Iran's nuclear program

[edyzmedieval]

What do you think of this?!

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran told the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency Monday of its decision to resume some nuclear activities, the spokesman of Iran's top security decision-making body said.

Iran has asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to instruct its inspectors in Iran to break the seals on central Iran's Isfahan Nuclear Conversion Facility so technicians can restart uranium reprocessing, Ali Agha Mohammadi, spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told state-run radio.

The European Union head office warned Iran on Monday that progress in EU-Iran trade talks were unlikely if Tehran resumes its nuclear program.

"We expect Iran to live up to the commitment" made at nuclear talks in Paris, said European Commission spokesman Stefaan De Rynck. "Progress in such an agreement is unlikely unless the Paris agreement has a successful follow-up."

Reprocessing uranium is a step below uranium enrichment, which is to remain suspended, said Mohammadi.

The work is to resume at the Isfahan plant, which converts uranium ore concentrate, known as yellowcake, into uranium gas, the feedstock for enrichment. Uranium enriched to high levels can be used for nuclear bombs; at low levels it is used as fuel for nuclear energy plants.

They are still doing it....

[Templar Knight]

It will probably end in tears...

[Proletariat]

Wow, what a shock. Who woulda figured the diplomatic route wouldn't work with these people.

[Ja'chyra]

Wow, what a shock. Who woulda figured the diplomatic route wouldn't work with these people.

These people?

I take it this is a case of do as I say not do?

[Productivity]

As expected. Quite frankly this is one of the reasons why I was against invasion of Iraq. Both Iran and North Korea are far more dangerous than Iraq ever was, and both should have been before Iraq on the 'nasty regimes to remove' list.

[Radier]

I say we bomb their reactors out before they can produce bombs...

[Grey_Fox]

Then the Iranians will mount up and drive into Iraq, and that will be ugly.

[Proletariat]

I say we bomb their reactors out before they can produce bombs...

I'm sure Israel will beat all of us to doing this.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I say we bomb their reactors out before they can produce bombs...

I concur.

I've never understood why the permanent members of the security council allow the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Surely peace and stability in the world are not served by letting states like North-Korea and Iran become nuclear powers.

[Tribesman]

They have an all solid fuel Shahab-7 they've been working on with Pakistan that has a 12,000 km range.
Nooooooo they are our allies , they wouldn't be helping a member of the axis of evil with its weapons programs

[sharrukin]

French intelligence has confirmed for the Americans that Iran IS attempting to build nuclear weapons. I don't think this is seriously disputed by many.

IMO North Korea and Pakistan are more deserving of our concern than Iran is, regarding the Possession of nuclear weapons. The Pakistani regime and people have shown themselves to be very supportive of Al Qaeda and have harboured the remnants of the Taliban. Iran was assisting the Northern Alliance alongside the US in the War against the Taliban in Afghanistan while Pakistan supported the Taliban. Iran offered to help the US when we were going into Afghanistan. Iran has also arrested Al Qaeda members and disrupted Al Qaeda cells within Iran which is more than most of our so-called allies have done. At least 200 Al Qaeda suspects are in prison and between 500 and 800 more have been deported.

These showed up in Iran as Al Qaeda and Taliban members fleeing the Afghan conflict. Other groups such as Ansar al-Islam from the territory of America's Kurdish allies were also arrested when they fled from Iraq. Iran took this action because "because they intended to use Iranian territory to launch terrorist strikes on other countries." The Iranians held a candlelight vigils on 9/11 to condemn the terrorist attacks on the US. The Palestinians and Pakistani's danced and celebrated in the streets after the attack. About a week after the attack, a picture appeared of some people in Pakistan holding a large banner that read "America think! why you are hated all over the world." But remember Iran is our enemy while Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are our friends!

The Governing Council in Iraq decided in January of 2004 to expel the People's Mujahadeen (MKO) AKA Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MeK) from Iraq with American support though U.S. forces and the Mujahadeen militias have cooperated in the past. MeK was added to the U.S. State Department’s list of foreign terrorist groups in 1997. MEK members were among those in 1979 who invaded the U. S. Embassy in Tehran, kidnapping 52 Americans who were held hostage for 444 days.

After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the Iranian government banned the Communist MeK and they fled to neighboring Iraq. President Bush did order the group disarmed but this doesn't seem to have been done with much diligence. Twenty years ago, the MeK was responsible for a suicide bombing that killed most of Iran's cabinet and many members of parliament. The MeK broadcasts are beamed into Iran from studios in plain sight of American forces and Pentagon officials attend MeK press conferences in Baghdad. The group’s political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, maintains offices in several capitals, including Washington, D.C. The United States found itself in the bizarre position of being semi-allied to some of the Iranian hostage takers AGAINST the Iranian government hunting down and arresting Al Qaeda terrorist cells! Some intermediaries have suggested a prisoner exchange, MeK for the Al Qaeda members in Iranian prisons but the Iranian foreign ministry refused saying "We do not do deals when it comes to terrorists." Now who said life wasn't stranger than fiction?

Iranian Intelligence Minister Ali Younessi has stated that "Some of these groups are used by intelligence services of countries in the region or by the United States and Israel." The United States accuses Iran of supporting Al Qaeda. The Bush administration claims Al Qaeda operatives are acting from their prison cells to orchestrate terrorist activities. This seems a little odd as the Iranians despise Al Qaeda as much as the Americans do. Al Qaeda is a violent anti-Shiite movement who have conducted acts of terror against Iran as well. The Imam Reza shrine in Mashad for example was bombed by Al Qaeda and they also beheaded some Iranian diplomats in Mazaar-e-Sharif.

Iran's governing council may be fanatical, but they're certainly not stupid.

The United States has repeatedly threatened to invade Iran, list them as part of the axis of evil, invaded their next door neighbour, and have huge military forces deployed in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Condoleezza Rice has given assurances that a military attack by the United States on Iran "is simply not on the agenda at this point. This is less than reassuring as it suggests a scheduling problem that has still to be worked out. Pakistan, Israel, India, and the US have nuclear weapons and the Central Asian Republics are said to have some loose nukes running around as well. A failure of the Iranians to react to all of this is not a realistic expectation.

Iran is surrounded by nuclear powers. The Iranian government believes that one of the reasons that the US went to war in Iraq was to complete the encirclement of Iran by American forces, some of which are present in the Central Asian Republics, in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, in the Gulf states, and in Iraq. From 1980 until 1988, Iran fought a war against Iraq, with the Iraqi's using chemical weapons largely developed with aid from the west and assistance via the American proxies of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. For obvious reasons the europeans and Americans now waxing poetic about the evils of possessing weapons of mass destruction rings hollow in their ears.

Military intervention in Iran would be a disaster of epic proportions. The Iranians used mass infantry assaults against Iraq with a tremendous cost in lives. Iran is a nation of close to 70 million people and it would require a huge army to occupy that nation. The mention of American threats to Iran is a negative factor as it changes the internal issue from one of opposition to the government, to loyalty to one's nation and people. Despite the democratic aspirations of young iranians they are loyal to their nation. Such threats are welcomed by the radical clerics as they help to bolster the image they have of a belligerent America hostile to Iran and helps to short circuit the reformers programs. A war against Iran is a war against the people of Iran and they will respond accordingly. The question is, do we actually want to accomplish something useful here?

Even diehard opponents of the Iranian regime would become our enemy.

" As far as the Islamic Republic of Iran is concerned, people have 25 years experience of this most brutal oppression in Iran and for them, the regime must go. But not through US intervention."
Hamid Taqvaee, is the leader of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran

Needless to say that Communists and Fundamentalist clerics are not real friendly.

Furthermore any such attack would run into problems on the ground with Iraq's growing ties with the government of Iran. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari made a trip to Iran, where he laid a wreath at the tomb of the Ayatollah Khomeini, signed an economic cooperation pact involving Iraq's oil fields and Iranian refining facilities. Ayatollah Sistani of Iraq has met with the Iranian foreign minister in may of 2005, but he hasn't bothered to meet with the Americans. Not a good sign.

Iraq's new defense minister, Saadoun Dulaimi also visited Iran in July 2005, for talks regarding the border and said in a joint press conference with Iranian Defence Minister Adm Ali Shamkhani“Nobody can dictate to Iraq its relations with other countries”. Also under discussion was an “Iran- Iraq military Cooperation agreement” which would involve provision of Iranian military training assistance and Iranian military assistance for upgrading Iraq’s armed forces. The failure of the United States to make any effort in this regard has not helped matters. There is no Iraqi Air Force worthy of the name, the former Iraqi tank holdings captured during the war were destroyed for no good reason and charity donations from Hungary and the UAE have exceeded American help in this regard. AFAIK there is not a single American tank in the Iraqi inventory. The story is the same for fighter jets. The Iraqis have no military equipment to speak of so how exactly are they ever going to be ready to defend themselves?

Gulf newspapers quoting sources close to the Iraqi Prime Minister claimed that the Iraqi Prime Minister and Iraqi Defence Minister would be offering pledges to Iran, that Iraqi soil would not be allowed to be used for any United States attacks on Iran. The US has deposed the Sunni minority government from power and replaced them with the Shia's. It is Iran that holds the political and religious allegiance of the Shia leadership and the loyalty of the Shia majority.

To be blunt the US has no real military options for attacking Iran. Iran would strike back hard if attacked and they have most of the advantages in such a confrontation. The Iranian army would not be any real problem in the short term. However, American ground forces are tied down in Iraq and Iranian influence with the Shia groups in Iraq would probably mean that those forces would need to be increased in the event of an attack. A limited US attack against just the reactors would leave Iran the option of supplying the insurgents with equipment and supplies. They could also move "volunteers" into Iraq and Afghanistan as well and begin extensive support for worldwide terror groups. Realistically, American options at this point are somewhat limited.

IMO we suffer from seeing Iran as they were 20 years ago rather than what they are. This is the sort of mistake that we can ill afford to make. I don't think we can stop them and if we cannot we need to consider what is in our best interests!

[Don Corleone]

Sharrukin, just because they don't like Al Queda and want to rat them out, doesn't mean that Iran doesn't see a use for terrorism. They just prefer their own breed of terrorists. Or did you think Hizbollah has been acting on their own for the past 25 years?

[sharrukin]

Sharrukin, just because they don't like Al Queda and want to rat them out, doesn't mean that Iran doesn't see a use for terrorism. They just prefer their own breed of terrorists. Or did you think Hizbollah has been acting on their own for the past 25 years?

I am not suggesting they don't support terror groups! We do the same and 911 hasn't changed that. Their interests and ours are closer than most nations in the regions including many we call allies. We should act accordingly!

[kiwitt]

I still think Nuclear Energy is a good direction.

Also, it would appear from this article, enriching Uranium to produce more U-235 instead of U-238 is a good step in producing uranium fuel. It would appear, spent fuel is used for "plutonium" production, i.e. nuclear weapons. If this next step can be monitored, what it wrong with this. Iran is a different country that it was when in setup the "hizbollah" initially. Does it still support them ? Is there recent proof of this ?