Posted on 08/10/2004 4:56:49 PM PDT by Clive
Iran has issued an extraordinary list of demands to Britain and other European countries, telling them to provide advanced nuclear technology, conventional weapons and a security guarantee against nuclear attack by Israel.
Teheran's request, said by British officials to have "gone down very badly", sharply raises the stakes in the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme, which Britain and America believe is aimed at making an atomic bomb.
Iran's move came during crisis talks in Paris this month with senior diplomats from Britain, France and Germany.
The "EU-3" were trying to convince Iranian officials to honour an earlier deal to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment programme, which is ostensibly designed to make fuel for nuclear power stations but could also be used to make fissile material for nuclear bombs. Iranian officials refused point-blank to comply, saying they had every right under international law to pursue "peaceful" nuclear technology.
They then stunned the Europeans by presenting a letter setting out their own demands.
Iran said the EU-3 should support Iran's quest for "advanced (nuclear) technology, including those with dual use" - a reference to equipment that has both civilian and military applications.
The Europeans should "remove impediments" preventing Iran from having such technology, and stick to these commitments even if faced with "legal (or) political . . . limitations", an allusion to American pressure or even future international sanctions against Iran.
More astonishingly, Iran said the EU-3 should agree to meet Iran's requirements for conventional weapons and even "provide security assurances" against a nuclear attack on Iran.
This is a reference to Israel's nuclear arsenal, believed to include some 200 warheads and long-range missiles to deliver them.
The EU-3 are still debating over how to respond, but British officials said the Iranian letter was "extremely surprising, given the delicate state of process". Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, will have to decide whether to adopt a more confrontational policy.
America is demanding that the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which meets next month, refer Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. US officials are also openly discussing "covert" means of disrupting the Iranian nuclear programme, while Israel has openly threatened military action.
However, there were signs yesterday that the next report of Mohammed ElBaradei, the IAEA director general, may give Iran a boost.
A key mystery for the past year has been the source of traces of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) found by IAEA inspectors at several sites in Iran. Teheran claimed this was "contamination" of equipment imported from other countries, rather than proof that it had secretly made HEU.
According to diplomats, inspectors have confirmed that in at least one case the contamination did come from Pakistan, as Iran claimed.
Other contamination issues remain unresolved, and may never be settled. Moreover there are several other open questions.
The fact that the Mad Iranian Mullahs even *THINK* that they can 'negotiate' with the Europeons this way is very telling. Heck, it's worked before with the Liberalized sissy pricks over the pond (excluding allies and coalition partners) and terrorists.
Mad Iranian Mullahtocracy: Go Suck Eggs you demon-possessed, women-abusing pedophile-pigs...
I don't think we'd wait until Iran used a nuke. It would be preemptive. Maybe from a submarine. Or maybe special ops. I can't believe we sat on our hands all this time while Iran got busy refining plutonium or whatever. We've been making contacts inside Iran, and there's a sizable population of people who want the regime overthrown. Not enough to do it on their own, though. By the way, do we thank Pakistan for selling some of this stuff, plus expertise to Iran? Or does Russia deserve all the kudos?
If so please post the links and his complete statement asap here on Free Republic or they will disappear.
Will Rogers once said, "Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggy' until you can find a rock."
If Iran's through saying "nice doggy", then...
One near Guam or Midway?
France has nothing to gain from Iran (ie no kickbacks, bribes, etc.). The only reason why the EU is doing this is because they want a diplomatic victory under their belt. Then throw it in the face of Bush claiming that the Iraq war was unnecessary because they just demonstrated it with Iran.
Remember, France is only motivated by increasing it's power. They only way it can do that is to diminish the US because they cannot afford the military route. Stoopid frogs.
We're always warning Israel off about something or other. Sigh.
france and china helped.
we have a planet full of enemies.
enemies that kerry wants us to befriend.
screw him... and them.
Plus, the US has been quietly and successfully testing an anti-missile system.
And the hell of it is, they'd be pretty much right. I still think Iraq was the right thing to do (especially since it was probably intended as a stepping stone to putting pressure -- and if need be military force -- on Iran), but if Iran actually is this close to having their own nuclear weapons, then *everyone* who let things slide this far bears the blame.
Right, Israel will be all over them like white on rice. And will not take much more trash talking like this for Israel react.
I find it interesting that basically Iran is talking trash at Israel indirectly,i.e. “threatening" the UK. It will interesting to see if they have the balls to talk trash like this directly to Israel’s face.
If they don't have nuclear tips on a couple of sunburns right now, they will very shortly.
This may be an attempt by Iran to move up an Israeli pre-emption and justify an nuclear response.
I say we give both Iran and N. Korea Nukes. Instead of allowing them to make one that is inferior.
Here is the plan: Their Scientists can reverse engineer the ones we supply, that is IF, they fail to go BOOM.
And then after making that announcement, say and by the way They are in flight and should arrive any moment.
If they already have the bomb, then why would they be asking London for it?
Iran is in a box. The Americans have slowly cornered them. We are on their East in Afghanistan and on their West in Iraq. Our president has labeled them as part of the axis of evil. Libya, which made Iran look rational with their wacky behavior for the better part of a generation, has now decided to play ball on our team.
Iran knows that within a few months of the Bush re-election, we're going to make our run at them. And so they have two cards they're playing.
First, they try to destabilize Iraq; thus making Bush look bad and undermining his chances for re-election.
If that fails, their second (and only other) card is the nuclear option. They're trying to buy a nuke from Pakistan, North Korea, or anyone who'll sell it to them. If that doesn't work, they're trying to make one themselves. If they get a nuke, it will prevent us from attacking them (maybe).
But what's the best thing to do if you don't yet have a nuke? Pretend you do. Act wacky. Whatever. Just make people think you might have it already. I think that's what they're doing now.
It's desperation we're watching.
That was exactly Hitler's strategy for keeping the world off balance while he "defended himself" by invading Czechoslovakia and Poland, and it worked.
Correct. But don’t worry; Israel has a less patience than us. They’ll take care of business while we are still thinking about it.
Another "over extension" ping.
I don't suppose that it is fair to say that we have sat on our hands on this matter up to this point. It probably *is* fair to say that we have operations ongoing WRT several eventualities in Iran.
If Iran used a nuclear weapon, they would be hit with a nuclear weapon (or two, or three) in response. No question about it. That is not to say that it would necessarily be Tehran or any heavy civilian populated area. It doesn't have to be, and there might be little point or effect from killing millions of Iranians. The Mullahs certainly don't care about that.
Its quite likely that there are other responses that will be equally or more disruptive as well. In a way... our capabilities with precision weapons have in some ways made massive weapons like nukes obsolete for many purposes. Not all purposes, but many.
Just look at all the stuff the dorks at Komrad Kerry's Kamp have eliminated, erased and deleted from Kerry's website since the Dox in Sox event.
Apparently the 1968 White Christmas in Cambodia non adventure by al Kerri has been pulled from the website since yesterday.
A local friend joked that in about a month, the only thing on Kerry's site will be the donation page.
If people have something sounds weird that Kerry has said or will say, we need to save it.
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