Iran.

More evidence of a non-peaceful nuclear program...

Iran enriching uranium on scale never seen before
Tuesday 15th May, 2007 - Diplomats and international inspectors say the Islamic Republic is enriching uranium on a much larger scale than before.

This is despite U.N. Security Council sanctions and international demands that Iran suspend its nuclear enrichment work. A published report in a leading American newspaper says inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency visited the Iranian underground nuclear facility at Natanz Sunday and found evidence suggesting Iran may have resolved most of its technological issues and has started enriching uranium on a significantly larger scale.

The report, in Tuesday's New York Times, cited top officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The paper says the examination was conducted with short notice, and the inspectors found Iranian engineers were already using some 1,300 centrifuges and were producing fuel that could be used in nuclear reactors. A single centrifuge can only enrich a very small amount of uranium, so many are linked to form a chain, called a "cascade." When uranium is highly enriched, it can be used to form the explosive core of a nuclear weapon.

Andrew Grotto, senior national security analyst at the Washington-based Center for American Progress, says about 3,000 centrifuges are needed to produce enough highly enriched uranium to make one bomb a year. "What is still unclear is how good Iran is at running these centrifuges for a long period of time, which is ultimately what you want if your goal is to produce a reliable supply of uranium."

More Iran enriching uranium on scale never seen before

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An end run around Ahmadinejad, or a diversion to stall for more time?...

Iran Lawmakers Seek U.S. Friendship
May 15, 2007 - Parliamentarians Trying To Form Committee To Hold Contacts With Congress

Iranian deputies were gathering signatures to try and form an Iranian-U.S. friendship committee in parliament to hold contacts with the U.S. Congress, legislators involved in the historic effort said Tuesday. It was the first effort organized by parliament to find a way to bridge nearly three decades of estrangement between the U.S. and Iran. It comes days after the governments of the two countries agreed to hold direct talks on one of the main issues dividing them — the conflict in Iraq.

Darioush Ghanbari, one of at least 10 deputies who has signed the document calling for the establishment of the committee, said Iranian parliamentarians were seeking to reduce tensions with America and "explain Iran's realities to the U.S. Congress." The document had signatures from both conservatives and reformists and more signatures from the 290-member legislature were expected by the end of the day, Ghanbari said.

"In the absence of formal diplomatic relations, we seek to establish a parliamentary relationship with the U.S. Congress and fill the existing gap of contacts between the two nations," Ghanbari, a pro-reform lawmaker, told The Associated Press. No specific number of deputies is required to form such a committee. The document signed by lawmakers will be presented to the parliament's speaker, who has the right to accept or reject it.

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Fearless W gettin' fed up with ol' Camel-lips...

Bush threatens new sanctions against Iran
18 May 2007 : President George W. Bush warned Thursday that the United States would push for new UN sanctions against Iran if the Islamic republic refuses to rein in its suspect nuclear programme.

"If we're unable to make progress with the Iranians, we want to work together to implement new sanctions through the United Nations," Bush told a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The United States would "continue to make it clear that Iran with a nuclear weapon is not in the interest of peace in the world," Bush said.

The United Nations has already adopted two resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran for defying calls to halt its sensitive uranium enrichment work. In March the UN Security Council gave Iran a further 60 days to suspend enrichment or face further punitive measures, with the latest deadline set to expire next week.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is also to issue a May 23 report on Tehran's nuclear work which could lead to further sanctions. Diplomats said Tuesday that UN weapons inspectors had confirmed that Iran appears to be making progress toward building 3,000 centrifuges, which could allow it to process enough nuclear material to build one atomic bomb per year.

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Obama gonna hit ol' Camel-lips inna pocketbook...

Obama targets Iran oil millions
May 16, 2007 - US Democratic presidential hope Barack Obama polished his national security credentials on Wednesday, introducing a Senate bill encouraging investors to cash out of projects which benefit Iran.

Obama, who most national polls have in second place in the Democratic field behind Hillary Clinton, targeted Iran's lucrative oil and gas industry in a bill spurred by the US belief the Islamic Republic is building nuclear arms. The measure, also introduced in the House of Representatives by lawmakers Barney Frank and Tom Lantos, would help investors and state and local governments divest from instruments which benefit Iran.

"The Iranian government uses the billions of dollars it earns from its oil and gas industry to build its nuclear program and to fund terrorist groups that export its militaristic and radical ideology to Iraq and throughout the Middle East," Obama said in a statement. "Pressuring companies to cut their financial ties with Iran is critical to ensuring that sanctions have their intended result.

"All Americans can play a role in pressuring companies to cut their ties with the Iranian regime, a state sponsor of terror that is a threat to our allies in the region and international security, as a means of convincing Iran to fundamentally change its policies." Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee, said the move would help the United States put the "squeeze on Iran."

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Two carriers in the same area is a pretty serious warning...

Two U.S. Carriers Enter Persian Gulf
May 23, 2007 - Two U.S. aircraft carriers entered the Persian Gulf on Wednesday for war exercises amidst rising tensions over the Iranian nuclear program.

The arrival of the two U.S. warships was the first such deployment in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The U.S. Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain said the two U.S. carriers, USS John C. Stennis and USS Nimitz, and their support group entered the Gulf waters near the Iranian coast "to conduct a mission in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and perform Expeditionary Strike Force training."

However, the U.S. Navy denied speculations that the build-up of U.S. forces in the Gulf region was part of an effort to beef up U.S. forces for an eventual confrontation with Iran over its questionable nuclear program. A statement from the U.S. Navy said, "The timing of this exercise is determined by the availability of forces, and is not connected to events in the region. This exercise is not directed against any nation."

Tension in the region is reaching a fever-pitch because of Iran's continued refusal to heed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding the Islamic regime to halt all its uranium-enrichment activities or face tougher sanctions. Washington and its allies have accused Tehran of developing nuclear weapons in the guise of a civilian nuclear program, a charge Iran denies.

AHN | Two U.S. Carriers Enter Persian Gulf | May 23, 2007

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Iran Backtracks On Nuclear Program
May 23, 2007 - The Iranian government appears to be softening its usual hardline stance with regards to its nuclear program.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced Tehran is willing to show flexibility to Western powers in order to reach an acceptable agreement. Mottaki told Alalam in Jordan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting, "In order to reach a comprehensive understanding in nuclear negotiations, we are flexible in the framework of the (U.N.) regulations." He added, "Iran welcomes negotiations to remove any possible ambiguities and (guarantee) non-diversion of its nuclear activities without a precondition.

"The only price we cannot pay is relinquishing the Iranian nation's right to acquire peaceful nuclear technology. The officials and the government are not allowed (a compromise) by the nation." Mottaki earlier said that the next round of dialogs between Iran and the European Union on Tehran nuclear issues will be held in Spain within the last 10 days of May. Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will be attending the talks. In late April, Larijani and Solana held two rounds of talks in the Turkish capital of Ankara over Iran's uranium enrichment program. After their meetings, the two negotiators told reporters that they had made progress in their talks.

On March 24, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a fresh resolution imposing stiffer penalties against Iran to pressure the Islamic Republic to halt its uranium enrichment activities. Iran rejected the resolution and insists that its nuclear program is peaceful in nature. But Washington and its allies reject this and accuse Tehran of developing nuclear weapons in the guise of a civilian nuclear program. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini also rejected suggestions to tie the Iraqi conflict to the Iranian nuclear issue. Hosseini said, "We do not want any connection between the nuclear talks and the discussions on Iraq. If others intend to create a link between the two cases, we reject it."

AHN | Iran Backtracks On Nuclear Program | May 23, 2007

This just keeps see-sawing back and forth and plays into Iran's stalling for time...

UN warns on Iran nuclear schedule
Thursday, 24 May 2007, Mr ElBaradei has faced criticism from Europe and the US

Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN's atomic agency, has said Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in three to eight years if it so chooses. Mr ElBaradei said he wanted to prevent Iran from enriching uranium on an industrial scale and to use talks to ease tensions over its nuclear work.

The US says it will press for new sanctions on Iran over its continued failure to suspend uranium enrichment. Iran denies US claims that its nuclear programme has a military aspect.

The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a report on Wednesday that Tehran was stepping up enrichment and obstructing inspections. The US described the report as "a laundry list of Iran's continued defiance of the international community".

More BBC NEWS | Middle East | UN warns on Iran nuclear schedule

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Iran: Atomic work near peak
May 24, 2007 -- Iran's nuclear work is almost at its "peak", President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday while the head of the U.N.'s atomic watchdog said Iran was probably at least three years from making a nuclear bomb if it so chooses.

Ahmadinejad dismissed Western pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear drive. "With God's help the path to completely enjoying all nuclear capacity is near its end and we are close to the peak," Ahmadinejad said at a rally in the central town of Isfahan. "The Iranian nation today has industrial nuclear technology and ... it will never retreat even one step from this path," he told the cheering crowd in a speech broadcast on television.

The Islamic Republic denies seeking nuclear weapons and says its program is aimed purely at generating electricity. Underlining what he said was the growing risk of a major confrontation between the West and Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei appealed for the two sides to restart negotiations on a compromise as soon as possible.

"I tend, based on our analysis, to agree with people like John Negroponte and the new director of the CIA, who are saying that even if Iran wanted to go for a nuclear weapon, it would not be before the end of this decade or sometime in the middle of the next decade. In other words three to eight years from now," ElBaradei told a news conference in Luxembourg. "Iran needs to suspend its enrichment activities as a confidence-building measure but the international community should do its utmost to engage Iran in comprehensive dialogue," ElBaradei told a conference on nuclear non-proliferation.

Big advances

Takin' the military option off the table...

US not for war against Iran: Rice
Saturday 2nd June, 2007 - The US is not preparing for war with Iran, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said.

'The president of the US has made it very clear what our policy is. That policy is supported by all the members of his cabinet and by the vice president of the US,' Rice said Friday referring to US opposition to Iran's nuclear activities. Her words came after talks with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos in Madrid.

Earlier, the UN nuclear watchdog agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei had cautioned against military action to halt Iran's nuclear programme. 'I have no brief other than to make sure we don't go into another war or that we go crazily into killing each other. You do not want to give additional argument to crazy people who say 'let's go and bomb Iran',' he told BBC radio.

'We have a diplomatic choice, but it's only going to succeed if we are absolutely clear with the Iranians, not muddying the message in any way,' Rice said.

More US not for war against Iran: Rice

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Military action in Iran not in anyones interest, says Gates
Saturday 2nd June, 2007 - A diplomatic solution is the best way to deal with Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has said.

"Having to take care of this problem militarily is in no-one’s interest,” he said. Speaking Saturday at the sixth annual International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Gates expressed optimism about progress in curbing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions through the “Six-Party Talks.” He said he’s hopeful the diplomatic approach will prove successful in addressing Iran’s efforts, too.

Iran poses a threat to Southwest Asia and potentially Europe, particularly as it builds missiles of increasing range, Gates told defense and military leaders from 25 Asian nations during his keynote address. During a question-and-answer session that followed the speech, Gates said the U.S. intelligence community generally agrees that Iran will be able to develop a nuclear weapon sometime between 2010 and 2015, and possibly even earlier. “There are those who believe that that could happen much sooner, in late 2008 or 2009,” he said.

Efforts to get Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities aren’t aimed at legitimate energy-production programs, he stressed. “I don’t think anyone begrudges Iran the capacity to have peaceful nuclear power under proper safeguards and supervision,” he said. “They key is whether they will have nuclear weapons.” That’s a distinction Gates said is impossible to make due to the way Iran conducts its affairs. “The reality is … we really don’t know,” he said.

More Military action in Iran not in anyones interest, says Gates

[Martin]

Here goes Iran's president talking the talk again...

I was just wondering... what all these Arabs in the middle east think about Global Warming? Knowing how blinded they are by their religion, they probably think the future of earth's climate is determined by God.

Iran president sees countdown to Israel's end | International | Reuters

Iran president sees "countdown" to Israel's end

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president said on Sunday the Lebanese and the Palestinians had pressed a "countdown button" to bring an end to Israel.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who triggered outrage in the West two years ago when he said Israel should be "wiped off the map", has often referred to the destruction of the Jewish state but says Iran is not a threat.

"With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine," Ahmadinejad said in a speech.

"By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future," he said. He did not elaborate.

Iran has described the war last summer between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel as a victory for the Iranian-backed group. Tehran also often praises the Palestinians for what it says is resistance against Israeli occupation.

Ahmadinejad was speaking ahead of Monday's anniversary of the death in 1989 of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, whose words Ahmadinejad echoed when he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map".

The president's comments caused consternation in Israel and the West, which also fear Iran is seeking to build an atomic arsenal under cover of a civilian nuclear power program, a charge Tehran denies.

Although Ahmadinejad has said Iran is not a threat to Israel, Iranian officials have said Tehran would respond swiftly to any Israeli attack. Some analysts have speculated Israel could seek to knock out Iran's atomic sites.

Evidence of Iranian meddling in Afghanistan...

Gates: Taliban Fighters Use Iran Weapons
Jun. 4, 2007 - Robert Gates Says Weapons From Iran Are Falling Into Hands Of Taliban Fighters In Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that Iranian weapons are falling into the hands of anti-government Taliban fighters but he stopped short of blaming Tehran. Afghan President Hamid Karzai seemed to dismiss the matter. At a news conference at the presidential palace, Gates offered possible explanations for the flow of weapons from Iran to this war-scarred country, including smuggling. He mentioned no specific weapons, but NATO officials recently cited the discovery in Kabul of an armor-piercing roadside bomb, the same type U.S. officials have long complained are entering Iraq from Iran.

"There have been indications over the past few months of weapons coming in from Iran," Gates told reporters with Karzai at his side. "We do not have any information about whether the government of Iran is supporting this, is behind it, or whether it's smuggling." Gates, on his second visit to Afghanistan since becoming Pentagon chief last December, said that while the weapons appear to be going to Taliban fighters, some may be headed to criminals in the Afghan drug trade. Asked his own view, Karzai appeared eager to give the Iranian government a pass.

He said there was no evidence of Iranian government involvement, adding, "Iran and Afghanistan have never been as friendly as they are today." There is no reason for Iran to aid the Taliban, Karzai said. "It is in the interests of our brothers in Iran" to support the development of a more stable and prosperous Afghanistan. He said that also applied to Pakistan, on Afghanistan's eastern border, where U.S. officials say Taliban fighters have found haven and easy passage for cross-border attacks on U.S., NATO and Afghan troops. A prevalent view among U.S. officials is that Tehran, while not an ally of the Taliban, is seizing any feasible opportunity in both Iraq and Afghanistan to complicate U.S. stabilization efforts and to tie down the American military amid tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran's nuclear program.

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IAEA all talk and no action...

IAEA Does Little To Force Iranian Nuclear Cooperation, Despite Being "Increasingly Disturbed"
June 11, 2007 - The nuclear watch dog of the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains focused on Iran's controversial development, yet has done little concrete action to stop Tehran from joining the nuclear club.

IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei briefed the Board of Governors on a range of nuclear issues, Monday, saying, "it is incumbent on Iran to work urgently with the Agency, under a policy of full transparency and active cooperation, in order for the Agency to be able to provide assurance regarding the exclusively peaceful nature of all of Iran's nuclear activities."

Director-General ElBaradei says that the IAEA, in light of sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council, is "increasingly disturbed by the current stalemate and the brewing confrontation - a stalemate that urgently needs to be broken, and a confrontation that must be defused."

"I continue to believe that dialog and diplomacy are ultimately the only way to achieve the negotiated solution foreseen in the relevant Security Council resolutions. The earlier that conditions are created to move in this direction, the better."

AHN | IAEA Does Little To Force Iranian Nuclear Cooperation, Despite Being "Increasingly Disturbed" | June 11, 2007

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IAEA-Iran Meeting On Nukes Called Off
June 11, 2007 - Diplomats Say Iran's Refusal To Make Good On Promises Led To Cancellation

A meeting between a senior Iranian envoy and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency was abruptly canceled Monday and diplomats blamed Iran's refusal to make good on a promise to provide answers about past atomic activities. The meeting between Javeed Vaidi of Iran and IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei had been billed as a test of Iran's readiness to end years of stonewalling and provide answers on aspects of its nuclear program that could be used to develop weapons.

But the talks were canceled on short notice because of perceptions that Vaidi would bring "nothing substantial" to that meeting and another with deputy IAEA director general Olli Heinonen, a diplomat told The Associated Press. Along with Iran's refusal to freeze uranium enrichment and restrictions on IAEA inspectors, the country's stonewalling was also the focus of ElBaradei in opening comments to a meeting of the agency's 35-nation board of governors.

The agency is unable "to make any progress in its efforts to resolve outstanding issues relevant to the nature and scope of Iran's nuclear program," ElBaradei told delegates, describing the development as a "key proliferation concern." Vaidi did talk with EU negotiator Robert Cooper on a recent Iranian pledge to clear up past nuclear questions in talks at Austria's foreign ministry. Both men warned against expecting "miracles," saying the purpose of their talks was to set up a future meeting between their superiors — Ali Larijani of Iran and the EU's Javier Solana.

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Wonder if we can take out their missiles first?...

Iran threatens a 'missile blitz' against Gulf states if attacked
11 June 2007 - Iran threatened Monday to launch a "missile blitz" against Persian Gulf states that would drag the entire Middle East into a war, should the United States strike its nuclear facilities.

"The objective will be to stun the American missile defense system using dozens if not hundreds of missiles that will be launched simultaneously at certain targets," Iran's former defense minister, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, told the U.S. journal Defense News. Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman all host key U.S. and British military bases, and Shamkhani's comments were rare for a senior Iranian official in that they were directed at Gulf states and not Israel.

Shamkhani directed his comments primarily at those states that cooperate with the U.S., adding that the missiles would be fired not only at the American bases but also at strategic facilities such as oil refineries and power stations.

To date, it was widely believed that the brunt of any Iranian retaliation for an attack on its nuclear facilities would be directed at Israel. Experts who have been closely following developments in Iran believe, however, that an Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia is not entirely out of the question. It should be emphasized that this is one of the few times that a senior Iranian official has spoken in such detail regarding what Iran's "response plan" for an attack on its nuclear facilities.

Iran threatens a 'missile blitz' against Gulf states if attacked - Haaretz - Israel News

Crunch time for sanctions to work...

Sanctions loom for Iran
Jun 23, 2007 - Iran, IAEA to draw up action plan; Iran's chief negotiator met the top UN nuclear monitor ahead of talks with the European Union in what could be a last chance to end a dispute over Tehran's atomic ambitions and avert tougher UN sanctions.

The UN nuclear watchdog director said he and Iran's chief negotiator had agreed to draw up an "plan of action" within two months on how to resolve questions about Iran's disputed nuclear programme. International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei said he hoped the stalemate of the last weeks could be broken and described the two-hour meeting with Ali Larijani as "quite satisfying".

Yet while Larijani also spoke of "good progress", they reported no breakthrough in the core dispute - Iran's defiance of UN demands to stop uranium enrichment. "I hope we should be in a position in the next weeks to move forward and break the stalemate where we have been in for the last few months," ElBaradei told reporters.

He said they were drawing up "a plan of action which I hope we should be able to conclude within two months" and then start implementing. However, diplomats say that about a year ago, Iran agreed with the IAEA to come up with a plan for resolving outstanding issues within three weeks, but never followed through.

More Iran, IAEA to draw up action plan | WORLD | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz

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Official: Iran Open To Nuclear Compromise
June 22, 2007 - Envoy Says Tehran Is Ready To Give Answers On Past Activities With Conditions

Iran is ready to provide answers on past suspicious nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency within the next few months, the agency's head said Friday after meeting with the country's top nuclear negotiator. But the Iranian official suggested the offer was conditional to an end of U.N. Security Council involvement in Iran's nuclear program. The council has already imposed two sets of sanctions on the Islamic republic over the past half year for its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment and is poised to impose new penalties.

Such terms would likely be unacceptable to the five permanent council members plus Germany — the six powers that have spearheaded the effort to pressure Iran to give up its enrichment ambitions. The Security Council has demanded that Iran provide answers to the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, on activities that could be linked to a weapons program. But it has also called on Iran to freeze enrichment and stop building a heavy water reactor that will produce plutonium — like enriched uranium a material that could provide the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

With the main emphasis on blunting the possible nuclear threat from Iran by depriving it of technologies that could be used for such weapons, any concession that falls short of suspending both enrichment and construction of the reactor was unlikely to be far reaching enough. Still, the timing of the offer by Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, appeared to be designed to exploit possible cracks among the six world powers. Russia and China are opposed to quick council moves to new sanctions, while diplomats say Germany in the past has appeared ready to accept a compromise that falls short of a full enrichment freeze.

More Official: Iran Open To Nuclear Compromise, Envoy Says Tehran Is Ready To Give Answers On Past Activities With Conditions - CBS News