http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iraniannukes/ en-us Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:52:49 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048214/posts The Bush administration's decision to send a top U.S. diplomat, William Burns, to meet with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator at a European Union-led meeting in Switzerland is a victory for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The White House insists the move does not signify a change in policy toward Tehran. Washington has vowed it will not negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program until it temporarily suspends uranium enrichment. The White House claims the meeting is "a one-time U.S. participation," and that Mr. Burns - the State Department's third-highest ranking diplomat - will only "listen, not negotiate." This is irrelevant. The... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048214/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:52:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048069/posts GENEVA - The United States said on Saturday after inconclusive international talks with Iran's nuclear envoy that Tehran must choose between cooperation or confrontation and give up sensitive nuclear work. "We hope the Iranian people understand that their leaders need to make a choice between cooperation, which would bring benefits to all, and confrontation, which can only lead to further isolation," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement after the talks. MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048069/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:40:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048035/posts TEHRAN -- Critical talks in Switzerland over Iran's nuclear program began today with both Iranian and United States officials making their highest level diplomatic contacts since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana smiled as they posed for pictures before heading into the closed-door meetings which will include U.S. undersecretary William J. Burns, the State Department's number three official. LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048035/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:51:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047943/posts Iran said on Friday it did not expect an attack from Israel or the United States triggered by the long-running dispute over its nuclear programme. "The possibility of such an attack (from Israel or the U.S.) is almost zero," Mottaki said, via a translator, in an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV during a visit to Turkey. However, when asked whether it meant Iran was ready to freeze any expansion of its nuclear programme in return for the U.N. Security Council halting further sanctions measures against it, the source said "not at all". Retuers http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047943/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:38:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047266/posts MY greatest worry on Iran's nuclear threat to civilization isn't the military option. It's trying that option on the cheap. If there's any way to block Tehran's pursuit of nukes short of warfare, I'm all for it. Maybe yesterday's dispatch of the No. 3 US diplomat to observe the European Union's talks with the mullahs about their nukes will work a miracle (don't hold your breath). Military strikes must be the last resort. Even a successful attack would panic oil markets, interrupt supplies to an unknown degree and make enemies of the Iranian people for another generation. But the fanatics... nypost.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047266/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:10:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046731/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) — Experts said the White House had appeared to undertake a major shift in its hardline stance toward Tehran when it announced that a senior US diplomat would attend international nuclear talks with Iran.In the highest-ranking meeting between the two foes in three decades, Under Secretary of State William Burns is scheduled to attend the Saturday talks with Iran on a "one-time" mission to underline US conditions for ending the atomic stalemate.In Tehran, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran was ready for negotiations over the nuclear crisis but warned it would not step over any "red... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046731/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:31:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046255/posts The War with Iran By Frank J. Gaffney Jr. Last week’s Iranian missile tests prompted another round of fevered speculation that war might erupt between Iran and the United States. Largely lost in the frenzy is an unhappy fact: The Iranian mullahocracy has been at war with this country since it came to power in 1979. The problem is that the weapons available to Tehran for prosecuting its jihad against “the Great Satan” are no longer simply truck bombs and suicide vests. Its proxy army, Hezbollah, has taken over Lebanon and operates terror cells from Iraq to Latin America and... FrontPageMagazine.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046255/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:39:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046203/posts President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. London Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046203/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:01:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045926/posts IRAN is poised to launch terror attacks in Britain if the West presses ahead with military strikes against its nuclear facilities, intelligence experts warned last night. As tensions in the Middle East continued to grow, they warned that the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah had already established sleeper cells in Britain and mainland Europe tasked with carrying out bloody reprisals. Likely UK targets include nuclear power stations, military bases, Government buildings and high-profile politicians and members of the Jewish community Express UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045926/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:01:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045814/posts U.S. should use all tools to pressure Iran: Obama Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:59am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Tuesday preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon was in America's vital interests and vowed to use all tools to pressure Tehran. "No tool of statecraft should be taken off the table," Obama said in a speech covering broad national security issues, including Iraq and Iran. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045814/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:07:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045702/posts TEHERAN - PRESIDENT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has struck a more moderate tone towards the United States ahead of a key meeting on Iran's nuclear drive, saying talks with its arch-enemy were possible in the future. 'It is possible that in the near future talks in different fields will take place with the United States,' the state news agency IRNA quoted Mr Ahmadinejad as saying in an interview with state television late on Monday. Washington broke off relations with Teheran in 1980 in the wake of the Islamic revolution, and ties have remained severed ever since amid increasing acrimony over the controversial... Asia One http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045702/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:19:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045703/posts Let's Not Be Provocative! Obama's Iran nonsense. by Matthew Continetti 07/21/2008 Asked how the United States ought to respond to last week's Iranian missile tests, Barack Obama told CNN that it was important "we avoid provocation." Just as last year, Obama criticized a Senate bill designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization because it was too "provocative." This has us wondering: Is the problem with Iran that the United States seems provocative? Iran revealed to the world in late 2002 that it had been conducting a secret uranium enrichment program for 15 years. This was a violation of the... Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045703/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:24:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045627/posts Iran's test salvo of ballistic missiles last week together with recent threatening rhetoric by commanders of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards emphasizes how close the Middle East is to a fundamental, in fact an irreversible, turning point. Tehran's efforts to intimidate the United States and Israel from using military force against its nuclear program, combined with yet another diplomatic charm offensive with the Europeans, are two sides of the same policy coin. The regime is buying the short additional period of time it needs to produce deliverable nuclear weapons, the strategic objective it has been pursuing clandestinely for 20 years... The Wall Street Journal: Opinion http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045627/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:44:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045358/posts Teheran’s Revolutionary Guard, responsible for all nuclear programs in Iran, has been instructed by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to set up private companies to pursue the acquisition and development of P2 advanced centrifuges, according to recent Western intelligence. The Bush Administration reacted by imposing financial sanctions on any entity participating in Iran’s nuclear programs. "Iran's nuclear and missile firms hide behind an array of agents that transact business on their behalf," said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. P2 centrifuges enrich uranium two to three times faster than centrifuges currently in use. They are... The Cutting Edge News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045358/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:32:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045106/posts KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan opposes U.S. use of its territory for launching a possible attack against neighbouring Iran, President Hamid Karzai said in an interview broadcast on Monday. Iran has threatened to target Israel and U.S. interests in the region in the event of an attack against the Islamic Republic which is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear programme. Karzai said his government, which came to power after U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001, had always tried to "keep the balance between the powers." "We are attentive to the dangers," Karzai told Radio... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045106/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:54:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045091/posts TEHRAN - Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday he believed neither the United States nor Israel would want to get entangled in a new Middle East crisis and attack the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program. The comments by Manouchehr Mottaki came a few days after Iranian missile tests heightened regional tension and helped send world oil prices to new record levels. Mottaki told the official IRNA news agency that Iran's response would be "firm and pounding" if its two arch-foes launched strikes against the country. But, he added: "Of course, the Zionist regime and the U.S. do not possess... al-Reuters via WP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045091/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:56:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044754/posts The Sunday Times of London reported this weekend that "President George W. Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down." The Times report quoted a senior Pentagon official as its source. With increased resistance from the Pentagon and the November elections closing in, the White House may be choosing its next best option in dealing with Tehran: to have Israel launch strikes on Iran's nuclear weapons facilities. The paper said Bush has told Israel it has an "amber light" to proceed.... newsmax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044754/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:32:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044986/posts President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an "amber light" to an Israeli plan to attack Iran's main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times. "Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by... The Peninsula http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044986/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:46:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044835/posts President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an “amber light” to an Israeli plan to attack Iran’s main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times. “Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044835/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:57:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044690/posts US President George W. Bush has given Israel the "amber light" to carry out an attack on Iran if diplomatic efforts are unsuccessful in causing the Islamic Republic to back down and relinquish its nuclear program, according to a senior Pentagon official quoted by the British Sunday Times on Sunday morning. According to the official, Bush has given Israel free reign to attack Iran's nuclear sites if sanctions fail in spite of opposition from US generals and regardless of the possible economic and political repercussions of such a strike. "Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044690/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:17:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044563/posts President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an “amber light” to an Israeli plan to attack Iran’s main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times. “Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by... The Sunday Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044563/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:01:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044141/posts PERSEPOLIS, once the capital of the Persian empire, and the massive mud-brick Bam citadel are among the nine listed World Heritage Sites in Iran. Yet leading archaeologists are urging colleagues to refuse any military requests to draw up a list of Iranian sites that should be exempted from air strikes. "Such advice would provide cultural credibility and respectability to the military action," said a resolution agreed by the World Archaeological Congress in Dublin, Ireland, last week. Instead, delegates were advised to emphasise the harm that any military action would do to Iran's people and heritage. NewScientist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044141/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:33:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044220/posts In this edition: The Israel Air Force unveils a new squadron of warplanes said to be capable of striking Iran. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's lawyers say they need more time to cross examine key witness Morris Talansky. Iran test fires a new round of missiles as U.S. vows to defend its allies Haaretz.com/Channel 10 news roundup for July 10, 2008. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044220/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:22:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044359/posts Iran warned the United States and Israel on Saturday it would be "madness" to attack the Islamic Republic over a nuclear program the West suspects is aimed at making bombs. reuteurs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044359/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:23:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044408/posts TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran would destroy Israel and 32 U.S. military bases in the Middle East if the Islamic Republic was attacked over its disputed nuclear programme, a senior official was quoted as saying on Saturday. "The U.S. knows full well that with the smallest move against Iran, Israel and 32 U.S. military bases in the region would not be out of the reach of our missiles and would be destroyed," the semi-official Fars News Agency quoted Mojtaba Zolnour as saying. Zolnour is the deputy of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044408/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:56:53 GMT