Pakistan to build more N-plants: Gilani

June 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s nuclear capability was purely for peaceful purposes, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said while declaring that the country would build more power plants to meet its growing energy needs.

Addressing a seminar, Gilani said Pakistan would continue to comply with the requirements of International Atomic Energy Agency’s nuclear safeguard agreements.

“Building and operating nuclear power plants is vital to country’s interests because of its severe energy deficiency,” Gilani was quoted as saying by Associated Press of Pakistan Tuesday.

Gilani said the Atomic Energy Commission was poised to achieve the 8,800 MW nuclear power production by 2030 and he hoped the commission would look beyond 2030 to build more nuclear power plants.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Iran says nuclear talks after Ramadan

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Iran will be ready to hold negotiations with world powers on its nuclear program after the month of Ramadan ends in early September, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday.

Separately, Mottaki said technical discussions could begin immediately in Vienna on the details of a proposed nuclear fuel swap and a letter to this effect would be delivered to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday.

The West fears Iran’s secretive uranium enrichment program is a veiled quest to develop nuclear weapons capability. Tehran denies this, saying it seeks only electricity from enrichment so it can export more of its oil wealth.

Mottaki said the talks after Ramadan would be between Tehran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France — as well as Germany (P5+1) who have been locked in a protracted standoff with Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

“That belongs to 5+1 with Iran,” he said of the talks.

Earlier on Sunday, Mottaki met the foreign ministers of Turkey and Brazil, their first meeting since the three struck a tentative swap accord in May that failed to prevent fresh U.N. sanctions against Iran.

Brazil and Turkey have characterized the proposed fuel deal as a way to build confidence for the broader negotiations involving the six world powers, represented for now by the EU’s foreign policy chief, on an overall nuclear settlement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said earlier Mottaki had confirmed Iran was ready to start negotiations with Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign affairs chief.

Ashton wrote to Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili last month inviting him to resume negotiations. The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan ends in the first half of September.

EXPANDED SANCTIONS

Iran agreed in May to send some of its enrichment uranium stockpile abroad in exchange for medical reactor fuel, reviving a deal in principle which the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, brokered in October, only to see Tehran back out of it.

The May accord, which has not been carried out, failed to prevent fresh sanctions from the United Nations, European Union and United States adopted over the past two months.

But Davutoglu has said he still saw a chance of Iran carrying out the swap on the basis of their agreement and said Iran would propose in its letter to the IAEA that “technical negotiations” begin as soon as possible.

Under the May deal, Iran agreed to transfer 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Turkey within a month and in return receive, within a year, 120 kg of 20 percent-enriched uranium to keep Tehran’s medical research reactor running.

But Western diplomats have dismissed the revived plan.

They said that removing from Iran 1,200 kg — enough, if highly enriched, to make an atom bomb — was less significant than when it was first brokered in October because Iran’s LEU stockpile had doubled in the interim.

At the time of the original October pact, 1,200 kg comprised about 70 percent of Iran’s known LEU reserve.

The Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran in June. Brazil and Turkey voted against, irked by the West’s dismissal of their deal which they said obviated the need for any more sanctions.

(Reporting by Simon Cameron-Moore, writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Jon Boyle)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Iran favors talks with EU after Ramadan – Turkey

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Iran has expressed willingness to have talks with the European Union on its nuclear program after the month of Ramadan ends in early September, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday.

He also said after a meeting with his Iranian and Brazilian counterparts that Iran would send a letter on Monday to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) asking for a start to separate “technical” talks on implementing a nuclear fuel swap.

The West fears Iran’s secretive uranium enrichment program is a veiled quest to develop nuclear weapons capability. Tehran denies this, saying it seeks only electricity from enrichment so it can export more of its oil wealth.

Brazil and Turkey have characterized the proposed fuel deal as a way to build confidence for broader negotiations involving six world powers, represented for now by the EU’s foreign policy chief, on an overall nuclear settlement with Iran.

“The Iranian Foreign Minister confirmed once again they are ready to start negotiations with Mrs Ashton… (He) stated that immediately after Ramadan they would start with negotiations,” Davutoglu said, adding they could meet in Istanbul.

Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign affairs chief, wrote to Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili last month inviting him to resume negotiations. The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan ends in the first half of September.

EXPANDED SANCTIONS

Davutoglu spoke after a meeting with foreign ministers Manouchehr Mottaki of Iran and Celso Amorim of Brazil, their first since the three struck a tentative swap accord in May that failed to prevent fresh U.N. sanctions against Iran.

Iran agreed in May to send some of its enrichment uranium stockpile abroad in exchange for medical reactor fuel, reviving a deal in principle which the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, brokered in October, only to see Tehran back out of it.

The May accord, which has not been carried out, failed to prevent fresh sanctions from the United Nations, European Union and United States adopted over the past two months.

But Davutoglu has said he still saw a chance of Iran carrying out the swap on the basis of their agreement and said Iran would propose in its letter to the IAEA that “technical negotiations” begin as soon as possible.

He was referring to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France — as well as Germany who have been locked in a protracted standoff with Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

Under the May deal, Iran agreed to transfer 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Turkey within a month and in return receive, within a year, 120 kg of 20 percent-enriched uranium to keep Tehran’s medical research reactor running.

But Western diplomats have dismissed the revived plan.

They said that removing from Iran 1,200 kg — enough, if highly enriched, to make an atom bomb — was less significant than when it was first brokered in October because Iran’s LEU stockpile had doubled in the interim.

At the time of the original October pact, 1,200 kg comprised about 70 percent of Iran’s known LEU reserve.

The Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran in June. Brazil and Turkey voted “no,” irked by the West’s dismissal of their deal which they said obviated the need for any more sanctions.

(Reporting by Simon Cameron-Moore, writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Q&A: Why the attention on Pakistan’s Chashma nuclear complex?

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari visits China from Tuesday, following mounting signs that Chinese companies are moving ahead with plans to build two reactors at the Chashma nuclear complex in Punjab province.

Here is an explanation about those plans and why some other governments are concerned.

WHAT IS THE CHASHMA COMPLEX?

Chashma in Pakistan’s Punjab province is the site of a nuclear power complex built using Chinese expertise and designs. One 300 megawatt pressurized water reactor began commercial operation in 2000, and Chinese companies are building another one likely to be finished in 2011 or 2012.

Chinese nuclear companies have also unveiled plans to build another two bigger reactors at Chashma in coming years. They have not issued detailed information about when they will start, but contracts have been signed and financing is being secured.

WHY IS CHINA HELPING BUILD MORE REACTORS THERE?

Converging foreign policy and commercial motives appear to be driving China’s decision.

Pakistan is a long-standing partner of China, and Beijing believes it is important to back Pakistan to counter Indian regional dominance. It is also wary of growing U.S. sway across South Asia.

Pakistan faces increasing power shortages, and demand is likely to keep growing quickly as the country’s population expands.

There’s also a commercial pull, said Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Chinese nuclear companies want to win foreign markets, and for now Pakistan is virtually the only “springboard” they have to hone their skills abroad and nurture the expertise that they hope will later find customers in other parts of the world.

ARE THERE NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION RISKS?

In theory, Pakistan could at some later date take spent fuel from Chashma to reprocess for plutonium that could be used for nuclear weapons.

In practice, however, the International Atomic Energy Agency keeps safeguards at Chashma to prevent that happening, said Hibbs. China would keep control of the spent fuel to ensure it is not at risk of diversion to weapons programs, he said.

“There would be no connection between the fuel and reactors provided by China and Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program,” he said.

SO WHAT ARE OTHER GOVERNMENTS WORRIED ABOUT?

Some of the worry is about Pakistan, and some is about the integrity of nuclear non-proliferation rules. There are those, including many commentators in India, who say Pakistan is so dogged by instability and militant pressures that it should not receive nuclear technology, which could be the target of attacks.

Also, leading Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan was an important illicit broker of nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, and critics say that is another reason to worry.

The more broadly shared worry is that, however safe Chashma may be, expanding the nuclear complex there could be a fresh blow to the integrity of nuclear non-proliferation rules.

Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons, and both countries refuse to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which would oblige them to scrap those weapons.

The NPT rules say that if countries not authorized to possess nuclear weapons want to receive nuclear materials from countries adhering to the Treaty, they should accept comprehensive safeguard agreements for their nuclear activities.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

For now, the main arena for addressing this issue is the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 46-member body that seeks to ensure nuclear exports are not diverted to non-peaceful purposes.

To receive nuclear exports, nations that are not one of the five officially recognized atomic weapons states must usually place all their nuclear activities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, say NSG rules.

When the United States sealed its nuclear agreement with India in 2008, it won a waiver from that rule from the NSG after contentious negotiations. Washington and other governments have said China should at least seek a similar exemption for the planned reactors in Pakistan.

But there is little likelihood of all 46 member governments of the NSG voting in favor of a waiver, and this is a group that operates by consensus, said Hibbs.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

U.N. watchdog backs Egypt nuclear power plant plans

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

CAIRO, June 22 (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog is ready to cooperate with plans to build nuclear power plants in Egypt, which is now working on locations for construction, the head of the U.N. body said on Tuesday.

Egypt said in March it planned to build four plants by 2025 and inaugurate the first in 2019 in an effort to reduce the most populous Arab country’s reliance on oil and gas. Officials hope the programme would add capacity of up to 4,000 megawatts.

“The IAEA is very happy to cooperate with Egypt in its project of introducing nuclear power. Now Egypt is finalizing its plan of choosing the site for its nuclear plant,” said Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Speaking after talks with Egyptian officials, he told reporters he had proposed sending a mission to Egypt. He did not give details.

The official state news agency MENA also quoted Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Ahmed Younes saying the IAEA had voiced its full support of Egypt’s nuclear programme.

Egypt, with 78 million peopled, has signed a nuclear power consultancy deal with Australia’s WorleyParsons (WOR.AX).

The deal, reached last year, includes looking for potential locations and updating studies on the Dabaa site on the Mediterranean coast, where Egypt planned to build a power station in the 1980s.

Egypt has long pressed for making the Middle East a nuclear-weapons-free zone and backed plans for a U.N.-sponsored conference for Middle East states in 2012 on the issue.

Israel is widely believed to have the region’s only nuclear arsenal. Western powers suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian programme. Tehran denies such ambitions.

“In the upcoming conference in 2012 of the creation of a nuclear free zone, we have further discussed the aid that the agency could extend to Egypt,” Amano said. (Reporting by Marwa Awad, writing by Edmund Blair)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 1-Iran defiant after U.N. sanctions vote

June 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 9 (Reuters) – Iran voiced defiance after the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on Wednesday, saying it would not halt uranium enrichment and suggesting it may reduce cooperation with the U.N. nuclear agency.

“Nothing will change. The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue uranium enrichment activities,” Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog in Vienna, told reporters shortly after the U.N. vote in New York.

In Tehran, a senior lawmaker said Iranian MPs would review the level of the Islamic Republic’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“The parliament will review Iran’s cooperation level with the agency as an extra-urgent matter,” Alaeddin Boroujerdi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

Iran’s parliament has the power to oblige the government to change its cooperation with the IAEA, as it did in 2006 after the Vienna-based agency voted to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the U.N. sanctions resolution was a “wrong” measure, Iran’s Arabic language al-Alam television reported.

“The resolution was a wrong move … it was not a constructive step … to resolve the nuclear issue. It will make the situation more complicated,” Ramin Mehmanparast said. (Reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Tehran and by Sylvia Westall and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; editing by Myra MacDonald)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IAEA report shows Iran’s nuclear defiance says U.S.

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The latest report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog underscores Iran’s refusal to comply with international requirements needed to allow constructive talks on its nuclear program, the White House said on Monday.

World

“This latest IAEA report clearly shows Iran’s continued failure to comply with its international obligations and its sustained lack of cooperation with the IAEA,” White House National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said.

He was referring to a confidential report obtained by Reuters that said Iran has been preparing extra equipment for enriching uranium to higher levels.

President Barack Obama’s administration is leading a push for new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran. The West accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says its purpose is strictly for civilian electricity generation.

Iran first started refining small batches of uranium to 20 percent purity in February, saying it wanted to produce fuel for a medical research reactor. This raised Western suspicion because that takes enrichment closer to the 90 percent purity needed to make atomic weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency report said Iran has added a second set of 164 centrifuges — nuclear enrichment machines — to help refine uranium to 20 percent purity.

“Most notably, the report outlines Iran’s continued uranium enrichment at both 3.5 percent and near 20 percent levels, construction of a heavy water research reactor, and refusal to permit the IAEA the access necessary to answer the ongoing questions regarding Qom and long outstanding questions that surround a possible military dimension to its nuclear program,” Hammer said.

“In sum, the IAEA’s latest report underscores that Iran has refused to take any of the steps required of it by the UNSC (U.N. Security Council) or IAEA Board of Governors, which are necessary to enable constructive negotiations on the future of its nuclear program,” he said.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Eric Beech)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Factbox: Main points from latest IAEA report on Iran

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Following are excerpts from the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which also urged Iran to answer queries about possible military dimensions to its nuclear program.

* HIGHER-SCALE ENRICHMENT

In February Iran started producing small batches of 20 percent-enriched uranium with 164 centrifuges at its Natanz pilot plant.

By April it had installed and was preparing a second set of centrifuges to support the first, according to the IAEA report.

They are not yet connected or operational and are under IAEA surveillance.

Iran has told the agency it will continue transferring material in small amounts to the site for higher enrichment. It produced around 5.7 kg of 20 percent-enriched uranium by early April and will have another batch ready soon.

The production rate is about 100g a day according to a senior official familiar with the Iran investigation.

* SURVEILLANCE

The IAEA was able to enhance its surveillance measures at the site earlier this month, improving camera positions, putting material and equipment under seal and most importantly, carrying out inspections at short notice.

But under Iran’s safeguards agreement with the IAEA, the measures should have been in place before its enrichment work rose beyond the 3.5 percent suitable for civilian power plant fuel, to ensure there were no covert diversions into weapons.

Iran says it needs 20 percent-enriched uranium to be converted into fuel rods for a nuclear medicine reactor about to run out of its imported supply. But Iran lacks the know-how to make such fuel, raising Western suspicions about its motives.

* MAIN NATANZ PLANT

The report said Iran had slightly increased the number of centrifuges actively enriching uranium to 3,936 — the first expansion in around a year. It had marginally lowered the total number of installed machines to 8,528.

Analysts said the rise in the number of machines enriching was not very significant and that Iran appeared to be concentrating its efforts elsewhere — possibly in an undisclosed location.

Iran’s P-1 centrifuges, adapted from a smuggled 1970s European design, have been plagued by breakdowns caused by a rapid expansion of enrichment in 2007-2008, analysts say.

But Iran is testing an advanced, more durable model able to refine uranium two or three times faster, and says it intends to introduce the model for production in the near future.

The IAEA asked Iran for information last month after Tehran announced it had developed a “third generation” of centrifuges, the report said. The agency repeated requests for information on sites for manufacturing centrifuges, details on research and development in uranium enrichment, uranium mining and milling.

Iran has not provided the requested information.

* STOCKPILING OF LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM

Iran told inspectors that it had accumulated around 2.4 tons of low-enriched uranium (LEU), about 300 kg more than at the end of January.

That total is enough to fuel about two atomic bombs, if it were further enriched to 90 percent fissile purity.

* POSSIBLE MILITARY DIMENSIONS

Since 2005, the IAEA has been probing Western intelligence reports indicating Iran has coordinated efforts to process uranium, test explosives at high altitude and revamp a ballistic missile cone to make it suitable for a nuclear warhead.

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano did not go into as much detail on this topic as in his previous report but kept the most important line — that the IAEA is concerned about possible current bomb research — not just work in the past.

“The agency remains concerned about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed nuclear related activities, involving military related organizations, including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile. There are indications that certain of these activities may have continued beyond 2004.”

The report urged Iran to engage with the IAEA on the issues and allow it to visit relevant sites, have access to all relevant equipment and documentation, and be allowed to interview all relevant officials “without further delay.”

* SECOND ENRICHMENT SITE

Iran agreed in October to inspections at the Fordow enrichment plant, being built inside a mountain bunker, after keeping it secret from the IAEA for three years. The West was angry that Iran had broken anti-proliferation rules.

Iran aims to start the plant near Qom in 2011 but, according to the report, it has not answered all the IAEA’s questions about the site. Tehran says this would go beyond its safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

“The agency considers that the questions it has raised do not go beyond the safeguards agreement, and that the information requested is essential for the agency to verify the chronology and original purpose of (the site).”

It has asked Iran to submit complete design documentation. Iran said it would provide updates on the design “subsequently.”

“In the agency’s view, some of the required information is already available to Iran and should already have been included,” the report said.

The report said no centrifuges had been introduced at Fordow yet. Inspectors had been checking for signs of undeclared nuclear activity after finding a small amount of depleted uranium particles on site. However a recent swipes have turned up no traces.

The agency said that Iran had still not provided it with information about its selected venues for its announced new nuclear sites, even though it is obliged to do this under its safeguards agreement.

* OTHER WORK

Iran has told the agency it will start research work on producing fuel for the Tehran medical research reactor.

The senior official said details of the planned work would be only a first step in a long and complicated process if it is carried out.

Tehran also told the agency in January that it had started research work on producing uranium metal at a laboratory in Tehran. In a visit in April the agency noted that some of the equipment — an electrochemical cell — had been removed. There was no explanation.

* DRUMS

Iran has continued to prevent the IAEA from taking samples from 756 50-liter drums of what Tehran described as domestically made heavy water found by IAEA inspectors at the Isfahan uranium processing center in October. The samples would help the IAEA determine the nature and origin of the material. Iran has told inspectors such sampling is beyond their mandate, and is denying the IAEA access to its heavy water production plant.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nuclear conference adopts disarmament measures

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 29 (DPA) The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference adopted Friday a declaration upholding principles of disarmament and calling for an international conference in 2012 with the aim to establish a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East.

The 189 NPT parties also decided to address North Korea in its final declaration, calling on that country to return to negotiations to settle the dispute over its nuclear activities.

The 28-page declaration was adopted by consensus, closing a month of debate that began May 3. It contains a 22-point action plan.

Nuclear-weapons-free zones around the world and talks on nuclear disarmament are part of the NPT, which entered into force in 1970, but has so far failed to get the world’s five nuclear powers to agree on a legal timetable for a total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Those powers – the United States, Russia, France, China and Britain – still resist pressure by other NPT parties to impose such a timeline.

The NPT conference chairman, Philippine Ambassador Libran Cabactulan, has said that the revised draft declaration was ‘carefully balanced’ to reflect demands by all parties. He said adoption of the declaration would allow ‘all the seeds of hope planted throughout the conference would bear fruit’.

The declaration called on the UN secretary general, the US, Russia and Britain to designate a facilitator to organise the conference in 2012 to be attended by ‘all’ Middle East nations. Those three countries co-sponsored a resolution calling for a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East when the NPT met in 1995.

It said that resolution must be implemented in order to help the peace process in the Middle East region. It called on Israel to sign the NPT and to place ‘all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’.

Israel has never admitted it possesses nuclear weapons, as alleged by Arab governments.

The document called for the total elimination of nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction, and chemical and biological weapons in the Middle East.

For the first time, the NPT also includes in its declaration a call for North Korea to return ‘at an early date’ to talks and to carry out obligations under the six-party talks, which involve China, the US, Russia, Japan, North and South Korea. Those obligations include the ‘complete and verifiable abandonment of all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes’.

The document called for ‘the need’ of the nuclear-weapon states to reduce and eliminate their nuclear arsenals, but drops language that called it an ‘urgent’ need in the earlier draft.

‘In implementing the unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon states to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals, the nuclear-weapon states commit to undertake further efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate all types of nuclear weapons, deployed and non-deployed’ through various agreements, it said.

There are an estimated 23,000 nuclear warheads around the world, most of them in arsenals of the five nuclear powers. Other countries known for having test-fired nuclear devices are India, Pakistan and North Korea.

About 40 countries have nuclear technology, from nuclear power plants for civilian energy uses to heavy water, which could be a component in the design for a nuclear reactor.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

U.S., Arabs reach deal at nuclear treaty talks – envoys

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The United States and Egypt struck a deal on a push to pressure Israel to ultimately scrap any atomic bombs it has in a bid to avert a collapse of talks on shoring up the global anti-nuclear arms pact, envoys said on Friday.

But they said it was unclear whether Iran would attempt to single-handedly block an agreement on a final declaration that has now been agreed upon by the other 189 signatories of the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, who have been meeting for a month to find ways to strengthen the troubled pact.

“We have a deal that everyone can live with,” a Western diplomat told Reuters. “Now the question is will Iran do the right thing.”

The latest draft of a final declaration for the NPT review conference calls for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to organize a meeting of all Middle Eastern states in 2012 on how to make the region free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, as demanded by a 1995 NPT resolution.

It also urges Israel to sign the NPT and put its nuclear facilities under U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards — a passage the Americans had wanted deleted. In the end, they backed down in the interest of salvaging the conference, delegates told Reuters.

The creation of a WMD-free zone would eventually force Israel to abandon any atomic bombs it might have. The Jewish state, which like nuclear-armed India and Pakistan never signed the NPT, is presumed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal but neither confirms nor denies that.

Israel is not participating in the NPT meeting.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; editing by Todd Eastham)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FACTBOX – Why is the West sceptical about Iran’s fuel offer?

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Iran has outlined a plan to the U.N. atomic watchdog under which it would give up some of its nuclear material but diplomats say the gesture would have no effect on a push to widen sanctions against Tehran.

Under the plan agreed with Brazil and Turkey last week, Iran would transfer 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) of its low-enriched uranium — enough for an atomic bomb if enriched to higher levels — to Turkey within a month.

A year later the Islamic Republic would get special nuclear fuel rods for a medical research reactor which makes isotopes to help treat cancer patients.

Why is the West cautious about this proposal?

TIME LAPSE

Western officials say the landscape has changed in the seven months since they brokered a similar plan with Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a way to ease tensions over Tehran’s atomic work.

Iran has continued enriching uranium and taking away 1,200 kg now would still leave Iran with enough for a bomb if it wanted to build one. Tehran says it has no intention of doing this and says its work is for peaceful purposes only.

Some observers say the swap is still worth it because it would remove half the material. Others say the deal has now lost its value because the bomb risk would remain and it fails to build confidence.

HIGHER ENRICHMENT

Iran also started enriching uranium to higher levels in February, saying it wanted to make fuel for the reactor itself, but the move unsettled Western powers because it takes the material closer to the grade needed for atomic weapons.

Tehran said it took the step because it said it was tired of waiting for the original deal to be agreed. Western officials say it was Iran which stalled progress, with a series of new conditions for the swap which it knew would not be accepted.

Iran has vowed that it will not stop its higher enrichment, even if the fuel supply agreement goes through and has started setting up more equipment for it.

Western diplomats have described this refusal to halt higher enrichment as a likely deal-breaker. They also question why Iran would still need to continue this process — which like its lower-grade enrichment violates U.N. sanctions — when countries are prepared to give it the fuel rods it says it needs.

They say Iran lacks the capability to make the specialized fuel assemblies in the short-term, so it makes no sense to produce more highly enriched uranium for a reactor that Tehran says will run out of fuel by the end of the year.

LACK OF DETAILS

Unlike the IAEA plan, brokered by former IAEA-chief Mohamed ElBaradei, the new proposal does not included detail on who would make the fuel rods, who will pay for the process and what will happen to the low-enriched uranium stored in Turkey after the swap has been completed, Western officials say.

Without this sort of information, they say they cannot begin serious negotiations on Iran’s offer, which many of them see as an attempt to stall sanctions negotiations.

Some Western officials say the Iranian move fits into a familiar pattern of Tehran offering concessions when punitive measures loom.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Diplomats also say that with its promotion of the new proposal, Iran is trying to give the impression that it was the fuel deal which was at the centre of problems with the West, rather than its nuclear ambitions as a whole.

They acknowledge that the original IAEA-plan was always intended as a first step towards resolving the nuclear issue, not a solution.

But they say Iran’s lack of cooperation with the agency on questions about its atomic programme and its delay in engaging on the fuel deal, have left negotiators feeling wary.

They also fear that Iran may go back on its word.

Talks over the original deal suffered from internal Iranian disputes. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad first appeared to favour the U.N. deal as a way to shore up his own power.

But he faced stiff opposition from rivals who did not want to see him reap credit for a breakthrough. Some voiced misgivings about parting with the nuclear material, which is seen as a strategic asset.

But analysts in Iran believe Ahmadinejad wouldn’t have agreed on this deal without the blessing of the supreme leader.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

China, US agree to cooperate on energy security

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Beijing, May 26 (IANS) China and the United States agreed to work together in order to ensure energy security and stabilise the international energy market.

As the world’s two largest producers and consumers of energy, China and the US have the responsibility to ensure energy security, said a joint statement after the two-day bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue Tuesday.

The two countries will work to stabilise the international energy market by improving its transparency, avoiding sharp fluctuations of oil prices, and also by closely working with the International Atomic Energy Agency and other organisations, Xinhua reported.

A special team will be set up to enhance information sharing and cooperation in technological support, the statement said.

The two countries will also broaden cooperation in nuclear power security and operation and promote use of renewable energy sources.

A diversified power supply for vehicles was vital for energy security for both countries in the coming decades, the statement said, emphasising on the promotion of electric cars, energy-saving technologies and other advanced fuel substitutes.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Iran may escape censure at nuclear treaty meeting

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Iran may escape censure at a meeting of the 189 signatories of a global anti-nuclear arms pact, despite growing concerns that Tehran might be developing atomic weapons, according to a draft declaration.

The United States and other countries say Iran is in breach of its obligations under the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a landmark arms-control pact that has been the focus of a month-long conference and review wrapping up this week.

A draft declaration prepared by conference president Libran Cabactulan of the Philippines fails to mention Iran or its nuclear program, though it names India, Pakistan and Israel as NPT holdouts. Diplomats said Iran had threatened to veto any final declaration if it was named.

The draft also names North Korea, which pulled out of the NPT several years ago.

Delegates say they hope a final version of the declaration, which calls for improved compliance with the treaty and further disarmament steps, can be agreed before the NPT conference ends on Friday. NPT decisions are made by consensus.

There is only an indirect reference to Iran in a paragraph of the 29-page draft declaration, obtained by Reuters, that says the NPT review conference “expresses its concerns with cases of noncompliance of the Treaty by States parties.”

In February 2006, the governing board of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution that referred Tehran’s nuclear program to the Security Council due to what it said were “Iran’s many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply with its NPT Safeguards Agreement.”

Western officials say that IAEA resolution amounted to a finding of Iranian noncompliance with the NPT. Iran denies violating the NPT and says its nuclear program is peaceful.

The IAEA resolution also opened the door to three rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Tehran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program. The council is currently negotiating a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran.

U.S., EGYPT HOPE FOR MIDDLE EAST DEAL

Ray Acheson of Reaching Critical Will, a nuclear disarmament group, said the Iranian delegation had insisted that if it were named, the United States and others should be as well for “serious noncompliance with Article I of the NPT.”

Article I of the NPT obliges the five nuclear powers — the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia — not to transfer nuclear weapons technology to other countries.

Diplomats said the reference to Article I violations was a dig at Western support for Israel, which is presumed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal but neither confirms nor denies it.

The draft calls on NPT holdouts Israel, India and Pakistan to sign the treaty and allow U.N. inspectors to inspect their atomic facilities. It also says the conference “deplores” nuclear tests by North Korea, which left the NPT in 2003.

A deal on a declaration, Western envoys say, now hinges on whether Arab delegates are willing to compromise on a possible conference to discuss ways of making the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction. Such a plan could eventually force Israel to give up any atomic arms it has.

The draft calls for a conference on creating such a zone in 2012 to be organized by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon involving all states in the region. But diplomats said any language on this issue would be drafted by the Arabs in agreement with the five permanent Security Council members.

“If we can’t get a Middle East deal, there will be no outcome document and we’ll have another failure,” a Western envoy said on condition of anonymity. “The Arabs have to decide whether they want something (on a WMD-free zone) Israel can participate in, or if they just want to beat up on Israel.”

As the meeting enters its final days, diplomats are hoping to avoid a repeat of the last NPT review conference in 2005. That one failed due to Egypt’s frustration at the lack of a deal to pressure Israel over its atomic program and developing nations’ anger at the U.S. repudiation of disarmament pledges.

Both Egypt and the United States are eager to avoid another failure. Cairo does not want to be labeled as a spoiler, while Washington wants an outcome that backs President Barack Obama’s determination to move toward a world free of nuclear arms.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Iran’s IAEA envoy says not handed over fuel swap letter

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Iran’s representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday Iran had not yet delivered a letter to the agency outlining its nuclear fuel swap deal agreed last week with Brazil and Turkey.

“We have not handed in the letter,” Ali Asghar Soltanieh told Reuters. Iran’s IRNA news agency reported earlier on Sunday that Soltanieh had given the letter to the IAEA chief.

Iranian officials said the letter would be handed in on Monday.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Iran outlines atom fuel deal to IAEA, cites “progress”

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Iran outlined to the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Monday a deal to give up some of its enriched uranium, calling it major progress towards resolving a standoff with world powers now pursuing tougher sanctions against Tehran.

A letter signed by Iranian nuclear programme chief Ali Akbar Salehi was handed over to International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Yukiya Amano at a 45-minute meeting in Vienna, an Iranian diplomat told reporters. He gave no details.

Iran’s Arabic-language al-Alam state television quoted Salehi’s letter as saying the deal was “a major step forward” towards defusing tensions over its nuclear energy programme. There was no immediate IAEA comment.

The deal to swap low-enriched uranium for fuel to run an Iranian medical research reactor, aimed at allaying fears Iran is trying to amass enough fissile material for nuclear weapons, was agreed last week by Tehran with Turkey and Brazil.

Under the plan, Iran would transfer 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) — enough for an atom bomb if enriched to high purity — to Turkey in return for special fuel rods to replenish the stocks of its medical isotope reactor.

But world powers voiced doubt about the value of this offer — based on a seven-month-old, IAEA-backed proposal — since Iran’s LEU stockpile has grown significantly since then, meaning it could still be left with enough for a nuclear warhead.

Iran has also started refining uranium to a higher level.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tehran had accepted the nuclear fuel swap to show good faith in efforts to defuse tensions over its atomic ambitions, which he reiterated were solely peaceful.

“Iran accepted the conditions in order to create an atmosphere based on trust and cooperation,” Mehmanparast told a news conference during a visit to Istanbul.

He said Tehran was awaiting approval from the Vienna group of states expected to supply Iran with the 20 percent enriched uranium in return for its 3.5 percent-enriched uranium, to be sent to Turkey for safekeeping until a swap could take place.

“We will reach an agreement with the group after the discussion on all technical and official details are complete. A possible agreement with the Vienna group … will provide a peaceful and constructive solution for the whole world.”

The original deal brokered between Iran, the United States, France and Russia in October foundered in disputes over detail.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday he hoped the new proposal could open the way to a negotiated settlement.

But the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, after months of negotiations, brushed off Iran’s move, agreeing a draft resolution on a new set of sanctions against Iran that Washington handed to the Security Council last week.

(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy in Tehran; Writing by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Matthew Jones)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nuke cooperation with Pak completely ‘peaceful’: China

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

China has reassured the international community that its nuclear cooperation with Pakistan is completely ‘peaceful’ in nature, and in accordance with the safeguards set up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“The cooperation is subject to safeguards and the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is in compliance with respective international obligations of the two countries,” The Daily Times quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said while responding to a statement by US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.

Stressing that countries must respect their individual non-proliferation commitments, the United States had said that it was closely observing China’s offer to build two nuclear power plants in Pakistan.

Speaking during a forum at the Brookings Institution, US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said Washington is concerned about proliferation issues and is studying China’s offer to assist Pakistan with nuclear reactors, adding that Washington has not taken any final decision in this regard.

Steinberg had said that the United States is keeping a close watch on Beijing’s offer to build two new nuclear power plants in Pakistan.

“The United States has not reached a final conclusion. But it’s something we’re obviously looking at very carefully,” Steinberg had said.

“I think it’s important to scrupulously honour these non-proliferation commitments. We’ll want to continue to engage on the question, about whether this is permitted under the understandings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” he added.

China had earlier built two reactors for Pakistan. But in 2004 Beijing entered the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an association of nuclear energy states that forbids exports to nations lacking strict safeguards set up by the IAEA.

China began building a nuclear reactor in Chashma in Pakistan’s Punjab province in 1991 and work on a second reactor began in 2005, which is expected to be completed next year. Under the new agreement, Chinese companies will build at least two new 650-MW reactors at Chashma, a media report had said last month.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nuke cooperation with Pak completely ‘peaceful’: China

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 13 (ANI): China has reassured the international community that its nuclear cooperation with Pakistan is completely ‘peaceful’ in nature, and in accordance with the safeguards set up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“The cooperation is subject to safeguards and the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is in compliance with respective international obligations of the two countries,” The Daily Times quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said while responding to a statement by US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.

Stressing that countries must respect their individual non-proliferation commitments, the United States had said that it was closely observing China’s offer to build two nuclear power plants in Pakistan.

Speaking during a forum at the Brookings Institution, US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said Washington is concerned about proliferation issues and is studying China’s offer to assist Pakistan with nuclear reactors, adding that Washington has not taken any final decision in this regard.

Steinberg had said that the United States is keeping a close watch on Beijing’s offer to build two new nuclear power plants in Pakistan.

“The United States has not reached a final conclusion. But it’s something we’re obviously looking at very carefully,” Steinberg had said.

“I think it’s important to scrupulously honour these non-proliferation commitments. We””ll want to continue to engage on the question, about whether this is permitted under the understandings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” he added.

China had earlier built two reactors for Pakistan. But in 2004 Beijing entered the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an association of nuclear energy states that forbids exports to nations lacking strict safeguards set up by the IAEA.

China began building a nuclear reactor in Chashma in Pakistan’s Punjab province in 1991 and work on a second reactor began in 2005, which is expected to be completed next year. Under the new agreement, Chinese companies will build at least two new 650-MW reactors at Chashma, a media report had said last month. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US keeping close watch on China’s offer to build nuke power plants in Pak

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 11 (ANI): Stressing that countries must respect their individual non-proliferation commitments, the United States has said that it is closely observing China’s offer to build two nuclear power plants in Pakistan.

Speaking during a forum at the Brookings Institution, US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said Washington is concerned about proliferation issues and is studying China’s offer to assist Pakistan with nuclear reactors, adding that Washington has not taken any final decision in this regard.

“The United States has not reached a final conclusion. But it”s something we”re obviously looking at very carefully,” The News quoted Steinberg, as saying.

“I think it”s important to scrupulously honour these non-proliferation commitments. We”ll want to continue to engage on the question, about whether this is permitted under the understandings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” he said in reply to a question.

China had earlier built two reactors for Pakistan. But in 2004 Beijing entered the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an association of nuclear energy states that forbids exports to nations lacking strict safeguards set up by the IAEA.

China began building a nuclear reactor in Chashma in Pakistan”s Punjab province in 1991 and work on a second reactor began in 2005, which is expected to be completed next year. Under the new agreement, Chinese companies will build at least two new 650-MW reactors at Chashma, a media report had said last month. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

U.S. makes new nuke concessions to India

April 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr.21 (ANI): India will receive new concessions as part of its bilateral civilian nuclear agreement with the United States.

In a move that has angered arms control advocates, Washington agreed to Indian demands to increase the number of plants allowed to reprocess U.S.-supplied nuclear fuel from one to two, with the option of another two if India”s needs grow in the future, the Washington Times reports.

India has thus far failed to pass legislation that would release U.S. companies from liability in case of accidents related to equipment they have provided for two reactors to be built under the 2007 U.S.-Indian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.

That effectively prevents those firms from starting businesses in the South Asian country.

The U.S. government understands “the need for sufficient indigenous Indian capacity to reprocess or otherwise alter in form or content, under [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards, U.S.-obligated nuclear material,” says the new document, which was released by the State Department.

In 2008, the Bush administration restricted Indian reprocessing to one plant in an effort to limit potential proliferation of dangerous dual-use technology, which could be used for military or civilian purposes. However, last month”s agreement refers to “two new national reprocessing facilities established by the government of India.”

It also says “the management of separated safeguarded plutonium … shall take into account the need to avoid contributing to the risks of nuclear proliferation, the need to protect the environment, workers and the public.”

Arms control experts denounced the new deal, saying it adds to the “damage” done by the original agreement.

“It will further undermine U.S. efforts to stop the spread of enrichment and reprocessing technologies,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said of the March deal.

“It should be rejected by Congress because it is inconsistent with the terms outlined in” the original agreement, he added.

The new document does not need congressional approval and will go into force unless Congress stops it within 30 days. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India with non-Western powers to oppose Iran sanctions

April 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other world leaders gathering here have cautioned the United States and the West against imposing new sanctions against Tehran while urging Iran to abide by its non-proliferation obligations.

India and other non-Western powers believe that the continued exploration of a “peaceful and diplomatic” option will help defuse the growing nuclear confrontation between Iran and the West. The emphasis of the non-western leaders is on a political solution that carefully balances the obligations of both sides.

As the Obama Administration seeks to win support at the United Nations for an additional set of sanctions against Iran’s nuclear defiance of the international system, Tehran is launching a diplomatic offensive of its own.

Iran has convened a two-day meeting — called ‘Nuclear Energy For All, Nuclear Weapons For No One’ — that starts in Tehran on April 17, a week after the U S President Obama-hosted summit on nuclear security.

Many leading non-Western nations, including India, are expected to participate in the conference. Tehran sees the conference as a stage for mobilising opinion at a review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at the United Nations in May.

Senior officials in Tehran claim that “foreign ministers from 14 countries, 10 deputy foreign ministers, representatives of eight regional and international conferences and experts from 70 countries” will join the conference.

In a joint communiqué issued at the end of their deliberations, the leaders of the IBSA forum — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President of Brazil Lula da Silva and South African President Jacob Zuma — “recognised the right of Iran to develop nuclear programmes for peaceful purposes in keeping with its international obligations”.

The three leaders also called on “Iran to full cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and comply with the relevant resolutions”. The summit of the BRIC forum (Brazil, Russia, India and China) did not address the issue of Iran sanctions directly. Two BRIC members, Russia and China, are represented in the UN Security Council, and are actively participating in the debate on additional sanctions.

While the reluctance of Moscow and Beijing to impose immediate sanctions against Iran is well-known, Brazil has emerged as a major voice in favour of international restraint. President Lula is scheduled to visit Iran next month.

According to Brazil’s foreign minister, Celso Amorim, Lula discussed the issue of Iran sanctions with the Russian, Chinese and Indian leaders here. “Lula reaffirmed his conviction, based on past experiences and on Iran’s situation itself, that sanctions not only are inefficient but in some cases can be counterproductive even for the objectives (for which) they are being applied”, Amorim added.

The minister denied that Brazil had become “pro-Iran” and said that Brasilia favours “negotiated solutions to global problems”.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts