Arms Inspectors Said to Seek Access to Iran Sites - Iran Boasts Great Victory Over U.S. :: Middle East News and Perspectives

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December 2, 2004

Arms Inspectors Said to Seek Access to Iran Sites - Iran Boasts Great Victory Over U.S.

Topics: Middle East News and Perspectives

The New York Times (International) reports today that:

"International inspectors are requesting access to two secret Iranian military sites where intelligence suggests that Tehran's Ministry of Defense may be working on atomic weapons, despite the agreement that Iran reached this week to suspend its production of enriched uranium, according to diplomats here.

The inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency base their suspicions on a mix of satellite photographs indicating the testing of high explosives and procurement records showing the purchase of equipment that can be used for enriching uranium, the diplomats said. Both are critical steps in the development of nuclear arms.

The suspicions were aired here as an Iranian opposition group was preparing to release what it called new information that Iran was secretly developing a nuclear-capable missile whose range is significantly greater than what the Iranians have publicly acknowledged to date....

.... One of the suspect military sites under investigation by the I.A.E.A. is a huge, decades-old facility southeast of Tehran, the Parchin military complex. Inspectors believe Iran's military may be testing conventional high explosives at the site, of a type used to detonate nuclear weapons."

Reuters (1 hour, 49 minutes ago), reporting on the same story, entitles their article with "Diplomats: U.N. Lacks Right to Inspect Sites in Iran.". In referring to the above NY Times article, Reuters writes:

Inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog would like to visit a secret military site in Iran that an exile group said was a nuclear weapons site, but they lack the legal authority to go there, U.N. diplomats told Reuters.

Iran, which insists its nuclear program is solely for electricity generation, earlier this week escaped possible U.N. Security Council economic sanctions after agreeing to freeze all activities which could be used to make bomb-grade material.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes satellite photographs show that high explosives are being tested and that procurement records show equipment has been bought that can be used for making bomb-grade uranium, citing unnamed diplomats.

The intelligence came from several sources, including nations that are members of the IAEA, the Times reported.

But the military sites the inspectors would like to inspect -- the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran and Lavizan II in northeastern Tehran -- are legally off limits to the IAEA, which only has the right to monitor civilian nuclear programs.

"The IAEA simply has no authority to go to sites that are not declared nuclear sites," a diplomat close to the IAEA inspection process told Reuters. He said that the IAEA had not asked to inspect Lavizan II, although they would like to." Read More...

The matter of the two sites in question has been on the table for over a year. The real question is why haven't the EU and the U.S. acted on the issue long before now. Interestingly, at the U.S. State Department's own website is a question taken at a daily press briefing on May 23, 2003:

Taken Questions/Office of the Spokesman,
Washington, DC, May 27, 2003 Question Taken at Daily Press Briefing of May 27, 2003

"Iran's Nuclear Program: National Council of Resistance of Iran Press Conference."

Question: The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported that there may be two new enrichment facilities which have not been checked by the proper authorities. Can we verify?

Answer: We have no contact with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and contrary to their claims, we have received no information directly from them regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program.We support the International Atomic Energy Agency's rigorous, ongoing examination into Iran's nuclear activities, and we look forward to a full report on the results of the International Atomic Energy Agency inspections to date from International Atomic Energy Agency Director General ElBaradei at the June International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting. (emphasis mine - Released on May 28, 2003)

The above underlined comment is absolutely the height of silliness. It is State Department-speak for "We haven't done the job that we are being paid to do and gee I hope you buy it instead of firing me." Worse, the matter doesn't seem to have been followed-up on. So for the MSM to report now that "International inspectors are requesting access to two secret Iranian military sites where intelligence suggests that Tehran's Ministry of Defense may be working on atomic weapons," seems a few days late and many dollars short.

This entire matter of Iran and it's nuclear program is an international disgrace. Iran has not, will not, has no plans to, and never will on its own - stop its nuclear program. Iran is not stupid, Iran has told us, "We are good listeners ." Those are actually their words in an article that appeared on Nov 30 in Middle-East-Online.com entitled "Iran boasts 'great victory" over US."

(Click image to enlarge - middle-east-online)
"We are good listeners!" - nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani, Nov 30.

With its byline of "Tehran warns nuclear freeze is temporary, European trio to reward Iran" MEO continues with:

Iran boasted Tuesday it had humiliated the United States at a board meeting of the UN atomic watchdog by agreeing to what it reiterated was only a temporary freeze of its suspect nuclear programme.

"The Islamic republic has not renounced the nuclear fuel cycle, will never renounce it and will use it," top national security official and nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani told a news conference.

"We have proved that, in an international institution, we are capable of isolating the United States. And that is a great victory," he added.

On Monday the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spared Iran the fate of being referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions after Tehran agreed in a deal with Britain, France and Germany to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.

Again, Iran has not, will not, has no plans to, and never will on its own - stop its nuclear program. Maybe the U.S. State Department, the CIA, and the EU need to hire bloggers to help them to wake up and smell the sulphur. The Iran nuclear negotiations stink, they are going nowhere. It's time to take the sites out before it is too late. Iran watched and listened all these years from the time Jimmy Carter, our countries worst president in all its history, licked N. Korea's boots and danced to their tune, accompanied by Bill Clinton and M. Not-so-bright, in failing to reign-in its nuclear program while paying them to do so. Iran has listened well, they think that they are dealing with a paper tiger. We had better show them our teeth now, or later having shown our tail they will burn the paper tiger to ashes, as they have already threatened to do.

Captain's Quarters and California Yankee also posted on this story today.

Update: Drudge reports on a Wash.Times article about recent intelligence reports concerning Iran's Shahab missiles:

"Recent intelligence shows Iran has been working to produce a missile re-entry vehicle containing a small nuclear warhead for its Shahab missiles and has encountered problems developing a reliable centrifuge system for uranium enrichment, U.S. officials said." Read More...

However, this is simply more of the continuing saga over Iran's nuclear ambitions and it's Shahab missiles. Hyscience has previously posted Here, Here, Here, Here (just to name a few) - articles about the Shahab missiles (with images) and Iran's nuclear plans. When is the Western world going to wake up to the fact that Iran, without being stopped now, is going to have an atomic bomb capable of being in the hands of terrorists - soon. The worst part of the issue is that Iran IS a terrorist state!

Posted by Hyscience at December 2, 2004 5:56 AM

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