'Netanyahu seeks US bombs for Iran attack'

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121389§ionid=351020104


As Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans a visit to Washington, a report says he will ask the US to release sophisticated bombs needed for a possible strike on Iran's nuclear sites.

Netanyahu will ask Israel's closest ally to supply sophisticated 'bunker-buster' bombs needed to break through to Iran's nuclear enrichment sites, the Sunday Times reported.

The Israeli premier is expected to attend a three-day meeting of the top pro-Israeli lobby in the US, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, commonly known as AIPAC and to meet with senior administration officials.

Despite Tel Aviv's refusal to renounce nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, Israel and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program — a charge strongly denied by Tehran.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), views the claims as "unfounded and baseless” as the non-diversion of Iranian nuclear materials has been repeatedly verified in unannounced visits by UN inspectors.

Israel, reported to have the region's sole atomic arsenal, has a long-standing tendency to bomb Iran's nuclear sites, arguing that the country is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Plans for a military attack against Iran have gained momentum in Tel Aviv over the past few months.

On November 7, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon warned Iran that Tel Aviv's persistent threats of military action were not just a bluff.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Herald has reported that hundreds of powerful US "bunker-buster" bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia located in the Indian Ocean.

Experts believe that the cargo manifest from the US navy is being put in place for an assault on Iran's nuclear facilities, said the newspaper.

The US military used Diego Garcia as a base to attack Iraq in 1991 and 2003.

The developments come as US president Barack Obama on Saturday once again repeated his offer of "dialogue" with Tehran.

Iran says it is hypocritical of the US to call for normalization of ties with the country but does the opposite in practice.

"The new [US] administration and president … wrote letters and sent messages ... saying they are willing to normalize relations with the Islamic Republic, but in practice they did the opposite," Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Sunday in a Nowruz address to Iranians in the holy city of Mashhad.

Iran rejects GCC claim over 3 Persian Gulf islands

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120562§ionid=351020101


Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has rejected a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) statement over its three Persian Gulf islands.

"The baseless claims made by the GCC in Riyadh over the Iranian islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa is a clear interference in Iran's internal affairs," Mehmanparast said on Wednesday.

"The three islands remain an indisputable part of the Iranian territory," he went on to say.

"We have repeatedly said that the slight misunderstanding between Iran and the UAE over Abu Musa is resolvable and the interference of other parties will never help solve the problem," he further explained.

Tehran possesses historical, legal and geographical documents verifying its sovereign right to the islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.

The three Persian Gulf islands were historically owned by Iran but the exercise of colonialism by Britain led to the islands temporarily falling under British control in the 1800s.

The islands were then returned to Iran on November 30th 1971 through a legal process before the state of the United Arab Emirates was created and the Al Nahyan family assumed leadership.

According to international regulations, no state can defy any agreements which had come into being before its creation unless such agreements had been officially declared as null and void by the newly-created state.

Obama unveils nuclear power plan

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/02/2010216185539168789.html


The US president has turned to nuclear power as he attempts to cut greenhouse gases, making about $8bn in federal loan guarantees available for building the country's first new nuclear power plants in almost 30 years.

Barack Obama said that despite the concerns of some environmentalists over safety, nuclear power must play a key role as the US looks to tackle climate change and reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

"On an issue which affects our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we cannot continue to be mired in the same old debates between left and right, between environmentalists and entrepreneurs," Obama said on Tuesday.


The loan guarantees will go towards the construction of two new nuclear reactors at an existing nuclear facility in Burke, Georgia, the White House said.

Obama said the investment in nuclear power would pay-off in employment opportunities.

"It's a plant that will create thousands of construction jobs in the next few years and some 800 permanent jobs, well-paying permanent jobs, in the years to come," he said.

"And this is only the beginning."

Energy competitors

The president warned that America's competitors were way ahead on nuclear energy, specifically mentioning long-term investments by Japan and France in the industry.

He said of 56 nuclear reactors around being built around the world, 21 are in China, six in South Korea, and five in India.

"Make no mistake, whether it is nuclear energy, or solar or wind energy, if we fail to invest in these technologies today, we'll be importing them tomorrow," Obama said.

Obama used a 2005 law that authorities the energy department to guarantee loans to projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

He said the plant would reduce carbon pollution by about 16m tones each year when compared to a similar coal plant, the equivalent of taking 3.5m cars off the road.

Nuclear opposition

There are two main areas of opposition to Obama's nuclear power goals.

Taxpayer watchdog groups oppose the spending on terms of scale and likely impact, while some environmentalists oppose the idea of expanding nuclear power on safety grounds and on principle, arguing that funds should be transferred to other sources of alternative energy.

The president's 2011 budget unveiled earlier this month contains authority for $36bn in new loan authority for the construction of new nuclear power plants in addition to $18bn already authorised.

There have been no new nuclear power plants built in the US since the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania.

Presently only 20 per cent of the country's energy needs are met by nuclear power.

The announcement came as Hilary Clinton, the US secretary of state, visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia to rally support for economic sanctions against Iran for pursuing its own nuclear programme.