Nuclear Crisis

[Rasputin]

Iran deal sought to avert atom pact talks collapse

VIENNA (Reuters) - A 130-nation meeting on how to fix the fraying nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty faces collapse on Monday unless Iran accepts a last-minute South African proposal to overcome its objections to the agenda.

The gathering, due to run two weeks to May 11, was meant to set priorities to flesh out at follow-up annual meetings leading to the next decision-making NPT Review Conference in 2010.

But the session quickly snagged on procedural rows with a strong whiff of the standoff between Western powers and Iran over its suspected non-compliance with NPT safeguards, pre-empting debate on proposals to reinforce the treaty.

"I think a decision will come on Monday whether we will have to go home with nothing to show for this meeting ... because it was taken hostage by Iran," said a senior European diplomat.

The NPT binds members without nuclear bombs not to acquire them, guarantees the right of all members to nuclear energy for peaceful ends, and obligates the original five nuclear powers from the post-World War Two era to dismantle arsenals in stages.

Iran blamed arch-foe the United States for the impasse, accusing it of authoring an agenda text designed to single out Tehran as the main NPT offender and muzzle criticism of big powers over their slowness to phase out nuclear arsenals.

Washington has not answered Iran's broadside and has stayed out of sparring between Western allies and Iran over its hold-up of the required consensus for the meeting's agenda.

DISARMAMENT

A senior Western official said the United States was keeping a low profile, pointing out that many developing nations in the Non-Aligned Movement to which Iran belongs were not happy with Tehran's maneuvering, and that it was a major NAM nation, South Africa, that had intervened to overcome the Iranian challenge.

Pretoria proposed that the agenda phrase in dispute -- "reaffirming the need for full compliance" with the NPT -- be clarified with an attached declaration saying this meant compliance "with all provisions" of the treaty.

Meeting chairman Japan will seek consensus for the idea when proceedings resume on Monday. Iran promised to consider it.

The semantic tweak was designed to assure Iran that debate would also push states with atomic bombs to do more to heed pledges to do away with them, not just pinion Tehran for defying U.N. resolutions to suspend nuclear activity.

The Islamic Republic rejects as unfounded Western suspicions that it is covertly trying to build atom bombs behind the facade of a civilian nuclear energy program within terms of the NPT.

But U.N. sanctions have been imposed on Iran, which has not fully cooperated with U.N. nuclear watchdog investigations begun after sensitive Iranian atomic research came to light.

Disarmament campaigners making presentations to the meeting said Iran, as well as North Korea which bolted from the NPT in 2003 and detonated a nuclear device last year, pose serious risks to the treaty's integrity.

But they said plans by nuclear-armed states to upgrade their weapons, even if that means reducing their overall number, and keep them as symbols of strength have eroded respect for the NPT and may spur some nations in unstable regions to circumvent it.

Other bad examples, they say, include the failure of big powers like the United States and China to ratify an atomic test ban treaty, and a U.S. nuclear technology pact with India, which built atom bombs without penalty by staying out of the NPT.

[Rasputin]

BRUSSELS (AFP) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Monday he plans fresh talks with Iran's top security official in the next few weeks to discuss a UN demand that Tehran freeze uranium enrichment.



"Probably we will have a meeting with (Ali) Larijani in the coming weeks, as soon as possible to see if we can move on," Solana told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee in Brussels.

He added that it would be difficult to organise such a meeting this week.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in Stockholm he was "optimistic" about talks which could be expected "from this week." He didn't say when or where or what would be on the table.

Following their last meeting in Ankara on April 25-26, Larijani and Solana agreed to meet two weeks later, without specifying a date or venue.

Solana told the parliamentarians that the Ankara talks, their first since the UN Security Council adopted sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear ambitions, did not lead to "any specific breakthrough."

Solana said that he had stressed that Tehran should suspend its uranium enrichment operations for the duration of the full-scale international negotiations with Iran.

At the moment even that guarantee is very difficult to obtain; "they don't want to suspend," he said.

The United States has charged that Iran is using its nuclear programme to secretly develop an atomic bomb, a claim Tehran denies maintaining its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.

Solana said the international talks on resolving the problem, involving Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the United States could take place with a double suspension; of Iran's nuclear enrichment and of the UN sanctions.

Such talks shouldn't carry on indefinitely but should take around six months, he added.

[Rasputin]

VIENNA, Austria - A 130-nation nuclear meeting stalled for its sixth consecutive day Monday after Iran refused to commit itself to a compromise meant to break a deadlock over Tehran's opposition to language of the agenda.



Diplomats at the conference — meant to work on strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty — told The Associated Press that the issue would not be addressed until at least Tuesday after the Iranian delegation asked for an extra day of consultations with their capital.

But the diplomats, who demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss confidential issues, suggested that Iran's request was nothing more than a delaying tactic.

"The Iranians seem chiefly interested in seeing this meeting fail," said one of the delegates, suggesting the country's main focus was preventing debate on its defiance of a U.N. Security Council demand that it stop enriching uranium.

In acknowledging that "more time is needed to address this issue again," the chairman, Yukiya Amano of Japan, expressed "full understanding of the frustration of the delegations" with the lack of even minimum progress on substantive issues because of bickering over the agenda.

The meeting, originally planned to end May 11, adjourned on Friday to give the Iranian delegation time to decide on whether to accept a compromise statement proposed by South Africa that would specify that "all provisions" of the treaty must be fully observed — including the need for the United States and other nuclear weapons states to disarm.

In Stockholm, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki suggested the onus was on other nations at the meeting to break the deadlock by accepting Tehran's demand.

"We do believe there is a possibility of compromise on this issue. But only through the acceptance of more responsibility by some specific parties," he said. In an oblique slap at the United States and its allies, he said the problem was due to "the unilateral approach of some specific parties."

With meetings like this one usually making decisions by consensus, Iran's opposition would be enough to doom the South African proposal. That, in turn, could force the conference to end or result in a divisive vote.

Iran argues it is entitled to enrich under the treaty provision giving all pact members the right to develop peaceful programs, but suspicions have been fueled by nearly two decades of clandestine nuclear activities, including questionable black market acquisitions of equipment and blueprints that appear linked to weapons plans.

The U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions because of Tehran's refusal to mothball its enrichment program — which can generate energy and produce the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

Diplomats last week told the AP that Iran had recently set up more centrifuges at its underground uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, bringing the number of machines ready to spin uranium gas into enriched form to more than 1,600.

An International Atomic Energy Agency document obtained last month said the Islamic regime was running more than 1,300 centrifuge machines to enrich uranium at Natanz.

Its ultimate goal is to have 50,000 centrifuges. That would be enough to supply fuel for what Iran says is a planned network of atomic reactors to generate electricity. Or it could produce material for a full-scale nuclear weapons program.

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty calls on nations to pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for a commitment by five nuclear powers — the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China — to move toward nuclear disarmament. India and Pakistan, known nuclear weapons states, remain outside the treaty, as does Israel, which is considered to have such arms but has not acknowledged it.

[Rasputin]

VIENNA, Austria - Pressured even by its allies, Iran on Tuesday accepted a compromise on the agenda text of a 130-nation nuclear conference, clearing the way to resolve a week-long deadlock that threatened to end the gathering.

The meeting — like others to be convened annually — is meant to prepare the ground for senior policy makers at a follow up conference in 2010 that will try to make the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty more effective. As such, it has no decision-making powers.

Still, its failure would have damaged the chances of progress at subsequent meetings, and at the 2010 conference, by hardening opposing fronts and making consensus decision-making even more difficult.

Iran's decision allowed Tehran to deflect criticism that it was prepared to see the meeting end in failure rather than be targeted for its defiance of U.N. Security Council demands that it mothball its uranium enrichment program.

Instead, the Iranians appeared to be hoping that their decision to give in would put them in the role of saving the meeting from ending without any substantial progress.

And if their stonewalling since the gathering opened April 30 was an effort to stifle criticism, they appeared to have gone a ways in achieving their goal. As of last Friday, the conference had only three full days until its scheduled end to focus on anything other than bickering over the agenda.

The issue stalling the meeting had been Tehran's refusal to accept a phrase calling for the "need for full compliance with" the nonproliferation treaty.

The South African proposal accepted Tuesday will footnote that phrase to the agenda to specify that "all provisions" of the pact must be fully observed — an allusion to the need for the United States and other nuclear weapons states to disarm.

Iranian chief delegate Ali Ashgar Soltanieh spoke of the "flexibility of my delegation" in accepting the compromise.

Still, Tehran's decision to give in reflected its isolation. Even delegates of nonaligned countries that normally take Iran's side in any dispute over its nuclear program spoke critically of the Islamic Republic's approach as the meeting dragged on with no progress.

Before Tuesday's developments, delegates had evoked memories of the 2005 nonproliferation treaty review conference, which failed to make substantive progress because of similar bickering over procedure.

The statement Tuesday by Soltanieh that "my government can accept the proposal by South Africa" appeared to catch most delegations by surprise. Before the statement, Iranians had shown no signs of movement after the proposal was floated on Friday.

Subsequent approval was followed by brief, but relieved applause.

But the U.S. delegation criticized the Iranians, suggesting the delay had been unnecessary because it was clear all along that the phrase "full compliance" meant acceptance of all treaty provisions.

"It's been disappointing that, as a result of Iranian obstruction of procedure, it has taken so long to get to the point of beginning substantive discussion," chief U.S. delegate Christopher A. Ford told reporters.

The phrase "all provisions" that Iran had been holding out for is a "restatement of the obvious," he said.

Iran argues it is entitled to enrich uranium under the treaty provision giving all pact members the right to develop peaceful programs. But suspicions bred by nearly two decades of clandestine nuclear activities, including questionable black market acquisitions of equipment and blueprints that appear linked to weapons plans, have led the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions over Tehran's refusal to mothball its program — which can generate energy or produce the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

The nonproliferation treaty calls on nations to pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for a commitment by five nuclear powers — the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China — to move toward nuclear disarmament. India and Pakistan, known nuclear weapons states, remain outside the treaty, as does Israel, which is considered to have such arms but has not acknowledged it.

[Rasputin]

احتمال روز افزون بروز جنگ بر سر برنامه هسته اي ايران

نمايندگان شش قدرت جهاني روز پنجشنبه در برلين گردهم مي *آيند تا در باره وضع تحريم* هاي شديدتر عليه ايران با يكديگر رايزني كنند.

اصرار طرف* هاي بين*المللي براي ادامه مذاكرات، خود علامتي از ورود پرونده هسته*اي ايران به مرحله*اي فوق*العاده خطير است
اين گردهمايي در حالي برگزاري مي*شود كه مهلت دو ماهه شوراي امنيت سازمان ملل براي تعليق فعاليت *هاي هسته*اي ايران رو به اتمام است، اما نشانه اي از آمادگي دولت ايران براي پذيرش درخواست شوراي امنيت ديده نمي *شود.

اعضاي دايم شوراي امنيت به اضافه آلمان كه به گروه ۱+۵ معروف شده *اند، تلاش مي* كنند تا پيش از سر رسيدن ضرب *الاجل مندرج در قطعنامه ۱۷۴۷ از راه هاي ديپلماسي، ايران را به پذيرش تعليق غني سازي اورانيوم متقاعد كنند، ضمن آنكه به نظر مي *رسد براي صدور قطعنامه تازه *اي عليه ايران نيز آماده مي *شوند.

ديدار اخير خاوير سولانا، مسئول سياست خارجي اتحاديه اروپا با علي لاريجاني، دبير شوراي عالي امنيت ملي ايران در آنكارا، در واقع نشانه علاقه اعضاي ۱+۵ براي حل مسالمت*آميز بحران هسته اي ايران محسوب مي *شود، ديداري كه البته به رغم جنجال *هاي رسانه*اي بر سر آن، روزنه*اي در بن*بست پرونده هسته *اي ايران ايجاد نكرد.

آقاي سولانا قرار است پيش از بررسي مجدد پرونده هسته *اي ايران در شوراي امنيت به اين اميد كه راه حلي براي آغاز مذاكرات رسمي ايران و اعضاي ۱+۵ يافت شود با آقاي لاريجاني ديدار كند.

به نظر مي*رسد كه اصرار طرف* هاي بين* المللي براي ادامه مذاكرات خاوير سولانا با علي لاريجاني به رغم نااميدي از نتيجه آن، خود علامتي از ورود پرونده هسته*اي ايران به مرحله*اي فوق*العاده خطير باشد.

در ماه هاي اخير، ايران با نصب و راه*اندازي صدها دستگاه سانتريفيوژ جديد در تاسيسات هسته*اي نطنز، از ورود خود به مرحله صنعتي غني سازي اورانيوم خبر داده است.

هر چند كه برخي كشورها و بخصوص كارشناسان بين المللي، ادعاي ايران را اغراق*آميز تلقي كردند، اما به نظر مي*رسد كه اين مساله زنگ *ها را براي برخي از محافل آمريكايي و اسراييلي به صدا در آورده است.

از نظر اسراييل و همينطور برخي محافل در آمريكا، نقطه خطر در برنامه اتمي ايران، آزمايش بمب اتمي نيست، بلكه از ديدگاه آنان، هنگامي كه ايران قادر به غني سازي اورانيوم بدون نياز به كمك خارجي باشد، "نقطه غير قابل بازگشت" و در نتيجه نقطه خطر محسوب مي*شود.

به رغم سكوت نسبي و در عين حال مرموز اسراييلي* ها در برابر پيشرفت برنامه* هاي هسته*اي ايران، از اظهار نظرهاي جسته و گريخته آنان مي *توان حدس زد كه آنها از نزديك شدن ايران به آنچه "نقطه غير قابل بازگشت" مي*دانند، به شدت نگرانند و تحركات پنهاني را براي متوقف كردن برنامه هسته*اي ايران انجام مي *دهند.


برنامه هسته اي ايران
اسرائيل از نزديك شدن ايران به آنچه "نقطه غير قابل بازگشت" مي*دانند، به شدت نگرانند و تحركات پنهاني را براي متوقف كردن برنامه هسته*اي ايران انجام مي*دهند

اظهارات اخير اهود اولمرت، نخست وزير اسرائيل در گفتگو با نشريه آلماني فوكوس، مبني بر اينكه با پرتاب هزار موشك كروز مي *توان برنامه هسته *اي ايران را براي سال *ها مختل كرد، ظاهرا از زمينه سازي حمله احتمالي به تاسيسات هسته*اي ايران توسط متحدان اسرائيل پرده بر مي *دارد.


هر چند كه آقاي اولمرت سخنان نقل شده از خود را در نشريه آلماني تكذيب كرد، اما نوع تكذيب مطلب، نشان داد كه نخست وزير اسرائيل اين سخنان را براي انتشار عمومي بر زبان نرانده و در شرايط حاضر ترجيح مي *دهد تا كشورش را از دخالت علني در پرونده هسته*اي ايران دور نگه دارد.

گذشته از موضع خاص اسرائيلي *ها، تاكيد دو روز پيش كاندوليزا رايس، وزير خارجه آمريكا بر وجود گزينه نظامي در دستور كار رئيس جمهور آمريكا به عنوان آخرين گزينه در برابر برنامه هسته *اي ايران، نشاندهنده آن است كه آمريكا نيز به رغم دريافت خوش بينانه مقام*هاي ايراني از موضع* گيري*هاي اخير كاخ سفيد، تغييري در موضع سنتي خود در برابر برنامه هسته*اي ايران پديد نياورده است.

در اين ميان كشورهاي اروپايي و نيز چين و روسيه كه بيش از آمريكا علاقمند به حل مسالمت *آميز بحران هسته*اي ايران هستند، مي *كوشند تا در فرصت باقي مانده، ايران را به پذيرش فرمولي كه از يك سو، خواست قطعنامه* هاي شوراي امنيت را تامين كند و از ديگر سو، به حيثيت ايران نيز آسيب جدي نزند، ترغيب كنند.

آنچه به عنوان پيشنهاد سوئيس براي حل بحران هسته*اي ايران مطرح شده و ناظر به توقف همزمان فعاليت*هاي غني سازي ايران و تحريم* هاي شوراي امنيت عليه اين كشور براي شروع مذاكرات است، نمونه*اي از كوشش جامعه بين*المللي براي اجراي همزمان قطعنامه *هاي شوراي امنيت و حفظ حيثيت ايران است، اما به نظر مي *رسد كه آقاي سولانا در مذاكرات خود با آقاي لاريجاني سعي دارد تا پيشنهادي در بردارنده هر دو وجه فوق از سوي ايران دريافت كند.


دولت ايران در حال حاضر خود را در موضع قدرت مي*بيند

به نظر نمي *رسد كه دولت ايران، آمادگي ارائه چنين پيشنهادي را داشته باشد. دولت ايران در حال حاضر خود را در موضع قدرت مي *بيند و بر همين اساس، پيشنهاد اروپايي *ها براي مذاكره را نشانه ضعف طرف *هاي بين*المللي مي*داند، ضعفي كه به زعم مسئولان ايراني، راهي جز تسليم شدن قدرت هاي بزرگ در برابر برنامه هسته آي ايران، پيش پاي آنان نمي *گذارد.

اين نوع درك ايران از توان خود و ضعف طرف مقابل، سبب شده است كه برخي طرف *هاي غربي دولت ايران را مشتاق بروز جنگ تصور كنند، تصوري كه برخي از محافل سياسي داخلي در ايران نيز آن را تاييد مي *كنند.

البته به سختي مي*توان پذيرفت كه دولت ايران علاقمند به بروز جنگ باشد چرا كه هيج نوع فايده *اي براي نيروهاي حاكم بر ايران در صورت بروز جنگ قابل تصور نيست.

با اين همه، روند پرونده هسته *اي ايران به سمتي است كه هر روز احتمال بروز جنگ را بيشتر مي *كند، هر چند كه وقوع چنين جنگي قطعي و اجتناب *ناپذير نيست.

[Rasputin]

VIENNA (AFP) - Nuclear weapons states warned Thursday that peaceful use of nuclear energy requires honoring the Non-Proliferation Treaty but Iran rejected charges it is failing to do this.

"The Iranian nuclear program does not currently respect the conditions set in the treaty for the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy," French ambassador Jean-Francois Dobelle told 130 states at a conference in Vienna on improving the 189-nation NPT, the world's basic agreement against the spread of nuclear weapons.

The UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency "has determined that Iran is not respecting its (NPT) safeguards agreement," Dobelle said, referring to IAEA resolutions that Tehran has hidden sensitive nuclear work and is not fully cooperating with IAEA inspectors.

The UN Security Council has imposed two rounds of sanctions on Iran for defying a call to stop enriching uranium, and the five permanent Council members plus Germany met in Berlin Thursday to discuss how to handle the crisis.

The United States is the leading nation in charging that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a peaceful program to generate atomic power.

But Iranian official Hamid Baeidi Nejad said it was "unwarranted ... to take legally flawed, unnecessary and unjustified action against the peaceful nuclear program of my country."

He said UN sanctions against Iran for continuing to enrich uranium were aimed "at depriving our nation of its inalienable rights" to a civilian nuclear program under IAEA statutes.

The conference in Vienna is the first of several meetings ahead of a general review in 2010 of the landmark treaty, which came into effect in 1970 and which many complain has a flaw since it allows states to peacefully develop technology that can also be used to make atom bombs.

North Korea developed nuclear weapons after withdrawing from the NPT.

Iran had held up debate here for six days as it objected to an agenda item calling for full compliance with the NPT but diplomats said serious work was finally underway this week, with the meeting to end Friday.

British ambassador John Duncan (news, bio, voting record) told reporters: "Despite the best efforts of the Iranians, this conference has really demonstrated the common interest of the world community in dealing with nuclear issues."

Duncan said the meeting was "characterized by an open and often frank dialogue and that represents a watershed in recent arms control and disarmaments discussions. That is very encouraging for the future."

The conference also debated a the idea of a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, as Arab nations criticized Israel for developing nuclear weapons and for not signing the NPT.

Indonesian representative Triyono Wibowo on behalf of the non-aligned movement noted "with regret that no progress has been achieved with regard to Israel's accession to the treaty."

[Rasputin]

VIENNA (AFP) - A conference on fixing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) urged Iran to comply with UN calls to stop enriching uranium, in a summary of the two-week meeting ending Friday.



Iran objected strongly to being named in the document and the final session was delayed as Japanese chairman Yukiya Amano held last-minute closed-door consultations to avoid a collapse of the meeting, diplomats said.

The chairman's summary document stated that "serious concern" was expressed over Iran's nuclear programme and Tehran was "strongly urged to comply" with all the demands of UN Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolutions seeking a halt to enrichment activities.

Tehran has also been asked to comply with NPT safeguards against the possible spread of nuclear weapons.

Amano's summary said the multiple unanimous resolutions on Iran's nuclear programme "demonstrate the resolve of the international community on this issue."

Washington has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a peaceful programme to generate atomic power.

Diplomats said Iran might try to block the final statement at the conference's last session on Friday afternoon or even block any documents being taken forward to the next NPT meeting in 2008.

"They will do this because they will object to the word 'comply.' That will be a problem," a diplomat from a non-aligned state close to Iran told AFP.

The meeting here is the first of several to be held ahead of a general review in 2010 of the landmark NPT 40 years after it came into effect.

Many complain the pact is flawed since it allows states to develop technology that has both military as well as peaceful uses.

Iran had held up debate here for six days as it objected to an agenda item calling for full compliance with the treaty.

Opposing the summary would be a political statement for Iran, the diplomat said.

Another diplomat praised Amano's summary as "balanced," especially since it went far towards meeting worries in the Middle East by saying: "Great concern was expressed regarding the nuclear capability of Israel."

The nine-page summary also notes that states parties expressed "grave concern" over North Korea's nuclear programme and its announcement of a nuclear test in October 2006.

It also turned on nuclear weapons states by saying they were not living up to their disarmament pledges in the NPT, showing only a "slow pace of progress."

"Increased transparency with regard to nuclear weapons capabilities as a voluntary confidence-building measure was strongly advocated" from a conference at which many complained of weapons upgrades in the United States and Britain, the statement said.

It also highlighted demands made here "that pending the elimination of nuclear weapons, the nuclear-weapon states should provide security assurances to the non-nuclear-weapon States that they would not use nuclear weapons againt them."

British ambassador John Duncan (news, bio, voting record) told reporters on Thursday: "Despite the best efforts of the Iranians, this conference has really demonstrated the common interest of the world community in dealing with nuclear issues."

[Rasputin]

Iran rules out any atomic work freeze

Iran on Sunday ruled out any suspension of its uranium enrichment work, either as a precondition for talks with major powers or as part of their outcome.

Iran is embroiled in a worsening standoff with the West over its disputed nuclear program, which the United States and others suspect is aimed at making atom bombs. Tehran says it only wants to generate electricity.

"All ideas that put suspension as a base, either as a precondition or as a result of negotiations or during negotiations, are fundamentally not acceptable," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.

The comments came three days after senior officials from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany met in Berlin to discuss Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment, as demanded by the U.N. Security Council.

Some diplomats said the Americans had been eager to discuss possible language for a new sanctions resolution during the Berlin talks.

The United Nations has imposed two sets of sanctions on Iran since December over its refusal to freeze enrichment -- a process that can be used to make atomic warheads.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, also stressed on Friday that Tehran would not stop its atomic activities and said Western powers should not "waste their time".

Larijani is expected to meet European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana later this month to resume talks on Iran's nuclear program though the exact place and date have not been announced.

"All our efforts have been, and are, aimed at preventing the issuing of any (U.N.) resolution and to activate negotiations but if the other side continues this (behavior) the situation will become harder," Hosseini said.

[Rasputin]

International efforts to halt Iran's uranium enrichment programme have been "overtaken by events", the head of the UN's nuclear agency has said.
IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei said Tehran now possessed "the knowledge about how to enrich".

In an interview with the New York Times, he said the focus should now be on trying to stop Iran from going to industrial-scale production.

Iran has denied accusations from the West that it seeks nuclear weapons.

From a proliferation perspective, the fact of the matter is that one of the purposes of suspension ... has been overtaken by events

Mohammed ElBaradei

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency revealed that Iran has solved its technical problems and is now capable of making fuel suitable for nuclear reactors.

"From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but that's a fact," Mr ElBaradei said.

The findings come after a short-notice inspection by the agency at Iran's main nuclear facility at Natanz on Sunday.

"From a proliferation perspective, the fact of the matter is that one of the purposes of suspension - keeping them from getting the knowledge - has been overtaken by events," Mr ElBaradei said.

TIMELINE: IRAN ENRICHMENT
2003: Enrichment programme that had been hidden for 18 years is uncovered by IAEA
Feb 2006: Iran reports to Security Council
5 Feb 2007: Diplomats confirm Iranian claims to have set up more than 300 centrifuges in two cascades
9 April: Iran says it is enriching uranium on an industrial scale. IAEA and Russian officials are sceptical
19 April: IAEA document confirms Iran is running more than 1,300 centrifuges in eight cascades


Q&A: Iran nuclear issue

He added: "The focus now should be to stop them from going to industrial-scale production, to allow us to do a full-court-press inspection and to be sure they remain inside the treaty."

His remarks will serve to increase the pressure on the US, British, French, German and Russian governments, whose collective efforts to halt Iran's nuclear research have so-far failed, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.

Last month the agency revealed the main nuclear plant at Natanz was using about 1,300 centrifuges - machines that spin uranium gas into enriched material.

Until recently, those centrifuges were incapable of running at the speeds necessary to make nuclear fuel.

However, the material being produced by Iran still requires further enrichment before it can be turned into bomb-grade material.

More sanctions threatened

Mr ElBaradei has previously said that Iran would not be able to produce the highly enriched uranium needed for a nuclear bomb as long as it remained under the supervision of IAEA inspectors.

The agency is due to report its findings to the UN Security Council next week.

The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Tehran for its failure to scale back its nuclear programme.

Nicholas Burns, the US undersecretary of state for policy, told the New York Times that if Iran does not agree to suspend its activities by the time of next month's G8 meeting, the US would press for a third round of sanctions.

Tehran has insisted that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

[Rasputin]

البرادعی:ایران دانش غنی سازی اورانیوم دارد


آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی هفته آینده گزارش جدید خود درباره ایران را منتشر می کند
محمد البرادعی، رئیس آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی گفته است که تلاش ها برای جلوگیری ایران از دستیابی به دانش غنی سازی اورانیوم شکست خورده است.
آقای البرادعی که طی روزهای گذشته بازدیدی از مرکز اتمی نطنز داشته، در مصاحبه با روزنامه نیویورک تایمز تاکید کرده که تلاش ها در مقطع فعلی باید بر روی این مساله متمرکز شود که ایران را از تولید اورانیوم در مقیاس صنعتی باز داشت.

رییس آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی گفته است که "ایران هم اکنون دانش غنی سازی اورانیوم را در اختیار دارد."

ایران از سوی برخی کشورهای غربی متهم به تلاش برای دستیابی به سلاح های هسته ای شده، امری که از سوی ایران رد شده است. این کشور می گوید که به منظور استفاده صلح آمیز از انرژی هسته ای درصدد دستیابی به آن است.



ایران همچنین اعلام کرده که حاضر است با کشورهای غربی در مورد ارائه تضمین هایی در مورد برنامه هسته ای این کشور مذاکره کند اما تاکید می کند که برنامه غنی سازی اورانیوم را تعلیق نمی کند.

اظهارات رئیس آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی زمانی منتشر می شود که این نهاد وابسته به سازمان ملل متحد قرار است در هفته آینده گزارش جدیدی را از فعالیت های هسته ای ایران در اختیار شورای امنیت سازمان ملل بگذارد.

این شورا طی دو قطعنامه 1737 و 1747 از ایران خواسته تا فعالیت های غنی سازی اورانیوم خود را به حالت تعلیق درآورد. ایران چنین درخواستی را رد کرده و بر حق خود برای دستیابی به دانش چرخه سوخت هسته ای تا کید کرده است.

شورای امنیت به علت سرپیچی ایران از تعلیق فعالیت های حساس هسته ای، تحریم هایی را علیه این کشور وضع کرده است. ایران می گوید آماده است تا در مورد برنامه هسته ای خود با کشورهای غربی، بدون پیش شرط مذاکره کند اما این کشورها خواهان آن هستند که پیش از آنکه مذاکره ای صورت گیرد، ایران فعالیت های غنی سازی را به حالت تعلیق در آورد.

خبرنگار دیپلماتیک بی بی سی می گوید که در غیاب توافق دسته جمعی میان اعضای شورای امنیت برای اعمال تحریم های بیشتر علیه ایران، بازداشتن ایران از ادامه وضعیت فعلی کار دشواری به نظر می رسد.

[Rasputin]

Inspectors Cite Big Gain by Iran on Nuclear Fuel

VIENNA, May 14 — Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that Iran appears to have solved most of its technological problems and is now beginning to enrich uranium on a far larger scale than before, according to the agency’s top officials.

The findings may change the calculus of diplomacy in Europe and in Washington, which has aimed to force a suspension of Iran’s enrichment activities in large part to prevent it from learning how to produce weapons-grade material.

In a short-notice inspection of Iran’s main nuclear facility at Natanz on Sunday, conducted in advance of a report to the United Nations Security Council due early next week, the inspectors found that Iranian engineers were already using roughly 1,300 centrifuges and were producing fuel suitable for nuclear reactors, according to diplomats and nuclear experts here. Until recently, the Iranians were having difficulty keeping the delicate centrifuges spinning at the tremendous speeds necessary to make nuclear fuel, and often were running them empty, or not at all.

Now, those roadblocks appear to have been surmounted. “We believe they pretty much have the knowledge about how to enrich,” said Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the energy agency, who clashed with the Bush administration four years ago when he declared that there was no evidence that Iraq had resumed its nuclear program. “From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but that’s a fact.”

It is unclear whether Iran can sustain its recent progress. Major setbacks are common in uranium enrichment, and experts say it is entirely possible that miscalculation, equipment failures or sabotage could prevent the Iranian government from reaching its goal of producing fuel on what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boasts is “an industrial scale.”

The material produced so far would have to undergo further enrichment before it could be transformed into bomb-grade material, and to accomplish that Iran would probably have to evict the I.A.E.A. inspectors, as North Korea did four years ago.

Even then it is unclear whether the Iranians would have the technology to produce a weapon small enough to fit atop their missiles, a significant engineering challenge.

Iran says its nuclear program is intended to produce energy, not weapons.

While the United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution demanding that Iran suspend all of its nuclear activities, and twice imposed sanctions for its refusal to do so, some European nations, and particularly Russia, have questioned whether the demand for suspension still makes sense.

The logic of demanding suspension was that it would delay the day that Iran gained the knowledge to produce its own nuclear fuel, what the Israelis used to refer to as “the point of no return.” Those favoring unconditional engagement with Iran have argued that the current strategy was creating a stalemate that the Iranians are exploiting, allowing them to make technological leaps while the Security Council steps up sanctions.

The Bush administration, in contrast, has argued that it will never negotiate while the Iranians speed ever closer to nuclear-weapons capacity, saying there has to be a standstill as long as talks proceed. In a telephone interview, R. Nicholas Burns, the undersecretary of state for policy, who is carrying out the Iran strategy, said that while he had not heard about the I.A.E.A.’s newest findings they would not affect American policy.

“We’re proceeding under the assumption that there is still time for diplomacy to work,” he said, though he added that if the Iranians did not agree to suspend production by the time the leaders of the largest industrial nations meet next month, “we will move ahead toward a third set of sanctions.”

Dr. ElBaradei has always been skeptical of that strategy, telling European foreign ministers that he doubted the Iranians would fully suspend their nuclear activities, and that a face-saving way must be found to resolve the impasse.

“Quite clearly suspension is a requirement by the Security Council, and I would hope the Iranians would listen to the world community,” he said. “But from a proliferation perspective, the fact of the matter is that one of the purposes of suspension — keeping them from getting the knowledge — has been overtaken by events. The focus now should be to stop them from going to industrial scale production, to allow us to do a full-court-press inspection and to be sure they remain inside the treaty.”

The report to the Security Council next week is expected to say that since February 2006, when the Iranians stopped complying with an agreement on broad inspections around the country by the agency, the I.A.E.A.’s understanding of “the scope and content” of Iran’s nuclear activities has deteriorated.

Inspectors are concerned that Iran has declined to answer a series of questions, posed more than a year ago, about information Iran probably received from Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani nuclear engineer. Of particular interest is a document that shows how to make uranium into spheres, a shape suitable for use in a weapon.

[Rasputin]

آزمايش موشكي كره شمالي در ايران!

يك روزنامه ژاپني با چاپ گزارشي به نقل از منابع نظامي آمريكايي مدعي شده *است كه موشك*هاي بالستيك جديدي كه كره شمالي آوريل گذشته در مراسم روز ملي ارتش آن كشور به نمايش گذاشت ممكن است در ايران مورد آزمايش قرار گرفته باشند .
بنا به گزارشي كه روزنامه يوميوري در شماره چهارشنبه خود به چاپ رسانده برخي فرماندهان نظامي آمريكا بر اساس تصاوير دريافتي ماهواره*هاي جاسوسي اين كشور معتقدند كه كره*شمالي به*تازگي اقدام به يك آزمايش موشكي در ايران نموده**است.
ظاهرا آمريكايي*ها اين ادعا را به شكلي كاملا جدي مطرح*كرده*اند به طوري كه هم اينك* سازمان هاي جاسوسي چند كشور مشغول پيگيري اين مسئله هستند.
در ادامه گزارش يوميوري آمده است كه منابع اطلاعاتي آمريكا و كره جنوبي مطمئن هستند آزمايش موشك بالستيك جديد كه برد به 4000 كيلومتر نيز مي*رسد قطعا در خاك كره*شمالي انجام نشده است.

هرچند اين موشك*ها نمي توانند قلمرو ايالات متحده را هدف قرار دهند اما پايگاه*هاي بزرگ ارتش آمريكا در اقيانوس آرام به راحتي در تيررس آنان قرار مي*گيرد.
گفتني است در مراسم رژه اخير نيروهاي مسلح كره*شمالي سه نوع موشك جديد به نمايش درآمدند كه تاكنون هيچگاه مشاهده نشده بودند. مقامات غربي طي سالهاي اخير پيونگ*يانگ را متهم به انتقال تكنولوژي ساخت و شليك موشك*هاي ميان برد به تهران نموده*اند. اين حساسيت* بويژه پس از آزمايش هسته*اي كره*شمالي در آذرماه گذشته شدت گرفته*است.

[Rasputin]

بوش: ايران نبايد به سلاح اتمي دست يابد

جورج بوش، رييس جمهور آمريكا روز پنجشنبه (17مه) بار ديگر تاكيد كرد كه ايران نبايد به توانايي ساخت جنگ افزارهاي هسته اي دست يابد.

در شش سال گذشته بوش و بلر متحدان نزديكي بوده اند
آقاي بوش پس از گفتگو با توني بلر، نخست وزير بريتانيا، در واشنگتن گفت: دستيابي ايران به چنين تجهيزاتي به ضرر صلح جهاني است.

آقاي بوش با تاكيد بر اين كه جهان بايد در اين باره يك زبان و يكپارچه باشد، گفت: اگر در مجاب كردن ايران به توقف كردن غني سازي اورانيوم پيشرفتي حاصل نشود، سازمان ملل متحد بايد تحريم هاي جديدي را عليه ايران در نظر بگيرد.

شوراي امنيت سازمان مللل تاكنون دو قطعنامه عليه برنامه اتمي ايران صادر كرده است. آخرين ضرب الاجل سازمان ملل براي ايران در مورد توقف غني سازي اورانيوم هفته آينده پايان مي يابد و پس از آن شوراي امنيت مجددا برنامه ايران را در دستور كار قرار مي دهد و در باره آن تصميم گيري خواهد مي كند.

ايران تاكيد دارد كه برنامه هسته اي اين كشور مسالمت آميز بوده و اهداف غيرنظامي را دنبال مي كند.

آخرين سفر بلر به آمريكا

نخست وزير بريتانيا و رييس جمهور آمريكا در يك كنفرانس مطبوعاتي مشترك در كاخ سفيد بر اتحاد دو كشور تاكيد كردند.

نخست وزير بريتانيا در يك كنفرانس خبري، كه آخرين سفر رسمي وي به واشنگتن تلقي مي شود، آقاي بوش را ستود و وي را يك دوست خواند و در عين حال گفت كه ايالات متحده بايد در ارتباط با مسائل مختلف بين المللي همچنان با بقيه جهان همراه باشد.

جورج بوش گفت كه در اين ديدار در مورد مسائل مختلف وارد جزئيات شده و از طريق ارتباط ويديويي با فرماندهان نظامي دو كشور در عراق گفتگو كرده اند.

نخست وزير بريتانيا كه دوره صدارتش رو به اتمام است در شش سال گذشته متحد نزديك جورج بوش بوده است.

[Rasputin]

Iran announces atom progress, sees EU talks in Spain

Iran has started building its first domestically-made atomic power plant, a senior official announced on Saturday, and Tehran's foreign minister said nuclear talks with the EU were likely in Spain this month.

The deputy head of the atomic energy agency said the planned facility would have a capacity of 360 megawatt (MW), in a statement underlining Iran's determination to press ahead with its nuclear program despite Western suspicions.

"In the next decade Iran will be one of the most talked-about countries in the world regarding domestic nuclear energy," Mohammad Saeedi of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.


Iran is in a deepening standoff with major powers over its nuclear program which the West fears is aimed at making warheads. Tehran says it wants only to produce electricity.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who has taken a lead role in Western contacts with Iran, has said it would "probably take years" to resolve the nuclear dispute.

Solana, a Spaniard, last met Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani in Turkey on April 25-26 and agreed to hold more talks in the next few weeks.

"There is a high possibility that it (a meeting) will take place in Spain," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the ILNA news agency.

He suggested it would be held sometime between May 22 and May 31. The official IRNA news agency had earlier said May 31 was the agreed date.

[Rasputin]

Peaceful resolution

What is the problem? The West is suspicious of Iran's nuclear ambition. They are concerned that once the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) achieves a nuclear bomb, it may blackmail Western interests or attack Israel. Their worst nightmare is that terrorists could gain access to nuclear weapons from the IRI for use against Western populations.

What are the realities? By building a nuclear bomb, the IRI seeks, among other things, to discourage the US from pursuing regime change in Iran or supporting the opposition. Iran knows that a nuclear attack on Israel or on any country in the West would have an unacceptable cost: total destruction. This is not what the IRI is aiming for with its nuclear ambition.

By suppressing its critics and the independent media in Iran, the IRI has succeeded in identifying its nuclear project with Iranian national pride and interest. For the most part, it mobilized the people to rally behind the government. The IRI did not find anything else as popular as the nuclear project to inspire the support of the people. However, this mood is changing as people become disillusioned about Ahmadinejad’s campaign promises to improve the lot of the poor promises, but enlarging the tension with the West. These facts also have widened the gap between the ruling factions. Thus it is up to the West to win the people’s hearts and minds in Iran.

Iran does not want to see the tension with the West disappear. A foreign enemy is useful to the government in suppressing its opponents and reducing internal conflict. Since its inception, the IRI has always functioned best in crisis mode.

Unsuccessful US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have strengthened Iran in the region. The fruitless democratization campaigns in other Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, the electoral victory of Hamas in Palestine, the unexpectedly strong resistance of Hezbollah against Israeli troops in Lebanon, and the vain effort to uproot terrorism have all favored the IRI.

Pro-American Sunni states in the region, such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and sheikhdoms in the Persian Gulf are worried by the replacement of Saddam’s regime with a predominantly Shii regime, and by the growing influence of the Iranian government among Muslim populations. This trend will undermine US allies and transform Iran into an absolute and unquestionable power in the region for years to come.

In addition to these developments, the radical faction in the IRI welcomes a limited military confrontation with the US and Israel. They believe they can mobilize the people around national and religious sentiments, claiming the US is plotting against the growth of Iran and other Muslim nations. Such negative reaction against the West in the Middle East is already evident.

The US does not have the capability to force the Iranian government out of power. A regional military strike can only wound Iran, while giving the IRI a legitimate excuse to press ahead with the production of nuclear weapons.

Conclusion: The US should refrain from using military force against Iran. Does this mean the West should allow the IRI to continue building nuclear bombs? The answer is no. The question is, what the US should do?

Solution: The West should decisively and convincingly declare that they will accept Iran's nuclear project if the IRI meets the simple condition of holding a free election to choose a truly representative government. Since the current government is not democratically elected, it does not represent the Iranian national will and cannot be a trustworthy negotiating partner. If Iran chooses a democratically elected government, the West will engage in full negotiations with the new government to resolve their differences. The US will guarantee that Iran is free to continue its nuclear development and even to achieve its nuclear bomb if it so desires. If the current government is confident that it represents the Iranian people, then it should not hesitate to hold a free and democratic election to reconfirm the will of the people. A free election must be monitored by the UN and international observers. The IRI must allow the Iranian people to freely form their political parties and organizations for a year before the election is held. To make this offer more attractive to the IRI, the US should commit to provide full support in building nuclear plants, and allow the UN or the International Court of Justice in the Hague to form a special committee to investigate the financial claims of the Iranian government, stipulating that it is prepared to pay off with interest any US debt that is verified.

The IRI may not accept this offer, but the Iranian people and Muslims would thereby learn about the good intentions of the US to resolve the crisis. This would frustrate Iranian attempts to mobilize people against the West. On the contrary, the Iranian people and Muslims would see that the IRI wants to drag them into a military confrontation with the West. This would cost the IRI a great deal of domestic and internal pressure, debase its claims, and build legitimacy for further and tougher actions by the West.

This bid will also do away with the double standard of dealing with other nuclear powers in the region, i.e. Israel, Pakistan, and Russia, and change the image of the US from that of an aggressor to a supporter of democracy and fairness in the region. The US badly needs to improve its image in the Middle East and the world. Israel must also fully support this project.

Such a change in policy will calm tensions in the region and give the US a better prospect for resolving the dangerous crisis in Iraq and bringing US troops home.

The cost of this plan is much lower than any other plans the West may pursue to resolve the crisis with Iran. Even the financial cost of this plan could soon be turned into profitable capital investment.