Iran announces nuke tests
Sep 21, 2004, 10:56
Iran announced today that it had started converting raw uranium into the gas needed for enrichment, a process that can be used to make nuclear weapons.
"Tests are going on successfully" to make uranium hexafluoride gas, the feed stock for enrichment, said Iranian Vice President Reza Aghazadeh.
Of the more than 40 tons of raw uranium being mined for conversion, "Some ... has been used," he said.
His comments, outside the general conference of the 137-nation International Atomic Energy Agency was the latest sign that Iran was ignoring demands made on the weekend by the agency's board of governors to suspend all enrichment and related activities and banish international fears the technology could be used to make weapons.
Iran, which insists it needs enrichment to generate power, announced months ago that it had planned to "test" conversion techniques.
Even before today's announcement, the large scale of the project - involving more than 40 tonnes of raw uranium - had heightened concerns that it is preparing for full uranium conversion beyond laboratory testing.
A resolution passed unanimously on Saturday by the agency's governing board demanded for the first time that Iran freeze all work on uranium enrichment and expressed alarm at Iranian planned conversion of the raw uranium.
Suggesting that Iran may have to answer to the UN Security Council if it defied the demands, the resolution said the next board meeting in November would "decide whether or not further steps are appropriate" in ensuring Iran complies.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_3837.shtml
Iran parades anti-US missiles
Sep 21, 2004, 11:00
Iran showed off its range of ballistic missiles at an annual military parade today, with the rockets draped in banners vowing to "crush America" and "wipe Israel off the map".
An anti-Israel banner was draped on the side of a Shahab-2 missile, while another saying "We will crush America under our feet" was on the side of a trailer carrying the latest Shahab-3 missile.
The parade marks the beginning of "Sacred Defence Week", an event commemorating Iraq's 1980 attack on Iran and the outset of the bloody eight-year war.
"The Shahab-3 missiles, with different ranges, enables us to destroy the most distant targets," said an official commentary accompanying the parade, which was carried live on state television.
"These missiles enable us to destroy the enemy with missile strikes," the commentary said, without giving any specific details on the range of the missiles.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_3838.shtml
If there is corrobative evidence of this, I expect an attack on Iran w/in days. If not US via Isreal.
RE:
"Iran showed off its range of ballistic missiles at an annual military parade today, with the rockets draped in banners vowing to "crush America" and "wipe Israel off the map"."
Increasingly provocative. I wonder why. It is almost like they are baiting us. If they truly want to develop their nukes, why not just continue in secrecy and deny their intent?