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Tag: Iran’s nuclear program

Iran Nuclear threat

  • Tehran softens its rhetoric in nuclear dispute

    Tehran softens its rhetoric in nuclear dispute

    Michael Theodoulou

    Last Updated: Dec 20, 2010

    The Iranian government has suddenly adopted an unusually emollient tone in addressing its nuclear dispute with world powers, while also voicing the desire to improve relations with key countries in the region and beyond.

    Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s hardline president, said he hoped for a “win-win” outcome from discussions with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany, the so-called P5+1.

    Iran’s charm offensive was launched on Saturday by Mr Ahmadinejad and his new caretaker foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, a US-educated nuclear scientist who is fluent in English and Arabic.

    Some analysts suspect Tehran may be prepared to curb parts of its nuclear programme in exchange for an end to punitive sanctions that, US officials insist, are hurting Iran far harder than it cares to admit.

    The key to any deal is that Iran is allowed to continue enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, but under enhanced international supervision: a scenario Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, raised recently.

    On the home front, however, a sour note was struck yesterday by Mr Salehi’s long-serving predecessor, Manouchehr Mottaki, who was on an official visit to Senegal when he was unceremoniously fired by the president last Monday.

    “Sacking a minister while (he is) on a mission is unIslamic, undiplomatic, offensive and outside the practices of politics,” Mr Mottaki fumed.

    Ignoring such criticism, Mr Ahmadinejad appears focused instead on the high-stakes talks over Iran’s nuclear programme with global powers.

    Those talks, which resumed earlier this month in Geneva after a hiatus of more than a year, are due to continue in Istanbul, Turkey, at the end of January.

    Speaking in a live interview with state television late on Saturday night, the Iranian president said he hoped all parties could emerge with their “dignity and reputation” intact. The Geneva talks, he said, had been “positive”.

    Mr Ahmadinejad called for international sanctions against Iran to be lifted and to turn the “policy of confrontation” into one of co-operation”. He said: “If we move toward interaction it’s a win-win situation. There will be no loser. We want everyone to be a winner from the very beginning.”

    The Iranian president suggested that, after Istanbul, further talks could be held in Brazil which, like Turkey, voted against imposing the latest set of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran in June. And, after Brazil, negotiations could move to Tehran itself.

    Mr Ahmadinejad’s conciliatory words came hours after Mr Salehi took office in a ceremony that was also intended as a farewell gathering for Mr Mottaki – who snubbed the event.

    Mr Salehi, who is still head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, used his address to send friendly signals to many countries.

    He talked of the need for cooperation with Saudi Arabia, whose concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme were highlighted in a US cable released recently by the WikiLeaks website. Working together, Iran and Saudi Arabia could “solve the problems of the region and the world of Islam”, Mr Salehi said.

    Commentary:

    Washington can bide its time on Tehran’s nuclear ambition

    Last Updated:Dec 20, 2010

    US and Israeli advocates of bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities may have claimed vindication when WikiLeaks cables revealed that some Arab regimes were singing the same tune behind closed doors, but that doesn’t make military action any more likely.

    TONY KARON

    Meanwhile Turkey, he added, shares cultural and ideological ties with Iran that make them natural partners. And relations with Russia and China, which disappointed Iran by backing Washington’s push for a fourth round of sanctions, require “special political attention”.

    Mr Salehi also offered an olive branch to the 27-nation European Union, which earlier this year angered Iran by imposing new sanctions.

    “If the EU speedily transforms its confrontational style into positive interaction, it would be in the interests of both parties,” he said.

    The energy-hungry EU, he implied, could not afford to ignore his country’s huge oil and gas reserves. Mr Salehi did not, however, address Iran’s relations with the US.

    Iran’s conciliatory new diplomatic tone may also be aimed at reassuring jittery Iranians that their government is doing its best to stave off further international sanctions at a time when many are concerned about rising prices because of its government’s programme to slash subsidies on fuel and food, which went into effect yesterday.

    Washington, meanwhile, has been attempting to drum up regional support against Iran’s nuclear programme. In Bahrain, Admiral Michael G Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, met on Friday night with the island nation’s king, Hamad bin Isa Khalifia.

    “From my perspective, I see Iran continuing down the path to developing nuclear weapons,” Mr Mullen asserted.

    Military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, he added, would be “destabilising”. A “regional approach” and dialogue with Tehran was needed, Mr Mullen said. But, he insisted: “All options have been on the table and remain on the table.”

    mtheodoulou@thenational.ae

  • Get serious with Iran

    Get serious with Iran

    Regarding the Dec. 9 editorial “A sterile conversation”:

    It is unbelievable that the United States and its U.N. Security Council allies have not realized what games Iran is playing with regard to its nuclear program.

    Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili’s comment at a news conference that halting uranium enrichment “will not be discussed at the Istanbul meeting” and the fact that the regime is continuing production of its own processed uranium ore should be sufficient evidence that its tactics, as the editorial said, are intended “to seek to delay further sanctions, create dissension among the United States and its allies, and distract attention from its continuing crackdown on the opposition Green movement.”

    No amount of dialogue will impede Iran’s nuclear aspirations or its systematic and rigorous clampdown on dissent and freedom. The government continues to torture and kill anyone who dares to question the authority of the ruling clerics. It is time for the United States and its allies to recognize the games, stop further negotiations, increase sanctions (such as a full ban on landings by Iranian airliners in Europe) and support Iran’s internal resistance.

    Bijan Rouhani, Frederick

    via Get serious with Iran.

  • Kuwaiti Speaker Underlines Peaceful Nature of Iran’s N. Program

    Kuwaiti Speaker Underlines Peaceful Nature of Iran’s N. Program

    TEHRAN (FNA)- Kuwait’s National Assembly Speaker Jassem Mohammad al-Kharafi said that his country believes in the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, and criticized West’s silence on Israel’s nuclear stockpile.

    A0852690“As Iranians are reiterating, their nuclear program is peaceful and for civilian purposes and we (Kuwaitis) have no doubt about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” Kharafi, who heads his country’s parliamentary delegation in a four-day visit to Turkey, told reporters in Istanbul.

    He blasted the western ploy and hues and cries about Iran’s nuclear program, and said the western countries make baseless claims about Iran’s nuclear program but “Israel has been ignored in these hue and cries, while it is only Israel which has a nuclear arsenal in the region”.

    As regards his talks with Turkish officials, Kharafi stated that Kuwait and Turkey enjoy common views on regional issues, adding that in their talks, they have sought solution to the regional problems.

    Discussions also touched on issues concerning the region namely the Palestinian cause in addition to the situation in Iraq and Lebanon, as well as the Iranian nuclear file, stated the top Kuwaiti lawmaker.

    Iran and Kuwait enjoy cordial diplomatic relations. After Iran came under increasing pressure from the West in recent years over its civilian nuclear program, Kuwait demanded the US to respect Iranian sovereignty and seek a diplomat solution to the matter.

    via Fars News Agency :: Kuwaiti Speaker Underlines Peaceful Nature of Iran’s N. Program.

  • Turkey ready to host Iran nuclear talks

    Turkey ready to host Iran nuclear talks

    Turkey is ready to host talks between Iran and six world powers over its disputed nuclear programme after receiving a request from Tehran, the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.

    turk iran“Turkey has made lots of efforts since the start of the process for a diplomatic solution to be found,” the news agency quoted a diplomatic source as saying.

    “We are ready to do whatever is in our power,” the source said.

    The date and location of the talks is still to be determined, the report added.

    An Iranian conservative newspaper, Vatan Emrouz, on Sunday reported that the negotiations would be held by the end of November, without quoting a source.

    At the same time, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, representing the world powers in the Iran negotiations, said Sunday that she was still waiting for official word from Tehran.

    “We have taken note of these reports. But we have not yet received an official proposal from Iran in this regard,” a spokesman for her office said.

    The spokesman said the EU would respond once it had received an official proposal including a specific time and place to meet.

    The nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers — Britain, China, France, Russia, Germany and the United States — have been deadlocked since October 2009 when the two sides met in Geneva.

  • Iran Says Talks Must Include Turkey-Brazil Fuel Plan

    Iran Says Talks Must Include Turkey-Brazil Fuel Plan

    By Ladane Nasseri

    (Adds details of dispute starting in third paragraph, updates with proposed locations for talks in final.)

    Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) — Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said talks with the world powers on Iran’s uranium enrichment should include acceptance of a May proposal brokered by Brazil and Turkey for the supply of nuclear-reactor fuel.

    If France, Russia, the U.S. and the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency are “prepared to enter negotiations based on this framework, a time and location for talks will be agreed on,” Mottaki said today, according to the state-run Press TV news channel.

    The U.S. said on Oct. 28 that will offer a “revised” proposal for Iran to exchange its low-enriched uranium for fuel to power a Tehran reactor that produces medical isotopes. The offer hinges on Iran agreeing to direct talks over its nuclear program, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said. The New York Times reported that the terms of the U.S. proposal would be stricter than those of a 2009 UN plan rejected by Iran.

    Uranium enrichment is the key issue in the international dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, with Iran maintaining the right to produce the material and the U.S. leading efforts to force Iran to abandon the work. Enriched uranium can fuel a reactor and at higher concentrations form the core of a bomb. Iran denies claims by the U.S. and many of its allies that the nuclear program may be providing cover for the development of weapons.

    International Sanctions

    The European Union proposed a round of nuclear negotiations with Iran in Vienna for mid-November. The U.S., U.K., Russia, China, France — the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — and Germany would also participate. The Security Council approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program in June, followed by a tightening of U.S. and EU measures in response to the Iranian nuclear program.

    Iran, which is under increasing pressure from the international economic sanctions, has agreed to resume talks over its disputed uranium enrichment activities after Nov. 10. Mottaki told reporters today in Tbilisi, Georgia, that Iran is ready to hold the negotiations in Istanbul or Geneva. The parties haven’t yet reached an agreement on the content of the talks, he said.

    The proposal brokered by Turkey and Brazil, in which Iran would swap some of its enriched uranium for fuel in a form usable only in the Tehran reactor, was rejected by Western nations because it allowed the country to continue producing enriched uranium. Iran says it needs the material as part of its development of nuclear energy.

    The plan for the exchange followed an October 2009 proposal from the UN powers for Iran to send most of its stock of enriched uranium to Russia to be processed to a higher level of purity and then to France for conversion into fuel for the Tehran plant, which is running low on supplies.

    –With assistance from Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi. Editors: Heather Langan, Karl Maier

    To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at lnasseri@bloomberg.net.

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Maher Chmaytelli at mchmaytelli@bloomberg.net.

  • Turkey injects peace hopes into Iran nuclear talks

    Turkey injects peace hopes into Iran nuclear talks

    iran nuclear

    Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki received a warm welcome from Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan in Ankara, where the visiting official discussed his country’s nuclear program with Turkish officials.

    Just a day before his country’s chief nuclear negotiator meets with representatives from world heavyweights in Geneva, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki discussed his country’s contentious nuclear program with Turkish officials in Ankara and said he expected progress in the key talks.

    Representatives from Britain, China, Russia and France as well as the European Union’s high commissioner for foreign and security policy, Javier Solana, will meet with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in Geneva to discuss Iran’s response to an offer made by world powers last month to encourage it to give up its sensitive nuclear work, which the West believes is aimed at building a nuclear bomb and Tehran says is for peaceful power-generation purposes.

    For the first time, a representative from the United States, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, will also attend the talks, signaling a policy change on the part of Washington and raising hopes that a peaceful settlement may be found to an international dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.

    “The new negotiation process [and] the participation of a US diplomat look positive from the outset, but we hope that is reflected in the talks,” Mottaki told a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. “We hope good results will come if the process continues in this way,” Mottaki said. Turkey, which has been mediating between Israel and Syria in recent months, has said it is also involved in talks with Iran and expressed support for today’s talks in Geneva, which could be pivotal in deciding whether diplomacy will succeed.

    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking later in the day, said Turkey was likely to assume a role in the diplomatic efforts for a solution. Asked whether Turkey’s role could be defined as mediation, he said he wouldn’t go that far. “But the parties may have expectations from us. Turkey may be asked to intervene in difficult times,” he said. Babacan also insisted that while Turkey is against the proliferation of nuclear weapons in its region, it also believes in the right of all countries to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

    Babacan has said in recent statements that there have been requests from both sides to “see Turkey in the picture” and that Turkey has been having talks with both sides over the past several weeks. Experts say Turkey, which has good ties with both Iran and the West, is well placed to offer credible assistance to help find a solution in the nuclear row, which Ankara fears could result in a new regional disaster.

    In an interview with NTV Mottaki praised the role Turkey has played in the process, saying it was pursuing a “constructive stance.”

    On Thursday US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley met with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Babacan during a visit to Ankara. He did not comment on Iran’s nuclear program, but his visit led to speculation in the Turkish media that Turkey was passing his message to Mottaki about a US desire for normalization of relations with Iran.

    As part of its diplomatic efforts, the US administration is floating a proposal to open a de facto US Embassy in Tehran. US diplomats would go to Iran for the first time since the countries broke off relations after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

    Mottaki insisted on specifically calling a US mission a “US interest-protection bureau,” instead of a diplomatic mission, but raised the prospect of talks on restoring fractured relations between Iran and the United States. “I think there might be an agreement both on the issue of opening a US interest-protection bureau in Iran and on the issue of direct flights to Iran,” he said.

    Washington insists it will not negotiate with Iran as it has with North Korea until Tehran halts its enrichment and reprocessing of uranium. But it is supporting an effort led by the EU’s Solana that would allow for early talks with others in the six-nation group before such a step. Iran has rebuffed the attempt to persuade it to stop enrichment and reprocessing, which can produce the key ingredient for atomic weapons, and insists its nuclear program is designed only to produce electric power. Others, particularly the United States and Israel, maintain it is a cover for weapons development.

    When asked whether Iran was ready to freeze any expansion of its nuclear program in return for the UN Security Council halting further sanctions against it, Mottaki declined to comment, saying, “Let’s not hurry.” The UN has so far imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. Tensions with Iran have particularly intensified since Tehran tested missiles last week, alarming Israel and pushing up oil prices. Washington responded to the tests by saying it would defend its allies against any possible attacks.

    Speaking to NTV, Mottaki said he saw almost no possibility of Israel or the United States attacking his country over its nuclear program. “The possibility of such an attack is almost zero,” he said. “It [Israel] is still going through the aftereffects of its defeat in Lebanon,” he said, referring to the 2006 war Israel launched against Lebanon’s Hezbullah guerrillas. There’s nothing left from the [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert period, so the Israelis know what’s going to happen,” he added.

    Mottaki announced that the year 2009 would be marked as Iran-Turkey Culture Year, to celebrate the signing of a cultural cooperation agreement between the two countries 50 years ago. The two ministers discussed bilateral ties and Babacan said the two countries aimed to increase their trade volume to $20 billion from the current $10 billion. Mottaki, a former ambassador to Turkey for five years, also displayed his Turkish skills at the press conference, intervening a few times in the translation of his remarks giving brief answers to some questions in Turkish.