Who woulda thunk it.
I don't have any nuclear weapons or facilities.
P. S. Send more food, our people are dying of starvation
Posted on 05/12/2006 4:13:49 AM PDT by HAL9000
The IAEA discovers in Iran of new enriched uranium traces
VIENNA - the IAEA discovered uranium traces highly enriched on an Iranian nuclear site where Teheran contradicted in the past to have carried out this kind of experiment, to AFP diplomats Friday in Vienna indicated.
These uranium particles highly enriched were discovered in taking away carried out by the inspectors of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the research center of Lavizan, close of Teheran, shaved in 2004 by the Iranian authorities, one specified same sources.
Mad Albright wants us to talk to them.
Maybe that will work.
Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.
feh.
prisoner6
" Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt. "
would those be a 'chimp' off the old block?
lol
UN finds new uranium traces in Iran - diplomats
BERLIN (Reuters) - U.N. inspectors have discovered new traces of highly-enriched uranium on nuclear equipment in Iran, deepening suspicions Tehran may still be concealing the full extent of its atomic enrichment programme, diplomats said.
Several Western diplomats said there were signs Iran continued to pursue uranium enrichment research in secret and fear the goal is to acquire the capability to produce enriched-uranium fuel for weapons -- a charge Iran denies.
In its April report to the U.N. Security Council, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it took samples from equipment that had been acquired by a former research centre at Lavizan-Shiyan. The centre was razed in 2004 before IAEA inspectors could examine it.
The IAEA inspectors took swabs from the machinery earlier this year which were subjected to microscopic particle analysis.
"Preliminary analysis by the IAEA showed traces of highly-enriched uranium in the samples," a Western diplomat accredited to the IAEA told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
He gave no details about the equipment. The former physics centre at Lavizan, which advised the defence ministry, acquired some dual-use machinery useable for uranium enrichment.
A diplomat in Vienna, where the IAEA is based, confirmed the new finding but warned against exaggerating its significance: "It's no smoking gun. There could be many explanations. But it increases pressure on Iran to come clean about Lavizan."
Iranian officials declined to comment for this article.
In 2003, the IAEA found traces of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) at several sites in Iran. Most HEU is now believed to have come from contamination on second-hand Pakistani equipment.
"Even if it is the same contamination, this is a significant finding because it indicates something was going on at Lavizan," said David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector and head of the Institute for Science and International Security think-tank.
SECRET SITES?
He said it raised the question of whether Iran ran a second parallel enrichment programme alongside the one it has declared.
The finding will probably also deepen suspicions among Western countries that Iran's military was actively involved in the programme for uranium enrichment, a process of purifying uranium for use in nuclear power plants or atomic weapons.
Iran says it only wants to generate electricity, but the West believes the secrecy and military links to its atomic programme are clear signs that it is also aimed at making bombs.
The U.N. Security Council has called on Iran to freeze its enrichment programme, but Tehran refuses.
Iran has already succeeded in purifying uranium to low-grade levels needed for power plants. Western diplomats say the sophistication of Iranian nuclear scientists is surprising.
They say that during a 2-1/2 year suspension of its enrichment programme, Iranian scientists have significantly improved their mastery of centrifuges, which purify gas of a uranium compound by spinning at supersonic speeds.
"Our (intelligence) assessment is that you cannot explain Iran's progress without secret (enrichment) sites being involved," said a diplomat from a country critical of Iran.
Others say Iran could have made such progress through simulation work.
Another diplomat from the same country said he suspected small amounts of processed uranium gas were being diverted from Isfahan, possibly to undisclosed enrichment sites in Iran. An EU diplomat said the IAEA had such suspicions too but no proof.
Albright said there was no proof of any "secret site" in Iran.
UN finds new uranium traces in Iran - diplomats
BERLIN (Reuters) - U.N. inspectors have discovered new traces of highly-enriched uranium on nuclear equipment in Iran, deepening suspicions Tehran may still be concealing the full extent of its atomic enrichment programme, diplomats said.
Several Western diplomats said there were signs Iran continued to pursue uranium enrichment research in secret and fear the goal is to acquire the capability to produce enriched-uranium fuel for weapons -- a charge Iran denies.
In its April report to the U.N. Security Council, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it took samples from equipment that had been acquired by a former research centre at Lavizan-Shiyan. The centre was razed in 2004 before IAEA inspectors could examine it.
The IAEA inspectors took swabs from the machinery earlier this year which were subjected to microscopic particle analysis.
"Preliminary analysis by the IAEA showed traces of highly-enriched uranium in the samples," a Western diplomat accredited to the IAEA told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
He gave no details about the equipment. The former physics centre at Lavizan, which advised the defence ministry, acquired some dual-use machinery useable for uranium enrichment.
A diplomat in Vienna, where the IAEA is based, confirmed the new finding but warned against exaggerating its significance: "It's no smoking gun. There could be many explanations. But it increases pressure on Iran to come clean about Lavizan."
Iranian officials declined to comment for this article.
In 2003, the IAEA found traces of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) at several sites in Iran. Most HEU is now believed to have come from contamination on second-hand Pakistani equipment.
"Even if it is the same contamination, this is a significant finding because it indicates something was going on at Lavizan," said David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector and head of the Institute for Science and International Security think-tank.
SECRET SITES?
He said it raised the question of whether Iran ran a second parallel enrichment programme alongside the one it has declared.
The finding will probably also deepen suspicions among Western countries that Iran's military was actively involved in the programme for uranium enrichment, a process of purifying uranium for use in nuclear power plants or atomic weapons.
Iran says it only wants to generate electricity, but the West believes the secrecy and military links to its atomic programme are clear signs that it is also aimed at making bombs.
The U.N. Security Council has called on Iran to freeze its enrichment programme, but Tehran refuses.
Iran has already succeeded in purifying uranium to low-grade levels needed for power plants. Western diplomats say the sophistication of Iranian nuclear scientists is surprising.
They say that during a 2-1/2 year suspension of its enrichment programme, Iranian scientists have significantly improved their mastery of centrifuges, which purify gas of a uranium compound by spinning at supersonic speeds.
"Our (intelligence) assessment is that you cannot explain Iran's progress without secret (enrichment) sites being involved," said a diplomat from a country critical of Iran.
Others say Iran could have made such progress through simulation work.
Another diplomat from the same country said he suspected small amounts of processed uranium gas were being diverted from Isfahan, possibly to undisclosed enrichment sites in Iran. An EU diplomat said the IAEA had such suspicions too but no proof.
Albright said there was no proof of any "secret site" in Iran.
I wish I could say I was surprised. Only thing surprising to me is that the IAEA went public with this. I wonder how long they sat on it trying to figure out what to do.
How in the world did we end up with the IAEA led by a Muslim named Mohammed? Oh, I forgot...he's a Nobel Peace Prize winner...and likely the Uncle of the Iranian atomic bomb.
Yeah, he should be helpful. An Arab in charge of the IAEA, responsible for making sure rogue states don't go nuclear. BRILLIANT!!
"..he's a Nobel Peace Prize winner"
Yep, like Arafat.
Science magazine in the 1970's said that bombing something like that with conventional weapons spreads more deadly and toxic radioactivity than does dropping a nuke.
So we can NUKE Iran by just bombing them with conventional weapons.
Those Iranians are so bright! They paint a target that says "HIT ME, HIT ME", and then will wonder why everything is glowing around them.
Certainly glad the leadership of Iran is ssssoooooooo intelligent...
And why was it just lying around? HEU isn't the kind of thing one should be careless with. Even if it is "only for power production" this story shows that Iran isn't responsible enough to be messin' with HEU.
To me the question is how long does the IAEA procrastinate in determining the enrichment level and how long before they go public with the findings. If Iran has a parallel enrichment program--or worse yet--got highly enriched uranium from an outside source (North Korea? Pakistan? Russia? China?), we might be talking months instead of years before the Ayatollahs go Atomic.
The Iranian's excuse for similar discoveries in the past was that the used equipment they had purchased from other countries was already contaminated.
But why are they buying used equipment (centrifuges?) that have highly enriched uranium on them? Cause they can produce highly enriched uranium.
And just a side-note, "highly-enriched" in IAEA reports usually means higher than the 3%-5% that would be used in a normal power-generation nuclear reactor but probably less than "weapons-grade" enrichment.
This is the second time they found "highly enriched uranium" the last time they talked their way out by saying it was on equipment that they bought. I wonder how they will spin it this time, or if they will even have to spin it.
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