Iran to deny Hormuz oil to war engines

An Iranian navy vessel launches a missile during the Velayat 90 drills at the sea of Oman, on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218869.html

A senior Iranian lawmaker says the country will not allow any oil to reach the “war engines of Iran's enemies” through the Strait of Hormuz if its oil is subjected to sanctions.

“Iran will never allow the Strait [of Hormuz] to be used against it and for the benefit of its enemies,” Head of Majlis Internal Security Committee Parviz Sorouri said on Sunday.

Sorouri added that Iran considers the strategic waterway as a “Strait of Peace,” but would undertake any “fundamental measures” to ensure the security of itself and the entire region.

He went on to say that the US is currently pursuing the project of “Iranophobia,” as the recent developments in the Middle East have led to the “divergence of regional counties from the US and a convergence with the Islamic Republic.”

Last Wednesday, Michael Mann, the spokesman for EU's Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton, said, "The European Union is considering another set of sanctions against Iran.”

He added that the decision would be taken in the next meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on January 30, 2012.

The EU foreign ministers failed in their attempts to enforce an embargo on Iran's oil exports during a December 1 meeting in Brussels.

The EU's anti-Iran move came after the United States, Britain, and Canada imposed unilateral sanctions on the Islamic Republic's energy and financial sectors over Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi warned on December 27 that imposing sanctions against the country's energy sector will prompt Tehran to prevent oil cargoes from passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“If they impose sanctions on Iran's oil, not even a drop of oil will be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz,” he warned.

Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari also announced last Wednesday that the country's naval forces can readily block the strategic Strait of Hormuz if need be.

The US, Israel, and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this allegation as a pretext to convince the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Iran has refuted the allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Iran Navy test-fires 1st anti-radar missile

Iran's Navy test fired its anti-radar missile in the Strait of Hormuz on January 1, 2012 (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218771.html

Iran's navy has successfully test-fired its first home-built medium-range anti-radar missile during the ongoing major naval maneuvers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The new Iranian surface-to-air missile was launched Sunday during the “power phase” of the massive 10-day drills, said Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, the spokesman for Iranian Navy's Velayat 90 war games.

The mid-range missile, designed and manufactured by Iranian experts, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and an intelligent system that enables it to target radio emission sources and thwart jammers, Mousavi added.

On the second day of the power phase, the naval forces will launch anti-surface torpedoes from the Ghadir-class submarines. The Iranian marine units will also be deployed aboard sea vessels and target radar-evading drones by shoulder-launched missiles, the Iranian commander noted.

On the concluding day of the power phase on Monday, a major contingent of the surface, subsurface and naval aviation units will organize into a new tactical arrangement to prepare for the last phase of the naval drills, Mousavi said.

Iran's Navy launched the massive 10-day naval exercises on December 24. The military maneuvers cover an area from east of the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden.

The military drills take place in line with a recent directive by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Seyyed Ali Khamenei, instructing Iranian armed forces to maintain total readiness to defend the nation against any potential threats.

Iran maintains that the maneuvers are defensive in nature and intend to convey a message of peace and friendship to the countries of the region. It has also extended a public invitation to regional states to hold joint naval drills with Iranian forces.

Iran produces first nuclear fuel rod

Tehran Research Reactor

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218778.html

Iranian nuclear scientists have successfully managed to build and test the country's first nuclear fuel rod containing natural uranium, a report says.

According to the public relations office of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), the rod has undergone various physical and dimensional tests and has been inserted into the core of Tehran's Research Reactor.

The fuel rod has been exposed to radiation of about 1,500 megawatt hours and passed neutron-related tests in terms of radioactivity level and non-leakage of the radioactive materials during initial phases at diverse power levels, the report added.

Currently, the rod is also undergoing rays at Tehran's Research Reactor to examine its long-term performance.

Over the past years, Iranian nuclear experts have managed to utilize the reactor to meet the nation's requirements for radiopharmaceuticals.

Iran sanctions, 'acts of war': Ron Paul

US Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218416.html

US Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran are “acts of war” which can pave the way for a real conflict in the Middle East.

"I think we're looking for trouble because we put these horrendous sanctions on Iran," Paul said in a speech to a gathering at the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa, on Thursday.

He added that Iranians are "planning to be bombed" and would understandably make the necessary arrangements to counter the threat, even though there is "no evidence whatsoever" that they have "enriched" uranium.

In an earlier article titled, 'The Folly of Sanctions,' the Texas congressman had criticized the US foreign policy for imposing more sanctions against Iran and warned about its "unintended consequences."

"Sanctions were the first step in our wars against Iraq and Libya, and now more sanctions planned against Syria and Iran are leading down the same destructive path," he had warned. "Sanctions against Iran are definite steps toward a US attack."

Paul went on in his address to compare the western penalties against the Islamic Republic to an imagined move by China to block the Gulf of Mexico, which the US would regard as an act of war.

Referring to Iran, he further pointed out that, "If you want to quiet things down, don't put sanctions on them" as it is "just going to cause more trouble."

Iran's threat to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, he explained, is the most probable response to stricter sanctions because Tehran has "no weapons of mass destruction" whereby to deter menaces.

Paul finally concluded that, "I think the solution" to the existing friction with Iran "is to do a lot less a lot sooner and mind our own business and then we would not have this threat of another war.”

'Iran war very dangerous scenario'

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218400.html

Russia has denounced US and Israeli threats of launching a military action against Iran as “a very dangerous scenario” which could result in a “regional catastrophe.”

Russia will not “accept the proposition that the best way to prevent a war is to start a war,” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said in an interview with Russia Today on Thursday.

“Our consistent stand, our effort, is going to be targeted at doing whatever we can in order to prevent this scenario of regional catastrophe being carried out in 2012,” he added.

“We do believe that a peaceful solution is possible,” Churkin said, further adding the West should instead direct its efforts towards engaging in negotiations with Tehran to avoid any serious consequences.

Washington and the Tel Aviv regime have repeatedly threatened Tehran with military strikes on the false pretext that Iran's nuclear program may have a covert military diversion.

Tehran has categorically refuted allegations by US-led Western powers, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Iranian officials have vowed to deliver a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would certainly reach far beyond the Middle East.

Pakistan defies US, honors Iran gas deal

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218383.html

Islamabad has stepped up work on its bilateral agreements with Tehran including the implementation of a Pak-Iran gas pipeline project despite US threats.

“Construction work on the pipeline in Iranian area was completed. And on remaining portion that was to be constructed in Pakistani area the survey has been completed. Pakistan is bearing losses due to energy crises and it would go ahead with different options including Iran,” The Nation quoted a Pakistani official as saying on Thursday.

The Pakistani source added Islamabad had not backed down from its trade agreement with Iran.

On December 19, high-ranking Islamabad diplomats said the administration of Barack Obama is frustrated with the “rapid progress” of Pakistan's gas project with Iran, and is exhausting all its resources to sabotage the deal.

“They (US officials) have gone to the extent of threatening [Pakistan's] President [Asif Ali] Zardari of economic sanctions if work is not stopped immediately,” the official said.

Zardari, however, reportedly dismissed the threats, bluntly asserting that the commissioning of the project is vital and inevitable for the wellbeing of Pakistan's “fast crumbling” economy.

The USD 7.6 billion gas pipeline deal, which was signed in June 2010, aims to export a daily amount of 21.5 million cubic meters (or 8.7 billion cubic meters per year) of Iranian natural gas to Pakistan.

Iran and Pakistan finalized the details of the deal during bilateral talks held in Tehran in October 2007.

In addition to exporting gas to Turkey, Armenia, and Pakistan, Iran is currently negotiating gas exports to Iraq.

'Returning US spy drone out of question'

Lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/215438.html

A senior Iranian lawmaker says Iran will definitely not return the RQ-170 spy drone to the US, and Washington has to compensate Tehran for violating the country's airspace.

The White House must face the consequences of violating Iran's airspace and not request its drone back, Chairman of Iran's Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Tuesday, adding that returning the RQ-170 drone is out of the question.

The US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft was landed with minimal damage by the Iranian Army's electronic warfare unit on December 4 while flying over the northeastern Iran city of Kashmar, some 225 kilometers (140 miles) away from the Afghan border.

On Monday the Obama administration delivered a formal request to Iran for the return of the drone.

“[US President Barack] Obama is ignoring the fact that a spy drone has violated Iran's airspace and according to international law this is a violation [of the law],” Boroujerdi said.

The Iranian lawmaker added that the US has not officially requested the return of the drone, since the plea must be submitted through the Swiss ambassador to Iran and “this has not happened yet.”

Boroujerdi said the US must “pay compensation for the violating Iran's airspace,” in addition to apologizing to the Islamic Republic.

China must protect Iran even with WWIII

Major General Zhang Zhaozhon

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/213760.html

A professor from the Chinese National Defense University says if Iran is attacked, China will not hesitate to protect the Islamic Republic even by launching the Third World War.

Major General Zhang Zhaozhong said, "China will not hesitate to protect Iran even with a third World War."

The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear program may consist of a covert military agenda.

Iran has refuted the allegations, saying that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Over the past weeks, Israel has renewed its aggressive rhetoric against Iran. On November 21, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that "time has come" to deal with Iran.

Israeli President Shimon Peres also threatened on November 6 that an attack against Iran is becoming "more and more likely."

Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.

Iran military downs US spy drone

An American RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned reconnaissance aircraft (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/213765.html

A senior Iranian military official says Iran's Army has downed a remote-controlled reconnaissance drone operated by the US military in the eastern part of the country.

The informed source said on Sunday that the Iranian Army's electronic warfare unit successfully targeted the US-built RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft after it crossed into Iranian airspace over the border with neighboring Afghanistan.

He added that the US reconnaissance drone has been seized with minimum damage.

The RQ-170 is an unmanned stealth aircraft designed and developed by the Lockheed Martin Company.

The US military and the CIA use the drone to launch missile strikes in Afghanistan and in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region.

The unnamed Iranian military official added that “due to the clear border violation, the operational and electronic measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Armed Forces against invading aircraft will not remain limited to Iran's borders."

However, NATO forces say operators lost control of a surveillance drone flying over Afghanistan last week that may be the same one Iran says it has downed.

"The UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] to which the Iranians are referring may be a US unarmed reconnaissance aircraft that had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week. The operators of the UAV lost control of the aircraft and had been working to determine its status," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

The statement about the UAV was issued in Kabul on Sunday and released to reporters covering an international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany.

The incident comes as the United States has beefed up its military presence in and around the Persian Gulf region in recent months in the wake of a popular uprising in Bahrain.

The US Department of Defense says Washington is closely monitoring developments in Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, where 4,200 US military personnel are based.

Iran attacks Turkey's NATO shield, if hit

Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/212321.html

Commander of the Aerospace Division of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps says in case of a military movement against Iran, NATO's missile shield in Turkey will be Iran's first target.

“The West's missile shield which is being deployed in Turkey by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), is managed by America and the Zionists, but to deceive Turkish people, they call it NATO defense shield,” Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh said.

He added that Iran has considerably changed its defense strategy, based on orders by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei], after recent threats by the US and Israel. The change is based on “counter threat by threat” principle, IRNA reported on Saturday.

The commander said that Iran will “use its legal choices and geographical advantages to defend its waters and soil” and will gradually make the situation more difficult for the American troops in the region.

“If the US continues such measures as sanctions as well as economic, political, and cultural mischief against the Islamic Republic of Iran, [the Iranian] armed forces have prepared plans which they will carry out against the US one after the other,” he noted.

Hajizadeh went on to say that Iran is not concerned about possible military actions [against Iran] by the enemy as all their moves are monitored by the Iranian armed forces.

The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear program may consist of a covert military agenda.

On November 6, Israeli President Shimon Peres threatened that an attack against the Islamic Republic was becoming “more and more likely.”

Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.

Iran gives NAM data on IAEA report

Iran's envoy to the IAEA Ali-Asghar Soltanieh

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/209136.html

Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali-Asghar Soltanieh has offered the (Non-Aligned Movement) NAM critical information about Iran's nuclear program amid a publicity hype by the Western media over the latest IAEA report on Tehran's nuclear case.

In an extraordinary session of the NAM, held upon Iran's request on Tuesday, Ali-Asghar Soltanieh answered 20 critical questions about Tehran's nuclear program and a host of related issues.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's latest report on Iran's nuclear activities was circulated among 35 members of the Board of Governors of the agency on Tuesday evening, almost 10 days ahead of the seasonal meeting of the board, due to take place in Vienna on November 17 and 18.

Amano has reportedly attached a 15-page annexation to his report, which focuses on the issue of Iran's alleged studies in the field of military nuclear activities.

According to some of the Western media speculations, the report makes three claims regarding Iran's nuclear activities, which purport that Tehran is pursuing a covert nuclear military program.

One of the claims has been made over satellite pictures of a steel container supposedly used for testing explosives that might be used to detonate fissile material.

The other claim revolves around Iran's hypothetical attempt to built computer models of a nuclear warhead, still another one conjectures that Tehran appears to have received foreign assistance in its experiments with nuclear material.

Soltanieh on Tuesday provided the NAM member states with detailed answers to 20 key questions about Iran's nuclear program.

Question 1: Has the IAEA detected, after 4000 days of most intensive inspection in the agency's history, even one gram of uranium being diverted for military purposes?

Response: No. Please study all of the reports by the agency's current and former director generals.

Question 2: With respect to nuclear activities and materials which are claimed to have not been declared until 2003, has the IAEA found out that they had been diverted towards military activities?

Response: No. All of these activities and materials were audited by the agency. Please study all the agency's reports to the Board of Governors between 2003 and 2004

Question 3: Was Iran ethically obliged to declare Natanz enrichment facility before 2003?

Response: No. Given that nuclear material had not been introduced into the facility until 2003, Iran was under no obligations to declare it. Particularly since Iran had not signed the Revised Code 3.1 of the Subsidiary Arrangements, as well as the additional Comprehensive Safeguards (CSA) and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) agreements.

Question 4: Was Iran legally obliged to declare the heavy water research reactor in Arak (IR40) before 2003?

Response: No. Iran was not under any obligation to declare it since no nuclear material had been introduced into it until 2003, particularly since Iran had not signed the Revised Code 3.1 of the Subsidiary Arrangements until 2003.

Question 5: Had Iran any obligation under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement to report Arak's heavy water production plant to the IAEA before 2003?

Response: No, because heavy water and its products are not covered by the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. Iran started implementing the Additional Protocol in 2003.

Question 6: Was Iran under any legal obligation until 2003 to declare uranium conversion Facilities (UCF)?

Response: No. Since no nuclear material had been introduced into the facility until 2003, Iran was not under any obligations to declare it, particularly given that Iran had not signed the Revised Code 3.1 of the Subsidiary Arrangements until 2003.

Question 7: Did Iran have any legal obligation to declare uranium mines including Gachin and Saghand mines?

Response: No, because Iran had not signed and implemented the Additional Protocol until 2003.

Question 8: Has the IAEA detected any nuclear material or activity including enrichment in Parchin and Lavizan-Shian, which are claimed to have been part of a nuclear weapons program after the UN agency carried out intensive inspections, including sampling and analyzing?

Response: No. The director general's press statement about Iran on March 6, 2006 reads, “On transparency, I think I mentioned in my report access to military sites, we have been given access to a number of military sites recently, to Parchin, Lavizan, Shian, to dual use equipment, to interview people. These are beyond the Additional Protocol, but they are essential for us to reconstruct the history of the program.”

On November 15, 2004, the director general reported that the agency had been provided access to the Lavizan-Shian military site where the agency took environmental samples. Finally, paragraph 102 of the director general (GOV/2004/83) says, “The vegetation and soil samples collected from the Lavizan-Shian site have been analyzed, and reveal no evidence of nuclear material.” Further information with respect to this issue is available in November 18, 2005 (GOV/2005/87) and February 27, 2006 (GOV/2006/15) documents.

Question 9: Did the IAEA, in its agreed Action Plan (INFOSIRC/711), announce that there is no other issue in addition to what was listed in 2007?

Response: Yes. The paragraph IV of the document (INFOSIRC/711) says that these modalities cover all the remaining issues, and the agency emphasizes that there will be no issues and ambiguities regarding Iran's previous nuclear programs and activities.

Question 10: Was the IAEA bound to submit the documents related to the “Alleged Studies” to the Islamic Republic based on its Action Plan?

Response: Yes. Paragraph III says, “Although the agency will submit the documents to the Islamic Republic, considering the Green Salt Project, experiments of high explosives and carrying missiles with returning abilities, it will also keep them with itself.

Question 11: Did the IAEA fulfill its obligations regarding the submitting of the evidence pertaining to the allegations to Iran?

Response: No. Please study the report by the former director general to the UN Board of Governors, where he correctly criticizes that the certain country that has provided the agency with the evidence on the allegations has not allowed the agency to submit the documents in question to Iran.

Question 12: Has the IAEA confirmed the authenticity of the content of the “Alleged Studies”?

Response: No. Please study the report by the former director general to the UN Board of Governors, where he correctly brought up the authentic problems with the documents. The director general also clearly explained that the nuclear materials and activities in the “Alleged Studies” are not relevant.

Question 13: What was Iran's obligation toward the document INFOSIRC/ 711 regarding the “Alleged Studies”?

Response: In Paragraph III of the document, which was discussed and agreed upon by the IAEA and Iran, and was to be approved by the Board of Governors specifies, “As a sign of the resolve to cooperate with the agency, based on all the related documents received, Iran will study the document and will inform the agency of its evaluation.”

Question 14: Did Iran, under the work plan, have any obligation to hold meetings, interviews or [allow] sampling regarding the “Alleged Studies”?

Response: No. As mentioned in Response 12, Iran was only obliged to inform of its evaluation. Iran has submitted its 117-page evaluation of the past three years. But the agency has not acted on its obligation to end the Action Plan. Accreting to Paragraph IV of the Action Plan, “The agency and Iran agreed that, following the implementation of the Action Plan and the agreed modalities for the negotiation of remaining issues, the implementation of the safeguards in Iran change to continue in the normal and conventional path.”

Notice: Instead of the Action Plan's conclusion, the secretariat introduced new allegations known as “Possible Military Aspects.” But in Paragraph IV of the Work Plan it is affirmed that “no issue has remained and there not any doubts about Iran's nuclear program and previous activities.”

Question 15: Has the Islamic Republic implemented the Additional Protocol?

Response: Yes. Please study the report by the former director general before 2006.

Question 16: Has Iran implemented the Modified Code 3.1 of the Subsidiary Arrangement of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement?

Response: Yes. Please study the report by the former director general before 2006.

Question 17: Since when Iran has halted its voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol and the Modified Code 3.1? Why?

Response: Iran's Majlis (parliament) voted to stop the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol and the Modified Code 3.1 (after two years and half) regarding the unfair reference of Iran's technical nuclear case to the United Nations Security Council in 2006. The important point is that the Additional Protocol is not a binding legal tool and the Modified Code 3.1 was merely a suggestion by the Board of Governors and is not part of the legal provisions of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA).

Question 18: Have all Iran's nuclear materials been measured, and are under the complete supervision of the safeguards and remained peaceful?

Response: Yes. Please study the annual Safeguards Implementation Report (SIR).

Question 19: Did Iran itself provide the possibility of unannounced inspections?

Response: Yes. The agency conducted more than 100 unannounced inspections in Iran. The advance-notice for some of them were issued only two hours before the inspection.

Question 20: Why does Iran deem the resolutions by the Board of Governors and the UN Security Council as illegal?

Response: A. In accordance with Article 12 C under the IAEA statute, if the inspectors notice any “non-compliance,” they should report the same to the director general and the later should report to the Board of Governors thereafter. Followingly, the Board will notify the report to the United Nations. None of these procedures have been applied with regard to Iran.

After three years elapsed since 2003, when the issue was raised at the Board of Governors, some members of the Board claimed that there had been “non-compliance” prior to 2003. Nonetheless, the director general did not use the legal term “non-compliance” and instead used the word “failure,” which has also been used with regard to the other countries, which implement the CSA. Based on this agreement, the issue will be considered as concluded after corrective measures are adopted. The former director general clearly confirmed in his report that Iran took all the corrective measures.

B. Article 12 C mentioned in the Board's resolutions speak of “recipient member states,” which have misused the nuclear materials delivered from the Agency. Iran has never received the nuclear materials mentioned in the relevant provisions under the Statute.

C. According to the Statute and the CSA, if the Agency discovers that the nuclear materials have been diverted to military purposes, it will notify the UN Security Council of the same. All the reports submitted by the incumbent and former dire generals so far contain no evidence of nuclear diversion.

D. Based on the CSA, if a member state does not allow the inspectors to enter the country and as a result the IAEA cannot conduct its verification activities, the Agency will notify the UN Security Council of the issue. All the reports by the director general since 2003 have explicitly announced that the Agency is able to continue its verification activities in Iran.

E. The resolutions by three EU member states against Iran from 2003 to 2006 have recognized Iran's move to suspend its uranium enrichment activities as a non-binding, voluntary and trust-building measure. Therefore, the Board of Governors 's resolutions which referred Iran's nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, after Iran decided to suspend its UCF activities voluntarily, are totally in contradiction with the Board's previous resolutions.

It should be mentioned that when the three EU member states proposed the anti-Iran resolutions at the Board of Governors in 2006 with political motives and in an attempt to involve the UN Security Council in an IAEA-related technical issue, enrichment activities in Natanz were still suspended voluntarily.

The last question from peace-seeking nations:

Based on the abovementioned facts, should we allow the IAEA, as the only international body tasked with promotion of peaceful use of nuclear energy for the achievement of peace and prosperity, to be manipulated as a tool by a number of countries which seek to turn the Agency into a watchdog utterly malleable into the hands of the UN Security Council and deprive the developing countries of their “absolute right” to use peaceful nuclear energy as stipulated in the IAEA Statute?

Russia blasts new IAEA report on Iran

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/209132.html

Russia has strongly criticized the release of the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran, describing it as a "source of a new increase in tension" over Tehran's nuclear program.

Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday the release of information from the IAEA report was driven by "destructive logic" aimed at the "intentional demolition of the political-diplomatic process."

"Russia is gravely disappointed and bewildered that the report is being turned into a source adding to the tensions over the problems connected to the Iranian nuclear program," reads the statement, Reuters reported.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's latest report on Iran's nuclear activities was distributed to the 35 members of the Board of Governors of the agency on Tuesday evening, ahead of the seasonal meeting of the board, which is scheduled to be held in Vienna from November 17 to 18.

Iran dismissed the report as "unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure by mostly the United States."

Russia also said that the agency's move would damage the chance of a renewal of talks between Tehran and the P5+1 group -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany -- to solve the crisis over Iran's nuclear program through diplomatic channels.

"We have serious doubts about the justification for steps to reveal contents of the report to a broad public, primarily because it is precisely now that certain chances for the renewal of dialogue between the 'sextet' (P5+1) of international mediators and Tehran have begun to appear," the ministry said.

Russia also said that it needs time to study the detailed of the anti-Iran report.

"The analysis must take place in a calm atmosphere, since it is important to determine whether some new, reliable evidence strengthening suspicions of a military element in Iran's nuclear program has really appeared, or whether we are talking about an intentional -- and counterproductive -- whipping up of emotions," the ministry said.

Moscow also called on international community to "keep public steps in line with the interests of progress toward a political and diplomatic resolution."

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program.

Yet, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, Iran has every right to develop and acquire nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Iran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

Vicious triangle forming against Iran

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/208576.html

In recent days, there has been a vociferous interest in Israel, the US and the UK in fanning the flames of Iranophobia in what observers see as a political red herring to engage in a catastrophic war in the Middle East.

The trio, which constitute a vicious triangle in their roguishly Iranophobic endeavors, have manifestly held secret meetings among the top security officials and formed a united front against Iran.

A recent report by The Guardian has revealed that British Chief of Defense Staff Gen. David Richards visited Tel Aviv secretly during the week, held a number of meetings with top Israeli military and intelligence officials and reassured them of Britain's unwavering support in case of an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. Further to that, the British officials revealed that the US government was mulling accelerating plans for targeted attacks on the country's nuclear sites and that Britain was prepared to be part of the plan for a possible attack.

Interestingly enough, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak arrived in London on Wednesday to hold talks with his British counterpart, with Iran of course to top the agenda. The importance of these meetings is that Britain's senior military official had not visited Israel for a decade. So, the recent meetings indicate the cementing security and military ties between the two countries.

Only recently, a senior US military official addressing a forum in Washington said that Iran had become the biggest threat to the United States. “The biggest threat to the United States and to our interests and to our friends … has come into focus and it's Iran.”

Coincidentally (how so?), on the same day (Friday), Israel's president Shimon Peres also stated something virtually to the same effect, saying that the military option to stop Iran from obtaining "nuclear weapons" was nearer.

When asked by Channel Two News if events were moving toward a military option rather than a diplomatic one, Peres replied, “I believe so, I estimate that intelligence services of all these countries are looking at the ticking clock, warning leaders that there is not much time left.”

In this regard, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a pea in the pod, graced a G-20 summit of world leaders in France with his pithy words, “Iran's behavior and this obsessional desire to acquire nuclear military (capability) is in violation of all international rules. … If Israel's existence were threatened, France would not stand idly by.”

The trio (excluding France) have stepped up their rhetoric against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Threat is not a new word to Iran and the country is prepared for the worst and as Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said on the sidelines of a news conference in the Libyan city of Benghazi, “The US has unfortunately lost wisdom and prudence in dealing with international issues. It depends only on power. They have lost rationality; we are prepared for the worst but we hope they will think twice before they put themselves on a collision course with Iran.”

Time and again, the USA has renewed its hollow rhetoric against the Islamic Republic of Iran, repeating the same allegations again and again and again: that Iran is pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program; that Iran is supporting terrorism in the region; that Iran is violating human rights; that if Iran acquires the technology to produce nuclear weapons, it will create World War III.

The recent allegation leveled against the Islamic republic ahead of the next week's report by the UN atomic watchdog is that Iran has “built a large steel container for carrying out tests with high explosives that could be used in nuclear weapons,” and that Iran has made computer models of a nuclear warhead and other previously undisclosed details on alleged secret work by Tehran on nuclear arms.” Allegation comes after allegation against the Islamic Republic and the vicious triangle is forming to set a stage for an all-out attack against the country with the intended purpose of plundering its natural resources.

However, Iran will not sit quietly and leave the invaders in peace.

In August 2011, a top IRGC commander Brigadier General Ali Shadmani envisaged three effective measures to counter any potential act of aggression.

1. As Israel is the USA's backyard, Iran will disturb peace there. (The absence of peace in Israel will certainly deny repose to the USA as well.)

2. It would take full control of the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway where over 40 percent of all traded oil passes (thereby spiraling up the oil prices to a confounding level and dealing a heavy blow to the already deteriorating global economy.)

3. It would keep a close watch on all American military bases in Afghanistan and Iraq. In case of an attack, Iran will cripple the troops stationed in those bases and incapacitate them of any possible move.

In the final analysis, the US hidden agenda in creating Iranophobia is to raise a specter of a nuclear apocalypse in the world, invade the country in alliance with Israel and the UK and other nefarious powers and eventually get their hands on Iran's myriad resources which they have coveted for so long.

In the unholy Israel-US-UK alliance, one cannot say with surety who is the most responsible party for these anti-Iran provocative acts but it seems that the Israeli tail is wagging the US-UK dog.

~~ Ismail Salami is an Iranian author and political analyst. A prolific writer, he has written numerous books and articles on the Middle East. His articles have been translated into a number of languages.

'Bushehr plant to go on stream Monday'

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/197765.html

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has announced that the country's Bushehr nuclear plant will go on stream during a ceremony next week.

Ali Akbar Salehi told IRNA on Tuesday that the ceremony, to be attended by the Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, is scheduled to take place on the coming Monday at Bushehr power plant.

The Iranian foreign minister said that in the world of Islam and among 57 Muslim nations, the Islamic Republic is the second country, after Pakistan, to develop a nuclear power plant.

Salehi stated, however, that capacity-wise, Iran is among the first top countries possessing nuclear power plants in the world of Islam.

“The two nuclear power plants of Pakistan combined supply 500 megawatts, while [Iran's] Bushehr nuclear plant has a 1000-megawatt capacity,” he pointed out.

The foreign minister also touched upon the experience that Iran has attained in putting the plant into operation, saying, “Iranian engineers have had the opportunity to pick up both the Western and Eastern technologies.”

The top Iranian diplomat further underscored Iran's self-sufficiency in nuclear technology and in different fields such as medical, industrial and agricultural usage.

Iran signed a deal with Russia in 1995, under which the plant was originally scheduled to be completed in 1999, but the completion of the project was repeatedly delayed. The nuclear power plant was finally finished with the help of Russia after three decades.

On August 17, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereydoun Abbasi announced a plan for the official inauguration of Bushehr nuclear power plant with full capacity of 1,000 megawatts in late November or early December.

Iran to launch Bushehr plant in Nov-Dec

Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194325.html

Iran's top nuclear official has announced a plan for the official inauguration of Bushehr's nuclear power plant in southern Iran in mid-November or in December.

Bushehr nuclear power plant is currently nearing its pre-operation phase which means that initial tests for its reactor and turbine are in the final stages, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereydoun Abbasi told reporters on Wednesday.

The Iranian vice president added that the plant is getting closer to its 40 percent capacity, IRNA reported.

He stated that the steam which had already been produced in the plant was not transferred to the turbine to generate electricity and noted that the produced steam is currently injected to the turbine and electricity is generated.

The AEOI head explained that in a time-limited experimental phase, the produced electricity will join the grid but it will be then cut off to make necessary revisions.

On Sunday, Abbasi said that the first phase of the Bushehr plant has been scheduled to go on stream by the end of the holy month of Ramadan (early September) with a 40 percent capacity.

He noted that a pre-launch phase of the plant was due to be implemented by September and “if things proceed according to plans ... the [Bushehr] power plant will join the national grid with a 40 percent capacity.”

Iran signed a deal with Russia in 1995, under which the plant was originally scheduled to be completed in 1999, but the completion of the project was repeatedly delayed. The nuclear power plant was finally finished with the help of Russia following a three-decade delay.

In October 2010, Iran started injecting fuel into the core of the reactor at Bushehr nuclear power plant in the initial phase of its launch. However, engineers began removing the fuel rods in late February for safety reasons.

The unloading of the fuel delayed the plant's connection to the national grid, initially scheduled for the beginning of 2011.

Iran president urges end to dollar supremacy

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) meets with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev (L) in the Iranian capital Tehran on August 16.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194266.html

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for an end to the dollar dominance, as the US economic crisis would lead to further devaluation of the currency.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with Russian Security Council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.

“Considering that the US Treasury prints dollar and this is how the US budget deficit is reduced by using resources in countries like Iran and Russia, Tehran and Moscow could have useful cooperation to end reliance on dollar,” the Iranian president said.

Patrushev, for his part, hailed the suggestion by the Iranian president, stating that there is a huge capacity to increase the level of cooperation between the two countries, using their local currencies.

Ahmadinejad also welcomed Russia's proposal to solve the dispute over Iran's nuclear energy program based on a staged approach.

On July 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed a new "step-by-step" approach toward Iran's nuclear program that would enable the Islamic Republic to take steps to address questions raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Under the proposed plan, Iran would revive negotiations to alleviate individual concerns of the IAEA about its nuclear activities and be rewarded along the way by the partial removal of sanctions.

Ahmadinejad also said that practical measures, including the launching of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, could be a “positive step” toward deepening relations.

Patrushev arrived in Tehran on Monday for a two-day visit upon an invitation from Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.

'Bushehr Nuclear Plant to join grid by Sept.'

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/193973.html

The first phase of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant has been scheduled to be launched by the end of the holy month of Ramadan (early September) with a 40 percent capacity.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereydoun Abbasi Davani announced that a pre-launch phase of the plant was due to be implemented by September and “If things proceed according to plans ...the [Bushehr] power plant will join the national grid with a 40 percent capacity,” IRNA reported.

He stated that should certain technical tests be successfully executed, then the power plant will link up to the national power grid.

He further alluded to the safety standards of the power plant and emphasized, “We will observe the safety of the plant at the highest level, especially following the impact of what happened at the Fukushima nuclear power station on the world public opinion.”

Abbasi anticipated that the power plant would be officially launched in its entirety by next December.

The construction of Bushehr power plant started in 1975 when Germany signed a contract with Iran. Germany, however, pulled out of the project following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran then signed a deal with Russia in 1995, under which the plant was originally scheduled to be completed in 1999, but the completion of the project was repeatedly delayed. The nuclear power plant was finally finished with the help of Russia following a three-decade delay.

In October 2010, Iran started injecting fuel into the core of the reactor at Bushehr nuclear power plant in the initial phase of its launch. However, engineers began removing the fuel rods in late February for safety reasons.

The unloading of the fuel delayed the plant's connection to the national grid, initially scheduled for the beginning of 2011.

Iran vows 'regrettable' reply to Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during an interview with Russia Today on August 12, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/193841.html

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Israel and the US against launching a war on Iran, saying the Islamic Republic will give a regrettable response to any strike.

“They wish to do it, they want to do it, but they know about our power. They know that we are going to give them a decisive response,” said President Ahmadinejad in an interview with Russia Today news network on Saturday.

“We have a saying in our language: If someone throws a smaller stone (at you), you should respond with a bigger stone. We will defend ourselves within our capabilities,” he added.

However, the Iranian chief executive expressed hope that such a day will never come as there is no reason for any strike against Iran.

President Ahmadinejad emphasized that Israel has been founded for the purpose of making threats and aggression and securing the interests of the West.

He also reiterated that the entity of the Israeli regime depends on terror, occupation and aggression.

In the past 60 years, Israel has done the same thing, but finally it will look at the world map and will find out about our historical might, Ahmadinejad concluded.

Amid a standoff over Iran's nuclear program, both Tel Aviv and Washington have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear work may consist of a covert military agenda.

Iran says its nuclear program is completely peaceful and within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which it is a signatory.

Iranian officials have warned that any act of aggression by the US and Israel against Iran would be firmly responded to and could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.

In June, former head of Israel's Mossad spy agency Meir Dagan warned that any attack on Tehran by Tel Aviv would result in a “regional war.”

"It is important to know what the outcome of an attack on Iran would be, what would happen on the day after and what situation Israel would find itself in on the international stage," he said.

"An attack on Iran would mean regional war,” stressed Dagan, urging Israeli officials to “consider all options and not to run straight for the war option.”

'Iran to build more nuclear plants'

A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/193051.html

A senior Iranian lawmaker says the Islamic Republic plans to build more nuclear power plants in upcoming years as the country moves forward with its nuclear program.

Hossein Amiri Khamkani, a member of a special parliamentary committee set up to examine the status of the Bushehr plant, made the remark in an interview with Majlis news agency (ICANA) on Monday.

He said that the construction costs of a nuclear plant are by far more than fossil ones in the beginning but nuclear plants offer long-term benefits, which make them more economical than fossil ones.

He also noted that the Islamic Republic plans to build more nuclear plants in line with its national interests.

Khamkani, however, said that Russia may not be Iran's partner in future plant projects since Moscow had reneged on its promises to complete and launch Iran's first nuclear power plant on several occasions.

He blamed Russia for the delay in launching the Bushehr plant and said the plant was supposed to go on stream in January according to the latest agreement between Iran and Russia.

He pointed out that the committee has sent its final report on the status of the Bushehr plant to the Majlis (parliament) Presiding Board.

In the report, no exact date for the final launch of the plant was given but the report mentions that the Bushehr plant will not go on stream as planned for the end of August, he further explained.

Majlis has passed plans for setting up 20 more nuclear plants and the Iranian government is bound to build them.

The construction of Bushehr power plant started in 1975 when Germany signed a contract with Iran. Germany, however, pulled out of the project following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran then signed a deal with Russia in 1995, under which the plant was originally scheduled to be completed in 1999, but the completion of the project was repeatedly delayed. The nuclear power plant was finally finished with the help of Russia following a three-decade delay.

In October 2010, Iran started injecting fuel into the core of the reactor at Bushehr nuclear power plant in the initial phase of its launch. However, engineers began removing the fuel rods in late February for safety reasons.

The unloading of the fuel delayed the plant's joining the national grid, initially scheduled for the beginning of 2011.

Iran to launch largest South Pars phase

South Pars gas field (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/192433.html

Managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) Mousa Souri says the biggest phase of South Pars gas condensate field will come on stream in October 2012.

Speaking to reports in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Thursday, Souri said the 12th phase of South Pars gas field -- the biggest gas reservoir in the world -- with an output of 84 million cubic meters of sour gas on a daily basis will be launched in late 2012, IRNA reported.

He added that 38 percent of phase 12 of South Pars gas filed has been completed and onshore and offshore gas refining installations of the phase are due to become operational next year.

Meanwhile, the tenth phase of South Pars gas condensate field, with a daily output capacity of 17 million cubic meters, is expected to join the national grid on Friday.

The linkage of the field's phase 10 to the country's national grid comes following the implementation of its development by Iranian technicians.

Although the gas refinery portion of the tenth phase had earlier been launched, unfinished well drilling and lack of state-of-the-art wellhead fittings prevented the entire project to become fully utilized.