Posted on 01/23/2009 9:31:30 PM PST by Fennie
Western powers believe that Iran is running short of the raw material required to manufacture nuclear weapons, triggering an international race to prevent it from importing more, The Times has learnt.
Diplomatic sources believe that Iran's stockpile of yellow cake uranium, produced from uranium ore, is close to running out and could be exhausted within months. Countries including Britain, the US, France and Germany have started intensive diplomatic efforts to dissuade major uranium producers from selling to Iran.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
They can mine their own as could Iraq. They’d rather buy higher grade stuff from certain African mines, though, as it doesn’t take as much processing.
Given that relatively poor countries like North Korea, Pakistan and India got what they needed for nukes, I would think an oil rich country with no scruples will be able to do it too.
Iran is not as oil rich as most think.
It cost them 28 dollars a barrel to extract and deliver oil to market.
Plus, since they have one functional refinery, they have to import refined product.
If oil prices go any further down, they will start losing money.
Russia also has this problem. The costs of extraction and delivery to market result in them breaking even at current oil prices.
Venesuala has a slightly different problem in that its oil requires special refining and thus sells 10 dollars a barrel cheaper than the going rate.
Mot only that, Chavez hasn’t one refinery on his home turf that can even process that special crude. Those Citgo refineries, my FRiend, are in the US.
What happened to the Bush lied story. There were no attempts by Iraq to buy yellowcake. According to Joe Wilson one of the main stream media’s favorite liars. The world will miss President Bush very soon.
Well according to the article you just posted a comment about,
"Reports by British Intelligence of an attempt by Saddam Hussein to acquire substantial quantities of yellow cake from Niger in West Africa for a clandestine nuclear bomb project turned out to be fabricated. That did not stop President Bush referring to them, in March 2003, as part of the justification for the invasion of Iraq."
I hear China is working on refineries for VE crude too.
A few years in the future and expensive shipping....
The yellowcake that did make it to Iraq was sent to Canada last year. That part of the story was burried...
In the wisdom of Stalin, guess what?? Ugo is counting bills not commitments...does China have more $$ to ‘invest’ or, Putin swallow harder? with no ##..(victims)???
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