Iran promises to come clean on past suspicious nuclear activities
By The Associated PressMADRID, Spain - Seeking to evade new UN sanctions, Iran has pledged to end years of stonewalling and provide answers on past suspicious activities to the UN nuclear monitoring agency probing its atomic program, an official said Friday.
The offer, which the official said was made Thursday by top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, falls short of the concession sought by the international community - a promise to freeze Iran's uranium enrichment activities.
Iran refuses to consider such a freeze but the UN Security Council insists on it, and past meetings between the two men have made little progress on resolving the deadlock. Larijani's overture and the decision by Solana to treat the Iranian offer seriously reflected mutual recognition that the talks needed to advance on other issues or face the risk of collapse.
Still, UN and other officials, who demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue, said any decision by Iran to fully cooperate on clearing up past activities would represent a major concession.
They told The Associated Press that such a move could help the International Atomic Energy Agency - the UN nuclear monitor - wrap up years of efforts to establish whether Tehran's past nuclear strivings were exclusively peaceful in nature.
This is the first time they made such a serious offer without preconditions, said one of the officials, adding, without elaboration that Larijani had offered a short timetable for providing the answers sought by the IAEA.
The officials agreed that the move appeared to be an attempt by Iran to at least delay if not avoid the threat of new U.N. sanctions. An IAEA report last week provided the potential trigger for such penalties by saying Tehran continued to defy the Security Council ban on enrichment and instead was expanding its activities.
Larijani's offer appeared designed to address another main concern in that report - refusal by Iran to provide answers on questionable activities during nearly two decades of clandestine nuclear activities that first came to light four years ago.
They include: traces of enriched uranium at a facility linked to the military, which could be a sign of a weapons program; lack of documentation on Iran's past enrichment activities, and possession of documents showing how to form uranium metal into the form of missile warheads.
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Iran has already prepared for their petrol supply being hit. They have already created a rationing system just in case there is a problem, and they have secured petrol for their military needs in hidden and underground locations. The leaders will not care that common people won't be able to drive their cars the same way they do now. They will be focused on producing and launching missiles against Israel. Nuke weapon programs won't be stopped by petrol shortages. Iran's leaders will immediately move to build nukes as quickly as possible underground if Iran is attacked. This will continue no matter how bad petrol shortages get, or how badly the common Iranian's life gets. All will be sacrificed to obtain a nuclear deterent in order to stop future Israeli offensive attacks. Your plan fails to stop the Iranians from getting nukes, what was the point?
Which part of the "Iranian nuclear facilities" do you expect to hit? Their reactor? Do you understand that Iran isn't the same as Iraq in the 80's? Iran don't need any reactors at all to build nukes. Even the top US and Israeli Generals and military experts say that an attack will at best delay Iran for a few years. Some experts say it will even accelerate development because Iran will turn to North Korea and Pakistan for help if attacked. The only way to stop them permanently would be to occupy Iran with ground forces for eternity. This isn't Iraq again. Israel will accomplish absolutely nothing by destroying the reactor at Bushehr. It isn't part of any suspected nuke program. All of Iran's military facilities are deeper underground than any weapon Israel has can reach. Short of sending in troops, there is no way Israel can clear out the estimated 3000 underground facilities that are spread across Iran. A political solution is the only option.
jeff said "all Israel would do is launch against the Iranian nuclear facilities and destroy the Iranian Air force." I guess you weren't paying attention last summer when Israel tried the exact same tactic against Hezb. Isreal thought they could start an air war and Hezb. would roll over. The first problem Israel faces is launching weapons against Iran. The Russians just delivered to Iran their best anti-aircraft/cruise missile/chopper mobile defense system. Designed from extensive data collected from the US attacks on Iraq, it is designed to take out the best US weapons at up to 95% effectiveness. So Israel's attack waves may prove to be completely ineffective. Score one for Russia's arms sales program. They will love the free sales videos that Israel will provide them with. Second, Iran can hit Israel with missiles. They don't need an airforce. And they will keep hitting Israel until Israel goes in with ground forces just like Lebanon. And their nuke program...
Solana has been formally trained to be a slave by the sadistic Larijani last year. Solana traipsed all over Europe showing up at meeting after meeting with Larijani only to have them canceled at the last second. He still thinks to this day that the Iranians still want to "negotiate".
Wonderful......My good friend Mr. Ephraim Scheissesserman said the same
You would be correct in your assessment except for one thing. Israel wont have to go with ground troops "all the way to Iran". Israel dosent want to take over Iran. Just stop them from attempting to destroy Israel. So all Israel would do is launch against the Iranian nuclear facilities and destroy the Iranian Air force. Something the rest of the world is quietly waiting for. Any attempt by Syria to get in on it would be met by a host of other nations. Iran is running out of back up room and soon will find itself against the wall.
There are no "secrets" in the design or manufacture of simple atomic weapons. There are immense technical problems which can only be solved by good engineering and science. The only way to prevent any nation with the money from building a bomb is to get it's cooperation. The only way to know that they are not is a constant and intensive intelligence effort, which is feckless without the active cooperation of that nation with the IAEA. Those who wish to 'stop' Iran by an attack are fools as that would absolutely ensure Iran pursued a bomb. North Korea has just proven that the ultimate means of deterring attack by the US is to test a bomb. If Iran is attacked, then the ONLY defense it will accept is the defense that comes from the possession of atomic weapons. Three years ago, before the Bush regime and Israel decided to whip up a crisis, the IAEA enjoyed an extraordinary degree of access to the Iranian program. At that point there was no bomb program. That is the goal isn't it?
Natallie said: "If Iran is attacked, Syria will [attack Israel] Syria wants the Golan back and this is their ticket. If Israel is wise, they will not be drawn into Iran's nuclear guessing game. It is a trap" Yes it is a trap. Syria won't stop with Golan. If Israel launches an offensive war against Iran, it will be without UNSC authorization. As Israel well knows, land taken while defending against an offensive war belongs to the defender when the war ends. Syria will have legal authority under international law to then own ANY part of Israel it wants as part of the legitimate defense of it's ally Iran. Syria will wait until Israel has stretched out her war machine all the way to Iran. Then while Hamas diverts troops to the south, Syria will take the north and hold it until another cease-fire is forced upon Israel like in the last war in Lebanon. The trap is set, backed with Russian weapons. It is a mistake for Israel to launch ANY offensive wars. Defensive wars only.
Yes they will come clean about the time when they demostrate to the west that they have nukes. The west needs to come to a decison and take out the research and nuke faciliites very soon becuase before you know it the Iranians will come clean as they are launching their nukes.
The outstanding issues mentioned in the Haaretz article, traces of Highly Enriched Uranium on used equipment purchased from other nations (Outstanding Issue D.1.1 in the IAEA report of 22 Feb, 2007), and drawings of spherical assemblies (not in the report) are red herrings. The traces of HEU are identical to those on Libyan equipment bought from the same source nation, and the fact that spherical critical masses can be created is neither proof of a weapons program or much else.
Of course the vast majority of the Iranian people do not hate the USA, they hate the gangsters who rule their country, but what could they do? They are powerless because of the ruthless methods the gangsters use in order to stay in power
The number of unanswered questions which the IAEA has are relatively few and should be capable of being resolved fairly quickly. Few of them amount to much, the most important involve allowing the IAEA to interview a few individuals. If Iran does that, the all we need to do is to get the enhanced inspections and controls regimen which they were complying with two years ago re-instituted.
It should be remembered that Iran's initial nuclear program was financed and set up by the United States. This was soon after the democratic regime of Iran was overthrown and the democratically elected Premier Mohammad Mossadeq assassinated, with the complicity of the United States and Great Britain's G8. The nuclear program was started when Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was Shah and was inherited by the cleric's regime. It was also under the Shah that Iran temporarily became a military power. The military was essentially disbanded by the clerics, but was reestablished only after Iraq's Saddam Hussein attempted to take over the oil fields of Iran. Yet, despite the past and present actions of the United States, the vast majority of Iranians do not 'hate' the United States, as the United States government wants us to believe. After all, we can't make preemptive strikes on countries without first getting the public to 'hate' them.
DESTROY ALL PETROL STORAGE TANKS !! THIS WILL PARALYSE THE COUNTRY INSTANTLY !
It seems that Iran is frightened of sanctions. More and much toughter sanctions are needed to end Iranian-instigated terrorism around the world and stop Ahmadinejad from implementing his plans for nuclear war.
The West is way past the point of believing a single word from the Mad Mullahs and their mouthpiece Ahmadinejad. The Iranians are masters at the art of lying and subterfuge and on that count they never fail to exceed our expectations.
The Ayatollahs are now using the art of deception to fool the UN and the Free World. So long as El Baradei, the Islamist UN representative is leading the investigation, the UN and the Free World will only find empty holes. Since the world has not been threatened with a Mushroom Shower from Iran, they think they are immune to such a danger. Israel, however, has been threatened with annihilation by Iran repeatedly. Israel MUST therefore focus her full attention on this aggressor. All other craps going on right now are just ploys and distractions to lull Israel from focussing on Iran. Don't fall for the traps. Israel MUST prepare and act with resoluteness to defend herself irrespective of what the world says or will say. Only Israel can defend herself from her aggressors. The Free World will do well supporting Israel instead of cowing to the deceptions, manipulations, intimidations, threats and aggressions of the dark forces.
Iran doesn't need a nuclear bomb to attack Israel. In fact, a nuclear bomb would make large areas uninhabitable, and that is not their goal. Iran will play cat and mouse with their nuclear program, baiting Israel to attack them. If Israel is foolish enough to make a first strike, then Iran is justified in retaliating, not with a nuclear bomb, but with hundreds of missiles using other types of non-conventional warheads. Syria and Iran have a mutual defense pact. If Iran is attacked, Syria will also let loose hundreds of advanced Russian made missiles. Syria wants the Golan back and this is their ticket. If Israel is wise, they will not be drawn into Irans nuclear guessing game. It is a trap....