Posted on 12/20/2005 7:07:23 PM PST by strategofr
Well, I suppose that the only thing we can really do in this case is wait and see what happens.
Coincidence...I think not!
Moscow and Tehran are expected to sign early next week a treaty concerning the foundations of Russian-Iranian relations and the principles of cooperation between the two countries. This document, which is supposed not to supersede the treaties already existing between the two countries, is to be signed during the official visit to Moscow of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami starting March 12th. The Iranian president is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin the same day. He will also meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. This treaty will not contain "mutual obligations of an ally or military-political nature, nor will it contain the term 'strategic partnership.” It is "a usual framework treaty, which shows that good relations are developing between Russia and Iran," experts are quoted by Interfax as saying.
During his visit to Russia, the Iranian president is also scheduled to visit St. Petersburg and Tatarstan, to meet with Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II and the top Russian mufti, Ravil Gainutdin. This will be the Iranian president's first visit to Russia. The last time an Iranian leader visited Moscow was in June of 1989. It also seems very likely that in the future Russia and Iran will sign an agreement on military-technical cooperation similar to those Russia already has with other countries. The Iranian arms market is important for Russia, although it is risky, Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy director of the Strategies and Technologies Analysis Centre is quoted by Interfax as saying. He estimates that, given favourable political and economic conditions, Iran may become third – after India and China – buyer of Russian weapons. **Last year, Russia notified US of its withdrawal from the Gore-Chernomyrdin memorandum under which Russia was supposed not to cooperate with Iran in the military-technological field.**
so ya....this has been right out in the open concerning Iran for a long while.
Iran Building Nuclear-Capable Missiles in Secret Tunnels
LONDON (Reuters) - An Iranian exile group on Tuesday called on the U.N.'s atomic watchdog to inspect an extensive network of tunnels which it says the Islamic Republic has built to conceal a clandestine nuclear weapons programme.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, which first made allegations of the tunnels in September, said their sources in Iran had evidence of underground complexes in 14 locations, near Tehran, Isfahan, Qom and other cities.
"These have been built by military agencies and their front companies," said Hossein Abedini, a member of the foreign affairs committee of the NCRI at a news conference.
"The purpose of the tunnels is to conceal parts of the Tehran regime's atomic and missile programmes," he said, adding they were used for hiding research centres, workshops, nuclear equipment and nuclear and missile command and control centres.
He said the NCRI, which has previously reported accurately about hidden atomic facilities in Iran, had sent the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency its latest information and urged the body to inspect the tunnels.
"Today we call on the International Atomic Energy Agency to immediately and urgently act," said Abedini.
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ya sorry....Moscow Times wants money for the article.....picked it up on Reuters instead.
" ya sorry....Moscow Times wants money for the article.....picked it up on Reuters instead."
thanks. good stuff.
November 21, 2005
Iran has expanded the tunnels it uses to hide a major part of its nuclear weapons program to a network covering a large area of southeastern Tehran, an Iranian exile who opposes that nation's Islamic government said Monday.
Alireza Jafarzadeh said the secret construction of missiles extends well beyond Parchin, a military zone 20 miles southeast of the Iranian capital. Jafarzadeh told reporters in September about the Parchin tunnels.
On Monday, Jafarzadeh said that on orders of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian defense ministry has taken over an area in eastern and southern regions of Tehran. Jafarzadeh is credited with having aired Iranian military secrets in the past, but U.S. officials consider some of his assertions to have been inaccurate.
Despite accusations from the United States and the European Union, Iran denies any nuclear weapons ambitions, saying its nuclear program is purely for civilian needs. It has rejected new inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, and expressed opposition to a proposal by European countries to have reprocessing of Iran's nuclear material done in Russia.
North Korean experts have cooperated with Iran in the design and building of the complex, producing blueprints, for instance, Jafarzadeh said.
A leading Iranian aerospace group, Hemmat Industries, is located in the area and is building three versions of Shahab and Ghadar missiles, he said.
The Shahab 3 has a range of 1,300 to 1,900 kilometers and Ghadar, still in the production stage, 2,500 to 3,000 kilometers, he said.
Some of the tunnels are located in Kahk Sefid Mountain, he said.
In an interview, Jafarzadeh said the most significant development was that Iran was concentrating its work on missiles and nuclear warheads all together in tunnels underground in the Tehran area.
"I think the United States should be doubly worried about this because President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sped up its nuclear weapons program and the revolutionary guards are now dominating all three branches of power — executive, legal and judicial," Jafarzadeh said. "It's a nightmare," he said.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack agreed that Iran has a covert nuclear program. "It's hidden from sight and it's hidden through a variety of means," he said. However, McCormack said he did not know about Jafarzadeh's latest disclosures. And there's been "a very mixed record in terms of some of these groups in talking about so-called revelations about Iran's nuclear programs."
"Iran has expanded the tunnels it uses to hide a major part of its nuclear weapons program to a network covering a large area of southeastern Tehran, an Iranian exile who opposes that nation's Islamic government said Monday."
surgical strike is seeming unlikely.
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