IRAN PLEDGES NOT TO BUILD NUCLEAR WEAPONS
"... former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rasanjani's Friday sermon... extended his government's first overt invitation for talks on the nuclear issue: "We don't make false promises. Therefore I declare that Iran's nuclear plan is not to build weapons... and we are ready to prove it in negotiations..."
--DEBKAfile, February 28, 2009
http://www.debka.com/index1.php
Saturday, February 28, 2009
REVIEW OF FACTS ON IRAN
"... let us review a few facts that seem to contradict the war propaganda.
First, last week's acknowledgement that Iran has enough enriched uranium for one atom bomb does not mean Iran is building an atom bomb.
To construct a nuclear device, the ton of low-enriched uranium at Natanz would have to be run through a second cascade of high-speed centrifuges to produce 55 pounds of highly enriched uranium (HUE).
There is no evidence Iran has either created the cascade of high-speed centrifuges necessary to produce HUE or that Iran has diverted any of the low-enriched uranium from Natanz. And the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors retain full access to Natanz.
And rather than accelerating production of low-enriched uranium, only 4,000 of the Natanz centrifuges are operating. Some 1,000 are idle. Why?
Dr. Mohamed El-Baradei, head of the IAEA, believes this is a signal that Tehran wishes to negotiate with the United States, but without yielding any of its rights to enrich uranium and operate nuclear power plants.
For, unlike Israel, Pakistan and India, none of which signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and all of which ran clandestine programs and built atom bombs, Iran signed the NPT and has abided by its Safeguards Agreement. What it refuses to accept are the broader demands of the U.N. Security Council because these go beyond the NPT and sanction Iran for doing what it has a legal right to do.
Moreover, Adm. Dennis Blair, who heads U.S. intelligence, has just restated the consensus of the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate that Iran does not now possess and is not now pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
Bottom line: Neither the United States nor the IAEA has conclusive evidence that Iran either has the fissile material for a bomb or an active program to build a bomb. It has never tested a nuclear device and has never demonstrated a capacity to weaponize a nuclear device, if it had one.
--Return of the War Party, by columnist Patrick Buchanan
http://www.lewrockwell.com/buchanan/buchanan104.html
"... let us review a few facts that seem to contradict the war propaganda.
First, last week's acknowledgement that Iran has enough enriched uranium for one atom bomb does not mean Iran is building an atom bomb.
To construct a nuclear device, the ton of low-enriched uranium at Natanz would have to be run through a second cascade of high-speed centrifuges to produce 55 pounds of highly enriched uranium (HUE).
There is no evidence Iran has either created the cascade of high-speed centrifuges necessary to produce HUE or that Iran has diverted any of the low-enriched uranium from Natanz. And the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors retain full access to Natanz.
And rather than accelerating production of low-enriched uranium, only 4,000 of the Natanz centrifuges are operating. Some 1,000 are idle. Why?
Dr. Mohamed El-Baradei, head of the IAEA, believes this is a signal that Tehran wishes to negotiate with the United States, but without yielding any of its rights to enrich uranium and operate nuclear power plants.
For, unlike Israel, Pakistan and India, none of which signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and all of which ran clandestine programs and built atom bombs, Iran signed the NPT and has abided by its Safeguards Agreement. What it refuses to accept are the broader demands of the U.N. Security Council because these go beyond the NPT and sanction Iran for doing what it has a legal right to do.
Moreover, Adm. Dennis Blair, who heads U.S. intelligence, has just restated the consensus of the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate that Iran does not now possess and is not now pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
Bottom line: Neither the United States nor the IAEA has conclusive evidence that Iran either has the fissile material for a bomb or an active program to build a bomb. It has never tested a nuclear device and has never demonstrated a capacity to weaponize a nuclear device, if it had one.
--Return of the War Party, by columnist Patrick Buchanan
http://www.lewrockwell.com/buchanan/buchanan104.html
Friday, February 27, 2009
IRAN AND U.S. MAY COOPERATE AGAINST TALEBAN IN AFGHANISTAN
"... high ranking authorities in Iran and America Iranian First Vice-President Parviz Davudi and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) have arrived in Kabul one after the other to visit Afghan government authorities... the terrorism concern is not only threatening Afghanistan, it has also created joint concerns for the authorities of America and Iran. The three countries are concerned about the Taleban reorganizing and reinforcing in Afghanistan and Pakistan... (this has) created an opportunity for America and Iran to correct their relations using Afghanistan..."
--Editorial on the possibility that cooperation against the Taliban might prove grounds for an improvement in Iran-American relations, in Afghan newspaper Chiragh, February 23, 2009.
http://www.juancole.com/2009/02/negotiations-in-afghanistan-iran.html
"... high ranking authorities in Iran and America Iranian First Vice-President Parviz Davudi and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) have arrived in Kabul one after the other to visit Afghan government authorities... the terrorism concern is not only threatening Afghanistan, it has also created joint concerns for the authorities of America and Iran. The three countries are concerned about the Taleban reorganizing and reinforcing in Afghanistan and Pakistan... (this has) created an opportunity for America and Iran to correct their relations using Afghanistan..."
--Editorial on the possibility that cooperation against the Taliban might prove grounds for an improvement in Iran-American relations, in Afghan newspaper Chiragh, February 23, 2009.
http://www.juancole.com/2009/02/negotiations-in-afghanistan-iran.html
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
IRAN STARTS BUSHEHR REACTOR TEST RUN
Iranian and Russian nuclear officials have begun a test run of Iran's first nuclear power plant. The test - carried out in front of international journalists - involves the reactor being switched on and loaded with dummy rods made of lead... to imitate the enriched uranium needed to run the Russian-built plant at Bushehr... Iran is currently defying Security Council resolutions ordering it to suspend the enrichment of uranium. It says it is simply doing what it is allowed to do under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The country has pledged not break its obligations under the NPT and will not use the technology to make nuclear weapons..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7908621.stm
Iranian and Russian nuclear officials have begun a test run of Iran's first nuclear power plant. The test - carried out in front of international journalists - involves the reactor being switched on and loaded with dummy rods made of lead... to imitate the enriched uranium needed to run the Russian-built plant at Bushehr... Iran is currently defying Security Council resolutions ordering it to suspend the enrichment of uranium. It says it is simply doing what it is allowed to do under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The country has pledged not break its obligations under the NPT and will not use the technology to make nuclear weapons..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7908621.stm
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
IRAN WINS $1.5 BILLION CONTRACT TO BUILD NEW TOWN IN IRAQ
"An Iranian firm has won a $1.5 billion contract to build a new town in the southern city of Basra... The new town will have all the facilities of a modern city... there will be a supermarket, 2,000 commercial shops as well as annexes offering different services... The town will include 5,000 housing units as well as modern amenities like schools, markets, parks and health facilities... It is Iran’s largest construction contract in Iraq since the 2003-U.S. invasion and signals Tehran’s economic arm... the countries were reported to have drawn a roadmap to boost trade exchange value to $5 billion..."
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2009-02-15\kurd.htm
"An Iranian firm has won a $1.5 billion contract to build a new town in the southern city of Basra... The new town will have all the facilities of a modern city... there will be a supermarket, 2,000 commercial shops as well as annexes offering different services... The town will include 5,000 housing units as well as modern amenities like schools, markets, parks and health facilities... It is Iran’s largest construction contract in Iraq since the 2003-U.S. invasion and signals Tehran’s economic arm... the countries were reported to have drawn a roadmap to boost trade exchange value to $5 billion..."
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2009-02-15\kurd.htm
Monday, February 16, 2009
RUSSIA CLOSE TO SALE OF S-300 ANTI-AIR MISSILES
"... Iran's defense minister Mostafa Najar travels to Moscow... to tie up the last ends of Tehran's purchase of a brigade of advanced Russian S-300 air defense missiles to guard its nuclear sites... Their acquisition would make an air attack on Iran's nuclear facilities extremely difficult and dangerous...."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), February 15, 2009
http://www.debka.com/index1.php
"... Iran's defense minister Mostafa Najar travels to Moscow... to tie up the last ends of Tehran's purchase of a brigade of advanced Russian S-300 air defense missiles to guard its nuclear sites... Their acquisition would make an air attack on Iran's nuclear facilities extremely difficult and dangerous...."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), February 15, 2009
http://www.debka.com/index1.php
OBAMA OVERTURE TO IRAN IS RECIPROCATED
"Obama made his most pronounced overture so far to Iran in his press conference on Monday, and Tehran promptly grasped it within hours... Obama specifically offered that he was "looking at areas where we [US and Iran] can have constructive dialogue". Renewing his call for direct dialogue with Iran, Obama said he hoped to create conditions to "start sitting across the table, face-to-face" in the coming months with "diplomatic overtures that will allow us to move our policy in the new direction"... President Mahmud Ahmadinejad responded within hours, "Our nation is ready to hold talks based on mutual respect and in a fair atmosphere..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KB14Ak03.html
"Obama made his most pronounced overture so far to Iran in his press conference on Monday, and Tehran promptly grasped it within hours... Obama specifically offered that he was "looking at areas where we [US and Iran] can have constructive dialogue". Renewing his call for direct dialogue with Iran, Obama said he hoped to create conditions to "start sitting across the table, face-to-face" in the coming months with "diplomatic overtures that will allow us to move our policy in the new direction"... President Mahmud Ahmadinejad responded within hours, "Our nation is ready to hold talks based on mutual respect and in a fair atmosphere..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KB14Ak03.html
Friday, February 06, 2009
U.S. AND NATO TO SEEK IRAN'S AID IN AFGHANISTAN
"... NATO's top military commander in Afghanistan, General John Craddock, admitted that the alliance would not oppose individual member nations making deals with Iran to supply their forces in Afghanistan... (NATO) secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had said only a week ago that NATO member countries, including the United States, should engage Iran to combat the Taliban in Afghanistan..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KB06Ag02.html
"... NATO's top military commander in Afghanistan, General John Craddock, admitted that the alliance would not oppose individual member nations making deals with Iran to supply their forces in Afghanistan... (NATO) secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had said only a week ago that NATO member countries, including the United States, should engage Iran to combat the Taliban in Afghanistan..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KB06Ag02.html
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