Iran and U.S. send positive signals on nuclear talks

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Iran and the United States sent positive signals on Wednesday about the possibility of fresh talks on the Iranian nuclear program, which Washington suspects aims to develop atomic weapons.

Iran has given an assurance that it would stop enriching uranium to 20 percent purity if world powers agreed to a proposed nuclear fuel swap, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Istanbul.

The offer, conveyed to Davutoglu on Sunday, could bode well for an expected resumption of talks in September between Iran and major powers on the Islamic Republic’s atomic program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes and not for bombs.

Asked about Davutoglu’s comments, the U.S. State Department said Iran had often sent mixed signals but that the United States was “fully prepared” to resume talks among the six major powers and Tehran about Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran last met the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia in Geneva in October, when they discussed Iran sending some low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for fuel for a Tehran reactor that makes medical isotopes.

“We hope to have the same kind of meeting coming up in the coming weeks that we had last October,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters. “We are interested in a process — more than one meeting.”

Uranium enrichment is a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors or, if carried out to a much higher degree, can yield fissile material for atomic bombs.

IRANIAN LETTER

In February, Iran announced that it had started enriching uranium to 20 percent purity, from about 3.5 percent previously, raising concern that it might be planning to enrich uranium still further and to produce weapons grade material.

Since June, fresh sanctions have been imposed on Iran by the U.N. Security Council, the United States, and, on Monday, by the European Union, increasing the pressure on Tehran.

One of the demands made in repeated U.N. Security Council resolutions is that Iran suspend uranium enrichment entirely.

Turkey and Brazil brokered a deal in May for a nuclear fuel swap in Tehran, hoping that this would draw Iran and major powers back to the negotiating table, but the six powers were lukewarm about the plan. At the time, Iran said it would continue enriching uranium to 20 percent.

Davutoglu, who met his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim on Sunday, said Iran was ready to lay to rest concern over its enrichment program if the proposed nuclear fuel swap went ahead.

“Another important message given by Mottaki during his visit to Turkey was that if the Tehran deal is signed and Iran is provided with the necessary fuel for its research activities, then they will not continue enriching uranium to 20 percent,” Davutoglu told a joint news conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

Iran sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday, saying it was ready to negotiate the details of exchanging 2,646 pounds (1,200 kg) of its 3 percent enriched uranium for 265 pounds (120 kg) of 20 percent enriched uranium.

HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO

Davutoglu urged that talks on this subject with the so-called Vienna Group, comprising Russia, France, the United States and the IAEA, begin as soon as possible.

“The disagreements should be left aside and negotiations between the Vienna Group and Iran should be started right away,” he said. “As progress is made in those technical negotiations, the two sides will trust each other more.”

Davutoglu said Iran had also confirmed that EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Iran’s chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, could meet in early September, after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

NATO-member Turkey has offered to store any swapped uranium and has gone into diplomatic overdrive in an attempt to ease tensions between Western allies and its neighbor.

A U.S. official said Iran may be trying to “have their cake and eat it too,” by swapping some low enriched uranium for nuclear fuel while continuing to enrich at some level.

“A lot depends on the details,” of what Iran is willing to do, he added, saying the West had responded coolly to Iranian initiatives earlier this year because they seemed designed to stymie U.N. Security Council sanctions that passed in June.

“Now that that process is completed, if Iran wants to engage on these subjects we are more than happy to have that conversation,” the official said.

(Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Arshad Mohammed; editing by Patricia Wilson and Mohammad Zargham)

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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.

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G8 ministers call for strong measures against Iran

March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight leading industrial nations will call on the international community to take “appropriate and strong steps” to show its resolve over Iran’s nuclear activities.

A draft of the final communique also said the G8 remained open to dialogue with Tehran, which denies widespread western charges that it is seeking to make atomic weapons.

The G8 ministers will end a two-day meeting in Canada on Tuesday. A copy of the communique, dated Monday, was shown to Reuters.

The document is the latest step in a campaign of pressure by many of the world’s most powerful nations to force Iran to comply with demands from the U.N. Security Council and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

“Iran’s continued noncompliance with its United Nations Security Council and IAEA obligations regarding its nuclear program is of serious concern to G8 ministers,” said the final communique.

“Ministers agreed to remain open to dialogue and also reaffirmed the need for the international community to take appropriate and strong steps to demonstrate … resolve to uphold the international nuclear nonproliferation regime.”

The draft did not mention the word “sanctions”.

The three Western members of the Security Council — the United States, France and Britain — along with Germany have been pushing hard for a new round of sanctions against Iran.

Russia has been less enthusiastic but has recently signalled it may come on board. But China, which enjoys close economic links to Iran, has repeatedly said that the world needs more time to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

Earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played down fears China was out of step with the other permanent members of the Security Council on the question of imposing more sanctions.

UNIFIED GROUP

“China is part of the consultative group that has been unified all along the way, which has made it very clear that a nuclear-armed Iran is not acceptable to the international community,” Clinton told Canada’s CTV in an interview.

The White House issued a brief statement late on Monday saying President Barack Obama had met with the new Chinese envoy to Washington and told him the United States wanted to develop a positive relationship with Beijing.

Momentum for new sanctions has gathered steam since Tehran rejected an offer of a nuclear fuel swap deal that would have been brokered by the IAEA.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, speaking to reporters in Washington, said the United States was increasingly encouraged by the signs coming from Beijing.

“We’ve had a recognition by our Chinese counterparts of the danger of the Iranian nuclear program and the fact that there does not seem to be a willingness (by) the Iranians to take the very generous offer,” he said.

The G8 meeting was also expected to take up other issues including the impasse over North Korea’s nuclear program, nuclear nonproliferation, and the threat posed by extremist groups — underscored by Monday’s suicide suicide bomb attacks that killed 38 in Moscow metro stations.

The G8 ministers released a statement strongly condemning the “cowardly terrorist attacks” and calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Interfax news agency that militants operating on the Afghan-Pakistan border may have helped organize the Moscow attacks.

Clinton told CTV that overall there was a connection between most of the terror attacks around the world.

“They get encouragement from each other, they exchange training, explosives, information,” Clinton said, while saying she did not know the details of the Moscow incident.

(Additional reporting by Paul Eckert and Deborah Charles in Washington and Conor Humphries in Moscow, editing by Philip Barbara)
David Ljunggren and Andrew Quinn

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INTERVIEW – Iran sanctions may be secured with China abstention

March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

China may ultimately be persuaded to abstain in a U.N. Security Council vote on further Iran sanctions, allowing a new resolution to be passed, a leading sanctions expert said on Tuesday.

It may take until June before there is support for such a move, and even then the measures adopted are likely to be less than the United States and European Union would like; but it should be sufficient to keep pressure on Tehran, he said.

“It really is a push to get big business out of Iran and a push to get China on board with the U.N. resolution, even if on board just means an abstention,” said Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute and a former deputy assistant secretary for intelligence at the U.S. Treasury.

“What will end up happening is China, Lebanon and Brazil will abstain,” he said, but there will still be enough votes in the Security Council to pass the resolution and no veto.

Any package of sanctions is likely to focus on restricting the operations of Iranian banks and insurance companies, the Iranian state shipping company IRISL and a large engineering group linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, he said.

The United States, Britain, Germany and France are driving efforts for a fourth round of sanctions to slow Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, which they say is aimed at developing nuclear weapons but Iran maintains is for peaceful purposes.

The U.S. and EU had hoped to secure backing for a new U.N. resolution by February, but opposition from Russia and China — two permanent members of the Security Council with veto powers — made that impossible. Russia has since softened its stance, while China continues to indicate that it is opposed.

Levitt, whose work in government focused on stemming the flow of terrorism financing, said failure to impose further sanctions — whether via the U.N. or unilaterally by the EU and the United States and others — could aggravate tensions.

“The more we dither, the more we increase the likelihood of a military conflict,” he said. “We sit on our thumbs and put business first with Iran at real cost.”

CREDIBLE THREAT

The United States has tried to emphasise that any sanctions package should not unduly affect the Iranian people, instead focusing on senior members of the Revolutionary Guards and institutions linked to the nuclear programme.

Measures targeting Iran’s energy sector — Iran is the world’s fifth largest exporter of crude oil — are deemed off limits and are likely to be vetoed by China, which is one of the largest buyers of Iranian oil.

But Levitt said steps were being taken by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to increase their oil supplies to China, effectively weaning it off Iranian supplies. That might increase the likelihood of China backing a resolution.

“The UAE and Saudis have already begun ramping up production, they are already producing more reliable, cheap, high-quality oil to China and are fully capable of completely filling in for what China otherwise gets from Iran,” he said.

Even if more sanctions are approved by June, Levitt said they were unlikely to put a stop to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Further measures would likely still be necessary, and even then he said a small military confrontation with Iran might be the only way of convincing Tehran that the West meant business.

“There are people who believe that there would be utility in having some type of limited skirmish with Iran… so that the Iranians understand that we are serious,” he said.

“There’s a good reason to believe that they simply don’t believe in deterrence anymore… If you want to rely on any level of deterrence, there has to be a credible threat.” (Editing by Ralph Boulton)

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Despite IAEA findings, Iran sings its old nuke-for-peaceful-purposes tune

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Tehran, Sep. 18 (ANI): Even as a secret IAEA report revealed that Iran is capable of making a nuclear bomb and is developing a missile system to carry an atomic warhead, Iranian officials have reiterated claims that the Islamic nation’s nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

Fox News quoted Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, as saying that Iran is sincere in wanting to negotiate with the West.

He added that Western countries should “read between the lines” about Iran’s intentions.

Although the prospects of finding anything between the lines were almost nil after the surfacing of the IAEA report, but Soltanieh insisted that discussions with the West would be a “real, new window of opportunity.”

The secret U.N. watchdog report, titled “Possible Military Dimension of Iran’s Nuclear Program,” concludes:

*Iran worked on developing a chamber inside a ballistic missile capable of housing a warhead payload “that is quite likely to be nuclear.”

*Iran engaged in “probable testing” of explosives commonly used to detonate a nuclear warhead – a method known as a “full-scale hemispherical explosively driven shock system.”

*Iran worked on developing a system “for initiating a hemispherical high explosive charge” of the kind used to help spark a nuclear blast.

“Iran has sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable implosion nuclear device (an atomic bomb) based on HEU (highly enriched uranium) as the fission fuel,” The agency assessed.

On October 1, Iran is scheduled to meet with the U.S. and five other world powers seeking curbs on its atomic activities for the first time in more than a year.

However, Tehran says it is not prepared to discuss its nuclear activities. (ANI)

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Iran has enough fuel to make a nuclear bomb: NYT

September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 10 (ANI): Iran has created enough nuclear fuel to make a rapid, but a risky sprint for a nuclear weapon, according to American intelligence agencies.

The new intelligence reports delivered to the White House say that the country has deliberately stopped short of the critical last steps to make a bomb, The New York Times reports.

The American ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency declared on Wednesday that Iran now had what he called a “possible breakout capacity” if it decided to enrich its stockpile of uranium, converting it to bomb-grade material.

Ambassador Glyn Davies was intended to put pressure on American allies to move toward far more severe sanctions against Iran this month, if it failed to take up President Barack Obama’s invitation for serious negotiations.

But it could also complicate the Obama administration’s efforts to persuade an increasingly impatient Israeli Government to give diplomacy more time to work, and hold off from a military strike against Iran, the paper reports.

Iran has maintained that its continuing enrichment program is for peaceful purposes, that the uranium is solely for electric power and that its scientists have never researched weapons design. (ANI)

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France to provide Tiger combat helicopters to Pak

July 3, 2009 By 1 Comment

Islamabad, July 3 (ANI): France has agreed to provide Pakistan Tiger combat helicopters and other sophisticated military equipments to strengthen its abilities in taking on the rampant Taliban.

The Military Personal Staff Advisor to French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, Admiral Edouard Guillaud, who is heading a delegation here, said that the combat helicopters to be provided by France will be equipped with ground-to-ground missiles with semi-active laser seekers with a range of over eight kilometers.

The helicopters are fitted with advanced radars and can also be equipped with anti-tank missiles, The Dawn reports.

Admiral Guillaud held a series of meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani and several other top officials here.

A French Embassy official said that the visit of the delegation was a follow-up to the recent France visit of Zardari and General Kayani.

The official said both France and Pakistan share a common goal against extremism, and the visits were aimed at bolstering bilateral ties in the field of defense and security between both nations.

“The fight against terrorism is a key matter of concern for the international community. Within the framework of our common goal to fight terrorism, this visit aims at strengthening our bilateral cooperation in the field of defence and security,” he said.

The official said that during the delegation’s meeting with Zardari, the two sides decided to extend ties, primarily in the field of defense, and the use of civilian nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. (ANI)

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First, second, third tier of extremist leadership killed: Gilani

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, June 23 (ANI): Amid confusion between the Pakistan Army and Interior Advisor, Rehman Malik over the whereabouts of the Swat Taliban chief Mullah Fazalullah, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has claimed that the first, second and third tier of the extremists leadership have been killed.

Talking to reporters at the sidelines of a college inauguration ceremony, Gilani said several terrorist leaders have been killed by the security forces in the Swat offensive.

Gilani, however, failed to comment on the fate of the top militant commanders such as Mullah Fazalullah or Baitullah Mehsud.

“We will soon know whether they are alive or not,” The Nation quoted Gilani, as saying.

Commenting on the country’s nuclear programme, Gilani refuted reports that Pakistan has slowed down its plans of nuclear expansion amidst the rising fears of its nuke arsenal falling into the hands of the terrorists.

“We are using it to meet our needs, and cannot even think of slowing it down,” Gilani said.

He urged the United States to enter a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan, similar to what Washington had inked with New Delhi.

Gilani said the United States should avoid adopting discriminatory behaviour towards Pakistan.

“It is our principled stance that our nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and overcoming energy needs.We are also looking towards Atomic Energy Commission to fulfil country’s energy needs,” Gilani said.

When asked to comment over the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) information secretary, Fauzia Wahab’s statement that the Prime Minister should not be ‘so strong’ and there should be a ‘balance of power’ between him and the President,Gilani said it didn’t matter to him what Wahab had said.

It is not what Fauzia says matters, it is the decision of the nation. I don’t know what type of powerful Prime Minister PPP Information Secretary Fouzia Wahab wants,” he added. (ANI)

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Obama would need a fresh approach to deal with N. Korea nuke test

May 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 26 (ANI): US President Barack Obama’s goal of eliminating nuclear weapons has received a setback of sorts with North Korea’s second nuclear test on Monday, and experts feel that he would now have to come up with a fresh approach to deal with the security threat posed by the isolated Pyongyang regime.

“The United States and the international community must take action in response. North Korea is not only deepening its own isolation, it’s inviting stronger international pressure,” Obama told reporters in a Rose Garden statement before heading to Memorial Day ceremonies.

But, according to Politico, the sanctions already in place against North Korea are so sweeping that many analysts say the U.N. lacks new ways of pressuring the regime to return to multilateral talks, other than to pass a new strongly worded resolution condemning the test.

While Obama said he hoped to negotiate a new treaty to end the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons, the president acknowledged that eliminating all nuclear weapons might not happen in his lifetime.

But since his April 5 speech, both North Korea and Iran have illustrated how difficult it will be to achieve credible progress even on the short-term goals Obama described.

Iran has shown little sign so far of accepting Obama’s offer of better ties in return for halting its nuclear program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes.

On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ruled out nuclear talks with other countries and pronounced the debate about the future of its nuclear program “over.”

North Korea, too, has seemed intent on solidifying its claim as a nuclear weapons state.

But Mike Green, a former National Security Council aide during the Bush administration, said a firm U.N. response to the North Korean test would get Iran’s attention, because Tehran has more to fear than Pyongyang from tough international sanctions. (ANI)

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Russian firm offers to build nuclear reactor in Jordan

May 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Amman – The Jordanian government has received an offer from Russia’s Rosatom Corporation for building a research nuclear reactor in the country, Chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Khalid Touqan said Saturday.

The tender was made under the provisions of the nuclear cooperation agreement which Jordan signed with Russia in Moscow on Friday, Touqan said in an interview with the official Petra news agency.

“The importance of the accord stems from the vast Russian experience in the field of nuclear energy that will allow Russian firms, particularly Rosatom, to build nuclear utilities in Jordan,” he added.

Touqan said that under the accord, Jordan would be sending between 8 and 10 students next year to study nuclear engineering and physics at Russian universities.

This is the fifth agreement to be signed by Jordan with nuclear countries for the avowed aim of importing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, he said.

The Jordanian government inked similar agreements over the past year with France, China, Canada and South Korea.

Jordan, which imports more than 95 per cent of its energy needs, aspires to drastically trim its energy bill by resorting to peaceful uses of the nuclear energy.

The Hashemite Kingdom and other Arab countries have started to show increasing interest in possessing nuclear know-how after Iran pushed ahead adamantly with its nuclear programme. (dpa)

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China willing to be mediator in Iran nuclear negotiations

April 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Beijing – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China is willing to mediate in talks over Iran’s nuclear development, state media reported Saturday.

Wen said in a meeting with Parviz Davoodi, first vice president of Iran, that China respects Iran’s development of a nuclear programme for non-aggressive purposes, the official Xinhua news agency said.

“China respects Iran’s nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, resolutely safeguards the international non-proliferation system and advocates that the Iranian nuclear issue should be peacefully resolved through negotiation,” Wen said Friday on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, where both leaders were attending the Bo’ao Forum for Asia, a regional economic meeting.

Davoodi was quoted as saying Iran was willing to resolve the nuclear issue and improve ties with other countries involved in the discussions on the basis of mutual respect but added, “We care more about actions.”

The leaders expressed a willingness to explore cooperation in areas including energy, finance and trade. (dpa)

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China for ‘constructive role’ in Iranian nuclear talks

April 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sanya (China), April 18 (Xinhua) China has expressed its willingness to play a ‘constructive role’ in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his country respects Iran’s nuclear programme meant for peaceful purposes and is willing to play a mediator’s role in the talks to resolve the standoff.

‘China respects Iran’s nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, resolutely safeguards the international non-proliferation system and advocates that the Iranian nuclear issue should be peacefully resolved through negotiation,’ Wen said while meeting Parviz Davoodi, Iran’s first vice president, Friday in this southern Chinese city in Hainan province.

Wen also called on the parties involved in the Iranian nuclear issue to seize the current favourable opportunity and make positive efforts to restart negotiations as soon as possible.

‘China is willing to continue to play a constructive role’ in resolving the crisis, he added.

Davoodi, who is here to attend the three-day regional meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), said Iran is willing to resolve the nuclear issue and improve ties with relevant countries on the basis of mutual respect. ‘But we care more about actions,’ he said.

Both the leaders also discussed how to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in all levels.

‘We should also steadily further our energy cooperation, explore the potential of finance and trade cooperation, so as to advance our mutual beneficial cooperation,’ Wen said.

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Iran has new proposals for global peace: Ahmadinejad

April 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Tehran, April 15 (IANS) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday said Tehran would offer a new set of proposals to ‘secure global peace and justice’, IRNA reported.

‘The proposals will focus on ways to secure global peace and justice, respect to rights of all nations, and participation of all governments and nations in settlement of international crises,’ Ahmadinejad said while addressing a gathering in the southern city of Kerman.

Iran ‘believes in dialogue and logic’ and is interested in dialogue since it considers dialogue and logic as ‘best possible ways to administer the entire world’, the Iranian president said.

However, he did not elaborate what would be content of his proposals and whether those have anything to do with the country’s nuclear standoff.

His comments came a day after the Obama administration said it wanted to get Iran back to the negotiation table. There were also reports that US plans not to oppose Iran in continuing uranium enrichment at its present level for some time.

Ahmadinejad said the people of Iran had proved their commitment to logic, dialogue and justice in the past three decades and ‘no power can impose its will on the Iranian nation’.

The West, especially the US, claims that Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its nuclear programme, a charge Iran has denied.

Iran insists that its nuclear plan is for peaceful purposes, and it will continue its uranium enrichment activity despite pressure and sanctions from Western countries.

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‘Iran has right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy’

April 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Welcoming US’ pledge to cut its nuclear arsenals, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said Iran too has full rights to the peaceful uses of atomic energy.

Nazarbayev welcomed the statement by US President Barack Obama seeking a world without nuclear weapons and that Washington was ready for a dialogue with Iran based on mutual interests and mutual respect, according to a statement by the Kazakh embassy here Thursday.

‘We have always thought this (dialogue) is the best solution to the situation (with Iran),’ Nazarbayev said, adding Kazakhstan has always stood for peace in the region.

‘President Nazarbayev noted that Iran, like other countries, has the full right to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes,’ the statement said.

Nazarbayev has expressed willingness to host an international nuclear fuel bank in Kazakhstan..

‘If a nuclear fuel bank is created, we could consider hosting it here, in a country which has signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons.’

The idea of an international fuel bank under the auspices of IAEA, supported by the US administration, provides for creating a global repository which would allow countries to tap into their reserves to fuel their nuclear plants without the need to develop their own nuclear enrichment capability.

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South Korean prime minister holds talks with Jordan’s king, premier

March 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

South Korean prime minister holds talks with Jordan's king, premier Amman – South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo on Thursday conducted separate talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Nader Dahabi on latest political developments in the region and means of boosting bilateral ties particularly in the business sphere, an official statement said.

“There is an opportunity for developing a long-term strategic relationship between Jordan and Korea,” a royal court statement quoted the monarch as telling the visiting South Korean premier.

In an interview with the official Petra news agency, Han expressed his country’s “support to the two-state formula and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state”.

He said that the two governments were involved in talks on South Korean’s participation in three mega-projects in Jordan – the construction of a canal linking the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, a water desalination plant and building a nuclear plamtr for peaceful purposes.

The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) has already signed an agreement with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) for the establishment of a nuclear power plant in Jordan for the purposes of electricity generation and water desalination.

Han arrived in Amman Wednesday for a three-day visit at the head of a powerful government delegation that also included a number of leading businessmen. (dpa)

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“Denaturing” plutonium in nuclear bombs makes them unsuitable for warfare

March 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, March 12 (ANI): Washington, March 5 (ANI): In a move which would be taken positively by advocates of world peace, a team of engineers has developed a technique to “denature” plutonium created in large nuclear reactors, making it unsuitable for use in nuclear arms.

Developed by engineers at the Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev in Israel, the technique involves adding Americium (Am 241) in plutonium so it can only be used for peaceful purposes.

Americium is a form of the basic synthetic element found in commercial smoke detectors and industrial gauges.

The technique could help “de-claw” more than a dozen countries developing nuclear reactors if the United States, Russia, Germany, France and Japan agree to add the denaturing additive into all plutonium.

“When you purchase a nuclear reactor from one of the five countries, it also provides the nuclear fuel for the reactor,” explained Professor Yigal Ronen, of BGU’s Department of Nuclear Engineering, who headed the project.

“Thus, if the five agree to insert the additive into fuel for countries now developing nuclear power – such as Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen – they will have to use it for peaceful purposes rather than warfare,” he added.

Ronen originally worked on Neptonium 237 for the purpose denaturing plutonium, but switched to Americium, which is meant for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), such as the one being built in Iran.

“Countries that purchase nuclear reactors usually give the spent fuel back to the producer,” explained Ronen.

“They wouldn’t be able to get new plutonium for weapons if it is denatured, but countries that make nuclear fuel could decide not to denature it for themselves,” he added. (ANI)

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N Korea threatens to launch ‘war’ if its satellite are shot down

March 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Pyongyang, Mar. 9 (ANI): North Korea has warned that it is “fully combat ready” to retaliate against any attempt to thwart off its planned satellite launch.

“Shooting our satellite for peaceful purposes will precisely mean a war,” said the statement, carried by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency.

With the US and South Korea moving tens of thousands of troops along with its border, N Korea condemned the move as preparations for an invasion, the Daily Express reported.

The joint drills across South Korea began as concerns mounted that Pyongyang could be gearing up to test-fire a long-range missile capable of reaching US territory.

“If the enemies recklessly opt for intercepting our satellite, our revolutionary armed forces will launch without hesitation a just retaliatory strike operation not only against all the interceptor means involved but against the strongholds of the US and Japanese aggressors,” the general staff of the North’s military said.

In the run-up to the drills, the North has also stepped up its war rhetoric. Claiming the manoeuvres pose grave threats to its security, the North last week threatened South Korean passenger planes flying near its airspace.

North Korea says what it plans to launch is a communications satellite, but neighboring governments believe it is a cover for a missile test.

Reports have suggested that the US and Japan may shoot down a North Korean missile if it was deemed necessary.

The North’s military also ordered all personnel to “be fully combat ready” so that they could “deal merciless retaliatory blows” at the enemy, KCNA said in a separate dispatch. (ANI)

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