Posted on 10/27/2006 3:10:08 PM PDT by MadIvan
A defiant Iran today reportedly took a further step towards the fulfilment of its nuclear ambitions and doubled its capacity to enrich uranium.
In a move likely to exacerbate fears that the nation is intending to make atomic weapons Tehran has activated a second network of centrifuges thereby increasing two-fold its ability to enrich uranium, according to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA).
The reported move comes as a strong message to the UN Security Council as it works on a draft resolution that would impose limited sanctions on the Islamic republic because of its refusal to meet a deadline in August to stop its enrichment programme.
World leaders reacted to the news with further warnings to Tehran that it risked moving further into isolation as long as it continued to defy the international community. George Bush said the idea of Iran having a nuclear weapon was "unacceptable" while the French President, long sceptical about the benefits of sanctions, admitted that the time may have come to impose them.
Reporting Iran’s apparent progress, the ISNA quoted an anonymous official as saying that the country had successfully begun injecting gas into the cylindrical centrifuges, which spin at supersonic speeds to produce enriched material and can be used for making fuel for power plants or material for atomic bombs.
"We are injecting gas into the second cascade, which we installed two weeks ago," the official said, according to ISNA. "We have already exploited the product of the second cascade."
The source added that the fresh step had taken place under the full knowledge of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, but the IAEA would not comment on the report.
Iranian authorities are believed to leak information to ISNA that they want published but consider too sensitive for release to official media.
Diplomats said this week that Iran had started "dry testing" a network of 164 centrifuges, known as cascades, to go with an original network that yielded Iran’s first batch of enriched uranium. The first cascade produced a tiny small amount of enriched uranium in April, suitable as nuclear fuel but not sufficient for producing weapons.
Iran says it plans to install 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz by the end of this year. Western intelligence experts estimate the country remains three to 10 years away from an industrial scale operation of the thousands of centrifuges necessary to yield enough fuel for nuclear bombs.
Tehran insists that its aims are intended to meet energy demands alone, but has failed to convince world powers that its intentions are not more malevolent.
Mr Bush said that the international community needed to work harder to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Responding to today’s announcement, he said: "It says to me that we must double our effort to work with the international community to persuade the Iranians that there is only isolation
And officials in the UK said Iran’s latest move was a clear sign of defiance. The French Foreign Ministry described Iran’s actions as a "negative signal" that should be taken into account by the UN, while Jacques Chirac said that temporary sanctions should be imposed if there was a continued stalemate in dialogue.
"I hope that we can find a solution through dialogue," he said during an official visit to China. "If it goes on and appears that the dialogue will not end, then it is probably necessary to find calibrated, adaptable, temporary and reversible sanctions that will be imposed to show Iran that the entire international community does not understand their position and is hostile to it."
Mr Chirac acknowledged his earlier position that he had "never been a great believer in sanctions" but conceded that "in this particular case, it is obvious and the entire international community recognises this, notably China, but also Russia, the Europeans and the United States, that the ambitions clearly signalled by Iran are not compatible with the idea we are making concerning non-proliferation."
The five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany held their first meeting on the draft resolution yesterday, and no agreement is expected until next week at the earliest.
The US and UK have been calling for tough measures, leading to a Iranian official today appearing to allay specific criticism at Tony Blair for his support of sanctions, accusing Britain of "intensifying mistrust."
The draft calls on UN member states to place nuclear and ballistic missile-related sanctions on Iran. It provides for a freeze of assets related to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and travel bans on scientists involved in those programs, reported Reuters.
According to some diplomats, the US has been pressing for an even harsher draft resolution, including a call for an end to Moscow’s help building Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power station. But Moscow, which has expressed misgivings, has rejected the proposed sanctions arguing that they do not advance objectives agreed earlier by the powers.
Speaking in Russia, Sergei Lavrov, the Foreign Minister, said the draft resolution did not match previous agreements among the major powers seeking to rein in Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and predicted long negotiations before the issue is resolved.
In a separate report, ISNA quoted Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, as saying his country’s enrichment program should not hinder negotiations with the West. "It is possible to review both nuclear and regional issues through negotiation," Ali Larijani said.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
/s
Come on, everyone knows this is simply to power their automatic beheading machines...nothing to see here, keep the line moving.
Israel is going to deal with them. And Mecca is Ground Zero. And then we see the stuff hit the fan.
BUMP
"likely to exacerbate fears that the nation is intending to make atomic weapons"
I have no fear that Iran is intending to make atomic weapons. Just like I have no fear that one day I might somehow actually die. When you know it's going to happen, it's not fear any more.
Not to worry for Hans Blix and the U.N. found not a trace of WMD in "Iraq".
This is justified defiance because of GWB and his directive to step up and show concern for the Iran's goal of achieving nuclear power for political purposes only. /s
Been there and done it.
I'm six years old now.
It isn't that bad, however don't expect the blinding white lights at the end of a tunnel for you will be frustrated if you do. ; )
Well, that would be the best solution, but I just can't see Olmert taking that final step. He's too much the wuss.
Olmert can be pushed into a closet or arrested and the Istaeli's will take matters into their own hands. For it's very survival, everything is off the table.
I think the Israelis are already taking steps to that effect. Isn't he under criminal investigatio right now?
I think there is some kind of investigation going on but don't know for sure.
Regards, Ivan
Christian news and commentary at: sacredscoop.com ...
@&$%& crazy Iranians!
UN,"Warning! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blablah, Further Warning!, Bblah, blah, bblah, note of diplomatic concern!
Blah BLAH BLAH!!!
Accept Irans good faith counter offer, blah, blah, blah.
Give up inspections, blah blah bblah.
Nuclear test not acceptable, blah, BLAH!
More talks to take place in RIO blah, blah, bblah.
Possible resolution, blah, blah.
Sanctions possible, blah, blah.
etc, ad nausium.
haha, gotta love that movie. That part was eerily realistic though... it was all there, the blatant incompetance, the hard and tough threats
Iran is acting like an ill mannered little mongrel dog..
Barking at and pissing on the sleeping big dog..
Sooner or later, big dog awakens.
Little dog loses head.
WAKE UP big dog.....
Semper Fi
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