Nuclear Crisis

[Rasputin]

Iran's parliament has passed a bill which obliges the government to review its co-operation with the United Nation's nuclear agency, the IAEA.
The move comes four days after the UN Security Council voted to impose sanctions on Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme.

After the UN vote, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he would reduce co-operation with the IAEA.

Iran is likely to limit UN inspections of nuclear sites, correspondents say.

The UN sanctions, passed unanimously, include a ban on trade in nuclear-related technology, and a freeze on some Iranian assets.

The Security Council resolution demands that Tehran end all uranium enrichment work, which can produce fuel for nuclear plants as well as for bombs.

UN SANCTIONS ON IRAN
Ban on import and export of nuclear-related material
Assets frozen of 10 companies and 12 individuals
Threat of further non-military sanctions


Iran press eyes advantage

The text of the Iranian bill was read out during a parliament session broadcast live on state radio: "The government is obliged to revise its co-operation level with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."

The bill, which also tells the government to "accelerate" Iran's controversial nuclear drive, was approved by an overwhelming parliamentary majority.

Out of 203 deputies present, 161 voted in favour, 15 against and 15 abstained.

"The bill gives a free hand to the government to decide on a range of reactions - from leaving the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty to remaining in the International Atomic Energy Agency and negotiating," speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said during the debate.

The bill was then approved by the Guardian Council, a hardline constitutional watchdog which vets all parliamentary legislation.


After the UN sanctions were passed on 23 December, Iran said it would immediately begin installing 3,000 centrifuges at a uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.

Traces of weapons-grade uranium were found at Natanz, in central Iran, during UN inspections in 2003, although this was later blamed on contaminated imported equipment.

Iran's plan to install centrifuges at the site would enable a vital stage of the process of enriching uranium into weapons-grade material.

It says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

[zubin]

Sanctions against Iran

CASMII Statement on UN Sanctions against Iran
A Terrible Day for International Diplomacy
by CASMII

December 27, 2006

The Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) is gravely concerned about the latest development in the United Nations Security Council. The imposition of sanctions by the Council is ill-advised and destructive to peaceful dialogue. This action not only robs Iranians of their inalienable rights enjoyed by every other nation, it also exposes the irresponsible way in which the international body is being used as a tool to satisfy militant warmongers in US and the West.

This is arguably the first time in history of the Security Council that an entire nation is being punished based not on actual violations of international law, but on pure speculation on the part of some powerful countries, regarding its hypothetical future conduct. As Seymour Hersh reported in The New Yorker, both the CIA and the Israeli intelligence have been unable to substantiate any nuclear weapons program in Iran.

Without the slightest evidence presented by the IAEA that indicates the existence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, the US and the UK have successfully maneuvered to take Iran’s legitimate rights away and to label Iran a “violator” for resisting this transgression. Let us not forget the lessons of the illegal Iraq invasion, the justification for which followed the same path through the UN Security Council only four years ago.

This is an insult to the institution of the UN and the idea of international diplomacy in general. Peace-seeking people everywhere should recognize this for what it is: a manufactured crisis leading to a military strike and a first step toward a new and even more devastating war in the Middle East.

Sanctions are being justified as a "security concern" of the United States and a handful of other nations, not as being the will of the world community. Even at the Security Council level a unanimous vote has only been made possible after unprecedented political pressure was brought to bear by the US. As the Observer reported last Sunday, the US is giving up to 270% more foreign aid to Security Council members as incentive for them to support US positions.

The token sanctions agreed upon by the UNSC members today will have almost zero chance of obtaining their ostensible objectives on their own. As we have noted elsewhere, the point of such sanctions is hardly the nuclear weapons program for which no evidence exists; the real purpose is to pave the way for the forceful imposition of severe economic sanctions and to justify military enforcement by US and UK. The sanctions are imposed simply to undermine the entire diplomatic process and to conclude that military intervention is a viable option for this manufactured problem.

Indicative of this frame of mind is the inclusion of Iran’s “missile programs” in the UN resolution. The explicit mention of conventional missile (which are not WMD and clearly legal under international law) is reminiscent of the UN supervised destruction of Iraq’s al-Samoud missiles before the 2003 invasion. In retrospect, the strong US/UK opposition to these conventional arms was just an excuse to eliminate Iraq’s defenses in order to better facilitate the subsequent planned invasion.

The point is to create some international legitimacy for striking Iran, just as the 2002 UN resolution did for Iraq. Despite no authorization for the use of force, President Bush still claimed that US is “enforcing the UN resolution” and “the will of the international community” by invading Iraq.

In this light, we note that there may actually be no way for Iran to comply with the UN demands, as any such compliance will have to be subjected to intrusive “verification,” which is designed to remain inconclusive. Just as the repeated American demands for more and more intrusive inspections, for opening up of Saddam’s palaces and interviewing Iraqi scientists did not satisfy America’s suspicions; neither will Iran’s “compliance” with these demands be ever sufficient to “prove” the non-existence of a WMD program. Indeed all Iranian overtures, including the allowance of full and frequent inspections to ensure Iran’s compliance have so far been ignored by the Bush Administration. Iranians may now conclude that since they are unable to show their innocence, they may as well not cooperate at all.

Sanctions can not destroy non-existent nukes or fictitious weapons programs, but they can destroy peace. We maintain that honest, ethical dialogue with mutual respect, free from hostile threats, is the only path to a peaceful resolution.

In support of Kofi Annan’s request for a negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue last Tuesday, CASMII renews its call for immediate and unconditional negotiations with Iran as requested not just by the overwhelming majority of the international community including the non-aligned movement (NAM) but also by the bipartisan commission headed by James Baker and Lee Hamilton. The Bush Administration should not be allowed to once again defy the will of the world and sabotage the chances for a peaceful settlement in this nuclear standoff.

[Rasputin]

Veiling our ineptitude in the legacy of Cyrus the Great, cowardice abound, we abandon Iran in her moment of need and justify our action on the basis of the Islamic regime’s despotism. How cynical that under the watchful contribution of Cyrus to the world, the replica on which he inscribed free worship for his subjects, considered to be the world’s first universal declaration of human rights kept at the United Nations, Iran’s enemies had the audacity to degrade her children under the name of universal law; A law upheld by Iran and violated by UN members.

And how sad it is that while claiming to be proud of our history, those who humiliated us were applauded by inspiring leaders. Claiming to be Cyrus’ heirs, those who wish to step into his shoes, commend the decision of the UN; equating the punishment of Iranians to the chastisement or the capitulation of the Islamic regime. How misplaced this Iranian pride and punishment is. The cultural heritage of the Zoroastrians is the belief in their spiritual and cultural superiority. Compromise with the outside world was considered a weakness (Ziemke p.87) (1).

In fact, according to Stack (2), the history of Cyrus the Great is so embedded in most Iranians that we still think of ourselves as a superpower. How can the former Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, and the terrorist cult leader, Maryam Rajavi, be ignorant of the psyche of the very people they hope to lead?

History has shown economic sanctions and political reprimands are ineffective in preventing nuclear technology; North Korea and Iraq are two cases in point. Even an Israeli air strike against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear plant in 1981 did not curb their ambitions. Given the determination of countries to reach their goal, one must therefore weigh the consequences of isolation and sanctions.

A serious concern is that although the Chernobyl power plant tragedy reinforced the need for international cooperation, politics continue to dominate the arena of decision making. To piece-meal a nuclear plant is an accident waiting to happen. Those who encourage sanctions and applaud them, are blinded by ambition and do not have the interest of Iranians at heart.

What must be of particular concern to any Iranian with a sense of patriotism is the reality of Iran’s exhaustible fossil fuels. Due to an increase in demand and decrease in supply, Iran will find itself wanting for its energy needs in the next decade. Had the leaders who praised the sanctions spent less time pursuing their ambitions and more time studying Iran’s national interest, they would realize that Iran is in a dire situation and that it must search for alternative fuel supplies regardless of the government. The NPT ensures Iran’s inalienable right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology. It is the guarantee of the Iranians for the future.

And finally, the imposition of sanctions meant that the US administration was successful in intimidating the ‘world body’ into taking away the right of the Iranian people and violating international law- again. The sanctions were not a judgment on the Islamic regime – the resolution meant denying Iran her sovereignty --with the full knowledge that sanctions would be ineffective, with the next chapter in this game being military action.

The method used to destroy Iran, as known in the neo-con circle, will be “Total War”. "A total war strategy does not have to include the intentional targeting of civilians, but the sparing of civilian lives cannot be its first priority ... The purpose of total war is to permanently force your will onto another people group.”

Many of the total war and creative destruction crowd get their ideas across to the public through an agency called Benador Associates, which arranges their TV appearances and speaking engagements, and helps to place their articles in newspapers. Ms. Benador, the founder of Benador Associates, along with Senator Liberman is busy promoting Reza Pahlavi. The Infamous Max Boot, a Benador associate has endorsed using the MEK to cause havoc and mayhem in Iran. Boot is not alone in promoting his idea. The Iran Policy Group (IPC) is advocating the use of terror group fighters from the Mujaheden-e Khalq (MEK/MKO) “as intelligence agents and urged the consideration of military options to spark an uprising in Iran.”

Ahmadinejad is not blameless, this is certain. But one must realize that the West has always wanted to have Iran back as a client state. For the past 27 years, the role of presidency in Iran has always been ineffective. It was the West that chose to give Ahmadinejad a rope to hang himself with, and with it, the Iranian people. We must cut the rope that is about to hang the people.

If Iranians wish to claim their past glory, they owe it to future generations to defend their country today. Let them be as proud of their history as we have been. Sanctions and war will only hurt the nameless and the blameless; those who are too poor to escape the savagery of ambition and greed. Let us not betray the future, nor bury the underprivileged; but recognize the enemy and work together to save our country.

[Rasputin]

A UN resolution imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) for its nuclear ambitions is underway. We, as freedom-loving Iranians, can imagine that atom technology could be a task of a democratic regime in Iran, but we cannot come to the conclusion to end up creeping on the side of the undemocratic IRI.

We can share the argument from any side that no nation can be arbitrarily prevented from nuclear technology. However, we should know that what makes difference here is no doubt that the Islamic regime needs this technology to build weapons to pursue its aggressive policy both inside and outside the country. IRI’s repeated allegation of a civil nuclear-programme is nothing but a flagrant lie, a tactical lie (Doroogh-e-maslehati) permitted and often used by Mullahs for survival of their illegitimate regime.

All countries can achieve this technology within the terms of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. If that is, indeed, what the international community desires, as I believe seems likely, then those countries possessing nuclear arms should be forced to immediately eliminate their arsenals.

The IRI has irresponsibly dispersed the nuclear facilities and disguised sites all over the country, even deliberately among the civil population. This proves that when the cause of Mullahs’ interests comes to the fore, they do not care if Iranian cities or even civil people are likely to be targeted in eventual foreign air strikes.

The IRI probably has duplicate equipment that can be activated and has the know-how to produce more, to pursue a more vigorous and unabated nuclear weapons programme in the long term.

The IRI’s nuclear programme should fall under more scrutiny and charge. It is seeking to produce nuclear weapons to pursue its aggressive policy both inside and outside the country. Regarding IRI’s strategic plans, an optimistic solution for the atom conflict between the international community and IRI’s officials is nothing but an illusion. In reality, the IRI cannot and will not desist from its nuclear weapons; such a “sin” would be in breach of “jihad fi sabil Allah” (war for the cause of Allah).

The IRI’s nuclear programme is not an issue of national pride. While trying to manipulate and alienate Iranian opinions from realities, the IRI along with its diverse factions, paid journalists, and propaganda machine fake the claims that IRI’s nuclear technology is a national issue. Indeed, the IRI has not only been baffling and damaging Iranian identity and reputation, but has always considered people and their interests as cannon fodders for its anti-Iranian and pro-Islamic ambitions.

It makes no difference if the IRI is brought before the United Nations Security Council or not. Whatever the case may be, the nuclear ambition of the IRI is developing in the most dubious way. It is an utmost danger to all the humanity, and it furthermore reinforces its dictatorship against Iranian people. IRI’s nuclear ambitions do not consider interests of our national economy, but mainly have roots in its military purposes.

In general, standoff is not only between the IRI and the international community, but more profoundly between the IRI and Iranian people. We must be very careful because the international community is not aware enough or does not care about the anti Iranian nature of the IRI. The UN permanent members will eventually decide about the measures of sanctions on Iran, not the IRI.

Many of those who pretend to be serious about preventing an IRI’s nuclear programme cannot address their threats to Iranian people. For example, the Bush administration uses the word “Iran” instead of the IRI; it implicitly means that Iranian people should atone for the IRI’s nuclear ambitions. Realising that there is a gulf of contradiction between people and the anti-Iranian IRI, Iranian intellectuals must make this difference clear. Therefore, we must try to influence the UN’s decisions so that the sanctions punish IRI’s perpetrators, not Iran and Iranian people.

With focus being placed on the military related means and judicial measures against the IRI’s officials, Iranian people will be coming out as the real winners of any sanction against IRI’s officials. Long-term interests of Iranian people consist of developing appropriated sanction measures to improve the effectiveness of UN sanctions against the anti Iranian Islamic regime.

All freedom-loving people around the world, especially Iranian people in Iran who are the first victims of IRI’s atrocities, welcome sanctions for any reason on the IRI provided Iranian people are not themselves subject to these sanctions. The sanction measures must be set up by such appropriate UN resolutions that they weaken the IRI’s apparatus of repression while strengthening the position of people. Therefore, the sanctions can only bring results when the measures are merely aimed at the IRI’s leadership, but not target those economic branches providing necessary needs for people. Sanctions of food and medical supplies raise the infant mortality, malnutrition problems, the massive deteriorations in basic problems, in particular in massive poverty, the health-care system and hygienic conditions, as it was the case during the sanctions on Iraq under Saddam.

It is important to know that the IRI is not much dependent on foreign imports for nuclear technology and already has the available raw materials, and most of the designs and techniques, required to pursue a nuclear weapons programme. The Mullahs’ regime has the necessary know-how and has already produced every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. Furthermore, Iran has found uranium mines in Yazd and has finished the process of constructing milling plants to manufacture yellow cake uranium and conversion plants that convert it to UF6 gas. Iran has also begun manufacturing its own gas centrifuges used to enrich uranium.

The sanctions must start by expelling the IRI from the UN and all related institutions, banning of direct or indirect sale, supply and transfer to IRI-controlled areas of technical advice, assistance or training related to the military forces, which form the IRI’s apparatus of repression. In general, the sanctions must efficiently and directly target the following: IRI’s means of repression, their military plans, its repressive organs, and its administration.

It is necessary that the UN creates a sanction committee to work out and to control effectiveness of sanction measures on the IRI. The sanctions must be vigilant, smart and precise targeted actions merely aimed at all the institutions of the regime and its officials. Such a committee should require all State Members to reduce the number of IRI’s diplomatic personnel, restrict or ban the entry and transit of IRI’s officials in their respective countries. They should freeze all funds, financial assets and economic resources that are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by IRI’s officials and their related institutions.

The sanction measures should not apply to ordinary goods of people. The UN should then avoid any measure applying to supplies of non-military uses. The UN should punish the suppressive IRI, but cannot furthermore punish the suppressed Iranian people. Iranian opposition abroad should express concerns at the possible adverse impact of sanctions on our people, especially on the most vulnerable segments of the population, such as less protected poor people and children.

Attacks on Iranian military installations are not only illegal under international laws, but they would also tighten the noose of IRI’s dictatorship and harbour incalculable consequences for the entire region. It costs many lives and seriously damages the national infrastructures. The UN along with the international community must initially try all non-military means to contribute their helps to free Iran from the plague of the IRI.

In an extended sense, atom conflict aside, the UN should declare its duty and responsibility when a totalitarian regime like the IRI systematically stands against its people. All freedom-loving Iranians want to know what the UN is practically supposed to do when their state is anti Iranian and is in permanent conflict with the people but does not give up the power in a peaceful process.

The UN is expected to determine effective actions to stop massive human losses in Iran. The UN is expected to officially express itself about the losses of many thousands political executions since the existence of the IRI. The UN must now take the consequences in attempting to convince the international community how it reacts against the culprits of such massive human losses.

[Rasputin]

Iran will press ahead with nuclear work: president

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran would press ahead with its nuclear plans and that a U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on Iran was "invalid."

"The Iranian nation is wise and will stick to its nuclear work and is ready to defend it completely," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech to a rally in the southern city of Ahvaz. "The U.N. resolution against Iran's atomic work has no validity for Iranians."

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on December 23 to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology in an attempt to stop uranium enrichment work that could produce material that could be used in bombs.

Ahmadinejad said "bullying powers" could not deprive Iran of its right to nuclear technology.

"If bullying powers ... want to resist Iranians' will, we will give them a historic slap in the face," he said, accompanied by chants from the crowd of "Death to America."

Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, insists it wants to produce fuel for nuclear power plants and dismisses charges it is trying to produce nuclear weapons.

Iran's parliament passed a bill on Wednesday obliging the government to revise its level of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in reaction to the resolution.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say in nuclear and other matters. But, like Ahmadinejad, he has insisted Iran will not give up its atomic plans.

[Rasputin]

Since the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1737, which was unanimously passed on Saturday Dec 23rd, has a specified 60 day deadline for Iran’s response, ignoring it will force the Security Council to revisit the issue and increase the level of sanctions against Iran. Although, experts believe that tougher economic sanctions will be hard to approve given the reluctance of China, Russia, and some European countries, but it will be wishful thinking for Iran to assume that it is unlikely to happen. Therefore, there are three options that Iran can consider for its uranium enrichment fuel cycle aspirations in light of last week’s UNSC Resolution 1737.

The least confrontational approach is to accept the position that US has always wanted in the past two decades and most likely will be the hardened position of the new administration for 2008 and beyond. And that is for Iran to stay a member of NPT (Nonproliferation Treaty) and honor all the intrusive inspections which come with the Additional Protocol and allow even more flexibility if needed, but at the same time abandon the nuclear fuel cycle activities for ever, or at least the most sensitive portion as it relates to enrichment. Thus, Iran will become the first recognized member of NPT that does not benefit from Article IV (Article IV recognizes the inalienable right of NPT members for developing peaceful nuclear technology).

Ironically, the five nuclear weapon club members of this treaty continue to expand and modernize their weapon systems without honoring Article VI that was put in place for complete elimination of these weapons. If Iran chooses this approach, US may agree to uranium conversion steps in Isfahan, where uranium gas (UF6) is created from the yellow cake powder, but the Natanz facility that is designed for enrichment of UF6 to the level needed for a nuclear power reactor has to be mothballed for ever. This is more along the line of what South Korea is doing right now with their fuel cycle activities.

The second choice for Iran is to suspend all fuel cycle activities, as expected from UNSC Resolution 1737 and start a long and tedious political jostling that could go on for years, hoping to have the IAEA certify Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle facilities for peaceful purposes. This process for Japan took about 5 years, and experts have suggested that given the past ambiguities dealing with Iran’s dossier, this may take at least 10 years to complete.

As it has been suggested, after IAEA completes its evaluation and certification, US probably will demand Iran’s nuclear dossier to be approved by the Security Council, delaying it even more and most likely use its veto power to block it for a long time, inter alia, complaining about Iran’s economical justifications for needing this technology. Even if Iran receives its final approval with possible abstains from UK and US in the Security Council having pursued this second option, since Resolution 1737 demands suspension of all research and development activities, it will have to start around 2017 with a very old technology that is no longer economically feasible or practical. If Iran is only after a “grand bargain” with US to solve all the economic and security issues and not seriously interested in mastering a complete nuclear fuel cycle, then this is probably the optimum approach.

The last option is to have Iran’s IAEA representative in Vienna submit the required 90 day notice for withdrawing from NPT, but remain a member of IAEA, as is the case for India. This is probably the only sure way to guarantee immediate continuation of work on all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle. If Iran is truly serious about its nuclear aspirations and not looking for bargaining chips, as it relates to its decades of confrontation with US, then this is the only way forward. However, this final approach carries with it serious confrontation with the Security Council and makes approval of sanctions under Article 39 of the Council probable which includes military enforcement.

Since the next US primary presidential elections will begin in earnest in late 2007, the first half of 2007 will be a deciding factor for the Bush Administration in dealing with Iran’s nuclear technology. Iran’s nuclear case has been a long and difficult road that may shape the future of NPT, as far as non-nuclear countries are concerned, and will have a profound impact for the structure of the proposed nuclear fuel suppliers group. This is a group of dozen countries that are only allowed to make nuclear fuel; forcing others to abandon their nuclear fuel development plans and become a costumer of this group for their needs, creating a cartel for this fuel source, similar to the OPEC cartel.

The most constructive way forward is to go along the line of Option 2 with an understanding that long and protracted negotiation and certification phases by IAEA will demonstrate to Iran the insincerity of this approach. By including fixed and short timelines--months and not years--for gradual certification of Iranian nuclear sites this should be a mutually beneficial approach that could bring both sides back to the negotiation table.

Nader Bagherzadeh, is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. He has been following Iran’s nuclear issues, and given talks and written articles on that subject.

[Rasputin]

TEHRAN (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed Iran will step up its atomic programme despite UN sanctions, predicting Tehran would soon "push the button" to produce nuclear fuel for industrial uses.

"Iran has the fuel cycle and very soon we will push the button on nuclear fuel production for industrial uses," said Ahmadinejad in a speech in Ghotvand, in western Khuzestan province, according to the IRNA news agency on Wednesday.

"The Iranian people have taken their decision and will in no way pay attention to empty cries of the materialists and the bullying of the decadent powers."

Iran has already announced it has enriched uranium to levels of around five percent. Producing nuclear fuel that could theoretically be used in a power station would be another important step in mastering the nuclear fuel cycle.

Ahmadinejad's latest comments come in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution at the end of last year which imposed sanctions against Tehran for its failure to suspend uranium enrichment.

Western powers want Iran to suspend enrichment, a process that they fear could be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran insists its atomic programme is entirely peaceful and it has every right to the full nuclear fuel cycle.

Iranian officials have already predicted Iran would be able to make a major announcement on its nuclear programme during the 28th anniversary celebrations of the Islamic revolution in February.

"The Iranian people will not retreat one iota from their rights and the revolutionary celebration will be a celebration that proves Iran's nuclear rights," Ahmadinejad said.

"The Iranian people are insisting on their position and want nothing more than their rights. The bullying powers should know that whatever fuss they make they have to surrender to the Iranian people's will."

He did not go into details on the scale of the fuel production, but producing nuclear fuel for an atomic power station would involve the continuous running of centrifuges to produce enriched uranium of high quality and quantity.

Iran has also said it wants to install 3,000 uranium enriching centrifuges at its enrichment plant in Natanz, central Iran, by March but it is unclear which stage these plans have reached.

In October, Iran only had two cascades of 164 centrifuges in Natanz declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) so the plan to install 3,000 centrifuges would take its enrichment to a new level.

Russia is building Iran's first nuclear power station in the southern city of Bushehr, a much delayed project which is due to be opened in September 2007. Moscow plans on delivering fuel for the plant in March.

However, Iran has also insisted it has every right to produce its own nuclear fuel on Iranian soil in defiance of international calls for the work to be carried outside the Islamic republic.

[Rasputin]

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani is on a two-day trip to China.
His visit comes after the UN Security Council imposed restrictions on Iran's trade in nuclear materials and technology.

The restrictions are designed to pressure Tehran to halt work on its nuclear programme.

Mr Larijani is believed to be carrying a message from the Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, for Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Mr Larijani will also meet other senior Chinese officials during his trip, but no further details about this visit have been made available.

China has always faced a delicate balancing act in its dealings with Iran.

Beijing needs Iranian oil and gas for its booming economy, and China supports Iran's right to a nuclear programme.

But as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it backed last month's resolution imposing sanctions on Iran.

[Rasputin]

رييس جمهوری چين خواستار 'واکنش جدی' ايران به قطعنامه شماره 1737 شورای امنيت سازمان ملل متحد شده است.
روز جمعه، 5 ژانويه، علی لاريجانی که برای ديداری دو روزه وارد پکن، پايتخت چين، شده است با هو جينتائو، رييس جمهوری اين کشور، ديدار و به گزارش خبرگزاری دولتی ايران - ايرنا - پيام کتبی محمود احمدی نژاد، رييس جمهوری، را تسليم وی کرد.

به گزارش خبرگزاری دولتی چين - شين هوا - رييس جمهوری چين در اين ملاقات گفت "شورای امنيت سازمان ملل متحد قطنامه شماره 1737 را به اتفاق آرا تصويب کرده و اين قطعنامه منعکس کننده نگرانی جامعه بين المللی در مورد موضوع هسته ای ايران است."

آقای هو افزود "اميدواريم ايران بتواند واکنشی جدی را به اين قطعنامه نشان دهد."

خبرگزاری دولتی ايران - ايرنا - گزارش کرده است که آقای لاريجانی در راس هياتی برای مذاکره در باره روابط دوجانبه، مسايل منطقه ای و بين المللی و موضوع هسته ای ايران به چين سفر کرده است.


شورای امنيت سازمان ملل متحد قطنامه شماره 1737 را به اتفاق آرا تصويب کرده و اين قطعنامه منعکس کننده نگرانی جامعه بين المللی در مورد موضوع هسته ای ايران است


رييس جمهوری چين

سرپرست مذاکرات هسته ای ايران پس از خاتمه ملاقات با رييس جمهوری چين در يک نشست خبری شرکت کرد.

وی گفت که برنامه های هسته ای ايران منحصرا دارای هدف های صلح آميز است.

روز پنجشنبه، خبرگزاری شين هوا گزارش کرد که آقای لاريجانی با تانگ جيا شوان، عضو شورای دولتی جمهوری خلق چين نيز ملاقات کرده است.

در پی اين ملاقات، آقای تانگ گفت که کشور وی خواستار از سرگيری مذاکرات هسته ای ايران است و ابراز اميدواری کرد که طرف های مربوطه شرايط مناسب را برای اين منظور فراهم آورند.

روابط چين و ايران

شين هوا به نقل از علی لاريجانی گزارش کرده است که جمهوری اسلامی به اصول پيمان منع گسترش جنگ افزارهای هسته ای پايبند است و از يافتن راه حل موضوع هسته ای ايران حمايت می کند.

چين دارای روابط اقتصادی گسترده با ايران است و بخشی از نفت مورد نياز خود را از اين کشور تامين می کند.

در عين حال، جمهوری خلق چين، که عضو دايم شورای امنيت سازمان ملل است، به قطعنامه شماره 1737 شورا شامل برخی تحريم های هسته ای و تسليحاتی عليه ايران رای مثبت داد.

اين قطعنامه در ماه دسامبر 2006 به اتفاق آرا تصويب شد و در آن به ايران شصت روز مهلت داده شده است تا خواست بين المللی در مورد توقف بخشی از برنامه های هسته ای خود را برآورده سازد.


احتمالا هدف لاريجانی از سفر به چين ارزيابی موضع اين کشور در صورت پيشنهاد تشديد تحريمها بوده است

احتمال دارد که در پايان اين مهلت، وضع تنبيه های جديدی عليه ايران مورد بررسی اعضای شورای امنيت قرار گيرد.

ناظران گفته اند که ممکن است هدف آقای لاريجانی از سفر به چين ارزيابی واکنش اين کشور به طرح قطعنامه شديدتری عليه جمهوری اسلامی در پايان اين مهلت است.

پيشتر، شورای حکام آژانس بين المللی انرژی اتمی و شورای امنيت سازمان ملل با تصويب قطعنامه هايی از ايران خواستار محدوديت هايی در فعاليت های هسته ای اين کشور به خصوص توقف برنامه غنی سازی اورانيوم شده بودند.

در جريان مذاکرات شورای امنيت در مورد پيش نويس قطعنامه عليه ايران، نماينده چين گفت که هدف از تصويب اين قطعنامه ترغيب ايران به مذاکره برای حل بحران هسته ای اين کشور است.

ايران قطعنامه های شورای حکام آژانس و شورای امنيت سازمان ملل را رد کرده و فعاليت های هسته ای خود را با تعهدات اين کشور در چارچوب پيمان منع گسترش جنگ افزارهای هسته ای منطبق دانسته است.

در حاليکه کشورهای غربی خواستار اعمال فشار بيشتر بر ايران شده اند، روسيه و چين عموما روشی ملايمتر را توصيه کرده اند.

[Rasputin]

China told Iran's top nuclear negotiator Friday that Tehran should abandon its defiance of U.N. sanctions and work for a swift return to talks to resolve the standoff over its nuclear program.

The Chinese admonition, conveyed by the official news media, came in a meeting between Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and President Hu Jintao, who urged a "serious response" to the U.N. sanctions. State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, China's senior foreign policy troubleshooter, gave Larijani a similar message Thursday, the New China News Agency reported.

China's public advice to Iran marked another instance in which Beijing seemed to be following a course parallel to that of the United States on nuclear nonproliferation. Diplomats from the two countries have worked with increasing closeness over the past three years in Chinese-sponsored negotiations to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The Bush administration, in tandem with European leaders, has championed tough sanctions to force Iran to back down and reportedly is seeking new measures that would go beyond those already imposed. President Bush said Thursday that he thought it would be difficult to ensure a peaceful world if the Iranian government pushed forward with its research program and eventually equipped its military with nuclear weapons.

Although it has been reluctant to support sanctions in the past, China backed the U.N. Security Council's unanimous resolution of Dec. 23 that imposed sanctions on Iran and called for a suspension of its uranium enrichment program. But the Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed the resolution as "illegal," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called it "trash paper" and the enrichment effort has continued apace.

Tang and Hu both reminded Larijani that the resolution passed unanimously, meaning China also voted for it, and said it reflected the concerns of the international community about safeguarding nonproliferation.

"China has always maintained that dialogue and negotiations are the best way to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue," Tang said, according to the news agency.

Larijani, in a news conference, said he had conveyed a letter from Ahmadinejad to Hu. He declined to specify its contents but sought to dispel the notion that Iran and China might be estranged because of China's decision to join the United States and other Security Council members in condemning Iran's nuclear research program.

"Of course, we know who is really behind these sanctions, so we are not blaming anybody for this," he said, alluding to the United States. The growing commercial ties between China and Iran will not be affected, he said, adding, "Countries that have long-term strategic relations will not change them because of tactical issues, and this was a tactical issue."

Larijani said that, in any case, Iran's government is not concerned about the new sanctions, which bar trade in nuclear- and missile-related goods. "The Americans have been carrying out this kind of policy for 27 years," he said, "and it's not had much effect."

Larijani said Iran's case is different from North Korea's because North Korea has developed a nuclear weapon, and "it is not part of our strategy to seek nuclear weapons." He said Iran wants to remain in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty regime, but added, "If we are threatened, that could change."

Larijani dismissed Bush's comments as just one more in a string of U.S. criticisms. If the U.S. leader is genuinely worried about the dangers posed by nuclear weapons in the Middle East, Larijani said, "he should worry about Israel."

[Rasputin]

Iran reformists slam government's nuclear policy

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian reformist parliamentarians on Saturday blamed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government for failing to prevent United Nations sanctions.

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on December 23 to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology in an attempt to stop uranium enrichment work that could produce material that could be used in bombs.

Iran says it wants nuclear power to generate electricity.

Reformist former President Mohammad Khatami suspended Iran's nuclear work for more than two years in an effort to build confidence and avoid confrontation with the West, but resumed uranium enrichment in February last year.

"The only way to pass the crisis is to build confidence ... but a holding Holocaust conference and financing the Hamas government creates mistrust and tension," Noureddin Pirmoazzen, the spokesman of parliament's reformist faction, told Reuters.

Ahmadinejad's government hosted a conference in Tehran in December, where participants questioned the Holocaust. It also granted $250 million in aid to the Palestinian Hamas government after Western donors withheld funds.

After two election landslides that brought Khatami to office in 1997 and 2001, Iran's reformers suffered a series on poll setbacks with voters disillusioned at their inability to carry out their policies due to conservative opposition.

The culmination of the reformers' defeats came in 2005 when voters elected the hardline Ahmadinejad who promised to use Iran's large oil revenues to help the poor.

But the reformers made a strong showing at local council elections in December, with many voters worried about Iran's increasing diplomatic isolation and economic problems.

IMPEACHMENT?

Pirmoazzen said that two U.N. resolutions against Iran in the first 18 months of the government's term in office showed the foreign ministry was incapable of looking after Iran's national interests.

"We hope to witness a return to the manner of Khatami's government and see the crisis is solved in the next 60 days, or else we will have no alternative but to impeach Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki," Pirmoazzen said.

Any request to impeach a minister needs to be signed by at least 10 lawmakers. Pirmoazzen said that even without the support of majority conservative deputies, the 42-member reformist faction had enough votes to call an impeachment debate. But the impeachment motion would be unlikely to succeed.

In a separate bid, reformist lawmakers also want Ahmadinejad to come to parliament to answer questions on his government's domestic and foreign policies. But there was little chance of the motion succeeding as it would need 72 lawmakers to sign it.

"Although some 150 lawmakers may have questions from Ahmadinejad, it does not mean that the same number of signatures can be collected to support the plan," Akbar Alami, the lawmaker who has launched the plan, told Reuters.

Alami declined to elaborate on what the questions he would like to ask the president, but said they included matters of foreign policy.

"We have tried to bring up those questions in several ways but have received no convincing answers yet," Alami said, "We are waiting for appropriate timely conditions to bring up the questions," he said.

Ahmadinejad has called the Security Council's resolution a "piece of scrap paper" and has vowed to press ahead with Iran's peaceful nuclear program, which the West fears may be a covert plan to make atomic weapons.

[Rasputin]

وزراى خارجه فرانسه و عربستان سعودى خواستار موافقت ايران با درخواست*هاى بين*المللى براى توقف غني*سازى اورانيوم شدند.

خبرگزارى آسوشيتدپرس گزارش داد كه فيليپ دوست بلازى در كنفرانس خبرى مشترك با سعود الفيصل تاكيد كردند كه ديپلماسى تنها راه حل بن بست هسته*اى ايران با غرب است.
دوست بلازى تصريح كرد: ايران بايد به درخواست*هاى بين*المللى درباره برنامه هسته*اى خود پاسخ دهد و بايد موضع مثبت اتخاذ كند.
سعود الفيصل نيز گفت: ما بر لزوم خاورميانه عارى از تسليحات هسته*اى توافق كرديم، البته راه دستيابى به اين هدف مذاكره و ديپلماسى است.
وى با اشاره به برنامه تسليحات هسته*اى اسرائيل تاكيد كرد: اسرائيل نيز نبايد از رويكردها و تلاش*هاى بين*المللى مستثنى شود.

[Rasputin]

پس از تصويب قطعنامه شوراى امنيت سازمان ملل متحد عليه ايران, اروپا و آمريكا به دنبال افزايش فشار بر اين كشور هستند.
به گزارش "ايلنا", روزنامه "فايننشال*تايمز" نوشت: برخى ديپلمات*هاى اتحاديه اروپا براى اعمال تحريم*هاى دوجانبه بيشتر بر ايران فراتر از تحريم*هاى شوراى امنيت سازمان ملل متحد اعلام آمادگى كرده*اند.
به نوشته اين روزنامه انگليسي، يك منبع چنين اقداماتي، ليست جداگانه از تحريم*هاى احتمالى اتحاديه اروپا عليه ايران است كه "خاويار سولانا"، مسؤول كميته سياست خارجى اتحاديه اروپا تدوين كرده است. اين تحريم*ها شامل اعمال تحريم تسليحاتى عليه ايران وتوقف احتمالى ارائه اعتبار به شركت*هايى است كه با اين كشور معامله مي*كنند.
اين روزنامه در ادامه گزارش خود افزود: ظاهراً همزمان رژيم جديد سازمان ملل متحد، گروه*هايى از مقامات ايران را شگفت زده كرده است، زيرا پس از دوره*اى كه در آن ايران شاهد افزايش نفوذ منطقه*اى خود با هزينه*اى اندك بود، اكنون با انزواى بزرگى روبرو شده است.
يك ديپلمات اتحاديه اروپا با اشاره به قطعنامه شوراى امنيت گفت: مي*دانيم كه ايراني*ها به تعهدات تعيين شده از سوى شوراى امنيت در ضرب*الاجل 60 روزه عمل نمي*كنند.
وى افزود: پس از اين امر، مسأله مهم اقداماتى است كه اتحاديه اروپا و ساير كشورها مي*توانند فراتر از درخواست*هاى سازمان ملل متحد انجام دهند.
فاينشال*تايمز نوشت: بسيارى از اقدامات ويژه قطعنامه شوراى امنيت بر ممانعت از دستيابى ايران به اقلامى با كاربرد دوگانه متمركز شده است. اين قطعنامه تحريم*هاى اقتصادى گسترده*اى اعمال نكرده است اما كشورهاى عضو سازمان ملل متحد را از حمايت مالى از فعاليت*هاى هسته*اى ايران منع كرده است.
يك مقام اروپايى گفت: هيچ شانسى وجود ندارد كه ايران قطعنامه را ظرف ضرب*الاجل 60 روزه بپذيرد و احتمالاً به طرح*هاى خود براى افزايش تعداد سانتريفوژها ادامه مي*دهد.
با اين حال، آلمان كه اكنون رياست دوره*اى اتحاديه اروپا را برعهده دارد، درباره اعمال تحريم*هاى بيشتر ترديد دارد. يك ديپلمات اروپايى گفت: سياست مسؤولانه بايد بازگرداندن اين مسأله به فرايند سياسى باشد، نه بررسى اقدامات بيشتر براى اعمال تحريم.

[Rasputin]

Iran says has no plan to quit nuclear pact: agency

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has no intention of quitting the international treaty aimed at restricting the spread of atomic weapons, chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Larijani said his country may alter its level of cooperation with the U.N. atomic watchdog if it continues to be put under pressure over its nuclear programs, but will not drop out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"We do not insist on quitting the NPT ... There are various methods to revise the cooperation level," the official IRNA news agency quoted Larijani as saying.

In reaction to a U.N. sanctions resolution passed on Dec 23, Iran's parliament passed a bill obliging the government to revise its cooperation level with the U.N.'s International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA), and to accelerate its nuclear work.

The bill, passed last month, gave a free hand to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government to decide whether it wanted to pull out of the NPT if pressured.

Larijani also repeated Iran's call for talks to resolve the nuclear dispute with the West, which believes Tehran wants to build nuclear warheads despite Iran's insistence that it wants to make fuel to generate electricity.

"We think that returning to talks is the best way to resolve the nuclear issue," he said, adding that "Iran will stick to its atomic work as a national cause."
"CRITICS ENCOURAGED BY ENEMIES"

Open criticism of the handling of the nuclear issue is unusual because it is considered a matter of national security, but Ahmadinejad's nuclear policies have been criticised in the country since the resolution was passed.

Ahmadinejad accused the West of trying to create discord among Iranians to reach its aim, which he said was depriving Iran of its legal right to nuclear technology, IRNA said.

"The aim of the resolution, passed by the enemies, is to pave the ground for some elements in Iran ... to scare our people and to weaken the nation's will," Ahmadinejad said in a clear reference to the recent criticism of his atomic policies.

A group of reformist parliamentarians has criticised Ahmadinejad for letting Iran's case be sent to the U.N. Security Council to face possible sanctions.

Iran's main pro-reform party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has also called for a review of the nuclear policy, saying in an statement on Saturday that the government should refrain from what it described as "adventurous" policies.

Some conservative newspapers have also become critical of the nuclear policies of the president who has called the resolution "a piece of torn paper".

"You (Ahmadinejad) use such an aggressive tone that sounds so stubborn to listeners ... while the nature of our atomic motion is prudent," said the hardline Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper's editorial on Tuesday.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not the president, has the final say in state policy. But analysts and diplomats say Ahmadinejad seems to be trying to -- and to some extent succeeding in -- toughening Iran's line with fiery speeches.

[Rasputin]

Europe, US squeeze Iran on nuclear plans

By Daniel Dombey in London and Gareth Smyth in Tehran



Western Europe and the US are seeking to ratchet up pressure on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme in the wake of a United Nations Security Council resolution last month that declared almost all of Tehran’s nuclear activities illegal.

Some European Union diplomats have indicated a growing readiness to impose additional bilateral sanctions on Iran above and beyond those mandated by the UN – a course of action long championed by the US.

One source of such measures is an “à la carte” list of possible EU sanctions on Iran drawn up by Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief, almost a year ago. This includes a possible crackdown on export credits for companies doing business with Iran and the declaration of a formal arms embargo on Iran.

At the same time, the new UN regime – which took months to negotiate in New York – appears to have surprised parts of Iran’s leadership, with differences emerging on how best to respond. After a period in which Iran saw its regional influence increase at relatively little cost, Tehran now faces greater isolation.

“We know that they won’t meet their obligations to the UN during the 60-day deadline set by the resolution,” said an EU envoy, referring to the resolution backed by the Security Council on December 23. “After that, a big issue is going to be what the EU and others can do beyond what the UN called for.”

Many of the specific steps called for by the UN resolution are focused on preventing Tehran from acquiring “dual-use” goods that could be used in its nuclear and missile programmes. The resolution does not impose broad-based economic sanctions, but prohibits UN member states from financing Iran’s nuclear activities.

However, it goes much further than the UN’s earlier actions in outlawing a wide range of Iran’s nuclear activities, including research and development and a heavy water reactor for which Tehran had requested UN funding only a few months earlier. The previous resolution – which carried a deadline of August 31 last year – had merely demanded that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can generate both nuclear fuel and weapons grade material.

A regime insider told the FT last week there was no chance Iran would accept the resolution within the 60-day deadline, and would go ahead with plans to extend the number of centrifuges – devices for enriching uranium – in the research plant at Natanz.

But pragmatists in Tehran have become bolder in pronouncements, because of their concern at the scope of the UN resolution and because of the reverse suffered by President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad in elections last month. The mood has shifted but not yet policy,” the insider said. “There may well be changes in the leadership’s approach, but not immediately.”

In December, Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh, oil minister, admitted Tehran was having trouble financing oil projects in a rare acknowledgment of the economic cost of its nuclear dispute.

However, Germany, which currently holds the EU presidency, has reservations about further sanctions. “Responsible policy would be to look at how to bring this back to a political process rather than studying what else you can do in the way of sanctions,” said a European diplomat.

Iran’s Fars news agency on Monday ran a long interview with Hossein Mousavian, a former nuclear negotiator close to former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in which he described the UN Security Council as the “highest international legislative authority” and criticised the government of Mr Ahmadi-Nejad for attacking the council’s resolution as “illegal”.

But on Monday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, reiterated that nuclear energy was “a source of pride for the Iranian nation and Islamic world” and that Iran would not give up its “right”.