Posted on 05/12/2006 12:16:46 PM PDT by familyop
Vienna — The UN's atomic energy agency has found traces of highly enriched uranium at an Iranian site linked to the country's Defence Ministry, diplomats said Friday, adding to concerns that Tehran is hiding activities aimed at making nuclear arms.
The diplomats, who insisted on anonymity in exchange for revealing the confidential information, said the findings were preliminary and still had to be confirmed through other lab tests. But they said the density of enrichment appeared to be close to or above the level used to make nuclear warheads.
Still, they said, further analysis could show that the traces match others established to have come from abroad. The International Atomic Energy Agency determined earlier traces of weapons-grade uranium were imported on equipment from Pakistan that Iran bought on the black market during nearly two decades of clandestine activity discovered just over three years ago.
Uranium enriched to between 3.5 per cent and 5 per cent is used to make fuel for reactors to generate electricity. It becomes suitable for use in nuclear weapons when enriched to more than 90 per cent purity.
Iran's refusal to give up enrichment ambitions has led to involvement by the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions but remains split on how firmly to pressure Tehran.
Key UN Security Council members agreed Tuesday to postpone a resolution that would have delivered an ultimatum to Tehran, giving Iran another two weeks to re-evaluate its insistence on developing its uranium enrichment capabilities.
Iran's hard-line President said Friday that his country is not afraid of possible U.S. military action over its enrichment program, but he added that he thought any such strikes were very unlikely. Washington has said it favours a diplomatic end to the dispute, without ruling out military force.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also told a local TV station that Iran would co-operate with the Security Council if it makes a decision on the escalating standoff as long as the world body acts “in line with international rules.”
The Islamic republic denies accusations that it wants to make nuclear arms and says it is only interested in uranium to generate power.
To argue that it never enriched uranium domestically to weapons grade, it cites the IAEA's tentative conclusion last year that weapons-grade traces collected from other sites within the country with no suspected ties to the military came in on equipment from Pakistan.
The origin of the samples now under investigation created some concern in that regard.
One of the diplomats told the Associated Press that the samples came from equipment that can be used in uranium-enriching centrifuges at a former research centre at Lavizan-Shian. The centre is believed to have been the repository of equipment bought by the Iranian military that could be used in a nuclear-weapons program.
The United States alleges that Iran conducted high-explosive tests that could have a bearing on developing nuclear weapons at the site.
The State Department said in 2004 that Lavizan's buildings had been dismantled and topsoil had been removed in attempts to hide nuclear weapons-related experiments. The agency subsequently confirmed that the site had been razed.
In an April 28 report to the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors, agency head Mohamed ElBaradei said the agency took samples from some of the equipment of the former Physics Research Center at Lavizan-Shian. The diplomat said the evaluation of those samples revealed the traces in question.
China and Russia have balked at British, French and U.S. efforts to put the resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Such a move would declare Iran a threat to international peace and security and set the stage for further measures if Tehran refused to suspend its uranium enrichment operations. Those measures could range from breaking diplomatic relations to economic sanctions and military action.
And the IDF sits quietly,planning to take action at a time of *their* choosing.
Time for an even NASTIER letter
"Time for an even NASTIER letter"
Have the lawyers draft up a strong letter.
So what? The UN is so impotent that even if they found, and admitted to the existence of nuclear bombs in Iran, what could they do?
...the latest such advice.
Iran Sought Advice in Pakistan on Attack
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1631240/posts
The UN could find a bomb in the middle of their meeting place with a nice letter from the president of Iran and they would just sit there and say, "oh those crazy muslums, if only they were not so oppressed by america."
I thought these guys were ten years away from developing "the bomb. Oh wait, thats right, they developing it for "peaceful" purposes.
Make no mistake--much of the UN membership and bureaucracy wants Iran to have nuclear weapons to spite the US. China and Russia have nothing to fear from Iran--for now. Still stung from the UN scandal investigations and the US going around the UN to overthrow the brutal despot they were doing business with, Kofi & Company would like nothing better than to have Iran defy the US.
And as for the IAEA, last I looked, it was headed by an Arab named Mohammed. Nuf sed.
It's only weapons-grade uranium. At least it's not pirated DVDs or CDs! If that were the case, the the RIAA and the MPAA would insist that we bomb and invade Iran. you'd have Madonna and the Dixie Chicks out there demanding war.
...or Rita Cosby, Greta Von Retchin' or any of the others. They can tell us more on their feelings about what celebrity/individual/ethnic/sex issues are really important.
yes, piss be upon him
I think Irans Prsident needs a time-out to think about it.
Are they still draining the pond in Aruba???
Your sarcasm is not as wrong as you might have thought.
The Koran defines "Peace" and Muslim extremists, ie: the terrorists of the Wahhabi and Salfi groups, believe the the definition of "Peace" is when the entire world is Muslim and prays only to the "one true God", Allah.
These guys aren't fooling around; unless you see things their way, your on their hit list.
"At a time of our choosing..."
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