IAEA: Iran seeking Nuclear Weapons
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report Tuesday saying it had credible intelligence Iran is seeking nuclear weapons technology.
"The agency has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the IAEA report said.
...the new update focuses on Iran's alleged efforts towards putting the radioactive material in a warhead and developing missiles.
China and Russia had meanwhile pressured the IAEA not to even publish the report, diplomats said.
Russia, which has made billions of dollars helping Iran develop its nuclear program, has repeatedly used its veto at the UN Security Council to protect Tehran from universal sanctions.
IAEA: Iran designing parts for nuclear weapons
In the most critical and damning report of Iran’s nuclear program to date, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday that the Islamic Republic was working to develop a nuclear-weapon design and was conducting extensive research and tests that could only be relevant for such a weapon.
The report focuses on three main technical areas – the “green salt project,” a name for a covert Iranian program to enrich military-grade uranium; the development and testing of high explosives; and the re-engineering of the payload chamber of ballistic missiles to be able to accommodate a nuclear warhead.
Analysis: Last chance to stop Iran non-militarily
After years of being accused of crying wolf, Israel was vindicated on Tuesday with the publication of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s damning report on Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Formulating and passing sanctions takes time, though – at least a couple of months. It takes another few months to see if they are having an effect.
For that reason, Israel is also moving out of the spotlight and wants to see what the world will do with the report, which provides a fascinating analysis and chronicle of Iran’s work over the past two decades to develop a nuclear weapon.
Lieberman: Only 'Crippling Sanctions' Will Stop Iran
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday only "crippling sanctions" against Iran's central bank and gas industries would halt Tehran's nuclear program.
"If, after the IAEA report comes out, the United States does not lead an initiative of crippling sanctions against Iran, this will mean that the United States and the West have accepted a nuclear Iran," Lieberman said.
According to Lieberman "crippling sanctions" meant targeting Iran's central bank and its oil and gas industries.
But we know that such sanctions are unlikely:
Thus far both China and Russia have used their veto power as permanent members of the UN Security Council to protect Iran from universal sanctions imposed by the world body.
'Quiet Arab coalition supports attack on Iran
As speculation grows over Israeli or American plans to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, questions are being raised over Arab support for a military strike. Last year’s WikiLeaks trove of US diplomatic cables showed unanimous support among Arab rulers for military action. Then as now, however, in public, those same rulers have remained tight-lipped.
“The longer Iran’s nuclear program is allowed to progress without serious penalties, the more convinced regional states will become of two things. The first is that they need to erect their own strategic counterweights to Iran, likely in the form of a nuclear capability,” Berman said. “The second is that they can do so with impunity since, if the West hasn’t punished Iran for its nuclear advances, they won’t be [punished] either. The result will be a multi-nuclear Middle East – and a security nightmare for both the United States and Israel.”
Iran Threatens 'Street War' in Tel Aviv
The head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said on Tuesday that Iran would start a 'street war' in Tel Aviv if its nuclear program was attacked.
"Israel is not big enough to launch a military strike on Iran, but if it takes such a foolish decision, the Iranian military will fight with the Zionist soldiers in Tel Aviv streets... and will force them out of the Palestinian soil," Seyed Hossein Naqavi said.
Tehran's bellicose rhetoric has reached a new zenith, however, amid reports both Britian and Israel were considering independent strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"Iran does not stand alone in the struggle against Israel," Naqavi insisted, "Israel will be destroyed by the allies of the Islamic Republic if she so much as tries to attack us."
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