Regular or Extra-MIRVed?
Posted on 06/12/2004 5:32:56 AM PDT by F14 Pilot
Iran's top diplomat said Saturday the country won't accept any new internationally imposed obligations regarding its nuclear program and that the world must recognize Iran as a nuclear-capable nation.
"We won't accept any new obligations," Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told reporters, suggesting a toughening of Iran's position two days before the 35-nation board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, meets to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
"Iran has a high technical capability and has to be recognized by the international community as a member of the nuclear club," Kharrazi said at a press conference. "This is an irreversible path."
The IAEA has wrestled for more than a year with what to do regarding what the United States and its allies say is a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program. Iran has rejected such allegations, saying its nuclear program is geared toward generating electricity, not making an atom bomb.
Kharrazi insisted Saturday that Iran won't give up its development of the nuclear fuel cycle, the steps for processing and enriching uranium necessary for both nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Iran says it has achieved the full cycle, but is not now enriching uranium.
"That somebody demands that we give up the nuclear fuel cycle ... is an additional demand," Kharrazi said. He apparently was referring to demands by U.S. and European countries that Iran halt operations of a plant it inaugurated in March in Isfahan, central Iran, that processes uranium into gas and abort plans to build a heavy water reactor in Arak, another city in central Iran.
"We can't accept such an additional demand, which is contrary to our legal and legitimate rights," he said. "No one in Iran can make a decision to deny the nation of something that is a source of pride."
Iran has confirmed possessing technology to extract uranium ore, processing it into a powder called yellow cake and then converting it into gas. The gas is then injected into centrifuges for low-grade enrichment that turns it into fuel for nuclear reactors.
Uranium enriched to low levels has energy uses, while highly enriched uranium can be used in bombs.
Iran suspended uranium enrichment last year under mounting international pressure. In April, it said it had stopped building centrifuges. IAEA inspectors had found traces of highly enriched uranium at two sites, which Iranian officials have maintained was due to contaminated imported materials.
Kharrazi condemned a draft resolution critical of Iran drawn up by Germany, France and Britain and currently debated before the IAEA board meeting Monday.
"The draft resolution is unacceptable unless changes are made so that it can be acceptable to all parties," he said.
The minister said insistence by Europeans on "very tiny issues is contrary to the spirit of cooperation." He said that by doing so, the European countries are bowing to U.S. pressure and showing "lack of independence."
Kharrazi warned that failure in settling the debate over Iran's nuclear dossier will be a "failure for all," including Iran, Europe and the IAEA.
The minister confirmed Iran's efforts to buy 4,000 magnets needed for uranium enrichment equipment, saying the issue was being "unnecessarily" hyped. He did not say where the magnets were bought from.
Diplomats told The Associated Press in Vienna that Iran had acknowledged inquiring about 4,000 magnets needed for uranium enrichment equipment with a European black-market supplier and had dangled the possibility of buying a "higher number."
"If everybody is looking to settle this issue (Iran's nuclear dossier), they have to look at it in a broad outlook," Kharrazi said.
RANKING: Oil Producing Countries
(In Thousands of Barrels Per Day)
1. Combined Countries: 9,482
2. Saudi Arabia 8,680
3. United States 7,698
4. Russia 7,698
5. Mexico 3,585
6. China 3,387
7. Iran 3,366
8. Norway 3,330
9. Venezuela 2,942
10. Canada 2,880
Pakistan and India have been in that club a long time. A cruel irony that OBL may turn up there too. But to be sure the club is FULL.
BOMB THE MULLAHS!
Rock the Casbah!
A really ominous ping.
When they natter on about their "rights" tell them we don't give a tuppenny damn about their rights, and will annihilate them all to a man if necessary before we will let them have nukes.
The Mullahs had better bend over and kiss their butts goodbye. W won't stand for this anymore than I or the average FReeper would.
if china protects them, it could be a whole new ball game.
"The thing that bothers me most about the upcoming election is that most don't have a freaking clue as to what Kerry actually stands for."
When Bush and team start campaigning hard, I expect them to paint a picture of Kerry.
Of course Kerry will claim it isn't so, but it will plant doubt.
Regular or Extra-MIRVed?
I agree, this is why we need to partition Iraq and maintain a core presence outside the cities. Iran could heat up quickly, and it could suffer political turmoil internally. At this point we could not react to this crisis.
No muslim nation should be allowed to be a nuclear power. Period. End of story. Look at what Pakistan's done already.
Because just one nuke explosion in the West should elicit a decimating response by the West, we should use pre-emptive measures to ensure that terrorists and hot heads do not have a source for this capability. This will likely require co-operation among a NATO like organization. Forget the UN which is bunch of criminal leftist goofballs.
China should be given a timetable to neutralize N. Korea. Otherwise, they become complicit in any unintended consequences. If they won't act, then they must support our actions. Otherwise pound sand on exporting anything to the North America. China has far more to lose than we do given their huge concentrations of people in urban areas.
Hoppy
If we don't do something drastic and soon, they'll start the blackmail bit. Do this, do that, we don't like this, we don't like that. So change. Etc. Kerry would cave in a heartbeat. One hopes GW has other options on the table.
What a stupid, stupid thing for an official Iranian diplomat to say (thankfully).
Iran has now formally broken their promises to use Russia's nuclear assistance for mere energy-generation purposes.
Iran is now publicly in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (causa belli).
5.56mm
I think the ones looking to settle the issue are the Israelis. They settled the issue pretty decisively the last time Iran got close to producing a nuke, and they have even better tools for the job these days.
I read somewhere that Israel can't do it again because of Pakistan now having nukes. I'm not any kind of expert on foreign affairs, but it seems to me that Pakistan would be quite happy behind the scenes to have the rogue Mullahs in Iran disarmed, leaving the Pakkies as the only nuclear power in the Islamic world. Just my speculation.
It's going to be a long hot summer.
Presently it's in Rio, taking the long, slow Cape Horn route to San Diego. It could do a bolter at any time and make flank for the Gulf, instead of San Diego.
"Y'all hold muh Koran AND WATCH THIS!"
Presently it's in Rio, taking the long, slow Cape Horn route to San Diego. It could do a bolter at any time and make flank for the Gulf, instead of San Diego.
Unfortunately, the squadrons that comprise her air wing are at North Island, Point Mugu, Lemoore, Fallon, and Whidbey Island.
Let me guess... professional writer?
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