Free Republic

CNN) -- In a possible setback to its nuclear program, Iran is unloading fuel assemblies from the reactor at a plant already plagued by delays, according to a report issued Friday by the global nuclear watchdog agency. The Russian-built plant in the Persian Gulf city Bushehr was expected to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity and was considered a showcase for nuclear power to be used for civilian purposes in Iran. It was supposed to be operational by the first quarter of this year. Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), however, said the fuel removal was temporary. "Upon...

Iran told atomic inspectors this week that it had run into a serious problem at a newly completed nuclear reactor that was supposed to start feeding electricity into the national grid this month, raising questions about whether the trouble was sabotage, a startup problem, or possibly the beginning of the project’s end. In a report on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran told inspectors on Wednesday that it was planning to unload nuclear fuel from its Bushehr reactor — the sign of a major upset. For years, Tehran has hailed the reactor as a showcase of its peaceful...

Iran today effectively kick-starts opera tions of its Bushehr nuclear reactor -- a move hard-liners tout as defiance of President Obama's sanctions regime. This follows Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi's announcement yesterday that Iran has test-fired a new ballistic missile with advanced targeting capabilities. Yet despite it all, Washington reportedly has "assured" Israel that Iran is at least one year away from completing a "breakout" in uranium conversion into weapons-grade fissionable material. The point appears to be to delay pre-emptive Israeli military action against Iranian nuclear facilities until Obama can sweet-talk Tehran out of its bomb. Good luck with that --...

After US says Bushehr reactor not a proliferation risk, Israeli Foreign Ministry says country that 'so blatantly violates UN resolutions, IAEA decisions should not enjoy fruits of using nuclear energy' Israel on Saturday denounced Iran's fueling up of its first nuclear power plant as "totally unacceptable" and called for more international pressure to force Tehran to cease any uranium enrichment. Israel, widely assumed to be the only Middle East country to have nuclear weapons, has said a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence, raising concerns Israel could attack Iran's nuclear sites. After Iran begins fueling first nuclear...

After Iran begins fueling first nuclear reactor, president says 'Zionist entity knows Iran an indestructible bulwark,' adding Tehran's response to any strike will be 'hard and painful.' US: Bushehr reactor not a proliferation risk As Iranian and Russian engineers began loading fuel into Iran's first nuclear power plant on Saturday, Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised a global response if his country is attacked, in an interview with Qatari daily Al-Sharq. "Our options will have no limits... They will touch the entire planet," he said Saturday in response to a question about Tehran's reaction in the event of such an...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 8/3/02 Israel, Nablus, Bushehr Reactor, Iraq Jerusalem, Hebrew University, Nablus, Gaza, Ramallah, Iran, Bushehr Nuclear Reactor, Izhora plant (St. Petersburg) construction, Iraq, Palestinians and WMD ,opposition to Saddam, Dinar plunging, DC ======= ISRAEL Jerusalem, ======== In Jerusalem, mourning at Hebrew University, and Dina Carter's funeral - an American murdered by terrorists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem; terrorists still supported by the Arabist US State Dept. who hypocritcally now offers a "reward" even as futher appeasement and capitulation is planned. ======= Tel Aviv ======== In Tel Aviv, Benjamin Thomas Blutstein, an American...