Posted on 06/14/2007 8:51:30 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has warned that resorting to military action against Iran over its nuclear programme would be "an act of madness". Mohammed ElBaradei also said Iran was close to reaching large-scale levels of uranium enrichment without providing assurances its programme was peaceful.
Enriched uranium can be used to fuel nuclear reactors but can also be made into nuclear weapons material. The West has accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies. Mr ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) , said the stalemate between Iran and the UN Security Council was leading to confrontation. He said any use of force to shut down Iran's nuclear programme "would be catastrophic, it would be an act of madness, and it would not solve the issue". 'Freeze for peace' The United States and Israel have not ruled out the possibility of using military force against Iran if it does not scrap its uranium-enrichment programme. But the US favours a diplomatic track, with what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called "disincentives for Iran to continue its activities". Mr ElBaradei called on Iran to freeze the expansion of its programme, saying the country was close to running 3,000 uranium-enrichment centrifuges.
IAEA officials say 3,000 centrifuges is the point of no return in an industrial programme.
Iran has said it hopes to install tens of thousands of centrifuges for industrial-scale enrichment at its Natanz site. "On the one hand Iran is building the capacity and knowledge with regards to sensitive technology," Mr ElBaradei said. "On the other hand the agency is unable to provide the assurance that this is a peaceful programme. "It would be good if Iran today would stop building additional centrifuges and installing [them] in Natanz." That could allow a "time-out or freeze for peace", he said. Mr ElBaradei was speaking at a meeting of the agency's 35-nation board.
The Iranian envoy to the meeting repeated Tehran's position that it would not suspend uranium enrichment. The UN Security Council has twice imposed rounds of sanctions on Iran for not suspending enrichment. Mr ElBaradei said his inspectors had been unable to verify whether the centrifuges at Natanz were running at 100% efficiency or whether some might have crashed, as has happened before. He repeated his estimate that Iran was three to eight years away from building a nuclear weapon, if that is what it was trying to do.
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And Mohammed would never lie, right ?
IAEA chief says attack on Iran would be catastrophe
Mohammed ElBaradei is doing a Good Job of allowing Iran to continue their progress in getting Nukes.
They are not doing what the world says to do so, leave them alone!
I like Newt’s idea. A single bombing run on the refinery, or submarine cruise missile strike.
If they want to then move arms, nukes, etc around, they can walk them.
in.other..news...
Iran..got..busted..trying..to..buy..black..market..enriched...
And allowing the mullahs to have nuclear weapons would be a sane policy?
Time for the UN to go from passing a resolution to passing a strongly worded resolution. That otta do it!
No, we’re not mad. We’re human beings. It’s the way we are.
He’s not from the Religion of Pieces is he?
Iran will get their butt well and thoroughly kicked, not because they have an illicit and forbidden uranium enrichment program designed exclusively to build nuclear weapons, but because they have done something else, of such egregious and indisputably bad nature, such as funding a war in a neighboring nation, or actually taking part in an assault, that the world has to respond.
And in responding, if the uranium enrichment complex is taken out, well, that would just be ‘collateral damage’.
He has about as much credibility on nuclear proliferation, as Putin does when he goes off about preserving regional stability (as he builds Iranian nuke plants, takes over media outlets, blackmails nations using recently nationalized state energy companies, and sends KGB buddies all over the world to poison people with radioactive substances, because they are writing a book or talking trash)
ElBaradi should NEVER have been allowed to retain his post, he has done everything in his power to make the situation worse, to the point where I don't even think its incompetence. I question whos side he is actually on... no joke.
So, why does the UN have a muslim at the head of their nuclear team?
It would solve the issue pretty darned quickly.
Traderrob sads allowing Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon is “an act of madness”
They don't listen to much of the rhetoric coming from "Imanutjob" do they.
Peace is the most overused word within the rhetoric of "Imanutjob". /s
time to call for this arab apologists resignation.
Yes the world has gone insane. Right is wrong and wrong is right. This guy is satan in a mask. WHY are paying to support these people at the United Nations. It makes me sad enough to cry. I just don’t understand the madness.
This is a slow motion train wreck.
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