|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Iran Parliament to Consider Bill to Restrict International Nuclear Inspectors’ Access
The Iranian parliament today gave priority to a bill halting application of the country’s Additional Protocol to its International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Sept. 27).). Bringing the legislation up for a vote could take several weeks because it must first go through a specialized commission, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse I/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 28). Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency head Alexander Rumyantsev said Iran does not have the ability to fulfill its threats of resuming enrichment, the Associated Press reported today. “Currently Iran has no enrichment capacity — there is no possible way Iranians can enrich uranium,” Rumyantsev said. He said Iran’s pilot enrichment project at Natanz would not be ready for more than a year. IAEA diplomats confirmed Rumyantsev’s statements, adding that the several tons of uranium hexafluoride Iran managed to produce since resuming conversion last month were contaminated and could not be used as feedstock for enrichment (see related GSN story, today). “It would need purification before it would be suitable,” said one diplomat. “They need to work on their ... production, but they’re getting expertise,” the diplomat added (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 28). Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today that it is “inconceivable” that a military strike would be launched against Iran over its nuclear program, AFP reported. “All United States presidents always say all options are open, but it is not on the table, it is not on the agenda. I happen to think it is inconceivable,” Straw told BBC radio (Agence France-Presse II/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 28).). The United States perceives Iran’s nuclear ambitions as a greater threat than even North Korea’s avowed nuclear weapons program, analysts said yesterday. “In terms of threats — at this point — the Bush administration sees the Iranian regime as more threatening than the North Korean regime,” said Robert Einhorn, an adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Washington fears that Iranian nuclear technology could be transferred to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, which Iran a history of supporting, Einhorn said. “The question exists what kinds of ties Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have with militant groups and would they be prepared to provide assistance in some very nasty weapons,” he said. North Korea, an impoverished, isolated, resource-poor nation is seen as inherently less threatening than Iran, which has world’s second-largest oil and gas reserves, said Joseph Cirincione, nonproliferation director at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “So while there is no evidence at all that Iran has any significant quantity of nuclear material or any nuclear weapons, Iran is a much more difficult nuclear issue to resolve for the United States,” said Cirincione (Agence France-Presse III/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 28).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
