Iran has Passed the Test that Iraq Did

Iran has Passed the Test that Iraq Did
Eric Margolis

5 October 2009
The leaders of the United States, Britain and France staged a bravura theatrical performance here last week by claiming to have just ‘discovered’ a secret Iran uranium enrichment plant near Qom. On cue, a carefully orchestrated North American media blitz trumpeted warnings of the alleged Iranian nuclear threat and ‘long-ranged missiles.’

In reality, the Qom plant, Iran’s second uranium enrichment operation, was detected by US spy satellites over two years ago, and was known to the 
intelligence community.

Iran claimed the plant would not begin enriching uranium for peaceful power for another 540 days. UN nuclear watchdogs say Iran should have revealed the plant earlier. UN nuclear rules, to which Iran adheres, calls for 180 days notice. Iran alerted the UN last week and said it would invite inspectors. That did nothing to silence Western howls of outrage.

The reluctance of Iran to reveal its nuclear sites is magnified by constant threats of attack against them by Israel and the US. Iran also recalls Iraq, where half the UN ‘nuclear inspectors’ were actually spies for CIA or Israel’s Mossad. This may explain some of Iran’s secretive behaviour. The US, Britain, France and Israel have been even less forthcoming about their nuclear secrets. France secretly supplied Israel with the capability to produce 
nuclear weapons.

Iran’s test of some useless short ranged missiles, and an inaccurate 2,000-km medium ranged Shahab-3, provoked more hysteria in North America. The media kept mislabeling Iran’s ancient SAM-2 anti-aircraft missiles as ‘long-ranged missiles.’ The leaders of the US and Canada warned of the ‘grave threat’ to the world from Iran. What they really meant, of course, was Israel.

Welcome to Iraq déjà vu, and another phony crisis. US intelligence and UN inspectors say Iran has no nuclear weapons and certainly no nuclear warheads and is only enriching uranium 
to 5 per cent.

Nuclear weapons require 95 per cent. Iran’s nuclear facilities are under constant UN inspection and US surveillance. The US, its allies, and Israel insist Iran is secretly developing nuclear warheads. They demand Teheran prove a negative: that is has no nuclear weapons. Iraq was also put to the same 
impossible test.

Israel is deeply alarmed by Iran’s challenge to its Mideast nuclear monopoly. It has a long record of nuclear deception and dissimulation. Chances of an Israeli attack on Iran are growing weekly, though the US, fearful of as third war, is still restraining Israel.

The contrived uproar about the Qom plant was a ploy to intensify pressure on Iran to cease nuclear enrichment — though it has every right to do so under international agreements. More pressure was applied at this week’s meeting near Geneva between the Western powers and Iran.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad poured fuel on the fire, again questioning the Holocaust and staging the ostentatious launch of missiles with little military value.

Why did Ahmadinejad antagonise the West and act belligerent when he should be taking a very low profile? Why would Iran face devastating Israeli or US attack to keep enriching uranium when it can import such fuel 
from Russia?

Civilian nuclear power has become the keystone of Iranian national pride. As noted in my new book, ‘American Raj,’ Iran’s leadership insists the West has denied the Muslim world modern technology and tries to keep it backwards and subservient. Teheran believes it can withstand all western sanctions.

Iran appears to be very slowly developing a ‘breakout’ capability to be able, if necessary, to produce a small number of nuclear weapons on short notice - for defensive purposes. Iraq’s invasion of Iran cost Iran one million casualties. Iran demands the same right of nuclear self defense enjoyed by neighbours Israel, India and Pakistan.