Iran & nuclear issues
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So it is important to ask, at the start, how we will be able to tell whether the talks are moving forward. Though talks that have taken place since 2004 have produced no real progress, recent developments suggest some grounds for cautious optimism. Sanctions are hurting Iran, and even tougher ones are expected to go into effect July 1. and other American officials have repeatedly warned Iran in recent weeks that the window for diplomacy is closing. ’s patience for a meaningful outcome from diplomacy is running thin. Iranian leaders presumably recognize that the likelihood of military action would be higher than ever if negotiations collapsed or began to stretch out aimlessly.
Six Ways to Measure Progress in the Iran Nuclear Talks - NYTimes.com
Iran possesses no nuclear armament, has not committed to constructing such a weapon and would likely require years to develop an atomic explosive transportable to a target, according to U.S., European and Israeli intelligence assessments reported by Reuters on Friday (see GSN , March 22). The findings -- described by acting and retired U.S. and European government insiders informed of intelligence on Iran -- differed sharply in tone from public discussions over potential Israeli military action aimed at curbing Iranian atomic activities, according to Reuters. Tel Aviv and Western capitals all fear that Iran's atomic efforts might enable the Persian Gulf regional power to acquire a nuclear-weapon capability, but Tehran insists its nuclear ambitions have always been strictly nonmilitary in nature. The Middle Eastern nation is now operating no clandestine uranium enrichment facilities, according to assertions by present and past U.S. government insiders.
Iranian Nuclear Danger Not Immediate: Intel | Global Security Newswire | NTI
L'annonce pourrait écarter tout risque de guerre contre l'Iran. "La République islamique ne cherche pas la bombe atomique." Ce n'est pas Téhéran, mais les services secrets américains qui l'affirment.
"L'Iran ne cherche pas la bombe atomique" - Le Point
The long-simmering international crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions may now have reached a boiling point. Washington is imposing sanctions on Iranian oil exports, the heart of the Iranian economy. And Tehran, in turn, is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a fifth of the world's oil trade passes on a daily basis. The potential for outright war between the United States and Iran has never seemed more plausible.
Crying wolf about an Iranian nuclear bomb | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
A smoldering covert war pitting the United States against Iran took a new turn this week as Iranian officials announced the arrests of a dozen “CIA spies” they said were targeting the country’s nuclear program. Skip to next paragraph Iranian officials, including the country’s intelligence minister, did not release the identities or nationalities of the alleged spies, but intelligence analysts say they are probably Iranians working as informants for Western intelligence services.
CIA arrests in Iran? Allegations point to smoldering covert war with US. - CSMonitor.com
NTI: Global Security Newswire - U.S. Should Accept Iran’s Latest Uranium Enrichment Offer, Experts Say
Iran possesses no nuclear armament, has not committed to constructing such a weapon and would likely require years to develop an atomic explosive transportable to a target, according to U.S., European and Israeli intelligence assessments reported by Reuters on Friday.
New data on the controversial program suggests it to be far milder than either Tehran or Washington portrays it to be Ali-Akbar Salegi, then Iranian Atomic Energy Chief and now Foreign Minister, speaks at a December 2010 ceremony to take delivery of locally produced yellowcake, a uranium concentrate powder, at a plant in Isfahan / Reuters September is a big month for Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel to the UN General Assembly meeting next week, Iran finally launched its long-delayed nuclear plant at Bushehr this week, and on September 2 the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, published their quarterly report on the Iranian nuclear program. The latest report has fueled the usual rhetoric from Tehran and Washington, with each side interpreting it to suit their political agendas. But Iran's boasting and U.S. hardline rhetoric both appear out of step with the actual status of Iran's nuclear program,
On Iran's Nuclear Program, Science Contradicts Rhetoric - Ali Vaez & Charles Ferguson - International - The Atlantic
The killing of the third Iranian scientist thought to be part of Iran's nuclear program since 2009, in this case Darioush Rezaie, is most likely the work of either the CIA and Mossad. (Another suspicious incident occurred not long ago when a civilian aircraft crashed in Russia killing everyone on board, including several Russian nuclear scientists who worked in Iran for a time.) While it's true that U.S. forces recently struck deep into Pakistan to attack bin Laden's compound, in Rezaie's case a Western security agency probably used a proxy. Likely candidates are Iranian opposition groups – and terrorists in their own right -- the Mujahedin-e Khalk (MEK) or Jundallah. What's especially intriguing, though, is how Iran responds to these events. At Reuters, Andrew Hammond reports:
Iran Eats Nuclear Scientist Rezaie's Assassination as the Cost of Doing Business | Focal Points, the Blog of FPIF
Iran urges Russia to launch Bushehr nuclear plant in "specified deadline"
TEHRAN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian lawmaker urged Russia to launch Bushehr nuclear power plant within the specified deadline, the English language satellite Press TV reported Sunday. The Islamic Republic will accept no excuses from Russia, if Moscow fails to launch Bushehr nuclear power plant within the specified deadline, Deputy Chairman of Foreign Policy and National Security Commission of Iran's Majlis (parliament) Hossein Ebrahimi said. "According to the contract, the Russian company is bound to fulfill its undertakings with respect to the completion and launch of the plant," Ebrahimi was quoted as saying on Saturday. "The Islamic Republic will no longer accept any ambiguity or justification (for delay) with regard to the launch of Bushehr nuclear plant, and nuclear-generated electricity should enter the grid at the specified time," he said.
Iran in Perspective: There's Time for Diplomacy | Ploughshares Fund
You tried going to /news-analysis/morning-joe/iran-perspective-theres-time-diplomacy and it doesn't exist. All is not lost! You can click back and try again or go to the home page and search from there.Corralling Iran: New U.N. Report Confirms Nuclear Sanctions Are Working
SOURCE: AP/Richard Drew As President Obama prepares to speak to the country later this week about his policy in a rapidly changing Middle East, he comes with an obviously significant recent success: The death of Osama bin Laden. Probably less noticed, however, will be the recent news of an important administration success in its Iran policy.Michael Oren: What If Gadhafi Had Gone Nuclear? - WSJ.com
America and its allies, empowered by the United Nations and the Arab League, are interceding militarily in Libya. But would that action have been delayed or even precluded if Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had access to nuclear weapons? No doubt Gadhafi is asking himself that same question. Gadhafi unilaterally forfeited his nuclear weapons program by 2004, turning over uranium-enriching centrifuges and warhead designs. A dictator like him—capable of ordering the murders of 259 civilians aboard Pan Am Flight 103 and countless others in many countries including his own—would not easily concede the ultimate weapon.OSLO (Reuters) - Iran has been trying without success to obtain Norwegian missile technology for possible use in delivering nuclear weapons, Norway's security chief said on Monday. Janne Kristiansen, general director of the Norwegian Police Security Service, told Reuters Iran had approached small Norwegian companies that sell "special components that can ... be used in weapons of mass destruction, for building missiles." Iranian efforts the past year, she said, targeted dual-use technology suitable for civilian products as well as advanced missiles like those that Norwegian contractor Kongsberg Defense Systems makes for several NATO navies and air forces.
Iran trying to buy nuclear missile parts: Norway | Reuters
Iran may be capable of developing a nuclear weapon by next year, Britain's defense secretary told lawmakers on Monday. Liam Fox told the House of Commons he disagreed with Israel's newly retired spy chief, Meir Dagan, who said this month that Iran would not be able to build a nuclear bomb before 2015. Fox said the West should be wary of optimism over Iran's nuclear program and make decisions on the basis of the most pessimistic assessment of its capability. His remarks follow the failure of the U.S., Britain, France and Germany, Russia and China in talks earlier this month to persuade Iran to open its atomic program to more scrutiny.