Posted on 09/15/2005 5:22:22 PM PDT by DoctorZIn
Top News Story
Iran offers nuclear know-how to Islamic states
15 Sep 2005 11:36:22 GMTSource: Reuters
(Adds British reaction, background)
By Paul Hughes
TEHRAN, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Iran is ready to share its nuclear technology, considered to be a front for bomb-making by Washington, with other Islamic countries, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on Thursday.
The comments were likely to heighten Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear programme just ahead of a key meeting of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog this month which could decide to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for punitive action.
"The Islamic Republic never seeks weapons of mass destruction and with respect to the needs of Islamic countries, we are ready to transfer nuclear know-how to these countries," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
The remarks were made during a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, IRNA said.
Washington and its allies say Iran has failed to provide full and timely information about its nuclear programme and are alarmed that Tehran last month broke U.N. seals at a uranium processing facility.
A vote on sending Iran's nuclear case to the U.N. Security Council may be taken at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board on Sept. 19. However, Western diplomats acknowledge that many non-aligned countries and the IAEA itself oppose referring Iran at this stage.
Seeking to avert referral to the Security Council, which could impose sanctions, Iran is engaged in intense lobbying for support from non-aligned countries at the U.N. summit.
'NOT THE PRESSING QUESTION'
Iran state media reported that Ahmadinejad, who took office last month, had also held meetings with the leaders of Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan and Chile in New York.
A British Foreign Office spokesman said it was not clear what Ahamdinejad's offer to Islamic countries involved.
"In any case, this is not the pressing question," he said. "The issue is the lack of confidence in Iran's nuclear programme as a result of two decades of non-disclosures and concealment."
Iran insists it has every right as a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to develop a full atomic programme to generate electricity.
"We have firmly decided to use this technology for peaceful purposes within the framework of the NPT, international regulations and cooperation with the IAEA," IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
Turkey has said it plans to generate about five percent of its energy demand by 2012 from nuclear power through the construction of reactors with 4,500 megawatt (MW) capacity.
Like Iran, Egypt has been accused of carrying out undeclared nuclear work which Cairo says was linked solely to peaceful applications such as power generation and desalinisation.
Saudi Arabia has said it is open to IAEA inspections but is not interested in developing either a nuclear weapons or power programme.
Iran, which received much of its own nuclear know-how from Islamic neighbour and nuclear weapons power Pakistan, says it wants to produce at least 6,000 MW from nuclear power by 2021 with eventual plans to generate 20,000 MW from atomic reactors.
- Steven Weisman, The NY Times reported that India is balking at confronting Iran, straining its friendship with the U.S.
- Globe & Mail reported that lacking the votes to win, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is prepared to delay again a showdown with Iran.
- PRNewswire reported that several former U.S. Embassy hostages, Iranian victims of torture held a press conference condemning the New York (UN) visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
- Eli Lake, The NY Sun reported that a group of former American hostages is demanding that the CIA turn over a classified report that they say wrongly cleared Iran's new president of his role in interrogating them during the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran.
- Ron Kampeas, JTA reported that behind-the-scenes at U.N., Sharon will have one focus - Iranian Nukes.
- The International Herald Tribune reported that last February, a group of European and American foreign policy experts issued the "Compact Between the United States and Europe," a detailed proposal for trans-Atlantic cooperation on the key foreign policy issues. They produced a response to the Iranian crisis.
- The Tribune India reported that US President George Bush may have launched a failed drive to isolate Iran.
- Claude Salhani, UPI reported that as Iran's newly elected president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in New York to attend the U.N. general assembly he was met by a flurry of protests.
- Louis Charbonneau, Reuters reported that the U.N. atomic watchdog fears referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council now for possible sanctions would split its members.
- Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported that Ahmadinejad met with Iranian nationals residing in the United States.
- Dafna Linzer, The Washington Post reports on the Bush administration's hour-long slide show that blends satellite imagery with disquieting assumptions about Iran's nuclear energy program, entitled: A History of Concealment and Deception.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that the Bush administration dispatched intelligence experts to China and India last week to brief them on Tehran's alleged efforts to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.
- Reporters Without Borders called for the immediate release of journalist Massoud Bastani, in Evin prison for covering a demonstration in support of imprisoned fellow journalist Akbar Ganji.
- Mr. Taheri, The Wall Street Journal reported that in the Tehran moneychangers' bazaar the Iraqi currency is in great demand. He discussed its implications.
- Iranian blogger, Hossein Derakshan, The Guardian discussed Internet censorship in Iran.
- Bloomberg reported that China's President Hu Jintao agreed to step up diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear weapons development.
- The LA Times reported that the United States has launched a major push to isolate Iran diplomatically, but said it may be too little too late.
- And finally, the Sun Sentinel and the AP published photos of the NYC demonstration Against Ahmadinejad.
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It is not a matter of if, it is only a matter of when.
At some point, we're going to have to nuke these islamic sacks of crap...
To find out the truth about islam, read The Flanstein:
http://flanstein.blogspot.com
Do you think we'll nuke them before they nuke us?
That is why Mullahs should never be allowed to have Nukes!
I guess they will nuke us!
The waters of political correctness are rising a little more every day, and seem destined to drown our culture out completely. Our leaders are calling Islam 'the religion of peace' and sucking up to all of them who aren't actively participating in terrorism, (as though the "moderate" Islamist heart isn't silently cheering over every drop of Western blood that is spilled by their 'holy warriors').
Unless there is a radical change in Western mentality and philosophy, I believe the day will come when the Western world will live in horrendous regret that we didn't take care of the problem while we were still able to. When Islamic states have nukes they will not be like us, they will use them and worry about what others may think later. They will think of our nuclear response, (if we dare use them, that is), as a free ticket to allah's 72 whores.
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