Nuclear Crisis

[Rasputin]

IAEA chief in Iran attack warning

Mr ElBaradei called for a "time out" with Iran
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has warned that resorting to military action against Iran over its nuclear programme would be "an act of madness".
Mohammed ElBaradei also said Iran was close to reaching large-scale levels of uranium enrichment without providing assurances its programme was peaceful.

Enriched uranium can be used to fuel nuclear reactors but can also be made into nuclear weapons material.

The West has accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

Mr ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) , said the stalemate between Iran and the UN Security Council was leading to confrontation.

He said any use of force to shut down Iran's nuclear programme "would be catastrophic, it would be an act of madness, and it would not solve the issue".

'Freeze for peace'

The United States and Israel have not ruled out the possibility of using military force against Iran if it does not scrap its uranium-enrichment programme.

But the US favours a diplomatic track, with what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called "disincentives for Iran to continue its activities".

Mr ElBaradei called on Iran to freeze the expansion of its programme, saying the country was close to running 3,000 uranium-enrichment centrifuges.

IAEA officials say 3,000 centrifuges is the point of no return in an industrial programme.


The uranium enrichment facility at Natanz
Iran has said it hopes to install tens of thousands of centrifuges for industrial-scale enrichment at its Natanz site.

"On the one hand Iran is building the capacity and knowledge with regards to sensitive technology," Mr ElBaradei said.

"On the other hand the agency is unable to provide the assurance that this is a peaceful programme.

"It would be good if Iran today would stop building additional centrifuges and installing [them] in Natanz."

That could allow a "time-out or freeze for peace", he said.

Mr ElBaradei was speaking at a meeting of the agency's 35-nation board.

The Iranian envoy to the meeting repeated Tehran's position that it would not suspend uranium enrichment.

The UN Security Council has twice imposed rounds of sanctions on Iran for not suspending enrichment.

Mr ElBaradei said his inspectors had been unable to verify whether the centrifuges at Natanz were running at 100% efficiency or whether some might have crashed, as has happened before.

He repeated his estimate that Iran was three to eight years away from building a nuclear weapon, if that is what it was trying to do.

[Rasputin]

آخرين توصيه های البرادعی
ايران برای 6 هفته
غنی سازی را متوقف کند




اجلاس شورای حکام رسما به کار خود پايان داد و جمع بندی مسائل مطرح شده در آن نيز هم در بيانيه سه کشور اروپائی آلمان، فرانسه، انگلستان منعکس شد و هم در مصاحبه ها و اظهار نظرهای نماينده امريکا در اين اجلاس. (فشرده اين جمع بندی را در شماره روز گذشته پيک نت منتشر کرديم که همچنان در صفحه اول امروز نيز قابل دسترسی است)

حجم وسيع اظهار نظرها، مصاحبه ها و گمانه زنی های اين اجلاس که در اخبار خبرگزاری های جهان منعکس شد چنان بود که کلام اصلی البرادعی دبير يا رئيس سازمان انرژی اتمی که در نشست اجلاس مذکور حضور داشته تقريبا گُم شد. در اين زمينه، يعنی گُم و گُور کردن خبر اصلی در ميان تفسيرهای شخصی و خطی و حکومتی چند خبرگزاری نزديک به دولت احمدی نژاد تخصص پيدا کرده اند. به همين دليل، شايد همين چند خطی که خبرگزاری دانشجوئی "ايسنا" عليرغم همه فشار حکومتی که روی آن اعمال می شود منتشر کرده "لُب" کلام باشد:

"مدير کل آژانس بين*المللی انرژی اتمی در پايان نشست شورای حکام در جمع خبرنگاران گفت: ايران به درخواست*های آژانس برای همکاری و شفاف *ساز بيشتر و نيز تعليق فعاليت*های مربوط به غنی*سازی عمل نکرده و سانتريفيوژهای بيشتری را راه اندازی کرده است. بهتر است ايران برای زمان کوتاهی، مثلا شش هفته يا بيشتر فعاليت*های اتمی خود را متوقف کند و شورای امنيت نيز متقابلا اجرای قطعنامه*ها عليه ايران را برای همين مدت متوقف ساخته و گفتگوها آغاز شود."

[Rasputin]

سخنگوى اتحاديه اروپا از دور جديد مذاكرات مسوول كميته سياست*خارجى اتحاديه اروپا و دبير شوراي*عالى امنيت ملى ايران خبر داد.
"كريستينا گالاچ" سخنگوى اتحاديه اروپا گفت: "دور جديد مذاكرات "خاوير سولانا" و" على لاريجانى" به زودى برگزار مي*شود، اما هنوز زمان و مكان آن مشخص نشده است."
براساس اين گزارش, قرار است خاوير سولانا امروز ـ دوشنبه ـ درباره مذاكرات اخير خود با لاريجانى به وزيران خارجه اتحاديه اروپا گزارش دهد. به گفته يك منبع ديپلماتيك، احتمال دارد وزيران خارجه اتحاديه اروپا از سومين قطعنامه سازمان *ملل *متحد حمايت كنند اما اين اقدام نبايد "جهشى دراماتيك" باشد، زيرا هدف دور كردن ايران از احتمال مذاكره نيست.
سولانا و لاريجانى آخرين بار 31 ماه مى در مادريد ديدار كردند اما از نشست آنها هيچ پيشرفتى گزارش نشد.

[Rasputin]

A senior nuclear official briefed the Majlis on the outcome of recent discussions at the UN nuclear watchdog and Iran-EU dialogue.

Kazem Jalali, rapporteur of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told IRNA that Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran?s Atomic Energy Organization and a member of nuclear negotiation team, had briefed the Majlis on the International Atomic Energy Agency related subjects and Iran?s nuclear issue at the recent IAEA board meeting.

Jalali quoted Saeedi as reporting to Majlis that the IAEA board meeting ended with a statement on Iran?s nuclear case.

He said Saeedi?s report also focused on talks between Iran?s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Ankara and Madrid ,and talks between Larijani?s deputy Javad Vaeedi and deputy foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia.

?What?s of importance in the talks is that the West should not allow radicals to reverse the logical course of Larijani-Solana talks because radical currents in the West are attempting to scuttle talks between Iran and the EU representative,? he said.

Jalali added that while insisting on its nuclear rights, Iran is ready to forge understanding with Europe.

?The West?s right attitude towards Iran?s nuclear realities and achievements of Iranian scientists would put the dialogue on a logical and acceptable course,? he added.

?The West?s contribution to Iran?s nuclear progress is the best possible option for forging mutual confidence and understanding.?

[Rasputin]

In recent weeks, Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has repeatedly condemned any plans for military action against Iran by the United States and Israel. However, not only has little attention been given to ElBaradei’s assessments by mainstream media sources, but traditionally well-reputed publications, including the Observer and Guardian, have reported distorted and unsubstantiated articles regarding Iran’s intentions.

The Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) urges recognition of the dangerous path of the new phase of U.S.-Iran confrontation by all those who oppose the insane and criminal foreign policy of the Bush administration, for the sequences currently unfolding bear an unsettling resemblance to the events leading up to the American-led coalition’s illegal and criminal invasion of Iraq. As the voices of ElBaradei and the United Nations are once again muted, the drum beating of warmongers in Washington, London, and Tel Aviv becomes louder and louder. This while the last two American wars have left one state, Afghanistan, in a dizzying opium high, and another state, Iraq, on fire.

Before continuing this analysis, it seems appropriate to point out the consistently erroneous portrayal of Iranian officials by news sources for this trend has accelerated in recent weeks and is part of a greater US attempt to vilify the country. For example, after the US Journal of Defense News recently stated that Iran’s defense minister, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, argued that “Iran would attack Gulf countries used as a launch pad for a U.S. strike on Iran” (“Iran denies threat to hit Persian Gulf states,” 12 June, 2007), Shamkhani quickly dismissed the report as “baseless” and a “bunch of lies” (Daily Star, “Iran Denies Threat to Hit Persian Gulf States,” 12 June 2007). In spite of this refutation, however, the news was widely dispersed.

A June 10th article in the Observer by Mark Townsend alleged “a nuclear conspiracy to transfer ‘weapons grade uranium’ from Russia to Sudan as a ‘trans-shipment point’ (“MI6 probes UK link to nuclear trade with Iran”), the article goes on to claim, while presenting no supporting evidence, that the material was ‘destined’ for Iran. Townsend also refers to Iran’s ‘nuclear weapons programme,’ a claim wholly unsupported by the inspectors of the IAEA, which is overlooking Iran’s nuclear programme under a Safeguards Agreement”(CASMII Press Release, 12 June 2007).

Similarly, on May 22nd, the Guardian reported the claims of an anonymous senior U.S. official:

Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces ... . They [Iran] are behind a lot of high-profile attacks meant to undermine US will and British will, such as the rocket attacks on Basra palace and the Green Zone. The attacks are directed by the Revolutionary Guard who are connected right to the top [of the Iranian government]... We expect that al-Qaida and Iran will both attempt to increase the propaganda and increase the violence... (qtd. in CASMII Press Release, 25 May 2007)

In spite of the potentially volatile nature of the claims made by the unnamed source, the author Simon Tisdall reports them as fact - almost entirely without qualification, sources, or supporting evidence.

These media distortions exist in the greater context of American funding of terrorist organizations within Iranian territory (The Independent, “Fear grips Iranian academics as radical groups launch campaign of intimidation,” 16 June 2007),the refusal of American forces to return five Iranian diplomats taken hostage in Irbil in January, and arresting three other diplomats in Iraq on Friday June 15th (Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, “Iran strongly condemns arrest of 3 diplomats in Iraq,”16 June, 2007), American attempts to halt international business with Iranian banks and institutes (AFP, “US Treasury chief urges allies to blacklist Iran's banks,” 15th June 2007), and American funding of exile organizations and domestic NGO’s, “the survival of Iranian non-governmental organisations is being threatened by the US administration's continuing attempts to fund the country's civil society, leading activists have warned... . But there is no sign the US administration will retreat. Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, made clear last month the US would not be deterred from funding pro-democracy efforts in Iran by requesting a sharp increase in spending to $75m for -"civil society and human rights projects in Iran" in 2008” (Financial Times, “US funds put Iran's activists in line of fire,” 15 June 2007).

Additionally, continuous and unsubstantiated allegations against Iran by top U.S. government officials has unnecessarily led to an escalation of tensions: “Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said in Paris that Tehran was directly supplying weapons to the Taliban. He told CNN television there was ‘irrefutable evidence’ that arms shipments were coming from Iran's government;” however, this account was quickly dismissed by Afghanistan’s defense minister the following day (AP, “Afghan Official Denies Iran Arming Taliban,” 14 June 2007). Furthermore, “on Saturday June 9, 2007, Shaul Mofaz the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister threatened to use military action against Iran (IRNA, “Tehran condemns Israeli threats against Iran,” 12 June 2007).

Prior to this, the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in response to a question in April 2007 regarding whether military action would be an option against Iran said, “It is impossible perhaps to destroy the entire nuclear program but it would be possible to damage it in such a way that it would be set back years... it would take 10 days and would involve the firing of 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles” (IRNA, “Tehran condemns Israeli threats against Iran” 12 June 2007). Finally, Senator Joe Lieberman’s call for a military attack of Iran on CBS last week further diverts attention from the assessments of the IAEA, an international organization created for exactly this purpose, halting inhumane aggression toward independent states.

What has ElBaradei stated amidst this cacophony of illegal military threats, lies and distortions? In May, ElBaradei announced that Iran has the knowledge for gaining nuclear expertise: “... we believe they pretty much have the knowledge about how to enrich. From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but that's a fact” (Reuters, “World Should Adapt to Iran Atom Advances, el-Baradei Says,”16 May 2007). With this insight, however, ElBaradei stresses dialogue and negotiations, for sanctions and military attacks cannot destroy knowledge; ElBaradei’s perspective illuminates the ineffectiveness of the current U.S. approach. As recently as Thursday, ElBaradei stated at the UN that an attack on Iran over its nuclear program would be “an act of madness ... even the idea of people talking about using force... it would be catastrophic, an act of madness, and it would not solve the issue” (qtd. in Reuters, IAEA urges Iran compromise to avert conflict, 14 June 2007).

More importantly, in a revealing and relatively unreported interview with BBC’s Rob Broomby on May 8th 2007ElBaradei presented a global and historical context to Iran’s enrichment program. First, he highlighted the international instability created by global pursuit of nuclear weapons by the United States and Israel: “For the last ten days the parties to the NPT can't even agree on ... what to discuss. That’s how dismal the state of affairs are. The reasons are very obvious. The reason that we still live in a world that relies on nuclear weapons, any country that feels insecure whether it's Iran, whether it's North Korea or any other country is tempted to develop possibly nuclear weapon because they see the ‘big boys’ continue to rely on nuclear weapons” (in CASMII interview transcript, 4 June 2007).

"ElBaradei goes on to explain that “whether they have the intention or they do not have the intention, one thing is clear, they are not today a clear and present danger and that is not only my view, that is the view of the MI6, that is the view of the CIA” (in CASMII interview transcript, 4 June 2007). He also explains the technological path Iran is on: “... having an enrichment capability and developing a weapon are two different things. There are certain countries that have enrichment capabilities, some non-nuclear weapons states, you have Japan, you have Brazil, you have Germany, it does not mean automatically that you have that, that you will immediately jump to acquiring nuclear weapons (in CASMII interview transcript, 4 June 2007). Finally,he supported Iran’s legal right to pursue an enrichment program:

The issue having the capability as they do have the right under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, to enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium. The fact that every country has the right to sit on an enrichment factory means that the security margin we have is very thin because security perception could change over night and if you look at East Asia, if you look at North Korea, the fact that North Korea developed its nuclear weapon had a lot of implication, and could still have a lot of implications on its neighbouring countries.

[Rasputin]

A few months ago Japan said we are going to have a discussion on whether we can have nuclear weapons or not. The issue that was raised by Iran goes much beyond Iran which means we need to make sure that all fuel cycle activities should be under multi-national control and that is why I have been, and many others, working toward establishing a multi-national control over fuel cycle that makes sure even if a country's perception of security has changed, they are not, they do not have at their disposal the nuclear material that they could develop into a nuclear weapon. So the issue of Iran is a serious issue, but the issue of Iran raises a lot much more fundamental questions about the efficacy of the Non-Proliferation and arms control regime. (CASMII interview transcript, 4 June 2007)

In recent interviews, ElBaradei has stated that Iran is three to eight years away from the capability to assemble nuclear explosives, stressing that “three years is a long time and we need to invest time in creative diplomacy” (Reuters, “IAEA urges Iran compromise to avert conflict,” 14 June 2007). He has also called for a “time-out” - entailing both a stop to Iran’s enrichment and the two rounds of UN sanctions - so the two sides can engage in dialogue. ElBaradei draws upon his bitter memories of the American invasion of Iraq as a motivating factor to stop another act of American aggression:

It is highly unlikely, and I hope it is highly unlikely, but I do not want to see that [an American invasion of Iran] happen. I thought Iraq was highly unlikely and we still have 700,000 people who have died. When I wake up every morning and I see a hundred Iraqis, innocent civilians are dying I really don't have any sympathy, to say the least, for anybody saying that I am working under my brief. I have no brief other than to make sure we do not go into another war, or that we go crazy into killing each other. (CASMII interview transcript, 4 June 2007)

As the bridges uniting Iranian academia with their international colleagues burn, NGO’s come to a complete stop and our writers, activists and scholars sit in Evin, the Bush administration continues on its military plans for regime change. ElBaradei, the figure most well versed in the Iranian program’s progress, calls for the U.S. and Israel to halt plans of war against Iran, and we are left to wonder if anyone is listening.

[Rasputin]

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani will have talks with the U.N. atomic watchdog chief on Friday but will not discuss big powers' demands for an Iranian nuclear halt, an Iranian official said on Wednesday.


Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Larijani would meet IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei in Vienna on his way to exploratory talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Lisbon on Saturday.

Asked if Larijani might take up ElBaradei's call last week on Iran to stop expanding its uranium enrichment program as a step towards defusing a standoff with the West, Soltanieh said:

"Suspension is out of the question, forget about it. We have repeatedly made our position very clear."

Javad Vaeedi, Larijani's deputy, told Iranian news agency IRNA: "Larijani and ElBaradei will discuss the continuation and strengthening of cooperation between the IAEA and Iran."

Officials at the Vienna-based agency declined comment.

Successive IAEA reports have documented declining Iranian cooperation with the agency in retaliation for U.N. sanctions imposed on Tehran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

Iran says it only wants to enrich uranium to the low grade required for electricity generation, not to make atomic bombs.

In March, Iran said it would withhold early design details on planned nuclear sites from the IAEA, including a heavy-water reactor Western officials say could yield bomb-grade plutonium.

In talks with Solana in Spain on May 31, Larijani suggested Iran was ready to do more to clear up longstanding IAEA investigations into the nature of its program.

But modest new hopes for Iranian transparency deflated when Tehran reiterated that the U.N. Security Council would first have to return control over Iran's file to the IAEA, ending sanctions pressure.

The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that Washington and other major powers had begun consultations on a third set of Security Council sanctions related to Iran's refusal to shelve any aspect of its campaign for a nuclear fuel industry.

The last Larijani-Solana meeting yielded no breakthrough and a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday there was no expectation the Lisbon encounter would make headway.

But State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said world powers still wanted through Solana to encourage Iran "to find some way to say yes," so that negotiations could begin on implementing trade benefits offered to Tehran a year ago.

Although top U.S. officials have repeatedly asserted their commitment to resolving the Iran matter through diplomacy, President George W. Bush on Tuesday repeated that all options, including military action, were on the table.

ElBaradei said last week that war against Tehran over the nuclear issue would be "an act of madness."

[Rasputin]

لاریجانی با البرادعی ملاقات می کند


آقای لاریجانی قرار است بعد از وین عازم لیسبون شود و با خاویر سولانا، مسئول سیاست خارجی اتحادیه اروپا گفتگو کند
ایران یک بار دیگر تاکید کرده که در گفتگوهای امروز با آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی، در مورد برنامه هسته ای خود سازش نخواهد کرد.
علی لاریجانی، مسئول مذاکرات هسته ای ایران در آستانه گفتگوهای آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی در وین گفت اگر سازمان ملل ایران را با تحریم های بیشتر تهدید کند، ایران برنامه غنی سازی اورانیوم را متوقف نخواهد کرد.

آقای لاریجانی از سازمان ملل خواست در این مورد لحن آشتی جویانه بیشتری در پیش بگیرد.

دبیر شورای عالی امنیت ملی ایران قرار است با محمد البرادعی، مدیر کل آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی دیدار کند.

این دیدار در حالی صورت می گیرد که اعضای دائم شورای امنیت سازمان ملل در حال بررسی تحریم های گسترده تر علیه ایران هستند.

علی اصغر سلطانیه، نماینده ایران در آژانس نیز در آستانه این مذاکرات گفته است:" تعلیق غنی سازی غیرممکن است و قابل بحث نیست."

آقای سلطانیه گفت لاریجانی و البرادعی درباره تقویت همکاری میان ایران و آژانس صحبت خواهند کرد.

مسائل حل نشده در زمینه برخی از فعالیت های هسته ای ایران در گذشته، ممکن است از جمله محورهای این مذاکرات باشد.

آقای لاریجانی قرار است بعد از وین عازم لیسبون، پایتخت پرتغال شود و با خاویر سولانا، مسئول سیاست خارجی اتحادیه اروپا گفتگو کند.

به گفته کری اسکارینگ، خبرنگار بی بی سی در وین، علی لاریجانی در ملاقات قبلی خود با خاویر سولانا گفته بود ایران حاضر است برای پاسخ دادن به ابهاماتی که در زمینه فعالیت های هسته ای گذشته این کشور وجود دارد، بیشتر تلاش به خرج دهد. اما اکنون با گذشت یک ماه، نشانه ای از پیشرفت در این مورد دیده نمی شود.

شورای امنیت سازمان ملل متحد طی چند ماه گذشته با صدور قطعنامه هایی علیه ایران، تحریم های بین المللی علیه این کشور اعمال کرده است.

این تحریم ها به دلیل سرپیچی ایران از درخواست شورای امنیت برای توقف غنی سازی اورانیوم بر ایران اعمال شده اما کمیته تحریم های شورای امنیت سازمان ملل روز گذشته (21 ژوئن) اعلام کرد که اکثر کشورهای عضو هنوز گزارش های خود در مورد نحوه اجرای تحریم ها علیه ایران را به این کمیته ارسال نکرده اند.

آمریکا و کشورهای غربی ایران را متهم می کنند که در پی تولید سلاح های هسته ای است. ایران ضمن رد این اتهام، همواره تاکید کرده که برنامه هسته ای این کشور صلح آمیز و هدف از آن، صرفا تولید انرژی است.

ايران به عنوان عضو آژانس بين المللی انرژی اتمی و با استناد به پيمان بين المللی منع جنگ افزارهای اتمی، غنی سازی اورانيوم را حق خود می داند و اعلام کرده که غنی سازی اورانيوم را تنها به منظور دستيابی به فناوری توليد سوخت مورد نياز نيروگاههای اتمی انجام می دهد و به هيچ وجه حاضر به دست برداشتن از اين حق نيست.

[Rasputin]

The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is hard at work drumming up another fake crisis in spite of the "don't worry, be happy" sentiment of some.

The latest lunacy comes courtesy of the ultra-conservative media outlet NewsMax Media. NewsMax.com notorious for its out and out lying and planting false stories against its perceived enemies from Hillary Clinton to U2, has just initiated a national poll asking its brain-dead consumers (reader seems too dignified a term) to vote on whether or not to bomb Iran if it doesn't stop its "nuclear weapons program."

The poll is apparently inspired by Senator Joe Lieberman of New York. The increasingly isolated and wacko ex-Democrat who seems to be moving increasingly somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun, has called for bombing of Iran.

Of course there is no use reminding the dyslexic "American people" that there is no such thing as Iran's nuclear weapons program (the premise of the said lunatic poll), a claim that even the Bush Administration has not made, and that Iranians are years away from producing weapons grade uranium and that Iran has no incentive to initiate a nuclear attack on anyone, an attack that would surely spell the annihilation of the entire country subjected to a counter-attack.

And although subject of several occupations and foreign invasions (the last one being by the US's then ally, Saddam Hussein) Iran under any regime has not invaded any country for the past 150 years. This is after all the same American public a majority of whom believe 9/11 was planned and executed by Saddam Hussein.

[Rasputin]

Top Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani is due to hold to talks in Vienna with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei.

The talks come as permanent members of the Security Council consider tougher sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to give up uranium enrichment.

Iran insists the meeting is not about making concessions.

Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said suspension was "out of the question".

He said the meeting will be about strengthening co-operation between the IAEA and Iran.

That could include clearing up unresolved questions about some of Iran's past nuclear activities.

Iran says it wants to do that but UN nuclear inspectors complain they have been stonewalled.

After the Vienna meeting, Mr Larijani goes to Lisbon for talks with the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

It was at a previous meeting with Mr Solana that Mr Larijani said Iran was ready to do more to answer questions about its past nuclear activities.

But almost a month later, there is no sign of progress.

[Rasputin]

'توافق' ایران و آژانس اتمی برای حل مسائل باقی مانده


آقای لاریجانی قرار است بعد از وین عازم لیسبون شود تا با خاویر سولانا گفتگو کند
آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی و ایران می گویند برای حل ابهامات باقی مانده در ارتباط با فعالیت های گذشته اتمی ایران به توافق رسیده اند.
محمد برادعی، دبیر کل این آژانس پس از دیداری با علی لاریجانی، مذاکره کننده ارشد ایران در مسائل اتمی، در وین گفت ایران خود را به حل کلیه مسائل باقی مانده متعهد کرده است.

سوالات باقی مانده در مورد ماهیت برنامه اتمی ایران در کانون اختلافات جامعه جهانی با این کشور قرار دارد و اصولا به دلیل استمرار همین ابهامات بود که پرونده ایران از آژانس اتمی سازمان ملل به شورای امنیت آن سازمان گزارش شد.

به گفته کِری اسکایرینگ خبرنگار بی بی سی در وین این مسائل از جمله شامل کشف آثار اورانیوم در یک مرکز پژوهشی وابسته به ارتش ایران و نمودارهایی است که نحوه استفاده از اورانیوم در کلاهک های جنگی را نشان می دهد.

آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی اخیرا گفت که سطح همکاری ایران با بازرسان این آژانس درحال افت و به این ترتیب توانایی اش برای حل این مسائل درحال کاهش است.

آقای برادعی روز جمعه گفت که علی لاریجانی موافقت کرده است ظرف دو ماه "طرحی" در مورد چگونگی حل سوالات باقی مانده تهیه کند.

با این حال دیپلمات ها به خبرگزاری رویتر گفتند که ایران در حدود یک سال قبل نیز با آژانس به توافق رسیده بود تا ظرف سه هفته طرحی برای حل مسائل باقی مانده ارائه کند اما هرگز آن را عملی نکرد.

آقای لاریجانی پس از این دیدار گفت: "من از توسعه چنین طرحی استقبال می کنم، چرا که همانطور که طی دو سال گذشته گفته ام، این کار برای توانایی ما جهت تضمین دادن درباره برنامه اتمی ایران اهمیت اساسی دارد."

مقام های جمهوری اسلامی در ماه های اخیر پافشاری کرده اند که سطح همکاری خود با بازرسان آژانس را تنها زمانی افزایش خواهند داد که پرونده ایران از دستور کار شورای امنیت سازمان ملل خارج شود و تنها در چارچوب آژانس اتمی سازمان ملل تحت بررسی قرار گیرد.

در ملاقات روز جمعه برادعی و لاریجانی، از درخواست آژانس و شورای امنیت سازمان ملل از ایران برای تعلیق غنی سازی اورانیوم سخنی به میان نیامد.

با این حال خبرنگار ما می گوید که نشانه های پیشرفت در رفع ابهام از عملکرد گذشته ایران بخشی از تلاش دیپلماتیک تهران برای پرهیز از دور سوم تحریم ها علیه این کشور است.

آقای لاریجانی همچنین به یک ابتکار عمل تازه دیپلماتیک در جریان ملاقاتی که قرار است روز شنبه در لیسبون پرتغال با خاویر سولانا، مسئول سیاست خارجی اتحادیه اروپا، داشته باشد اشاره کرد.

تکذیب گزارش ها در مورد سخنان وزیر کشور

در تحولی دیگر در روز جمعه، وزارت کشور ایران این گزارش ها را که مصطفی پورمحمدی، وزیر کشور، گفته است ایران اکنون 100 کیلوگرم اورانیوم غنی شده را آماده و ذخیر کرده است تکذیب کرد.

خبرگزاری دانشجویان ایران، ایسنا، پیشتر به نقل از سخنان آقای محمدی طی سخنرانی او در روز پنجشنبه در جنوب شرقی ایران "به مناسبت گرامیداشت شهید چمران" به دستیابی به 100 کیلوگرم اورانیوم غنی شده اشاره کرده بود.

اما به گزارش ایرنا، خبرگزاری رسمی جمهوری اسلامی، وزارت کشور در بیانیه ای گفت: "مصطفی پورمحمدی در قسمتی از سخنان خود فقط به پیشرفت*های هسته* ای ایران در تولید مواد اولیه گاز اورانیوم ( (UF6پرداخته و ذكری از میزان اورانیوم غنی شده و تعداد سانتريفیوژ های نصب شده به میان نیاورد و بدین ترتیب مطالب منتشر شده اخیر به نقل از وی تكذیب می*گردد."

ذخیره این میزان اورانیوم غنی شده توسط ایران می تواند گام مهمی در تلاش های این کشور در جهت غنی سازی باشد، فرآیندی که غرب می ترسد برای ساخت بمب اتمی به کار گرفته شود. ایران همواره گفته است برنامه اتمی اش صلح آمیز است.

ایسنا به نقل از وزیر کشور نوشته بود: "ما در حال حاضر سه هزار سانتریفوژ فعال داریم و بیش از 100 کیلوگرم اورانیوم غنی شده تحویل انبارها داده ایم."

بنابه آن گزارش وی افزود كه "بيش از 150 تن مواد اوليه گاز اورانيوم نيز حاضر و انبار شده است."

شورای امنیت سازمان ملل متحد طی چند ماه گذشته با صدور قطعنامه هایی علیه ایران، تحریم های بین المللی علیه این کشور اعمال کرده است.

این تحریم ها به دلیل سرپیچی ایران از درخواست شورای امنیت برای توقف غنی سازی اورانیوم بر ایران اعمال شده اما کمیته تحریم های شورای امنیت سازمان ملل روز گذشته (21 ژوئن) اعلام کرد که اکثر کشورهای عضو هنوز گزارش های خود در مورد نحوه اجرای تحریم ها علیه ایران را به این کمیته ارسال نکرده اند.

[Rasputin]

Iran denies minister's comments on 'uranium stockpile'

TEHRAN (AFP) - The Iranian interior ministry Friday denied local media reports that the minister announced Iran had ramped up its nuclear capacity and built up a significant stockpile of enriched uranium.



Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi was quoted by the ISNA student news agency late on Thursday as saying Iran had enriched and stored more than 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds) of enriched uranium.

The stockpiling of such a quantity would have marked an important step forward in Iran's enrichment of uranium, a process the West fears could be used to make a nuclear weapon.

"We have currently 3,000 operational centrifuges and delivered more than 100 kilogrammes of enriched uranium to warehouses," Pour-Mohammadi was quoted as saying, adding that Iran had also stocked more than "150 tonnes of uranium gas."

However, his ministry's public relations office quickly denied that the remarks were made in a speech on Thursday in Khuzestan province.

"Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, in part of his speech, only pointed to Iran's nuclear advances in producing uranium gas (UF6) and did not mention anything about enriched uranium and the number of installed centrifuges," it said.

"Therefore the recent comments attributed to him are denied."

Iran has come under intense Western pressure and been hit by two sets of UN sanctions for its defiance for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment work.

The West fears Tehran's work is aimed a producing nuclear weapons, a charge vehemently denied by Iran which maintains that it seeks nuclear energy to produce electricity for its ever increasing population.

Later on Friday, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, is due in Vienna to meet Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

These discussions will be followed on Saturday by talks in Portugal between Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. However, expectations of a breakthrough are low.

[Rasputin]

IAEA and Iran agree to draw up action plan

VIENNA (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday he and Iran's chief negotiator had agreed to draw up a "plan of action" within two months on how to resolve questions about Iran's disputed nuclear program.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed ElBaradei described the two-hour meeting with Ali Larijani as "quite satisfying."

"I hope we should be in a position in the next weeks to move forward and break the stalemate where we have been in for the last few months," ElBaradei told reporters.

He said they were drawing up "a plan of action which I hope we should be able to conclude within two months" and then start implementing.

Larijani also spoke of "good progress," but they reported no breakthrough in the core dispute -- Iran's defiance of U.N. demands to stop uranium enrichment.

Diplomats say that about a year ago, Iran agreed with the IAEA to come up with a plan for resolving outstanding issues within three weeks, but never followed through.

Larijani is due to meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Lisbon on Saturday, seen as the last chance to overcome a stand-off over Tehran's nuclear defiance before world powers start drafting tougher sanctions against it.

Solana has been exploring a face-saving way to allow the Islamic Republic to stop enriching uranium.

"I believe our talks with Mr. ElBaradei today will be quite helpful with the process that Mr. Solana is working on to reach an understanding and a solution," Larijani said after the meeting.

The United States, Britain, Russia, France, Germany and China are discussing a third round of penalties against Iran over concerns it is secretly trying to build atomic bombs.

Ratcheting up the pressure on the Islamic state, a British draft for a new U.N. sanctions resolution proposed that Iran's airlines and ships could be denied landing and transit rights and two or more of its banks could have their assets frozen.

Britain also suggested banning new arms contracts with Iran, barring senior Iranian security officials from air travel and halting work by Russia on Iran's nuclear power reactor at Bushehr, according to the draft, obtained by Reuters.

"Even if the U.N. threatens Iran with more sanctions, the country will not stop its uranium enrichment activities," Larijani said, according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA.

Iran has refused U.N. demands to halt enrichment, which yields fuel for power plants but can also be used for weapons if the uranium is refined to a much higher degree. Tehran says its goal is the peaceful electricity generation.

The latest meetings come amid IAEA concern about increasing Iranian restrictions on access for agency inspectors, imposed in retaliation for existing sanctions.

Since February, Iran has rapidly expanded a centrifuge operation at its Natanz enrichment complex in a bid for "industrial-scale" fuel production.

QUESTIONS ABOUT PROGRAM

ElBaradei has urged Iran to answer IAEA questions about its program, including suspected military links, and to reconsider a decision to stop providing advance design information about planned nuclear installations to the agency.

Tehran has insisted the U.N. Security Council must first return authority over its file to the Vienna-based IAEA, which would end sanctions pressure -- a nonstarter for Western powers.

Instead of freezing all enrichment-related activity, as the Security Council has demanded, Iran has accelerated the program and says it has passed the point of no return.

"When the world saw that the (Iranian) nation is pursuing this goal with unity, the world surrendered," Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying. "We have passed the dangerous moment."

The Security Council has already imposed two rounds of limited sanctions on Iran over its refusal to stop enrichment.

Iran has about 2,000 centrifuges installed as of early June, most of them enriching uranium, and is likely to reach the 3,000 threshold by the end of July, diplomats have said.

Three thousand could produce material for one bomb within a year if run nonstop at supersonic speed. Iran has yet to demonstrate such capability and probably remains a few years away from being able to build a bomb, analysts say.

[Rasputin]

خاوير سولانا مسئول سياسی اتحاديه اروپا در پايان گفتگوهای خود با علی لاريجانی دبير شورای امنيت ملی ايران حاصل ديدار دو طرف را سازنده خواند و گفت دو در طرف در ماه آينده ديدار ديگری خواهند داشت.
آقای سولانا در ساختمان وزارت امور خارجه پرتغال که محل برگزاری اين گفتگو ها بود به خبرنگاران گفت ملاقات بعدی سه هفته ديگر انجام خواهد شد.

علی لاريجانی نيز در گفتگو با خبرنگاران از تمايل ايران برای حل اختلافات خود با غرب بر سر برنامه هسته ايش خبر داد و عنوان کرد گفتگوهای خوبی با خاوير سولانا داشته است.

گفتگوهای ليسبون با هدف فرونشاندن بحران بين المللی بر سر برنامه هسته ای ايران و مخالفت اين کشور با متوقف کردن روند غنی سازی اورانيوم خود انجام شد.

مذاکرات هسته ای ايران و اتحاديه اروپا دو سال پيش که ايران روند دستيابی به فناوری غنی سازی اورانيوم را از سرگرفت متوقف شد و دولتهای بريتانيا، آلمان و فرانسه که به نمايندگی از اتحاديه اروپا مذاکره با ايران را پيش می بردند اعلام کردند که تنها در صورتی حاضر به بازگشت به مذاکراتند که ايران کليه فعاليتهای مرتبط با غنی سازی اورانيوم را دست کم تا زمانی که مذاکرات طرفين به نتيجه برسد متوقف کند.

تهديد تحريم

گفتگوهای آقای لاريجانی و خاوير سولانا در حالی انجام شد که برخی گزارش ها حاکی از همکاری بريتانيا و آمريکا برای طرح قطعنامه ای پيشنهادی به سازمان ملل است که تحريم های فعلی عليه ايران را سختگيرانه تر می کند.

آقای لاريجانی درباره تاثير تصويب چنين قطعنامه ای بر گفتگوهای ايران و اتحاديه اروپا گفت: اگر برخی کشورها با ماجراجويی در پی مختل کردن روند ديپلماسی باشند، ممکن است در نهايت اين گفتگوها نيز تحت تاثير قرار بگيرد.

شورای امنيت سازمان ملل متحد اولين تحريم عليه ايران را بر سر برنامه هسته ای اين کشور در ماه دسامبر اعمال کرد و پس از آن اين تحريم ها را در ماه مارس تمديد کرد.

آقای لاريجانی هشدار داد که تحريم های بيشتر هر مذاکره ای را از رسيدن به يک راه حل باز می دارد و در عين حال بدون اشاره به جزييات اعلام کرد می خواهد به مسايل باقی مانده ميان ايران و آژانس انرژی اتمی سازمان ملل متحد رسيدگی کند.

شورای امنيت سازمان ملل متحد در قطعنامه ای از ايران خواسته است غنی سازی اورانيوم را تعليق کند اما ايران که می گويد برنامه هسته ای اش اهداف صلح آميز دارد حاضر به اين کار نيست.

[Rasputin]

EU-Iranian talks 'constructive'

Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only
The EU's foreign policy chief has described as "constructive" talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator.
Speaking after meeting Ali Larijani in Portugal, Javier Solana said another round of talks will be held next month.

Mr Larijani said Iran wanted a diplomatic solution to the dispute.

It comes a day after the UN's nuclear watchdog and Iran said they had agreed how to clear up questions about the nature of Iran's nuclear programme.

Iran is under pressure from the EU and US to suspend its nuclear programme and uranium enrichment activities.

They accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and is solely aimed at producing civilian nuclear power.

Sanctions threat

"We have had a very constructive meeting, and we will meet again in three weeks' time," Mr Solana said after the four-hour meeting in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

The talks come as permanent members of the UN Security Council consider tougher sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to give up uranium enrichment.

The Council first imposed sanctions on Iran in December for rejecting its demands, renewing them in March.

Mr Larijani warned that further sanctions could derail any negotiations towards a settlement.

"For [most] countries, the prevalence of tranquillity would be more important," he said.

Mr Larijani also said that he intended to address outstanding issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but provided no details.

UN nuclear inspectors complain they have been stonewalled by the Iranian authorities.