US report: Iran not after nuclear arms

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, launched in August 2010, is expected to generate electricity in the near future

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165786.html

The latest US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) has reiterated its 2007 position that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not after nuclear arms.

US spy agencies have concluded in the report that Iran has not decided whether to develop atomic weapons, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The 2007 NIE report on Iran reversed the US intelligence community's previous assessment in 2005 that Tehran was running a covert nuclear weapons program.

Iran says its nuclear program is solely aimed at peaceful purposes, but Washington and its allies have repeatedly accused Tehran of intending to run a nuclear arm program.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has made clear that atomic weapons are against core principles of Islam, mainly due to their mass destructive nature.

The Islamic Republic says that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy.

In June 2010, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran's financial and military sectors under Western pressure.

In 2007, Israeli leaders reacted in shock and anger to the publication of the NIE report, which disputed their long-standing claims of "an Iranian nuclear threat."

Tel Aviv, which reportedly houses an arsenal of some 200 nuclear warheads, views Tehran's nuclear program as a mortal threat.

Israeli leaders have repeatedly threatened to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities out of existence, but the release of the 2007 report significantly weakened their drive for war.

This is while the Islamic Republic, since its establishment in 1979, has gone to war only once, to defend itself against an Iraqi offensive in 1980, whereas Israel has invaded Lebanon, bombed Syria and Iraq, and regularly bombed and attacked the Gaza Strip at will.

US to blame Iran for Afghanistan failure

An undated picture provided by Globalsecurity.org shows a general view of the US Air Base in Bagram.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133517§ionid=351020403



US and British intelligence services are working on a fake video clip aimed at diverting blame for failures in Afghanistan to Iran, an informed US military source says.

A source at the US base in Bagram, told Press TV on condition of anonymity that the US and British spies have employed renowned American film editors to produce the video.

The video consists of footage doctored in a way to show that Iran is providing weapons and military equipment to "anti-government forces" in the war-torn country.

The montage sequence will rely on false satellite imagery and radar images allegedly taken by spy drones.

This is while pressure is mounting on the US over its failure in Afghanistan, amid rising causalities among foreign troops in the country.

June was the bloodiest month for the US-led troops in Afghanistan since the beginning of invasion of the country in 2001, with a record 102 fatalities.

While the mounting civilian death toll continues to anger Kabul, it is widely believed that Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and other chief masterminds of the militancy are hiding in neighboring Pakistan.

In a controversial move, the Obama administration sacked the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal in June, for mocking his "clueless" civilian bosses.

'US cannot garner support for Iran war'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129902§ionid=351020104



A former chief UN weapons inspector says the UN Security Council would never approve an attack on Iran, amid US efforts to punish the country for its nuclear work.

Hans Blix made the remarks in an interview with Austrian daily Der Standard published on Wednesday, as the UN Security Council voted to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran.

"A military solution is unlikely. It is clear that the UN will not approve such an action," he said. "Under the UN Charter, there are two possibilities for military action: self-defense against an armed attack or an invasion authorized by the UN Security Council."

The former weapons inspector highlighted the fact it would be impossible for the US to evaluate the existence of low-enriched uranium -- which Iran is producing domestically to make medical isotopes and to fuel its under-construction nuclear power plants -- as an armed attack and compel the UN Security Council to authorize an offensive military strike against Tehran.

Asked on the likelihood of a US military unilateralism, Blix said the odds were very low as the US knew Iran was not unprepared and would dread a situation similar to the preemptive invasion of Iraq --the legality of which remains internationally contested.

"Even the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Admiral Michael Mullen, has spoken out against it. He said that one must consider the consequences. And he said the situation was a bit like that in Iraq: you know what to do when you go in, but little about how one makes advances."

Noting West's lack of proof to back allegations against Iran's nuclear program, Blix stressed that the "hot" nuclear standoff could very well be resolved through diplomacy.

Iran -- a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) -- argues that is has the legal right to a civilian nuclear program.

The US and Israel, meanwhile, have kept "all options" on the table to prevent Iran from developing its program.

Veto-wielding UNSC members Russia and China, which joined the sanctions campaign despite earlier opposition, say the issue should be resolved through diplomacy and have warned against any military strike against the second oil producer in the world.

US, Brazil differences on Iran 'serious'

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=128046§ionid=351020104



US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that the US and Brazil have "very serious disagreements" over Iran's nuclear program.

"Certainly we have very serious disagreements with Brazil's diplomacy vis-à-vis Iran," Clinton said on Thursday in her most candid remarks yet about Brazil's work with Turkey in brokering the Tehran declaration.

She went even further to say that efforts made by Brazil and Turkey to find a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue have made the world "more dangerous."

"We think buying time for Iran, enabling Iran to avoid international unity with respect to their nuclear program, makes the world more dangerous not less," Reuters quoted Clinton as saying.

The declaration, signed by the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, and Brazil, in the Iranian capital on May 17 commits Tehran to put 1,200 kg (2,640 lb) of its low-enriched uranium in escrow in Turkey in exchange for 120 kg (264 lb) of 20 percent-enriched nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

One day after the Tehran declaration, the US submitted its draft sanctions resolution to the UN Security Council, saying it had convinced veto-wielding permanent members China and Russia to join its campaign.

Iran stresses that its nuclear program is a civilian one and its inalienable right given its membership in the International Atomic Energy Agency and as it is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran details conditions for N-swap deal

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=126757§ionid=351020104



Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has detailed the terms and conditions of a nuclear swap deal aimed at ending the standoff over the country's uranium enrichment.

In a declaration he read out to reporters on Monday, Mottaki also reaffirmed Iran's commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the legal right of all member states, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

He expressed hope that Tehran's decision to accept the deal would create a positive, constructive, and non-confrontational atmosphere that will open a new chapter of interaction and cooperation between Iran and the West.

Under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mottaki said, Tehran has agreed to deposit 1,200 kg of its domestic low-enriched uranium (LEU) in Turkey, where it will continue to remain the property of Iran.

He added Iran will ask the IAEA to station its personnel in Turkey to monitor the safe-keeping of the dispatched LEU.

The top diplomat underlined Iran will inform the IAEA of its decision "through official channels" within no more than seven days from the Monday meeting.

"Upon the positive response of the Vienna Group --which includes Russia, France, the United States and the IAEA- further details of the exchange will be elaborated through a written agreement and proper arrangement between Iran and the Vienna group that specifically committed themselves to deliver 120 cages of fuel needed for the Tehran research reactor (TRR)," noted Mottaki.

If the Vienna Group accepts Iran's terms and conditions, Mottaki said, both parties will "commit themselves to the implementation" of the deal, which requires Iran to deposit its LEU in Turkey within one month, and in return, the Vienna group will deliver 120 kg of fuel required for the Tehran reactor in no later than one year.

He warned that if the provisions of the deal are not respected, Turkey will, upon the request of Iran, send back the LEU "swiftly and unconditionally".