BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief urged Iran on Friday to accept an offer to process its enriched uranium abroad by the end of 2009, and advised Western powers not to impose further sanctions on Tehran.
Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said a plan brokered by the IAEA in which Iran would send low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for conversion into fuel for a Tehran medical reactor was a rare chance to defuse mistrust over its nuclear program.
"I would hope definitely that we'll get an agreement before the end of the year," he told a news conference in Berlin. "I believe frankly the ball is very much in the Iranian court. I hope they will not miss this unique but fleeting opportunity."
ElBaradei, who retires on November 30 after 12 tough years trying to stop the spread of nuclear weapons know-how, praised the role in talks with Iran played by U.S. President Barack Obama, saying he had an initiated a "complete change of policy."
Noting that under Obama the United States had taken a "creative and pragmatic" approach to resolving the impasse over Tehran's nuclear program, ElBaradei used the news conference to send a message directly to the Iranian leadership.
"You need to engage in creative diplomacy, you need to understand that this is the first time that you will have a genuine commitment from an American president to engage you fully, on the basis of respect, with no conditions.
WASHINGTON — International inspectors who gained access to Iran’s newly revealed underground nuclear enrichment plant raised questions in a report released on Monday about whether the country may have also concealed other nuclear factories.
So far Iran has denied that there are other hidden sites in addition to the one built deep underground on a military base north of the holy city of Qum. The inspectors were given access to the half-built plant late last month and reported that they had found it in “an advanced state” of construction, but that no centrifuges — the fast-spinning machines needed to make nuclear fuel – had yet been installed.
They confirmed American and European intelligence reports that the site was built to house about 3,000 centrifuges, enough to produce enough material for one or two nuclear weapons a year. But that is too small to be useful in the production of fuel for civilian nuclear power, which is what Iran insists was the intended purpose of the site.
The plant’s existence was revealed in September, as many as seven years after construction had begun.
The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors came just two days after President Obama, expressing increasing impatience with Iran’s responses in nuclear negotiations, indicated that he would begin to plan for far more stringent economic sanctions against Tehran. He was joined during that announcement by President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia, but Mr. Medvedev was vague about whether Russia was now prepared to join in those sanctions. Mr. Obama was expected to take up the issue on Tuesday with President Hu Jintao of China, where Mr. Obama is on a state visit. China, like Russia, has historically resisted sanctions on Iran.
In its report, the agency said that Iran’s belated “declaration of the new facility reduces the level of confidence in the absence of other nuclear facilities under construction, and gives rise to questions about whether there were any other nuclear facilities in Iran which had not been declared to the agency.”
Both I.A.E.A. officials and American and European diplomats and nuclear experts have argued that the existence of the hidden facility at Qum would make little sense unless there was a network of related facilities to feed it with raw nuclear fuel.
Iran denied that it had any other facilities that it had failed to report to the agency. But in a letter to the nuclear inspectors, parts of which were quoted in the report to the board of the I.A.E.A., Iranian officials said they were motivated to build the underground plant because of “the threats of military attacks against Iran,” a reference to the assumption that Israel, the United States or other Western powers might take military action against its main plant for uranium enrichment, located at Natanz.
UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said this past week that UN experts found "nothing to be worried about" during their first inspection of a previously secret uranium enrichment site in Iran.UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said this past week that UN experts found... more
Just hours after Iranian President Ahmadinejad agreed to accept an IAEA deal to enrich uranium out of the country, they suddenly backed out. The plan had been to take Iran's nuclear stockpile and send it to Russia to be enriched. It's disappointing for those concerned about Iran's plans for its enriching uranium - though I don't think it's particularly surprising.
I was thinking about how long Iran has been playing this game, and it brought to mind this Supernews gem: Iran: Deal or No Deal?
That piece was produced in 2006. Over three years ago. It's kind of disheartening to see what looks like the same game playing out, but with a few different players. No more Bush or Condoleeza Rice, and Putin is now the Prime Minister of Russia, not the President. But it's hard not to watch this and see Iran doing the same things today. Is there another card up the Obama Administration's negotiating sleeve? Let's hope so.
Iraq has started lobbying for approval to again become a nuclear player, almost 19 years after British and American war planes destroyed Saddam Hussein's last two reactors, the Guardian has learned.
The Iraqi government has approached the French nuclear industry about rebuilding at least one of the reactors that was bombed at the start of the first Gulf war.
The government has also contacted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and United Nations to seek ways around resolutions that ban Iraq's re-entry into the nuclear field.Iraq has started lobbying for approval to again become a nuclear player, almost 19... more
Negotiators in Vienna have produced a draft agreement on exporting Iran's enriched uranium. The countries involved have been given until Friday to ratify the proposals.
Under the draft deal, most of Iran's stockpile of low enriched uranium would be shipped out of the country for processing into fuel to make medical isotopes in a research reactor in Tehran.
Negotiators were unable to clinch a final agreement after more than two days of talks in the Austrian capital, apparently because the Iranian delegation, led by the ambassador to Vienna, did not have the authority to sign a far-reaching deal about which there was no consensus in Tehran.
Announcing the draft deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director, Mohamed ElBaradei, said it represented a balanced approach, offering to provide Iran with fuel for making medical isotopes, while building international confidence in Iran's intentions by shipping much of its enriched uranium out of the country.Negotiators in Vienna have produced a draft agreement on exporting Iran's enriched... more
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The first day of meetings on the future of Iran's nuclear program ended Monday on a note of optimism from the director-general of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency.
"We have had quite a constructive meeting," said Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency. "We are off to a good start. Most of the technical issues have been discussed and we will continue tomorrow."
His comments came after officials from Tehran had huddled with representatives of the United States, Russia and France at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
Monday's meetings ended before 6 p.m. (noon ET) and were slated to reconvene Tuesday at 10 a.m. (4 a.m. ET).
Participants included Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh; Nikolay Spassky, deputy head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency; Frederic Mondoloni, French representative to the IAEA; and U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman.
The world powers and Iran agreed in principle at the beginning of October that low-enriched uranium produced in Iran -- not weapons-grade material -- would be sent abroad for further enrichment, then returned for use in medical research and treatment.
Details of the tentative deal are expected to be worked out at the Vienna meetings, which could stretch into Tuesday, according to Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief.
A senior U.S. official has said that the enrichment would take place in Russia.
"The potential advantage of this, if it's implemented, is that it would significantly reduce Iran's [low-enriched] stockpile, which itself is a source of anxiety in the Middle East and elsewhere," the official told reporters on October 1. It's a source of anxiety because low-enriched fuel has the potential of being further enriched into weapons-grade uranium.
...More...MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The first day of meetings on the future of Iran's nuclear... more
In the past several years, there has been much contest over the Iranian nuclear program and the west has repeatedly rebuked any efforts made by Iran to step into the nuclear age. Now it seems that the previous efforts for Iran to enrich their uranium at home have been unsuccessful and Iran must ship their low-enriched uranium to other nations for further refinement. Several years back there was an article linked from Current regarding new techniques created in Iran using newly-modeled centrifuges which would highly enrich uranium... What happened?! It seems that now they must ship their uranium, which is to be used for medical research, to foreign nations. This is not entirely bad for Iran's stature with the west, the International Atomic Energy Agency monitors the facilities in the nations Iran is shipping their Uranium to, thus legitimizing the Iranian nuclear program.
These steps taken by Iran seem to be nullified by the States and their political figures, who for years have chastised Iran, it's leaders, and its nuclear program. The United States have pushed for threatening sanctions to be placed on Iran by the IAEA and the UN, and it seems they have not lightened up even now. Though the Iranians have been forced to ship their uranium to other facilities, this has placed them in the light of the IAEA inspectors and allowed other nations to see their level of development. The States have not relented in their onslaught of attempted discreditation, but several other nations have stepped up and taken up the slack in the Iranian program, putting many American fears to rest. The latest attempt of the States' has been criticism over a second national facility, this one built in secret. The Iranian defense was the need to have a second facility to fall back on if it came to the West wiping out the primary facility. The States didn't buy it, but several third parties agree that this facility is merely a secondary facility with no hidden agenda, merely a backup facility, built out of legitimate fear of Western reprisal. However, now that Iran must ship away most of their uranium, it is tracked all the way by the IAEA, nothing therefore can be hidden or operated in secret or aggresively - merely an honest attempt at nuclear technology.
There are many questions to be asked and answered in the coming years of the fledgling Iranian Nuclear Program, but for the time being, this development seems to be a positive note in the struggle to compete technologically with the west - and I most certainly do not hint at weaponization!
What are your thoughts on the Iranian Nuclear Program? Have the States been too harsh in their criticisms of Iran over these circumstances? What happened to Iran's new-type centrifuges?In the past several years, there has been much contest over the Iranian nuclear... more
Tomorrow the U.S. will meet with Iran to seal the deal that could take the country's uranium away. Michael Adler on why the moment is the ultimate test of Obama's engagement policy.Tomorrow the U.S. will meet with Iran to seal the deal that could take the country's... more
U.N. experts will inspect Iran's newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant on October 25, the IAEA nuclear agency chief said on Sunday, praising a shift "from conspiracy to cooperation" between Tehran and the West.
The underground nuclear fuel facility near the holy Shi'ite city of Qom had been kept secret until Iran disclosed its existence last month, setting off an international furor.
Iran agreed with six world powers -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- in Geneva on Thursday to allow IAEA inspectors unfettered access to the site.U.N. experts will inspect Iran's newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant on October... more
A confidential analysis by staff of the U.N. nuclear watchdog has concluded that Iran has acquired "sufficient information to be able to design and produce" an atom bomb..A confidential analysis by staff of the U.N. nuclear watchdog has concluded that Iran... more
The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency said Iran broke the law by not disclosing sooner its recently revealed uranium enrichment site.
"Iran was supposed to inform us on the day it was decided to construct the facility. They have not done that," International Atomic Energy Agency's Mohamed El Baradei told CNN's sister station, CNN-IBN. "They are saying that this was meant to be a back-up facility in case we were attacked and so they could not tell us earlier on.
"Nonetheless, they have been on the wrong side of the law, you know in so far as informing the agency about the construction and as you have seen it, it has created concern in the international community," he said.
Last week, Iran wrote a letter to the IAEA revealing the existence of the facility. The admission prompted President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France to publicly chide the Islamic republic and threaten further sanctions.
Iran claims its nuclear enrichment program is intended for peaceful purposes, but the international community accuses the country of continuing to try to develop nuclear weapons capability.The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency said Iran broke the law by not... more
When demonstrators took to the streets after Iran’s disputed Presidential election, many of them were students. That’s why, as Iran’s universities opened back up to students this week, many expected widespread student demonstrations.
The NY Times Lede Blog links to this great first-person video walking along with protests at Tehran University.
As for the other big Iran story: potential threats to the regime’s reputation from abroad. As news from the US is that Obama is preparing to set up a new round of sanctions, Tehran announced today that it will allow inspectors from the IAEA to come in and take a look around the Qom facility revealed last week. What will they find? A facility for purely civilian use? More roadblocks? We’ll see…When demonstrators took to the streets after Iran’s disputed Presidential election,... more
When the Israeli army's then-Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Halutz was asked in 2004 how far Israel would go to stop Iran's nuclear program, he replied: "2,000 kilometers," roughly the distance been the two countries.
Israel's political and military leaders have long made it clear that they are considering taking decisive military action if Iran continues to develop its nuclear program. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the United Nations this week that "the most urgent challenge facing this body is to prevent the tyrants of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons."
Reporting by the International Atomic Energy Agency and other sources has made it clear that whether or not Iran ties all of its efforts into a formal nuclear weapons program, it has acquired all of the elements necessary to make and deliver such weapons. Just Friday, Iran confirmed that it has been developing a second uranium-enrichment facility on a military base near Qom, doing little to dispel the long-standing concerns of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the U.S. that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.
Bryan Christie
Iran has acquired North Korean and other nuclear weapons design data through sources like the sales network once led by the former head of Pakistan's nuclear program, A. Q. Khan. Iran has all of the technology and production and manufacturing capabilities needed for fission weapons. It has acquired the technology to make the explosives needed for a gun or implosion device, the triggering components, and the neutron initiator and reflectors. It has experimented with machine uranium and plutonium processing. It has put massive resources into a medium-range missile program that has the range payload to carry nuclear weapons and that makes no sense with conventional warheads. It has also worked on nuclear weapons designs for missile warheads. These capabilities are dispersed in many facilities in many cities and remote areas, and often into many buildings in each facility—each of which would have to be a target in an Israeli military strike.
It is far from certain that such action would be met with success.The Iran Attack Plan
By ANTHONY H. CORDESMAN
When the Israeli army's then-Deputy... more
Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has been building a previously undeclared nuclear facility to enrich uranium, raising fears that Tehran is closer to acquiring an atomic bomb than has been predicted up until now.
The presence of a secret second site – built inside a mountain near the holy Shia city of Qum – has been known about by American and other Western intelligence agencies for some time, although nothing has been revealed until now.
Iran’s formal letter to the IAEA in Vienna, sent on Monday, pre-empted an announcement to be made today by President Obama, Gordon Brown and President Sarkozy of France before the opening of the G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh, in which Tehran will be accused of building the secret facility about 100 miles southwest of the Iranian capital.
Although the CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) has been tracking construction of the plant for several years, Mr Obama decided it was time to put maximum pressure on Tehran by revealing its existence.Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has been building a... more
Image: The existence of Natanz was revealed by exiled groups several years ago.
Iran has revealed the existence of a second uranium enrichment plant, the UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed.
Tehran made the announcement earlier this week in a letter to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohammed ElBaradei.
Iran has previously acknowledged it has one enrichment plant at Natanz, which IAEA inspectors are monitoring.
The US, UK and France are set to accuse Iran of concealing the plant later on Friday, media reports say.
They and other Western nations have long feared that Iran is planning to develop an atomic weapon.
Iran has revealed the existence of a second uranium enrichment plant, the UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed.
Tehran made the announcement earlier this week in a letter to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohammed ElBaradei.
Iran has previously acknowledged it has one enrichment plant at Natanz, which IAEA inspectors are monitoring.
The US, UK and France are set to accuse Iran of concealing the plant later on Friday, media reports say.
They and other Western nations have long feared that Iran is planning to develop an atomic weapon.
IRAN'S NUCLEAR SITES:
Iran insists that all its nuclear facilities are for energy, not military purposes
Bushehr: Nuclear power plant
Isfahan: Uranium conversion plant
Natanz: Uranium enrichment plant, 4,592 working centrifuges, with 3,716 more installed
Second enrichment plant: Existence revealed to IAEA in Sept 2009. Separate reports say it is near Qom, and not yet operational
Arak: Heavy water plant
Tehran has always insisted its programme is for peaceful means.
Iran is supposed to have stopped all enrichment under threat of sanctions from the UN Security Council.
News of the Iranian letter comes days before Iran is due to enter fresh talks over its controversial nuclear programme.
France called Iran's move a "serious violation" of UN Security Council resolutions.
The IAEA confirmed it received a letter from Iran on Monday informing it that "a new pilot fuel enrichment plant is under construction".
Iran told the agency that no nuclear material had been introduced into the plant, and enrichment levels would only be high enough to make nuclear fuel, not a bomb.
In response, the IAEA has requested Iran to "provide specific information and access to the facility as soon as possible", an IAEA statement adds.
Iran insists that all its nuclear facilities are for energy, not military purposesImage: The existence of Natanz was revealed by exiled groups several years ago.... more
The UN nuclear inspection agency believes that Iran has "sufficient information" to make a nuclear weapon and had "probably tested" a key component, it was reported last night.
The Associated Press said it had obtained a "secret annexe" to a report on Iran by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which suggests that the agency's experts were more convinced Iran had been trying to make a bomb than its outgoing director, Mohamed ElBaradei, had admitted.
ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prizewinner, who leaves his post at the end of November, has said there is "no concrete evidence" the Iranians had worked on building a warhead. The agency repeated that position last night, in response to the AP report saying there was no "concrete proof that there is or has been a nuclear weapons programme in Iran", and that "all relevant information and assessments" are presented to the IAEA member states.
The statement did not comment on the authenticity of the AP document.
ElBaradei has angrily rejected French and Israeli claims that he has withheld important evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons work.
In the document quoted by AP, his inspectors report: "The agency… assesses that Iran has sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable implosion nuclear device based on HEU [highly enriched uranium] as the fission fuel."The UN nuclear inspection agency believes that Iran has "sufficient information" to... more
Washington, 31 August (WashingtonTV)—United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called on Iran to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] in resolving outstanding questions about Tehran’s nuclear program. http://televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=1&id=13562Washington, 31 August (WashingtonTV)—United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on... more
Washington, 28 August (WashingtonTV)—The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] brought Iran under more pressure to prove that its nuclear program is peaceful in nature, in a report published on Friday.
..... http://televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=1&id=13528Washington, 28 August (WashingtonTV)—The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]... more
