Iranian Alert -- September 25, 2003 -- IRAN LIVE THREAD PING LIST

The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movment in Iran from being reported.

From jamming satellite broadcasts, to prohibiting news reporters from covering any demonstrations to shutting down all cell phones and even hiring foreign security to control the population, the regime is doing everything in its power to keep the popular movement from expressing its demand for an end of the regime.

These efforts by the regime, while successful in the short term, do not resolve the fundamental reasons why this regime is crumbling from within.

Iran is a country ready for a regime change. If you follow this thread you will witness, I believe, the transformation of a nation. This daily thread provides a central place where those interested in the events in Iran can find the best news and commentary.

Please continue to join us here, post your news stories and comments to this thread.

Foreign minister says Iran incapable of developing nuclear arms

By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN, Associated Press
NEW YORK (September 24, 9:03 p.m. PDT) -

Iran is able to mine and enrich its own uranium and can develop its atomic energy program independent on its own, but it does not have the technology to develop nuclear weapons, Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday.

Kamal Kharrazi also said Tehran will "hopefully not" withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as North Korea did. Last week, a leading hardline Iranian cleric said Tehran should withdraw from the nuclear arms control treaty.

"No, we do not have the technology to make a nuclear weapon," Kharrazi told a conference on Eurasian security and economic development held in conjunction with the U.N. General Assembly.

"We have the technology to enrich uranium. There is a difference between having the technology to enrich uranium needed for a power plant as fuel, and the technology to make a bomb."

The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, based in Vienna, Austria, has given Tehran until Oct. 31 to prove its atomic energy program is peaceful. Failure to do so means the issue could be referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible enforcement action.

Kharrazi accused the IAEA board of buckling to political pressure from the United States.

The IAEA said traces of enriched uranium that its inspectors found at Kalay-e-Electric Co. in west Tehran, which raised Western suspicions of a weapons program, needed more investigation to determine their origin.

Kharrazi said that before the IAEA reached a final conclusion, Washington rammed through the IAEA board a demand for Iran to prove it had no weapons.

President Bush declared in his 2002 State of the Union speech that Iran was part of an "axis of evil" with North Korea and Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

With the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq toppled by U.S.-led military forces and North Korea a pariah state after it declared that it had a nuclear weapons program, Iran is worried that it might be the next country to face U.S. action.

U.S. analysts believe Iran is years away from a nuclear weapon, even with significant foreign assistance.

Kharrazi said Iran had developed high-speed ballistic centrifuges on its own to separate and enrich uranium from its own mines, and denied the technology was imported from Russia.

He said Tehran and Moscow will soon sign an agreement to return to Russia enriched uranium provided to develop the Iranian atomic program. But he added that Iran will be able to enrich its own uranium.

Kharrazi acknowledged that the capability to produce nuclear weapons would be a source of pride for Iran, but insisted that "Iran is pursuing enrichment technology for peaceful use."

On Tuesday, Iran's representative to the IAEA said Tehran remains willing to negotiate for IAEA inspectors to enjoy unfettered access to its energy plants but, in the meantime, it will scale back its cooperation with the U.N. watchdog.

"We have decided to fulfill our obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and not beyond that," Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's representative to the IAEA, told The Associated Press.

This would limit IAEA inspections to Iran's declared nuclear facilities.

In August, Iran allowed inspectors to visit the Kalay-e-Electric Co. after they were turned away two months before when they came to take environmental samples. Iran allegedly tested centrifuges, which are used to process uranium, at the site.

Kharrazi reaffirmed Wednesday that Iran is ready to negotiate with the IAEA the additional protocol allowing complete access to all nuclear sites. But he said the Bush administration would not accept any amount of proof that Iran's atomic program was peaceful.

When asked whether Iran might withdraw entirely from the treaty, as North Korea did before declaring its weapons program, Kharrazi replied only: "Hopefully not."

"We especially agree that the whole region should be free from nuclear weapons," he said.

http://www.tribnet.com/24hour/world/story/1009533p-7086784c.html

Iran rejects US extradition plea over al-Qaeda

By Guy Dinmore at the UN
Financial Times
Published: September 25 2003 1:29 | Last Updated: September 25 2003 1:29

Iran announced on Wednesday that it would soon put on trial suspected al-Qaeda activists, rejecting US demands that they be extradited to their home countries.

Kamal Kharrazi, the Iranian foreign minister, told a conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that the suspects in detention had been accused of committing crimes inside Iran "so they have to be tried in our country".

Iran has previously extradited suspected al-Qaeda fugitives and their families to their countries of origin. Mr Kharrazi's announcement that Iran's own courts would deal with the issue is bound to antagonise the Bush administration, which wanted access.

Asked about Iran's nuclear programme, Mr Kharrazi said Iran was willing to negotiate with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the signing of the "additional protocol" that would allow a more intrusive inspection regime.

"In principle we don't have a problem with the IAEA," he said. Iran had neither the intention nor the capability of building a nuclear weapon, he said.

Statements by other officials over the past week indicated that Iran might reject international demands that it sign the protocol or even quit the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Diplomats said the twin issues of the nuclear programme and possible co-operation between elements of al-Qaeda and hardliners in the Iranian security forces went to the heart of the power struggle within Tehran, which has resulted in the gradual marginalisation of reformists.

The US broke off official contacts with Iran in May, accusing the Islamic republic of harbouring senior al-Qaeda figures who had played a role in planning the May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that killed more than 30 people, including several American defence contractors.

Mr Kharrazi gave no details of the identities or numbers of people who would be put on trial. They were under interrogation and their trials would start in the near future, he said. Iranians associated with them had already gone before the courts, he added, without giving details.

Mr Kharrazi said Iran had already handed about 100 suspects to Saudi Arabia and insisted Shia Iran had waged its own war against the fundamentalist Sunni Muslim al-Qaeda.

Jack Straw, UK foreign secretary, had a 30-minute meeting alone with Mr Kharrazi, in which they discussed the nuclear issue.

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059480100356

Iran Says It Is Willing to Work with US on Nuclear Activities

VOA News
25 Sep 2003, 07:59 UTC

Iran's foreign minister says his country is willing to work with the United States on Tehran's nuclear activities if Washington changes its attitude towards Iran.
In an interview with the Washington Post newspaper, Kamal Kharrazi said Iran is willing to sign an amendment to its nuclear non-proliferation agreement that would permit unannounced inspections. But he said that would only occur if the United States agrees to make clear the amendment would end debate over Iran's nuclear intentions.

Mr. Kharrazi also said if the United States brings in what he calls a "new environment for cooperation," Iran would be ready to work with Washington. Wednesday, Mr. Kharrazi told the U.N. General Assembly that Iran would not abandon its uranium enrichment program, saying it is only for civilian purposes. He also accused the United States of pressuring the U.N. nuclear agency to set a deadline for Iran to cooperate with an investigation into its nuclear program. The measure calls for Iran to meet an October 31st deadline to prove its nuclear program is peaceful.

The United States has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear facilities are only for peaceful purposes.

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=8F02DFD1-776B-4FB2-9D8D98B85C829994

U.N. Finds More Enriched Uranium in Iran
Thu September 25, 2003
VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog has found further traces of enriched uranium in Iran, though this discovery could support Tehran's explanation that the traces are due to contamination, diplomats told Reuters.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomats said the new traces of highly-enriched uranium were found at the Kalaye Electric Co.

Earlier this year, the U.N. inspectors found traces of enriched uranium at another nuclear site in Iran, raising suspicions that Iran has been secretly purifying uranium for use in an atomic weapon.

Tehran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, has blamed the earlier find, at Natanz, on machinery it says it purchased abroad. This explanation has met with skepticism inside and outside the IAEA.

However, one Western based diplomat said failure to get a positive result from samples taken at Kalaye would have been surprising, as this is where Iran said it stored the centrifuge components which it says were contaminated.

"Not getting a positive result would have been odd," the diplomat said. "This was the facility where components used in the centrifuges were said to be stored and manufactured."

Another Western diplomat disagreed, saying that this finding would probably not vindicate Iran, but complicated its explanation.

"This finding may actually raise even more questions about the discovery of enriched uranium," the diplomat told Reuters.

IAEA officials were not immediately available for comment.

Centrifuges are used to purify uranium for use in nuclear fuel -- or in weapons.

Iran has until October 31 to enable the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prove it has no secret nuclear weapons program, as the United States alleges, or it will be reported to the U.N. Security Council for possible economic sanctions.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=GBPRONC5NRVQ4CRBAE0CFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=3506755

U.N. Finds More Enriched Uranium in Iran

Thu September 25, 2003 08:28 AM ET

VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog has found further traces of enriched uranium in Iran, though this discovery could support Tehran's explanation that the traces are due to contamination, diplomats told Reuters.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomats said the new traces of highly-enriched uranium were found at the Kalaye Electric Co.

Earlier this year, the U.N. inspectors found traces of enriched uranium at another nuclear site in Iran, raising suspicions that Iran has been secretly purifying uranium for use in an atomic weapon.

Tehran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, has blamed the earlier find, at Natanz, on machinery it says it purchased abroad. This explanation has met with skepticism inside and outside the IAEA.

However, one Western based diplomat said failure to get a positive result from samples taken at Kalaye would have been surprising, as this is where Iran said it stored the centrifuge components which it says were contaminated.

"Not getting a positive result would have been odd," the diplomat said. "This was the facility where components used in the centrifuges were said to be stored and manufactured."

Another Western diplomat disagreed, saying that this finding would probably not vindicate Iran, but complicated its explanation.

"This finding may actually raise even more questions about the discovery of enriched uranium," the diplomat told Reuters.

IAEA officials were not immediately available for comment.

Centrifuges are used to purify uranium for use in nuclear fuel -- or in weapons.

Iran has until October 31 to enable the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prove it has no secret nuclear weapons program, as the United States alleges, or it will be reported to the U.N. Security Council for possible economic sanctions.

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3506742

Iran Signals Readiness to Cooperate

September 24, 2003
The Washington Post
Glenn Kessler

NEW YORK -- Iran is prepared to work with the United States on a range of issues, especially Iraq and Iran's nuclear activities, if Bush administration officials "change their approach and bring in a new environment for cooperation," Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said.

Kharrazi, who is in New York to attend the sessions of the U.N. General Assembly, said he is puzzled by U.S. officials' attitude toward Iran -- which President Bush labeled part of an "axis of evil" in January 2002 -- and noted that it is "contrary to their own interests." Before the Iraq war, the administration had sought Iran's cooperation and then abruptly ended the talks in May. Kharrazi said restarting the discussions would be beneficial for both nations in the postwar period.

Kharrazi's comments, in an interview Tuesday evening, provide fresh evidence of what appears to be a growing eagerness by at least some segments of the Iranian leadership to reestablish a working relationship with the United States 24 years after the Iranian revolution. Jordan's King Abdullah visited Iran earlier this month and met with key governmental and religious figures. He said during a visit to Washington last week that he was struck by their interest in pursuing a dialogue with the United States.

Reading Iranian intentions is difficult, in part because Iran's government is a hybrid of reformist politicians and conservative clerics who frequently send mixed signals. But Kharrazi's comments are significant, given that he chose to make them during a rare visit to the United States.

Regarding Iran's nuclear program, Kharrazi said Iran is willing to sign an amendment to its nuclear nonproliferation agreement that would provide for unannounced inspections and enhanced safeguards, provided the Bush administration makes it clear that signing the additional protocol would end the debate over Iran's nuclear intentions. Administration officials have suggested that they want Iran to completely halt its nuclear program, saying it is part of an effort to build a nuclear bomb.

"We want to make sure the additional protocol would be enough and would solve the problem," Kharrazi said. "We don't have anything to hide because we do not have a program for producing nuclear weapons. Therefore, we are ready to be quite transparent. But we cannot let others deny our rights."

The policy toward Iran has at times deeply split the Bush administration, with some officials seeking a thaw and others, especially in the Pentagon, remaining deeply suspicious of the Iranians. The secret discussions over Iraq were suspended in May, administration officials said, because of allegations that Iran harbored al Qaeda officials implicated in the bombings of residential compounds in Saudi Arabia on May 13.

Since the bombings, relations between the United States and Iran have soured further over the continuing revelations about Iran's nuclear program. The Bush administration recently persuaded the International Atomic Energy Agency to set an Oct. 31 deadline for Iran to cooperate with an investigation into whether the program is a front for a nuclear weapons project.

Kharrazi said the Saudi bombings could not have been the reason for suspending the talks because the allegations of an Iranian connection to the attack were "false." He said Iran has seized al Qaeda members, placed them in jail, interrogated them and will bring them to trial "because they have committed crimes." But he said Iran has concluded through the interrogations that it is "baseless" to say that al Qaeda members in Iran were involved in the Saudi bombings. In fact, he added, Iran could be very helpful in the war against terrorism if the United States would seek its assistance.

Kharrazi, who was interviewed over tea and pistachio nuts at the Fifth Avenue residence of Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, acknowledged that the internal debates within the Iranian government and society can be lively, which some analysts have interpreted as signs of a split government. But he said the government seeks to achieve consensus on its foreign policy.

"When it is decided to mend relations, we are serious about that," Kharrazi said. "But the problem is there is no room for that now. The environment does not allow it because Americans are always trying to suspect us, always tried to humiliate us and pressure us."

Kharrazi added: "But if they change their minds, if they change their approach and bring in a new environment for cooperation, we would be ready to work with Americans and cooperate."

Kharrazi planned to have dinner tonight with Ahmed Chalabi, the current president of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and a close ally of the Pentagon. "The Iranians are a positive influence," Chalabi said in a brief interview before the dinner.

Kharrazi noted that Iran and the United States have common objectives in Iraq, including opposing former president Saddam Hussein, making sure Iraq does not splinter into different countries and pushing for the establishment of a democratic government. He said that Iran wants to see a greater role for the United Nations in Iraq than the administration does, but that otherwise "there are many commonalities between Iran and the United States."

When the United States suspended the talks between U.S. and Iranian officials -- which had taken place in Geneva -- he said Iran had reached the "same conclusion" to end the discussions. "The Americans changed their minds frequently, and they don't stay committed to the decisions made at those meetings," he said.

He cited as one example an agreement between the two countries, made during their discussions over the postwar structure of Iraq, to establish a decision-making committee of officials representing seven Iraqi opposition groups.

"At the time, they agreed in the establishment of this body," Kharrazi said. "But later they changed their mind. They said, 'No, we are not interested. At most they can have an advisory role, but we are not going to give them the right to make decisions.' "

"At those talks," Kharrazi said, "we advised it is better to leave Iraq in the hands of the Iraqis. They were reluctant at first, but later on they understood. They know much less than us about Iraq, but we tried to educate them about the psychology of the Iraqis, the way to deal with them."

But, now, Kharrazi said, the Iranian government believes restarting the talks "would be very useful, as they were for Afghanistan," when Iran and the United States quietly reached agreements on the postwar government there.

http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2003&m=09&d=25&a=6

Iranian Charged in F-14 Export Attempt

September 24, 2003
The Associated Press
SF Chronicle

An Iranian man has been charged with attempting to export components for an F-14 fighter jet to his country, immigration officials said Wednesday.

Serzhik Avasappian, 40, was arrested on charges he attempted to ship the parts to Iran without obtaining an export license from the U.S. State Department.

Avasappian said he was a Tehran-based broker attempting to purchase the plane parts for the Iranian government, according to immigration officials.

Agents began negotiating with Avasappian in January 2002 over the export of the components, according to the criminal complaint. It alleges there was discussion of illegally exporting F-14 fighter jet parts, C-130A aircraft electrical and avionic upgrades, as well as the purchase and shipment of helicopters to Iran.

"While these components may appear relatively innocuous to the untrained eye, they are tightly controlled for good reason," Jesus Torres, interim special agent in charge, said in a written statement. "In the wrong hands, they pose a potential threat to Americans at home and abroad."

Although warned by agents that the controlled items could not be legally exported to Iran, Avasappian said they could be shipped to Italy and then moved to Iran, according to the criminal complaint.

Avasappian agreed to meet with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to inspect the F-14 components, according to the complaint.

Avasappian arrived in Miami on a flight from London on Sept. 16. He was arrested Friday after a meeting with the undercover agents in which he agreed to contact Tehran to request the transfer of $15,000 to a bank, the complaint said.

Avasappian was being held at a federal detention center in Miami Wednesday. Attempts to determine if he had an attorney were unsuccessful late Wednesday.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/24/national2357EDT0898.DTL

White House: Iran Has One Last Chance To Comply With IAEA

September 25, 2003
Dow Jones Newswires
Alex Keto

WASHINGTON -- In the wake of the discovery of traces of highly enriched uranium at a second nuclear site in Iran, the Bush administration said Thursday Iran has one last chance to comply with international demands to reveal its nuclear program.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the International Atomic Energy Agency has given Tehran until the end of October to talk about the extent of its nuclear program.

If Iran doesn't come clean on the issue, McClellan said, the U.S. is prepared to escalate the pressure on Tehran.

"This is one last chance for Iran to comply. And if it doesn't, then we believe it should be reported to the (U.N.) Security Council," McClellan said.

The IAEA said it found the traces of the weapons-grade material at the Kalay-e Electric Co., west of Tehran.

McClellan downplayed reports from Iran that it is considering pulling out of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, saying Tehran's position on this is unclear.

"I've seen different comments out of Iran," McClellan said.

"These are part of a long-standing pattern of evasion and deception to disguise the true nature and purpose of Iran's nuclear activities," McClellan said.

-By Alex Keto, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; Alex.Keto@dowjones.com

http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2003&m=09&d=25&a=11

President Bush: Iran Shouldn't Have Weapons Program

September 25, 2003
Kansas City Star
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Thursday his talks with world leaders showed wide agreement that Iran must not be allowed to have a nuclear weapons program.

Bush said he plans to raise the issue during meetings over the next two days at Camp David with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that it was a chief subject of many of his sessions with world leaders this week in New York.

"It is very important for the world to come together to make it very clear to Iran that there will be universal condemnation if they continue with a nuclear weapons program," Bush told reporters. "I'll tell you, the response was very positive. People understand the danger of the Iranians having a nuclear weapons program."

Bush's comments came as diplomats said that U.N. atomic experts have found traces of weapons-grade uranium at a second site in Iran, a development that heightened international concerns about the nature of Tehran's nuclear activities.

The diplomats said minute quantities of the substance were found by the International Atomic Energy Agency at the Kalay-e Electric Co., just west of Tehran. Earlier this year, U.N. inspectors found weapons-grade highly enriched uranium particles at a plant in Natanz that is supposed to produce only a lower grade for energy purposes.

Iran says its nuclear programs are to produce energy and that the traces of weapons-grade material were imported on equipment purchased from abroad. The United States and its allies argue the only purpose of Iran's nuclear efforts is for weapons programs.

Earlier, Bush's spokesman, Scott McClellan, denounced the discovery.

"These are part of a long-standing pattern of evasions and deception to disguise the true nature and purpose of Iran's nuclear activities," he said.

The U.N. agency has set an Oct. 31 deadline for Iran to prove that its nuclear program is for energy purposes as it claims.

The White House said it would support a referral to the Security Council if Iran does not comply with the U.N. demands.

"This is one last chance for Iran to comply," McClellan said.

The U.S.-Russia disagreement over Iran is one of several thorny topics hanging over the round of meetings scheduled between Bush and Putin at the president's retreat in the Maryland mountains.

The Bush administration says that Russian sales of technology to Iran are helping Tehran to develop a nuclear weapons program. Russia has denied that.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/6859996.htm

IRAN MUST FULFILL ALL ITS OBLIGATIONS WITH THE NPT: EL-BRADEH’I

LONDON, 25 Sept. (IPS)

With a little bit more than one moth to the ultimatum fixed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the Islamic Republic to sign the additional Protocol to the Non Proliferation Treaty and at the same time stop all its uranium enriching activities, Dr Mohammad El-Bradeh’i, the director of the Vienna-based international nuclear watchdog said if Tehran fails to comply with the demands, its case would be transferred to the United Nations for decision.

The IAEA’s 35 members Board of Directors on 12 September passed a resolution, formulated by Australia, Canada and Japan urging the Islamic Republic to sign the Protocol and inform the agency about all its nuclear programs.

Iran described the Resolution as being "politically motivated" and in a show of anger, announced it would continue cooperating with the IAEA and the NPT, but at the "minimum required" by its obligations.

"If Iran fails to comply with the Agency’s demands, including providing all the information concerning its nuclear activities before the fixed date, I would have no choice but to inform the Governors who, in turn, could send the question to the United Nations Security Council for decision", Mr. El-Bradeh’i told the Persian service of the BBC on Thursday.

Iran says its nuclear projects are for civilian purposes only and has no intention of building an atomic arsenal, as alleged by Washington and Tel-Aviv.

But in an address to the Government’s week on 15 September, president Mohammad Khatami explicitly, but indirectly, confirmed that Iran was determined to master the nuclear technology for its defence.

Two days ago, Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA confirmed that Iran has started enriching uranium at facilities in the central city of Natanz.

According to Mr. El-Bradeh’i, IAEA had started monitoring Iranian activities for uranium enriching since August 2002, urging Iran to provide all information on this activity, but so far information collected by the Agency from the Iranians are incomplete and unreliable.
"However, I hope that Iran would give a positive answer to the ultimatum and prove that its nuclear programs are for peaceful and civilian purposes" the Egyptian Director of IAEA added, according to the radio.

"My fear is that if Iran does not accept our decision, it would then have to deal with the United Nations Security Council which, in turn, would deal with the Islamic Republic as a threat to international peace and security", he added.

So far, Iran has not decided if it would accept the Resolution and sign the Protocol, but conservative newspapers that usually reflects the views of Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the leader of the Islamic Republic have urged the authorities not to bow to the conditions and get out of the NPT all together.

But Iranian reformers say if the government was allowed to sign the Protocol, it would have escaped the Resolution, described by most of Iranian media as "humiliating".

El-Bradeh’i forcefully rejected Iranian accusations that the 12 September Resolution had been adopted under pressures from Washington and major European nations such as Britain, France and Germany, saying no pressure from anywhere and any power could influence IAEA’s decisions.

"The report we have filed on Iran’s nuclear activities is the result of more than one and a half year researches, inspections and studies", he said, assuring that "no one would contest its reliability.

According to Mr. El-Bradeh’i, now that his Agency has passed a resolution against Iran, the main question is no more the signing of the Protocol, but formal assurance by Tehran that it would respect the NPT to the letter and inform the IAEA about all its nuclear activities "without slightest omission". ENDS IAEA IRAN 25903

http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2003/Sept-2003/iaea_iran_25903.htm

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