind that can be used to detonate a nuclear device. Others dated January and March 14 of that year are part of purported evidence that Iran worked on designs of a missile re-entry vehicle that is normally a part of a nuclear delivery system.
A U.S. National Intelligence Estimate made public late last year concluded that Tehran froze nuclear weapons work in 2003. Some other countries, however, believe such activities continued beyond that year. Any Iranian focus on nuclear weapons work in 2004 would at least indicate continued interest past the time frame outlined in the U.S. intelligence estimate. (AP)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power, U.S.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A giant backward step on Iran
"We haven't seen indications or any concrete evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons and I've been saying that consistently for the last five years," Mohammad ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated last week at the World Economic Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Unfortunately, the only thing consistent about ElBaradei is his inconsistency, reflected in his subsequent report, just delivered to the United Nations Security Council, which has been widely interpreted as "a grim reminder that Tehran is pressing ahead with its nuclear program", to paraphrase a New York Times editorial; the editorial goes on to say that ElBaradei's report "expresses serious concern about evidence [outlined in 18 documents accompanying the report] that Iran is working on programs with clear military applications".
The report said Iran continued to stonewall investigators looking into documents alleging its government researched atomic weapons.
But, didn't the same respected chief of the UN's atomic agency admit in his earlier report, in February, that his agency "has no credible information" regarding the so-called "alleged weaponization" studies? What magic was pulled on the IAEA to bestow sudden legitimacy on the admittedly "unreliable" and "dubious" information (other than the heat of US pressure)? Is this now the end of the IAEA's hitherto heroic standing up to the external pressures that threatened to compromise its integrity? (Asia Times)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Iran warns UN nuclear watchdog
Iran's newly elected parliamentary speaker has warned his country may revise its co-operation with the UN's nuclear watchdog after the agency released a report critical of Tehran's nuclear drive.
Ali Larijani used his first speech as speaker on Wednesday to condemn the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report as a "deception".
He said the report "spoke in an ambiguous way".
"Parliament will not allow that such deceptions and if they [the IAEA] continue along this path [then] the new parliament will intervene in the case and set a new line for co-operation with the IAEA," Larijani said.
The report, issued on Monday, expressed "serious concern" that Iran might be withholding information needed to establish whether it tried to make nuclear weapons.
"If they want more sincere co-operation with Iran, they need to have more balanced reports and not look to create a media frenzy," Larijani said.
Washington and its allies had responded to the IAEA report saying it underlined concerns about the aims of the Iranian nuclear programme. (Al Jazeera)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power, U.N.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Need to pressure Iran on nuclear issue: Germany
The U.N. nuclear watchdog's report on Iran this week showed the international community must push for a faster response from Tehran over its nuclear program, Germany said on Tuesday.
The five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany are offering Iran a package of incentives to give up its uranium enrichment, so far without success.
On Monday the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran's alleged research into nuclear warheads remained a matter of serious concern and Tehran should provide more information on its missile-related activities.
"Here, open questions remain, where we have to push for an answer with more time pressure," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told members of NATO's parliamentary assembly meeting in Berlin, referring to the IAEA report.
The IAEA also said in its report Tehran was holding back information on high-explosives testing relating to its nuclear program.
"The ball is in the Iranians' court," Steinmeier said. (Reuters)
Labels: Germany, Iran, Nuclear Power
UN nuclear watchdog says Iran hiding weapons studies
The UN atomic watchdog has expressed serious concern that Iran is still hiding information about alleged studies into making nuclear warheads and defying UN demands to suspend uranium enrichment.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report released late Monday that Iran must provide "substantive" information if it is to convince the international community that its nuclear drive is peaceful.
The alleged studies suggest Iran may have been trying to develop a nuclear warhead, convert uranium and test high explosives and a missile re-entry vehicle, said the report.
The report, to be discussed by the IAEA's board of governors at a June 2-6 meeting, said intelligence from a number of sources suggest Iran has conducted the studies. Iran has repeatedly dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and the intelligence as "forged".
The IAEA demanded that Iran, which already faces UN Security Council sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, disprove the allegations.
"Substantive explanations are required from Iran to support its statements on the alleged studies and on other information with a possible military dimension," the report insisted. (AP)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power, U.N.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Jailed Swiss engineers had nuclear plans for Libya
Three Swiss engineers arrested four years ago on suspicion of smuggling nuclear secrets to Libya were in possession of detailed plans on how to make weapons when detained, the Swiss government revealed Friday. The revelation came as the government said it had destroyed these documents last November "to prevent them from falling into the hands of a terrorist organization or non-authorized state." "These were detailed plans on how to make nuclear weapons, of gas centrifuges to produce enriched uranium, and of missile guidance systems," Swiss President Pascal Couchepin said in a statement. Couchepin said Switzerland was obliged to destroy the sensitive documents because it would otherwise have been in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the operation was supervised by officials from the International Atomic Energy Authority. The three engineers - a father and two sons - were arrested in Germany in October 2004 and then extradited to Switzerland in May 2005. The father was released in 2006 but his two sons are still in prison. They are accused of helping Libya develop a nuclear weapons program and were alleged to have been in contact with Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced father of Pakistan's nuclear program. (AFP)
Labels: Libya, Nuclear Power, Switzerland
Little progress after Iran-IAEA meetings - Western diplomat
Iran is continuing to stonewall the UN nuclear watchdog's investigations into allegations it has carried out studies to design a nuclear weapon, diplomats said on Friday.
As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) prepares to publish its latest report on its long-running investigation, diplomats said they expected no real progress on the alleged studies.
Tehran has insisted that a series of recent visits by the IAEA inspectors to discuss the issue had gone well. But one Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran had moved little beyond asserting that the allegations were baseless and that the intelligence used to back them up was fake.
The United States' envoy to the IAEA, Gregory Schulte, warned this week that Washington wanted to see a detailed response to the allegations.
The US also wanted to see readiness on Tehran's part to implement the so-called Additional Protocol, part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which gives IAEA inspectors the right to carry out unannounced checks at nuclear sites. (AFP)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power
Friday, May 23, 2008
Rice warns of more sanctions on Iran
The United States will aggressively impose more sanctions on Iran as long as it refuses to give up sensitive nuclear work and uses the world's financial system for "terrorism," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.
On a joint trip to California with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Rice told reporters the Bush administration assessed "practically every day" whether to slap more sanctions on Iran.
"We will continue to designate entities as we find them trying to use the international financial system for ill-gotten gains and, yes, we are going to continue to do it and we will continue to do it aggressively," said Rice.
"Iran should not be in a position of using the banking system to pass profits made from terrorism or proliferation," she added.
Iran has been subjected to three rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program and last October, the United States designated the elite Qods military force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard a supporter of terrorism. (Reuters)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, Security Council, U.S.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Iran's surprise package tests waters
The White House has been quick to dismiss it, and certain European diplomats have criticized it for "sidestepping" the nuclear issue, yet a close scrutiny of Iran's "Proposed Package for Constructive Negotiations" reveals a new Iranian sentiment in favor of compromise and flexibility on the country's nuclear activities.
This document, which has been submitted to the United Nations as well as the governments of the "Iran Six" group (ie, the UN Security Council's five permanent members - the United States, France, Russia, China and Britain, plus Germany), has been proposed as a "basis for comprehensive and thorough negotiations with the said countries", to paraphrase Iran's ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazaee. It expresses Iran's readiness to "start serious and targeted negotiations to produce a tangible result. The negotiations can be evaluated after a specific period of time [a maximum of six months] to decide about its continuation".
This may well mean that Iran is open to the idea of a temporary suspension of uranium-enrichment activities for the duration of negotiations, as reportedly called for by the Iran Six nations in their new "incentive package" to Iran, due to be delivered shortly by a delegation led by the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
Since any such compromise on Iran's part may be negatively interpreted in the region and beyond as a sign of Iran's weakness, it must be linked to certain value-adding, prestige-enhancing results for Iran's foreign policy, otherwise it will be a hard sell at home. As a regional power that is concerned about the prospects of a regional nuclear arms race, Iran can definitely take some of the steam from the engine of proliferation in Persian Gulf and beyond by striking a deal that brings greater stability to the region and, simultaneously, compensates for its nuclear compromise by increasing its regional clout through the arch of "collective cooperation", to cite Iran's package.
The package calls for a "new and more advanced plan for interaction" and an "agreement on collective commitments to cooperate" on various economic, political, regional, international, nuclear and "energy security" issues. It also calls for concrete steps to "bolster the stability and the advancement of democracy in the region". (Asia Times)
Asia Times also conducted an Interview with Seyed Abbas Aragchi, an Iranian envoy to Japan, which adds further depth to the issues brought up in this article. ("How Tehran Wants to Fix the World" - Asia Times)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Diplomats say UN probe of Iran nukes a failure
Iran has stymied the latest U.N. attempt to investigate allegations that it tried to make nuclear weapons, diplomats said Tuesday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, will acknowledge it was unable to follow up on the allegations in a report to be presented as early as Friday to its 35-nation board, two diplomats told The Associated Press.
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei expressed optimism a month ago when he announced that Iran agreed to review intelligence collected by the U.N. agency, just a few weeks after Tehran had declared the books closed on any attempt to look into its alleged nuclear arms programs.
"By the end of May we will be in a position to get the explanation and clarification from Iran" about the allegations, ElBaradei said then, describing Tehran's apparent change of heart as a "positive step."
But the diplomats said Iran had again rejected the evidence presented by agency officials as bogus and refused to hold further discussions or allow U.N. experts to check into the charges.(AP)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power, U.N.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Iran agrees to Solana's nuclear trip, no date set
Iran said on Tuesday it had agreed to a visit by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to submit an upgraded package of incentives aimed at coaxing the country into halting uranium enrichment, a news agency reported.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said no date had been yet been set for Solana's trip.
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia -- and Germany, known as the P5+1, offered a package to Iran in 2006 that also required Iran to halt enrichment.
Tehran rejected those proposals in 2006 and the latest package is an enhanced version of that earlier offer.
"Solana has asked to visit Iran to deliver the P5+1 nuclear incentives package. We have accepted his request," Mottaki told reporters, the students news agency ISNA said.
European diplomats have also told Reuters that Solana was still waiting for Iran to set a time for the handover. (Reuters)
Labels: European Union, Iran, Nuclear Power
Report: Iran's nuclear program feeding proliferation
Iran's disputed nuclear program has sent a wave of interest in atomic energy across the Middle East, a think tank said Tuesday, warning that it risked setting the scene for a regional nuclear arms race.
At least 13 Middle Eastern countries either announced new plans to explore atomic energy or revived pre-existing nuclear programs between February 2006 and January 2007, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, or IISS, said in a report.
While the flurry of interest in nuclear power is still tentative, the report said countries such as Saudi Arabia, Algeria or Egypt could soon feel the need to match Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"If Tehran's nuclear program is unchecked, there is reason for concern that it could in time prompt a regional cascade of proliferation among Iran's neighbors," it said.
Israel, the United States and others have accused the Islamic republic of covertly seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program.
Iran insists its intentions are peaceful, but its program has helped push nearly all its Middle Eastern neighbors into drawing up their own nuclear plans. (AP)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power
Monday, May 19, 2008
Pelosi: More must be done to stop Iran
Washington must assert to the rest of the world that if they want to be friends with America, they need to do more to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, visiting US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Sunday in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post.
Pelosi said the US needed to be more "proactive" in saying to the countries of the world - including Russia, China and the Muslim countries in Asia - that "one of the pillars of US foreign policy is to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to anyone."
The US needed to make it clear to everyone, including the Europeans, that their polices on this issue would be a term of friendship with the US, and a measuring stick of benefits they could derive from that friendship, she said.
The US cannot stop nuclear proliferation alone, Pelosi said, adding that "if these weapons proliferate, they are a threat to everyone, not just to the US, and not just to Israel." (JPost)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, U.S.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Bush offers Saudis nuclear power in exchange for more oil
U.S. President George W. Bush, visiting the Saudi capital on Friday, hoped to formalize new agreements that would give the relationship between the two countries a boost.
Among them was an agreement for the U.S. to assist the kingdom in developing civilian nuclear power. Another agreement involves U.S. promises to help protect any Saudi nuclear infrastructure with training, the exchange of experts and other support services as needed. Hadley said it would not involve U.S. troops.
But the rising price of oil commanded attention.
Saudi Arabia's leaders made clear they see no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it, apparently rebuffing Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline prices.
It was Bush's second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and home to the world's largest oil reserves. But Saudi officials stuck to their position that they will only pump more oil into the system when asked to by buyers, something they say is not happening now, the president's national security adviser told reporters. (Reuters)
Labels: Nuclear Power, Oil, Saudi Arabia, U.S.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Iran president to offer proposals to ease nuclear row
Iran will soon put forward new proposals to resolve its dispute with the West over its nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday.
But he also made clear the Islamic Republic would not bow to U.N. demands and suspend uranium enrichment activity that Western powers suspect is aimed at producing bombs.
Hours after he spoke, the Iranian embassy in Brussels said its ambassador had presented proposals on global issues including its disputed nuclear program to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday.
An embassy statement gave no details but said the package involved "political, security, economic and energy (issues) and the question of the peaceful use of nuclear energy".
Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, says its nuclear activities are a peaceful drive to generate electricity so that it can export more of its oil and gas.
"We have prepared a package which will soon be offered," Ahmadinejad told a news conference in Tehran, without giving details. (Reuters)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power
US misses Iran opportunity
With mounting tensions in the Middle East greeting President George W Bush's trip this week to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Washington could seize the opportunity for direct dialogue with Tehran, both on the subject of Iraq's security and on Iran's controversial nuclear program. Yet, the White House seems more interested in locking horns with Tehran's rulers than in exploring confidence-building steps necessary for detente between the countries.
In Iraq, in light of Iran's successful mediation between the Iraqi government and Shi'ite militias in embattled Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has called on Iran and the US to "resume talks on seeking a solution to Iraq's security problems". And Tehran, which suspended talks in reaction to the US's "indiscriminate attacks on civilians" - per the words of an Iranian Foreign Ministry official - is now poised to set aside its reservations and engage in a fourth round of dialogue with Washington, assuming the White House is ready for it.
Unfortunately, the US's decision not to send a delegate, along with other representatives from the "Iran Six" nations (ie, the United Nations' Security Council permanent members plus Germany) to Tehran this week to formally present their latest "incentive package" with respect to Iran's nuclear program, is a bad decision. It is tantamount to missing a golden opportunity to commence direct nuclear talks with Tehran, albeit through a multilateral "package diplomacy". (In addition the the US, the other permanent UN members are Russia, China, France and Britain.) (Asia Times)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, U.N., U.S.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Spread of Nuclear Capability Is Feared
At least 40 developing countries from the Persian Gulf region to Latin America have recently approached U.N. officials here to signal interest in starting nuclear power programs, a trend that concerned proliferation experts say could provide the building blocks of nuclear arsenals in some of those nations.
At least half a dozen countries have also said in the past four years that they are specifically planning to conduct enrichment or reprocessing of nuclear fuel, a prospect that could dramatically expand the global supply of plutonium and enriched uranium, according to U.S. and international nuclear officials and arms-control experts.
Much of the new interest is driven by economic considerations, particularly the soaring cost of fossil fuels. But for some Middle Eastern states with ready access to huge stocks of oil or natural gas, such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the investment in nuclear power appears to be linked partly to concerns about a future regional arms race stoked in part by Iran's alleged interest in such an arsenal, the officials said. (Washington Post)
Labels: Nuclear Power, U.N.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Report: Iran, IAEA to resume nuclear program talks on Monday
Iran and the UN nuclear agency watchdog will resume talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear program in the Iranian capital on Monday, an Iranian official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
The head of the Iranian delegation, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, did not give details, but the two sides held two rounds of discussions in Tehran last month on intelligence allegations the Islamic Republic researched how to make nuclear bombs.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in April Tehran had agreed on steps to clarify the intelligence reports by the end this month. Up to now Iran has denied the information, but has not backed up its position with evidence.
The intelligence came variously from a laptop computer given to Washington by an Iranian defector in 2004, from some other Western countries and the IAEA's own inquiries.
Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the Vienna-based UN agency, said this week's talks would last around three days, state radio reported.
Unlike the previous two rounds, the IAEA delegation would not be headed by its top investigator, Olli Heinonen, who in a presentation in Vienna in February indicated links in Iran between projects to process uranium, test explosives and modify a missile cone in a way suitable for a nuclear warhead. (Haaretz)
Labels: IAEA, Iran, Nuclear Power, U.N.
Arab countries discuss nuclear cooperation
Representatives of seven Arab states are currently meeting to discuss how to enhance nuclear cooperation in order to set up peaceful atomic programs, according to news reports.
Experts from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen are participating in the meeting.
The delegates are discussing mechanisms for cooperation among various Arab countries for peaceful nuclear projects.
Several Arab countries have expressed their desire to set up nuclear programs with the stated aim of using nuclear energy for generating electricity, desalinating water and using the facilities for research.
However, there are concerns that these programs will be used for manufacturing nuclear weapons.
The specter of a nuclear Iran is a notion that does not sit well with Arab countries in the Middle East and it is most likely that fears of a nuclear-armed Iran are behind recent moves in these countries towards setting up nuclear programs of their own. (Media Line)
Labels: Iraq, Jordan, Nuclear Power, Saudi Arabia, Syria, U.A.E., Yemen
Saturday, May 10, 2008
IRAN: Can P5+1 Offer Break the Nuclear Stalemate?
The P5+1 -- the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany -- will present Tehran with a secret incentive package in the next few days to convince Iran to suspend its enrichment programme and enter negotiations.
There is little doubt that Tehran will reject the offer since it crosses its red line -- suspension of enrichment -- but the question is why such an offer is being made at this time, even though reinvigorating talks is in and of itself much needed.
The nuclear offer coincides with an escalation of rhetoric between Washington and Tehran over allegations of Iranian meddling in Iraq. Following several stark comments by high-ranking U.S. military officials, the new buzz in the beltway is that Iran "is killing American soldiers" -- a clear casus belli if proven true.
From Senate staffers to think tank pundits, fear of a military confrontation between Iran and the U.S. is quickly rising once more.
General David Petreus, the new head of CENTCOM, is reportedly preparing a presentation of evidence showcasing Iran's direct involvement in the violence in Iraq. Well aware of their lack of credibility, George W. Bush administration officials are keeping a low profile and letting military officials take the rhetorical lead against Tehran. (IPS)
Labels: Germany, Iran, Nuclear Power, Security Council, U.N.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Iran to reject incentives that violate atomic rights
Iran will not agree to any package of incentives offered by world powers that violate Iran's nuclear rights, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
"Incentives that in anyway violate our interests and our rights will not be supported by us," spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a news conference broadcast and translated on Iran's Press TV when asked about a plan by six world powers to offer a new package to Iran.
Tehran says uranium enrichment is a national right. (Reuters)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, Security Council, U.N.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Iran says will not bow to Western pressure
Iran will not give up its rights in the face of Western pressure, its supreme leader said on Sunday, two days after major powers said they would make a new offer to convince Tehran to halt its nuclear plans.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not explicitly mention Iran's nuclear activities, which Western powers suspect are aimed at making bombs, but Iranian officials have repeatedly ruled out halting the program which they say is a national right.
State television said Khamenei cited "some recent threats by arrogant powers", a reference to the Islamic Republic's Western foes. The United States has recently repeated it wants diplomacy to end the nuclear row but will not rule out military action.
"We will not allow the arrogant ones to step on the right of this nation," he said in a speech in the southern province of Fars. "Threatening the Iranian nation will not make it retreat."
"This nation has chosen its path towards perfection, honor, complete independence ... and no threat can persuade (it) to stop its path," Khamenei, Iran's top authority, told the crowd.(Reuters)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, Security Council, U.N.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Russia says Iranian enrichment freeze is sole demand
Russia on Saturday said that world powers concerned about Iran's nuclear programme were asking Tehran only to suspend uranium enrichment during a period of talks.
Following a meeting on Iran in London of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said no mention had been made of new sanctions and that Tehran must be made to see the advantages of cooperation.
"Our first conditions are the freezing, suspension of uranium enrichment. The approach of the six (powers) is that Iran should suspend enrichment only for the period in which talks continue," Lavrov told the Interfax and ITAR-TASS news agencies.
"There wasn't anything about new sanctions although our American colleagues take the view that pressure on Iran must be maintained.
"It's necessary to explain to Iran the advantages it would receive from agreeing to start talks, on the basis of one condition -- the freezing of uranium enrichment," Lavrov said. (AFP)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, Russia, Security Council, U.N.
New nuclear incentives for Iran
Six key world powers have agreed on a new package of incentives to be offered to Iran over it controversial nuclear programme.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as Germany hope to convince Tehran to stop uranium enrichment by offering technical, political and economic rewards.
"We have got agreement on an offer that will be made to the government of Iran," David Miliband, the British foreign secretary, said after discussions on Friday with counterparts from China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
In a brief statement, Miliband explained that the six nations had "reviewed and updated" an offer made to Iran in June 2006, but that the contents of the new proposal would only be disclosed to Tehran.
Alongside the incentives, the UN Security Council has adopted three resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran.
Enriched uranium can be used either to produce nuclear power or in weapons. (Al Jazeera)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, Security Council, U.N.
Iran to UK: Don't cross "red lines" in atomic offer
Iran told Britain not to cross any "red lines" when preparing incentives for the Islamic Republic aimed at ending a row with the West over Tehran's nuclear program, the Iranian foreign minister said on Saturday.
World powers met in London on Friday and said they would offer new incentives to encourage Iran to halt nuclear work which the West fears is aimed at building atomic bombs.
Iran refused the last such offer made in 2006 and officials have in the past described a demand that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment program as a "red line". They say it is Iran's right to carry out such work and say the aim is peaceful.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr said he met his British counterpart, David Miliband, in Kuwait recently. Britain and Iran attended a multilateral meeting there on Iraq last month.
Miliband had said world powers would meet in May and planned to "write a letter" to Tehran, Mottaki said.
"I told him that 'You have used a word, and I think it is a forbidden word ... Don't pass those red lines. Be careful about that'," Mottaki said without saying what those "red lines" were. (Reuters)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, U.K.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Iran to be offered new incentives
Major world powers are to offer Iran updated incentives to stop enriching uranium and end fears it is seeking a nuclear arsenal.
The agreement on a new package was announced by UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband after talks between foreign ministers in London.
He said no details would be made public before the offer was made to Tehran.
Iran, which says it is seeking civilian nuclear energy, is under UN sanctions for continuing to enrich uranium.
Friday's deal was agreed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Russia, China, the UK and France - plus Germany.
All were represented by their foreign ministers except for China, which sent a deputy minister.
"We are united in our belief that the threat posed by this enrichment programme to stability is very serious and it's one that we want to address directly," Mr Miliband said. (BBC)
Labels: China, France, Iran, Nuclear Power, Russia, U.K., U.N.
Rice raises new doubts about Iran's nuclear program
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raised fresh doubts Thursday about the nature of Iran's nuclear program, saying if the clerical state really wanted only an avenue to peaceful atomic energy it could quickly have it.
Instead, Iran is stonewalling on an attractive deal to trade away only the part of the program that could result in a nuclear weapon, Rice said ahead of a gathering of the U.N. nations that have presented a carrot-or-stick package to Iran.
"I continue to suspect this is not at all about a civil nuclear program," Rice told reporters traveling with her. Iran's insistence that it be able to enrich uranium on its terms seems at cross-purposes with that goal, Rice said.
"One has to wonder what is going on here."
U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a report last year that Iran shelved an active weapons-development program years ago, a finding that undercut the Bush administration's claim that Iran was using a public energy development program to hide a secret drive for a bomb. An unclassified summary of the report, known as a National Intelligence Estimate, said Iran could resume a weapons program and might evade detection if it did. Rice did not say whether she thought that had happened and did not directly accuse Iran of lying. (AP)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, U.S.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Azeris clear Iran nuclear cargo
Azerbaijan has allowed a Russian cargo of nuclear heat-isolating equipment to cross into Iran after holding it up for a month, Azerbaijani officials say.
The cargo for the nuclear plant Russia is building at Bushehr had been waiting at the border since 29 March as Baku demanded details of its contents.
Russia's state-run nuclear company had insisted the contents were not subject to any special controls.
It is believed the equipment is being carried in a vehicle convoy.
Russia delivered its first shipment of nuclear fuel to Bushehr in December and the plant is due to go into operation this summer.
While the United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on Iran for failing to halt uranium enrichment, it has approved the Russian deliveries.
Some Western countries fear oil-rich Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its programme is for peaceful power generation only. (BBC)
Labels: Iran, Nuclear Power, Russia
Monday, April 28, 2008
Iran discusses "serious" nuclear ideas with Russia
Iran has prepared a package of "serious" proposals to help defuse a nuclear row with world powers, chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said on Monday after talks with a top Russian official.
Iran said this month it would unveil ideas to help end the dispute over its nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at producing nuclear bombs.
Tehran, which insists its atomic program is aimed only at generating electricity, has been hit by three rounds of U.N. sanctions since 2006 for refusing U.N. demands to halt sensitive nuclear work.
"Iran ... has serious proposals regarding the nuclear issue, about what to do to minimize the nuclear threat around the world," Jalili said without giving details of the package.
The proposals were discussed with Valentin Sobolev, acting secretary of Russia's National Security Council, an Iranian official said. Further talks would be held on Tuesday, he added. (