Posted on 12/24/2007 7:17:17 AM PST by DBCJR
Iran said on Monday it rejected any preconditions for talks with the United States, which suspects it wants an atomic bomb, and a member of parliament was quoted as saying Tehran planned 19 nuclear power plants.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made clear Iran's position on talks three days after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington was open to better ties and talks with Iran if it suspended sensitive nuclear work.
"After the publication of a report by America's intelligence organizations, U.S. officials have talked of negotiations with preconditions with Iran," Mottaki was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
"But we do not accept any preconditions for talks," he said in comments to an Iranian satellite television station, reported on the state television Web site and by Iranian news agencies.
... however, Rice dismissed such suggestions, saying the new intelligence estimate reinforced the need for sustained pressure on Iran.
...
An atom bomb generates lots of nuclear energy. I think we could give them twenty or thirty of these and not really lack for our own inventory.
Why does a country rich in oil reserves need to rely on atomic power plants?
Iran may be rich in oil, but they have no refineries.
That doesn’t mean I buy Ahmanutjob’s claim that their nuclear plants are for peaceful purposes. We all know they’re for the bomb.
“Why does a country rich in oil reserves need to rely on atomic power plants?”
All consideration of nuclear weapons programs set aside, because it makes more sense to sell the oil to foreign customers at prices that are bound to go way above over 100$ a barrel than to burn it in old, inefficient oil-powered power plants just to get electricity. It’s like producing top-of-the-line Champagne. Would you rather drink your production, or sell it at high prices and drink something cheaper ?
Link to existing thread.
That’s good business. We mined anthracite back in the old town, but used bituminous in our furnaces. Anthracite was sold as it was valuable. Bituminous was cheap and adequate even if the old town was black with soot.
The town I was born in is red with Beauxite dust. And yes, as you said, it makes commercial sense.
I actually wouldn’t think anything of Iran’s deciding to go nuclear - in the 1970 Westinghouse and a French company were trying to get contracts to build nuclear power plants there, after all - if it wasn’t for the fact the regime (even without taking Ahmadinejad into account) basically cannot be trusted with anything that could lead to nuclear weapons.
Everybody on the planet has to live with the fact of nuclear weapons. It’s been 60+ years and there’s a zillion tons of uranium ore already mined. The know-how is known. If we can’t live with this by now, we’re never going to. Most people are willing to live with the stuff around and the few nutcases that want to do something ‘special’ with it are simply not being allowed. Even Wahabs roll their eyes when Iammadjohn sounds off.
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