The nuclear program of Iran 2
The February IAEA report also described progress in Iran's enrichment and fuel fabrication efforts, including a tripling of the number of cascades enriching uranium to nearly 20% and testing of fuel elements for the Tehran Research Reactor and the still incomplete IR-40 heavy water research reactor.[200] Sony PCG-81112L Battery
Sony PCG-81314L BatteryThough Iran was continuing to install thousands of additional centrifuges, these were based on an erratic and outdated design, both in its main enrichment plant at Natanz and in a smaller facility at Fordow buried deep underground. "It appears that they are still struggling with the advanced centrifuges," Sony PCG-81113L Battery
Sony PCG-81313L Battery said Olli Heinonen, a former chief nuclear inspector for the Vienna-based U.N. agency, while nuclear expert Mark Fitzpatrick pointed out that Iran had been working on "second-generation models for over ten years now and still can't put them into large-scale operation".[
Sony PCG-81312L Battery205] Peter Crail and Daryl G. Kimball of the Arms Control Organisation commented that the report "does not identify any breakthroughs" and "confirms initial impressions that Iran's announcements last week on a series of 'nuclear advances' were hyped."[206]
May 2012 report[edit source | editbeta]
In May 2012, the IAEA reported that Iran had increased its rate of production of low-enriched uranium enriched to 3.5% and to expand its stockpile of uranium enriched to 19.75%, but was having difficulty with more advanced centrifuges.[20Sony PCG-81114L Battery
Sony PCG-81214L Battery7] The IAEA also reported detecting particles of uranium enriched to 27% at the Fordu enrichment facility. However, a diplomat in Vienna cautioned that the spike in uranium purity found by inspectors could turn out to be accidental.[208] Sony SVE1511A1EW battery
Sony SVE1713S1E battery This change drastically moved Iran's uranium toward bomb-grade material. Until now, the highest level of purity that had been found in Iran was 20 percent.[209]
August 2012 report[edit source | editbeta] Sony SVE1511F1E battery
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In late August, the IAEA set up an Iran Task Force to deal with inspections and other issues related to Iran's nuclear program, in an attempt to focus and streamline the IAEA's handling of Iran's nuclear program by concentrating experts and other resources into one dedicated team.[210] Sony SVE1511L1E battery
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On 30 August, the IAEA released a report showing a major expansion of Iranian enrichment activities. The report said that Iran has more than doubled the number of centrifuges at the underground facility at Fordow, from 1,064 centrifuges in May to 2,140 centrifuges in August,
Sony SVE1712Z1E batterythough the number of operating centrifuges had not increased. The report said that since 2010 Iran had produced about 190 kg of 20%-enriched uranium, up from 145 kg in May. The report also noted that Iran had converted some of the 20%-enriched uranium to an oxide form and fabricated into fuel for use in research reactors, Sony SVE1511M1E battery
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Sony SVE1712Q1E batteryand that once this conversion and fabrication have taken place, the fuel cannot be readily enriched to weapon-grade purity.[211][212]
The report also expressed concerns over Parchin, which the IAEA has sought to inspect for evidence of nuclear weapons development. Since the IAEA requested access, "significant ground scraping and landscaping have been undertaken over an extensive area at and around the location," Sony SVE1511P1E battery
Sony SVE1711F1E battery five buildings had been demolished, while power lines, fences, and paved roads were removed, all of which would hamper the IAEA investigation if it were granted access.[213]
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In a briefing to the Board of Governors on this report in early September 2012, IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts and Assistant Director General Rafael Grossi displayed satellite images for its member states which allegedly demonstrate Iranian efforts to remove incriminating evidence from its facility at Parchin, or a "nuclear clean-up." Sony SVE1511Q1E battery
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These images showed a building at Parchin covered in what appeared to be a pink tarpaulin, as well as demolition of building and removal of earth that the IAEA said would "significantly hamper" its investigation. A senior Western diplomat described the presentation as "pretty compelling."
Sony SVE1513Q1E batteryThe Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said that the purpose of the pink tarpaulin could be to hide further "clean-up work" from satellites. However, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, denied the contents of the presentation, saying that "merely having a photo from up there, a satellite imagery ... this is not the way the agency should do its professional job."[214] Sony SVE1511W1E battery
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According to the Associated Press, the IAEA received "new and significant intelligence" by September 2012, which four diplomats confirmed was the basis for a passage in the August 2012 IAEA report that "the agency has obtained more information which further corroborates" suspicions.
Sony SVE1513E9E batteryThe intelligence reportedly indicates that Iran had advanced work on computer modeling of the performance of a nuclear warhead, work David Albright of ISIS said was "critical to the development of a nuclear weapon." Sony SVE1512B1E battery
Sony SVE1513D1E batteryThe intelligence would also boost fears by the IAEA that Iran has advanced its weapons research on multiple fronts, as computer modeling is usually accompanied by physical tests of the components which would enter a nuclear weapon.[215] Sony SVE1512C6E battery
In response to this report, the IAEA Board of Governors on 13 September passed a resolution that rebuked Iran for defying UN Security Council resolutions to suspend uranium enrichment and called on Iran to allow inspections of evidence that it is pursuing weapons technology.[216] The resolution,
Sony SVE1513C5E batterywhich passed by a vote of 31–1 with 3 abstentions, also expressed "serious concerns" about Iran's nuclear program while desiring a peaceful resolution. Senior United States diplomat Robert Wood blamed Iran for "systematically demolishing" a facility at the Parchin military base,
Sony SVE1513C4E batterywhich IAEA inspectors have attempted to visit in the past, but were not granted access, saying "Iran has been taking measures that appear consistent with an effort to remove evidence of its past activities at Parchin."[217Sony SVE1512J1E battery
] The resolution was introduced jointly by China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.[218]
November 2012 report[edit source | editbeta]
On 16 November, the IAEA released a report showing continued expansion in Iranian uranium enrichment capabilities. At Fordow, all 2784 IR-1 centrifuges (16 cascades of 174 each) have been installed, Sony SVE1512K1E battery
Sony SVE1512M1E battery though only 4 cascades are operating and another 4 are fully equipped, vacuum-tested, and ready to begin operating.[219] Iran has produced approximately 233 kg of near-20% enriched uranium, an increase of 43 kg since the August 2012 IAEA report.[220] Sony SVE1511A1EB battery
The IAEA August 2012 report stated that Iran had begun to use 96 kg of its near-20% enriched uranium to fabricate fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, which makes it more difficult to further enrich that uranium to weapons grade, since it would first need to be converted back to uranium hexafluoride gas.[22Sony SVE14A1S1EB battery
Sony SVE17 battery 1] Though more of this uranium has been fabricated into fuel, no additional uranium has been sent to the Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant at Esfahan.[219]
The November report noted that Iran has continued to deny the IAEA access to the military site at Parchin. Citing evidence from satellite imagery that "Iran constructed a large explosives containment vessel in which to conduct hydrodynamic experiments" relevant to nuclear weapons development, Sony SVE14A1S1EP battery
Sony SVE1713Z1E batterythe report expresses concern that changes taking place at the Parchin military site might eliminate evidence of past nuclear activities, noting that there had been virtually no activity at that location between February 2005 and the time the IAEA requested access. Those changes include: Sony SVE1511Q1EB battery
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Frequent presence of equipment, trucks and personnel.
Large amounts of liquid run-off.
Removal of external pipework.
Razing and removal of five other buildings or structures and the site perimeter fence.
Reconfiguration of electrical and water supply.
Shrouding of the containment vessel building.
Scraping and removal of large quantities of earth and the depositing of new earth in its place.[219][222] Sony SVE1511R9ESI battery
Iran said that the IR-40 heavy water-moderated research reactor at Arak was expected begin to operate in the first quarter of 2014. During on-site inspections of the IR-40 design, IAEA inspectors observed that the installation of cooling and moderator circuit piping was continuing.[222] Sony SVE1511V1EW battery
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February 2013 report[edit source | editbeta]
On 21 February, the IAEA released a report showing continued expansion in Iranian uranium enrichment capabilities. As of 19 February, 12,699 IR-1 centrifuges have been installed at Natanz. This includes the installation of 2,255 centrifuges since the previous IAEA report in November.[223] Sony SVE1511W1ESI battery
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Fordow, the nuclear facility near Qom, contains 16 cascades, equally divided between Unit 1 and Unit 2, with a total of 2,710 centrifuges. Iran is continuing to operate the four cascades of 174 IR-1 centrifuges each in two tandem sets to produce 19.75% LEU in a total of 696 enriching centrifuges, the same number of centrifuges enriching as was reported in November 2012.[22
Sony SVE1513B4E battery4]
Iran has produced approximately 280 kg of near-20% enriched uranium, an increase of 47 kg since the November 2012 IAEA report and the total 3.5% LEU production stands at 8,271 kg (compared to 7,611 kg reported during the last quarter).[223] Sony SVE14A1S1E battery
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The IAEA February 2013 report stated that Iran has resumed reconverting near-20% enriched uranium into Oxide form to fabricate fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, which makes it more difficult to further enrich that uranium to weapons grade, since it would first need to be converted back to uranium hexafluoride gas.[225] Sony SVE15 battery
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The February report noted that Iran has continued to deny the IAEA access to the military site at Parchin. Citing evidence from satellite imagery that "Iran constructed a large explosives containment vessel in which to conduct hydrodynamic experiments". Sony SVE1511A1E battery
Such installation could be an indicator of nuclear weapons development. The report expresses concern that changes taking place at the Parchin military site might eliminate evidence of past nuclear activities, noting that there had been virtually no activity at that location between February 2005 and the time the IAEA requested access. Those changes include: Sony SVE1511R9E battery
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Reinstatement of some of the chamber building’s features, for example wall panels and exhaust piping.
Alterations to the roofs of the chamber building and the other large building.
Dismantlement and reconstruction of the annex to the other large building.
Construction of one small building at the same place where a building of similar size had previously been demolished. Sony VPCCA1C5E battery
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Spreading, levelling and compacting of another layer of material over a large area.
Installation of a fence that divides the location into two areas. Most of these activities have also been documented by ISIS in satellite imagery reports, dated 29 November 2012, 12 December 2012 and 25 January 2013.[224][225] Sony VPCCA1S1E battery
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Iran said that the IR-40 heavy water-moderated research reactor at Arak was expected begin to operate in the first quarter of 2014. During on-site inspections of the IR-40 design, IAEA inspectors observed that the previously reported installation of cooling and moderator circuit piping was almost complete. Sony VPCCA2 battery
Sony VPCCB2S1E batteryThe IAEA reports that Iran will use the TRR to test fuel for the IR-40 reactor, a reactor that the UN Security Council has demanded that Iran stop building because it could be used to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. The IAEA report states that “on 26 November 2012, the Agency verified a prototype IR-40 natural uranium fuel assembly before its transfer to TRR for irradiation testing.”[22Sony VPCCA2S0E battery
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5] Since its last visit on 17 August 2011, the Agency has not been provided with further access to the plant so is relying on satellite imagery to monitor the status of the plant.[225]
Iran[edit source | editbeta] Sony VPCCA3 battery
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Interviews and surveys show that the majority of Iranians in all groups favor their country's nuclear program.[226][227][228] Polls in 2008 showed that the vast majority of Iranians want their country to develop nuclear energy, and 90% of Iranians believe it is important (including 81% very important) for Iran "to have a full fuel cycle nuclear program."[2Sony VPCCB2 battery
Sony VPCCB2M0E battery29] Though Iranians are not Arab, Arab publics in six countries also believe that Iran has the right to its nuclear program and should not be pressured to stop that program.[230] A poll in September 2010 by the International Peace Institute found that 71 percent of Iranians favored the development of nuclear weapons, a drastic hike over the previous polls by the same agency.[ Sony SVS13 battery
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231] However, in July 2012, a poll on an Iranian state-run media outlet found that 2/3 Iranians support suspending uranium enrichment in return for a gradual easing of sanctions.[232][233][2Sony VPCSA battery
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Sony VPCSB1X9E battery34][235] Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born commentator with the Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Company, stated that while Iranians may want nuclear energy, they don't want it at the price the government is willing to pay.[236] Sony SVS15 battery
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In explaining why it had left its enrichment program undeclared to the IAEA, Iran said that for the past twenty-four years it has "been subject to the most severe series of sanctions and export restrictions on material and technology for peaceful nuclear technology," Sony VPCSA2Z9E battery
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Sony SVS1311P9EB batteryso that some elements of its program had to be done discreetly. Iran said the U.S. intention "is nothing but to make this deprivation" of Iran's inalienable right to enrichment technology "final and eternal," and that the United States is completely silent on Israel's nuclear enrichment and weapons program.[ Sony SVE171A11M battery
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Sony SVS151A12M battery237] Iran began its nuclear research as early as 1975, when France cooperated with Iran to set up the Esfahan Nuclear Technology Center (ENTC) to provide training for personnel to develop certain nuclear fuel cycle capabilities.[238][239] Iran did not hide other elements of its nuclear program. For example, its efforts at mining and converting uranium were announced on national radio,[240Sony SVE1711T1EB battery
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][241] and Iran also says that in consultation with the Agency and member states throughout the 1990s it underlined its plans to acquire, for exclusively peaceful purposes, fuel enrichment technology.[2Sony SVE1711V1EB battery
Sony SVS151A11M battery37] Iran's contracts with other nations to obtain nuclear reactors were also known to the IAEA – but support for the contracts was withdrawn after "a U.S. special national intelligence estimate declared that while 'Iran's much publicized nuclear power intentions are entirely in the planning stage,'Sony SVE1711X1EB battery
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the ambitions of the shah could lead Iran to pursue nuclear weapons, especially in the shadow of India's successful nuclear test in May 1974".[242] In 2003, the IAEA reported that Iran had failed to meet its obligations to report some of its enrichment activities, Sony SVE1511G1ESI battery
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Sony SVS131B12M batterywhich Iran says began in 1985, to the IAEA as required by its safeguards agreement. The IAEA further reported that Iran had undertaken to submit the required information for agency verification and "to implement a policy of co-operation and full transparency" as corrective actions.[91] Sony SVE1511S1EW battery
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The Iranian government has repeatedly made compromise offers to place strict limits on its nuclear program beyond what the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Additional Protocol legally require of Iran, in order to ensure that the program cannot be secretly diverted to the manufacture of weapons.[2Sony SVE1511S1EB battery
Sony SVS13AA11M battery43] These offers include operating Iran's nuclear program as an international consortium, with the full participation of foreign governments. This offer by the Iranians matched a proposed solution put forth by an IAEA expert committee that was investigating the risk that civilian nuclear technologies could be used to make bombs.[31]
Sony SVS13A1U9ES battery Iran has also offered to renounce plutonium extraction technology, thus ensuring that its heavy water reactor at Arak cannot be used to make bombs either.[244] More recently, the Iranians have reportedly also offered to operate uranium centrifuges that automatically self-destruct if they are used to enrich uranium beyond what is required for civilian purposes.[24
Sony VPCCA2S1E battery5] However, despite offers of nuclear cooperation by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, Iran has refused to suspend its enrichment program as the Council has demanded.[24Sony SVE1511B1EW battery
Sony VPCCA3S1E battery6] Iran's representative asserted that dealing with the issue in the Security Council was unwarranted and void of any legal basis or practical utility because its peaceful nuclear program posed no threat to international peace and security, and, that it ran counter to the views of the majority of United Nations Member States, which the Council was obliged to represent.
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"They should know that the Iranian nation will not yield to pressure and will not let its rights be trampled on," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a crowd 31 August 2006, in a televised speech in the northwestern Iranian city of Orumiyeh. Sony SVE1511H1EW battery
Sony VPCCA4S1E battery In front of his strongest supporters in one of his provincial power bases, the Iranian leader attacked what he called "intimidation" by the United Nations, which he said was led by the United States. Ahmadinejad criticised a White House rebuff of his offer for a televised debate with President Bush. "Sony SVE1511H1ESI battery
Sony SVE1511J1EW batteryThey say they support dialog and the free flow of information," he said. "But when debate was proposed, they avoided and opposed it." Ahmadinejad said that sanctions "cannot dissuade Iranians from their decision to make progress," according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. "On the contrary, many of our successes, including access to the nuclear fuel cycle and producing of heavy water, have been achieved under sanctions." Sony SVS1511M3EW battery
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Iran insists enrichment activities are intended for peaceful purposes, but much of the West, including the United States, allege that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, or a nuclear weapons "capability".Sony SVS1511T9ES battery
Sony PCG-4121GM battery The 31 August 2006, deadline called for Iran to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1696 and suspend its enrichment-related activities or face the possibility of economic sanctions. Sony SVS1511V9EB battery
The United States believes the council will agree to implement sanctions when high-level ministers reconvene in mid-September, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said. "We're sure going to work toward that [sanctions] with a great deal of energy and determination because this cannot go unanswered," Sony SVS1511V9ES battery
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Burns said. "The Iranians are obviously proceeding with their nuclear research; they are doing things that the International Atomic Energy Agency does not want them to do, the Security Council doesn't want them to do. There has to be an international answer, and we believe there will be one."[117Sony VPCSA3Q9E battery
]
Iran asserts that there is no legal basis for Iran's referral to the United Nations Security Council since the IAEA has not proven that previously undeclared activities had a relationship to a weapons program, Sony VPCSB4S9E battery
and that all nuclear material in Iran (including material that may not have been declared) had been accounted for and had not been diverted to military purposes. Article XII.C of the IAEA Statute[24Sony VPCSE2F1E battery
7] requires a report to the UN Security Council for any safeguards noncompliance.[248] The IAEA Board of Governors, in a rare non-consensus decision with 12 abstentions,[11Sony VPCSE2V9E battery
3] decided that "Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply with its NPT Safeguards Agreement" as reported by the IAEA in November 2003 constituted "non-compliance" under the terms of Article XII.C of IAEA Statute.[105] Sony PCG-4121DM battery
Iran also minimizes the significance of the IAEA's inability to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, arguing the IAEA has only drawn such conclusions in a subset of states that have ratified and implemented the Additional Protocol. The IAEA has been able to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran,[24Sony PCG-4121EM battery
Sony PCG-41214M battery9] but not the absence of undeclared activities. According to the IAEA's Safeguards Statement for 2007, of the 82 states where both NPT safeguards and an Additional Protocol are implemented, the IAEA had found no indication of undeclared nuclear activity in 47 states,
Sony PCG-41414M battery while evaluations of possible undeclared nuclear activity remained ongoing in 35 states.[250] Iran ceased implementation of the Additional Protocol and all other cooperation with the IAEA beyond that required under its safeguards agreement after the IAEA Board of Governors decided to report its safeguards non-compliance to the UN Security Council in February 2006.[1
Sony PCG-41218M battery08] Iran insisted that such cooperation had been "voluntary," but on 26 December 2006, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1737,[2Sony PCG-41211M battery
Sony PCG-41213M battery51] invoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which among other things required Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA, "beyond the formal requirements of the Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol." The IAEA reported on 19 November 2008, that, while it is "able to continue to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran, Sony vgp-bps24 battery
" it "has not been able to make substantive progress" on "key remaining issues of serious concern" because of a "lack of cooperation by Iran."[252] Iran has maintained that the Security Council's engagement in "the issue of the peaceful nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran" are unlawful and malicious.[25Sony vgp-bpsc24 battery
Sony SVE1511A1EW battery3] Iran also argues that the UN Security Council resolutions demanding a suspension of enrichment constitute a violation of Article IV of the Non-Proliferation Treaty which recognizes the inalienable right of signatory nations to nuclear technology "for peaceful purposes."[254][255] Sony VPCSD1S1C battery
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Iran agreed to implement the Additional Protocol under the terms of the October 2003 Tehran agreement and its successor, the November 2004 Paris agreement, and did so for two years before withdrawing from the Paris agreement in early 2006 following the breakdown of negotiations with the EU-3. Since then, Sony SVS15 battery
Sony PCG-41214M battery Iran has offered not only to ratify the Additional Protocol, but to implement transparency measures on its nuclear program that exceed the Additional Protocol, as long as its right to operate an enrichment program is recognized. Sony VPCSA2Z9E battery
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The UN Security Council, however, insists that Iran must suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, and the United States explicitly ruled out the possibility that it would allow Iran to produce its own nuclear fuel, even under intense international inspection.[256] Sony SVS131B12M battery
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On 9 April 2007, Iran announced that it has begun enriching uranium with 3 000 centrifuges, presumably at Natanz enrichment site. "With great honor, I declare that as of today our dear country has joined the nuclear club of nations and can produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale", said Ahmadinejad.[257] Sony SVS151A11M battery
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On 22 April 2007, Iranians foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini announced that his country rules out enrichment suspension ahead of talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on 25 April 2007.[258]
In March 2009 Iran announced plans to open the Bushehr nuclear power plant to tourism as a way to highlight their peaceful nuclear intentions.[259] Sony SVS151A12M battery
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Reacting to the November 2009 IAEA Board of Governors resolution demanding that Iran immediately stop building its newly revealed nuclear facility and freeze uranium enrichment, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast described the resolution as a "show ... aimed at putting pressure on Iran, which will be useless."[1Sony SVS1311E3EW battery
Sony PCG-41211M battery84] The Iranian government subsequently authorized the country's Atomic Energy Organization to begin building ten more uranium-enrichment plants for enhancing the country's electricity production.[260] Sony SVS1311P9EB battery
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 1 December brushed aside the threat of UN sanctions over his country's failure to accept a UN-proposed deal on its nuclear program, stating that such a move by western nations would not hinder Iran's nuclear program. Sony SVS1511L3ES battery
Sony PCG-4121DM batteryAhmadinejad told state television that he believed further negotiations with world powers over his country's nuclear program were not needed, describing warnings by Western powers that Iran would be isolated if it fails to accept the UN-proposed deal as "ridiculous."[260] Sony SVS1511M3EW battery
Watched by senior officials from Iran and Russia, Iran began fueling Bushehr I on 21 August 2010 the nation's state media reported, in an effort to help create nuclear-generated electricity. While state media reported it will take about two months for the reactor to begin generating electricity, Sony SVS1511N3ES battery
Sony VPCSE2V9E batteryRussia's nuclear agency says it will take longer. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, recently asserted Iran's right to establish nuclear plants.[261]
Given the crippling impact of international sanctions on the Iranian economy, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, chief of the national police, has instructed state controlled media to avoiding showing images of people eating the no longer affordable luxury of chicken.[262]
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On 17 September 2012, speaking at the IAEA General Conference, Iranian nuclear chief Fereydoun Abbasi attacked the IAEA, saying that "terrorists and saboteurs" had possibly infiltrated the IAEA in order to derail Iran's nuclear program. Sony SVS1511T9ES battery
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Sony VPCSB4S9E batteryAbbasi said that on 17 August 2012, an underground enrichment plant was sabotaged, and IAEA inspectors arrived in Iran to inspect it soon after.[263] The Associated Press noted that his comments reflected a determination in Iran to continue defying international pressure regarding its nuclear program.[ Sony SVS1511V9ES battery
264] Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said that Iran's accusations regarding the IAEA "are a new low. Increasingly cornered, they are lashing out wildly."[265Sony SVS1511W9EB battery
Sony VPCSA3Q9E battery] Abassi's allegations were viewed by some Western experts as providing a potential pretext for Iran to officially downgrade its level of cooperation with the IAEA.[266] Abbasi also met separately with IAEA Director General Amano, after which the IAEA pressed Iran to address concerns in its nuclear program, Sony SVE17 battery
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and said that the IAEA was ready for negotiations soon. The IAEA did not comment on Abbasi's statements regarding "terrorists and saboteurs," but did say that it was vital that Iran cooperate with IAEA inspectors in order to clarify suspicions regarding its nuclear program.[267][268Sony VPCCA1C5E battery
Sony VPCCB3M1E battery] In an interview on the sidelines of the IAEA General Conference. Abbasi was quoted as saying that Iran had intentionally provided false information about its nuclear program to mislead western intelligence. Sony VPCCA1S1E battery
Sony VPCCA4S1E battery Abbasi, who had been an assassination target in 2010, said Iran sometimes exaggerated and sometimes understated its progress.[269][270]
Iran will showcase its nuclear exports at Atomexpo 2013.[271] Sony VPCCA2 battery
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United States[edit source | editbeta]
President George W. Bush insisted on 31 August 2006, that "there must be consequences" for Iran's defiance of demands that it stop enriching uranium. He asserted "the world now faces a grave threat from the radical regime in Iran. The Iranian regime arms, funds, and advises Hezbollah."[272] Sony VPCCA2Z0E battery
Sony SVE1511H1ESI batteryThe IAEA issued a report saying Iran had not suspended its uranium enrichment activities, a United Nations official said. This report opened the way for UN Security Council sanctions against Iran. Facing a Security Council deadline to stop its uranium enrichment activities, Iran has left little doubt it will defy the West and continue its nuclear program.[1Sony VPCCA3 battery
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17]
A congressional report released on 23 August 2006, summarized the documentary history of Iran's nuclear program, but also made allegations against the IAEA. The IAEA responded with a strongly worded letter to then U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra,
Sony SVE1511H1EW batterywhich labeled as "outrageous and dishonest" the report's allegation that an IAEA inspector was dismissed for violating a supposed IAEA policy against "telling the whole truth" about Iran and pointed out other factual errors, such as a claim that Iran had enriched "weapons-grade" uranium.[273] Sony VPCCB2M0E battery
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John Bolton, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on 31 August 2006, said that he expected action to impose sanctions to begin immediately after the deadline passes, with meetings of high-level officials in the coming days, followed by negotiations on the language of the sanctions resolution. Sony VPCCB2S1E battery
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Sony SVE1511S1EB battery Bolton said that when the deadline passes "a little flag will go up." "In terms of what happens afterward, at that point, if they have not suspended all uranium enrichment activities, they will not be in compliance with the resolution," he said. "And at that point, the steps that the foreign ministers have agreed upon previously ... we would begin to talk about how to implement those steps." VPCCB3P1E battery
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Sony SVE1511S1ESI battery The five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany, previously offered Iran a package of incentives aimed at getting the country to restart negotiations, but Iran refused to halt its nuclear activities first. Sony VPCCA3E1E battery
Sony SVE1511S1EW battery Incentives included offers to improve Iran's access to the international economy through participation in groups such as the World Trade Organization and to modernize its telecommunications industry. Sony SVE171A11M battery
Sony SVE1511G1EB battery The incentives also mentioned the possibility of lifting restrictions on U.S. and European manufacturers wanting to export civil aircraft to Iran. And a proposed long-term agreement accompanying the incentives offered a "fresh start in negotiations."[117] Sony SVE151C11M battery
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IAEA officials complained in 2007 that most U.S. intelligence shared with it to date about Iran's nuclear program proved to be inaccurate, and that none had led to significant discoveries inside Iran through that time.[274] Sony SVE1711T1EB battery
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Through 2008, the United States repeatedly refused to rule out using nuclear weapons in an attack on Iran. The U.S. Nuclear Posture Review made public in 2002 specifically envisioned the use of nuclear weapons on a first strike basis, even against non-nuclear armed states.[275] Sony SVE1711K1EW battery
Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reported that, according to military officials, the Bush administration had plans for the use of nuclear weapons against "underground Iranian nuclear facilities".[276Sony SVE1711V1EB battery
Sony SVE1711X1EB battery] When specifically questioned about the potential use of nuclear weapons against Iran, President Bush claimed that "All options were on the table". According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, Bush "directly threatened Iran with a preemptive nuclear strike. It is hard to read his reply in any other way."[277] Sony PCG-41311M battery
The Iranian authorities consistently replied that they were not seeking nuclear weapons as a deterrent to the United States, and instead emphasize the creation of a nuclear-arms free zone in the Middle East.[ Sony PCG-41314M battery
Sony VGP-BPS20 battery278] The policy of using nuclear weapons on a first-strike basis against non-nuclear opponents is a violation of the US Negative Security Assurance pledge not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear members of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) such as Iran. Sony PCG-4R2M battery
Sony VPCZ23N9E batteryThreats of the use of nuclear weapons against another country constitute a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 984 and the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons. Sony PCG-6Z4M battery
In December 2008, President-Elect Barack Obama gave an interview on Sunday's "Meet the Press" with host Tom Brokaw during which he said the United States needs to "ratchet up tough but direct diplomacy with Iran". He said in his view the United States needs to make it clear to the Iranians that their alleged development of nuclear weapons and funding of organizations "like Hamas and Hezbollah," Sony PCG-6122M battery
Sony VPCZ21X9R battery and threats against Israel are "unacceptable."[279] Obama supports diplomacy with Iran without preconditions "to pressure Iran to stop their illicit nuclear program".[280] Mohamed ElBaradei has welcomed the new stance to talk to Iran as "long overdue". Sony PCG-6124M battery
Sony VPCZ21V9E batteryIran said Obama should apologize for the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II and his administration should stop talking to the world and "listen to what others are saying."[281] In his first press interview as President, Obama told Al Arabiya that "if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us."[282] Sony VPCZ13V9E battery
In March 2009 U.S. National Intelligence Director Dennis C. Blair and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples told a United States Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing that Iran has only low-enriched uranium, which there were no indications it was refining. Their comments countered ones made earlier by an Israeli general and Maples said the United States was arriving at different conclusions from the same facts.[283] Sony VPCZ13Z9E/X battery
On 7 April 2009, a Manhattan district attorney charged a financier with the suspected misuse of Manhattan banks employed to transfer money between China and Iran by way of Europe and the United States.[284] Sony VPCZ21Q9E battery
Sony VPCZ12V9E/B batteryThe materials in question can be used for weapons as well as civilian purposes, but some of the material can potentially be used in making engine nozzles that can withstand fiery temperatures and centrifuges that can enrich uranium into atomic fuel. The charges would carry a maximum of up to a year in jail for fifth-degree conspiracy and a maximum of four years for falsifying business records.[28Sony VGP-BPL20 battery
Sony VPCZ12V9E battery5] David Albright, a nuclear weapons expert who assisted in the prosecution, said that it is impossible to say how Iran used or could use the raw materials it acquired.[286]
A document released by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research in August 2009 assessed that Iran was unlikely to have the technical capability to produce HEU (highly enriched uranium) before 2013, and the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence that Iran had yet made the decision to produce highly enriched uranium.[287] Sony VGP-BPS20/B battery
On 26 July 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton explicitly ruled out the possibility that the Obama administration would allow Iran to produce its own nuclear fuel, even under intense international inspection.[25Sony VGP-BPS20/S battery
6]
Following the November 2009 IAEA Board of Governors resolution demanding Iran immediately stop building its newly revealed nuclear facility and freeze uranium enrichment, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs avoided mentioning sanctions but indicated harsher measures were possible unless Iran compromised: Sony VPCZ11X9E battery
Sony VPCZ12M9E battery "If Iran refuses to meet its obligations, then it will be responsible for its own growing isolation and the consequences." Glyn Davies, the chief U.S. delegate to the IAEA, told reporters: "Six nations ... for the first time came together ...[and] have put together this resolution we all agreed on. That's a significant development."[184] Sony VPCZ11X9E/B battery
A 2009 U.S. congressional research paper said that U.S. intelligence believed Iran ended "nuclear weapon design and weaponization work" in 2003.[288] Some advisors within the Obama administration reaffirmed the intelligence conclusions,[289] while other "top advisers" in the Obama administration "say they no longer believe" the key finding of the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate.[29Sony VPCZ11Z9E/B battery
Sony VPCZ12C7E/B battery0] Thomas Fingar, former Chairman of the National Intelligence Council until December 2008, said that the original 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran "became contentious, in part, because the White House instructed the Intelligence Community to release an unclassified version of the report's key judgments but declined to take responsibility for ordering its release."[29Sony VGN-TT battery
Sony VGN-Z11VN/X battery1] A National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) is the most authoritative written judgment concerning a national security issue prepared by the Director of Central Intelligence.[292] Sony VGP-BPL14 battery
The impending opening of the Bushehr I plant in late 2010 prompted the White House to question why Iran is continuing to enrich uranium within its borders. "Russia is providing the fuel, and taking the fuel back out," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in August.
Sony VGN-Z51WG/B battery "It, quite clearly, I think, underscores that Iran does not need its own enrichment capability if its intentions, as it states, are for a peaceful nuclear program," he said.[261]
On 8 January 2012, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said on Face the Nation that Iran was not trying to develop a nuclear weapon, but was trying to develop a nuclear capability. He also urged Israel to work together rather than make a unilateral strike on Iran’s nuclear installations.[2Sony VGP-BPL14/B battery
Sony VGN-Z51MG/B battery93] On 1 August 2012, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta while in Israel said that the United States had "options," including military options, to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon, should diplomacy fail.[294] Sony VGP-BPL14/S battery
On 14 January 2013, the Institute for Science and International Security (a U.S. think tank) published an 154-page report by five U.S. experts titled "U.S. Nonproliferation Strategy for the Changing Middle East," which stated that Iran could produce enough weapon-grade uranium for one or more nuclear bombs by the middle of 2014. Sony VGP-BPS14/B battery
Sony VGN-Z31XN/B battery Therefore, the report recommended that the United States should increase sanctions on Iran in order to curb its ability to develop weapon-grade uranium. In addition the report states: "The president should explicitly declare that he will use military force to destroy Iran's nuclear program if Iran takes additional decisive steps toward producing a bomb."[29
On 2 February 2013, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden said that the Obama Administration "would be prepared to meet bilaterally with the Iranian leadership. Sony VGN-Z11MN/B battery
Sony VGP-BPS12/Q batteryWe would not make it a secret that we were doing that. We would let our partners know if that occasion presented itself. That offer stands, but it must be real and tangible, and there has to be an agenda that they’re prepared to speak to. We are not just prepared to do it for the exercise." [296] Sony VGN-Z11WN/B battery
A few days later Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the offer and added ambiguously: "The U.S. policies in the Middle East have failed and the Americans are in need of a winning hand. That is bringing Iran to the negotiating table." [297] On 4 February the Italian news-wire "Agenzia Nova", Sony VGN-Z21 battery
Sony VGP-BPS12 batteryciting "sources in Teheran," reported that "from the beginning of the year Ali Larijani, Speaker of the (Iranian) Parliament, secretly traveled twice to the United States" to launch direct negotiations with the Obama Administration. The Italian Agency explained that U.S. diplomacy was waiting for the Presidential election in Iran, that most probably will see a dramatic change in Iranian approach. [29Sony VGN-Z21WN/B battery
8] [299] It was reported on 17 June Iran’s newly-elected president Hassan Rohani had expressed readiness for bilateral talks with Washington, with conditions. [300]
Negotiations Between Iran and the P5+1[edit source | editbeta] Sony VGN-Z21ZN/X battery
Iran has held a series of meetings with a group of six countries: China, France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, United States. These six are known as the P5+1 (the permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) or alternatively as the E3+3. These meetings are intended to resolve concerns about Iran's nuclear program. Sony VGN-Z31MN/B battery
October 2009 Geneva negotiations[edit source | editbeta]
January 2011 Istanbul meeting[edit source | editbeta]
April 2012 Istanbul meeting[edit source | editbeta]
The first session of fresh negotiations in April went well, with delegates praising the constructive dialogue and Iran's positive attitude.[30Sony VGN-Z31VN/X battery
Sony VGN-Z51XG battery1] Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, however, that Iran had been given a "freebie",[302] a charge that was sharply rebutted by Barack Obama.[303] In the lead up to the second round of negotiations in May, and in what may foreshadow a significant concession, an unnamed senior U.S. Sony VGN-Z31WN/B battery
official hinted the United States might accept Iran enriching uranium to 5% so long as the Iranians agreed to tough international oversight of the process. The U.S. shift was reportedly made for the pragmatic reason that unconditional demands for zero enrichment would make it impossible to reach a negotiated deal.[304Sony VGN-Z51 battery
Sony VGN-Z51WG battery] Netanyahu had insisted a few days before that he would tolerate no enrichment, not even to the 3% required for nuclear power.[305] In a shift on the Iranian side, April saw members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps urging Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to maintain a policy of keeping uranium enrichment at or below 20%.[30Sony PCG-6Z2M battery
6] The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton felt compelled to make a special visit to Netanyahu, partly to keep him from again voicing his negativity and opposition to the negotiations.[307Sony PCG-6X2M battery,
Sony PCG-71316M battery] At the meeting, which included Avigdor Lieberman, Ehud Barak and Shaul Mofaz, the Israelis demanded a guaranteed timetable for cessation of all uranium enrichment by Iran, the removal of all enriched uranium, and the dismantlement of the underground facility at Fordo. Otherwise, they said, Iran would use the talks to buy time.[308Sony PCG-4Q2M battery,
Sony PCG-71315M battery][309]
May 2012 Baghdad negotiations[edit source | editbeta]
Second enrichment plant[edit source | editbeta]
On 21 September 2009, Iran informed the IAEA[310] that it was constructing a second enrichment facility. The following day (22 September) IAEA Director General ElBaradei informed the United States, and two days later (24 Sony PCG-4R1M battery
Sony PCG-91311M batterySeptember) the United States, United Kingdom and France briefed the IAEA on an enrichment facility under construction at an underground location at Fordu, twenty-six miles north of Qom. On 25 September, at the G-20 Summit, the three countries criticized Iran for once again concealing a nuclear facility from the IAEA. Sony PCG-4Q1M battery
Sony PCG-91112M battery The United States said that the facility, which was still months from completion, was too small to be useful for a civil program but could produce enough high-enriched uranium for one bomb per year.[31Sony PCG-71D14M battery
1] Iran said the plant was for peaceful purposes and would take between a year and a half to two years to complete, and that the notice Iran had given had exceeded the 180 days before insertion of nuclear materials the IAEA safeguards agreement that Iran was following required. Iran agreed to allow IAEA inspections.[31Sony PCG-61511M battery
Sony PCG-71511M battery2] Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the site was built for maximum protection from aerial attack: carved into a mountain and near a military compound of the powerful Revolutionary Guard.[313] Sony PCG-61611M battery
Also in October, the United States, France and Russia proposed a UN-drafted deal to Iran regarding its nuclear program, in an effort to find a compromise between Iran's stated need for a nuclear reactor and international concerns that Iran harbors a secret intent on developing a nuclear weapon. Sony PCG-61712M battery
Sony PCG-61813M batteryAfter some delay in responding, on 29 October, Ahmadinejad voiced an openness towards cooperation with other world powers. "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," he said in a live broadcast on state television.[314Sony PCG-6Z2M battery,
Sony PCG-71318M battery] However, he added that Iran would not retreat "one iota" on its right to a sovereign nuclear program.[315]
In November 2009, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution that criticized Iran for defying a UN Security Council ban on uranium enrichment, censured Iran for secretly building a uranium enrichment facility and demanded that it immediately suspend further construction.
Sony PCG-71316M battery It noted the IAEA chief Mohammed El-Baradei cannot confirm that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively geared toward peaceful uses, and expressed "serious concern" that Iran's stonewalling of an IAEA probe means "the possibility of military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program" cannot be excluded.[184] Sony PCG-6X4M battery,
Cooperation with Venezuela[edit source | editbeta]
In October 2009 Hugo Chávez announced that Iran was helping Venezuela in uranium exploration. He said that "We're working with several countries, with Iran, with Russia. We're responsible for what we're doing, we're in control".[316] Sony PCG-4Q2M battery
Sony PCG-91311M battery A number of reports suggested that Venezuela was helping Iran to obtain uranium and evade international sanctions.[317][318]
Iran declares itself to be a nuclear state[edit source | editbeta]
On 9 February 2010 according to Government sources, Iran announced that it would produce uranium enriched to up to 20% to produce fuel for a research reactor used to produce medical radioisotopes, processing its existing stocks of 3.5% enriched uranium.[319][3Sony PCG-4Q1M battery
Sony PCG-91112M battery20] Two days later during the celebrations in Tehran for the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran was now a "nuclear state."[320Sony PCG-71C11M battery
Sony PCG-71511M battery] IAEA officials confirmed it has enriched uranium "up to 19.8%".[321] Responding to criticism, President Ahmadinejad said, "Why do they think that 20 per cent is such a big deal? Right now in Natanz we have the capability to enrich at over 20 per cent and at over 80 per cent, but because we don't need it, we won't do it." He added "If we wanted to manufacture a bomb, we would announce it."[320Sony PCG-71D14M battery
Sony PCG-71411M battery][322] On the same day as the President's announcement, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told Reuters that their 20% enrichment production, was going "very well," adding "There is no limit on enrichment. Sony PCG-61511M battery
Sony PCG-61813M batteryWe can enrich up to 100% ... But we never had the intention and we do not have the intention to do so, unless we need (to)." He maintained that the 20% production was for a Tehran medical reactor, and as such would be limited to around 1.5 kg per month.[319] Sony PCG-61611M battery
Tehran Nuclear Declaration[edit source | editbeta]
Further information: Iran–Turkey relations and Brazil–Iran relations
U.S. President Obama reportedly sent a letter dated 20 April 2010 to President Lula of Brazil, in which he outlined a proposal of fuel fwap. While expressing skepticism that the Iranians would now be willing to accept such a deal, Sony PCG-61712M battery
having provided "no credible explanation" for the previous deal's rejection,[323] President Obama wrote "For us, Iran’s agreement to transfer 1,200 kg of Iran’s low enriched uranium (LEU) out of the country would build confidence and reduce regional tensions by substantially reducing Iran’s LEU stockpile."[324] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received a similar letter. Dell XPS 14 battery
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A senior U.S. official told the Washington Post that the letter was a response to Iran's desire to ship out its uranium piecemeal, rather than in a single batch, and that during "multiple conversations" U.S. officials made clear that Iran should also cease 20% enrichment; however, the official stated "there was no president-to-president letter laying out those broader concerns".[325] Dell XPS 17 battery
Dell Latitude E6400 ATG battery
On 17 May 2010 Iran, Brazil, and Turkey issued a joint declaration "in which Iran agreed to send low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for enriched fuel for a research reactor."[326][327] Iran reported the joint declaration to the IAEA on 24 May 2010, asking it to inform the "Vienna Group" (the United States, Russia, France, Dell XPS L401X battery
and the IAEA), in order to conclude a written agreement and make contingent arrangements between Iran and the Vienna Group.[328] The proposal was welcomed by Arab leaders[329][330][331] and China.[332][333] France's Prime Minister called the agreement a "positive step" toward resolving the Iran nuclear program dispute, if Iran were to cease uranium enrichment altogether.[3Dell XPS L501X battery
Dell Latitude E6400 battery34] EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton played down the agreement, saying it was a step in the right direction but did not go far enough and left questions unanswered.[3Dell XPS L502X battery
Dell Latitude E5500 battery35] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the proposal had "a number of deficiencies," including Iran's intention to continue enriching uranium to high levels.[336]
Meanwhile, the United States was also pursuing other action to address the situation in Iran, in the case that the more diplomatic method not produce a satisfactory deal, Dell XPS L701X battery
Dell Latitude E5510 batteryand on 18 May 2010, announced a "draft accord" among UN permanent Security Council members for additional sanctions on Iran, designed to pressure it to end its nuclear enrichment program.[3Dell XPS L702X battery
Dell Latitude E5410 battery37] Turkey and Brazil criticized the sanctions proposal.[337] Davutoglu said that the swap agreement showed Iran's "clear political will" toward engagement on the nuclear issue.
Dell Latitude E4200 battery [338] Brazil's Foreign Minister also expressed frustration with the U.S. stance, saying of Brazil's vote against the sanctions resolution: “We could not have voted in any different way except against.”[339] Dell XPS M1210 battery
Dell Latitude E5400 battery
Early analysis from the BBC stated the swap deal could have been an "effort by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to deflect pressure for fresh sanctions" and that "Iran watchers are already criticising Washington for moving the goal posts".[340] Dell XPS M1330 battery
Iran's atomic energy chief said the agreement left world powers no reason to continue to pressure Iran regarding its nuclear program.[341] Iran also described the agreement as a major boost to trilateral relations with Brazil and Turkey,[34Dell XPS M140 battery
Dell XPS M2010 battery2] and Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the continuing call for sanctions, stating that the "domineering powers headed by America are unhappy with cooperation between independent countries."[343] Dell XPS M1530 battery
Mohamed ElBaradei, former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, wrote that "the only way to resolve the Iranian issue is to build trust. Moving 1200, half, or at least more than half of the Iranian nuclear material out of Iran is a confidence-building measure would defuse the crisis and enable the US and the West [to gain] Dell XPS M1730 battery the space to negotiate. I hope that it would be perceived as a win-win situation. If we see what I have been observing in the last couple of days that it is an "empty dressing",Dell Latitude E6500 battery
I think it is a wrong approach...we lost six years of failed policy frankly vis-à-vis Iran. And it's about time now to understand that the Iranian issue is not going to be resolved except, until and unless we sit with the Iranians and try to find a fair and equitable solution."[34Dell Latitude E4300 battery
Dell Latitude E5420 battery4] "If this deal is followed up with a broader engagement of the IAEA and the international community, it can be a positive step to a negotiated settlement," UN secretary-general Ban-Ki Moon said.[345] Dell Latitude E4310 battery
Dell Latitude E4320 battery
Attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists[edit source | editbeta]
In a January 2012 article in Salon magazine, Glenn Greenwald noted the killing of at least five Iranian nuclear scientists during 2010 and 2011, by unknown attackers, with no apparent outcry in the Western media.[346] Dell Latitude E6400 XFR battery
According to Iran, and privately confirmed by unnamed U.S. government officials, the attacks on the nuclear scientists and facilities are being carried out by an Iranian dissident group called the People's Mujahedin of Iran. According to the officials, the group is financed, trained, and armed by Mossad.[347] Dell Latitude E6410 ATG battery
Dell Latitude E6500 battery
Laptop and Research & Development in nuclear weapons[edit source | editbeta]
The continuing controversy over Iran's nuclear program revolves in part around allegations of nuclear studies by Iran with possible military applications until 2003, when, according to the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, the program was ended. Dell Latitude E6510 battery
Dell Latitude E5220 batteryThe allegations, which include claims that Iran had engaged in high-explosives testing, sought to manufacture "green salt" (UF
4) and to design a nuclear-capable missile warhead, were based on information obtained from a laptop computer which was allegedly retrieved from Iran in 2004.[3Dell Latitude E6120 battery
Dell Latitude E6430s battery48] The US presented some of the alleged contents of the laptop in 2005 to an audience of international diplomats, though the laptop and the full documents contained in it have yet to be given to the IAEA for independent verification. According to the New York Times:
Dell Latitude E6430 battery
“ Nonetheless, doubts about the intelligence persist among some foreign analysts. In part, that is because American officials, citing the need to protect their source, have largely refused to provide details of the origins of the laptop computer beyond saying that they obtained it in mid-2004 from a longtime contact in Iran. Dell Latitude E6210 battery
Dell Latitude E6330 batteryMoreover, this chapter in the confrontation with Iran is infused with the memory of the faulty intelligence on Iraq's unconventional arms. In this atmosphere, though few countries are willing to believe Iran's denials about nuclear arms, few are willing to accept the United States' weapons intelligence without question. Dell Latitude E6220 battery
"I can fabricate that data," a senior European diplomat said of the documents. "It looks beautiful, but is open to doubt.[349] ”
On 21 August 2007, Iran and the IAEA finalized an agreement, titled "Understandings of The Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA on the Modalities of Resolution of the Outstanding Issues," that listed outstanding issues regarding Iran's nuclear program and set out a timetable to resolve each issue in order.
Dell Latitude E6320 batteryThese unresolved issues included the status of Iran's uranium mine at Gchine, allegations of experiments with plutonium and uranium metal, and the use of Polonium 210.[350] Specifically regarding the "Alleged Studies", the Modalities agreement asserted that while Iran considers the documents to be fabricated, Dell Latitude E6230 battery Iran would nevertheless address the allegations "upon receiving all related documents" as a goodwill gesture. The Modalities Agreement specifically said that aside from the issues identified in the document, there were "no other remaining issues and ambiguities regarding Iran's past nuclear program and activities." Sony PCG-4R2M battery
The United States was opposed to the Modalities Agreement between Iran and the IAEA, and vehemently objected to it, accusing Iran of "manipulating" IAEA.[citation needed] Olli Heinonen, the IAEA Deputy Director General for safeguards underlined the importance of the Iran-IAEA agreement as a working arrangement on how to resolve the outstanding issues that triggered Security Council resolutions: Sony PCG-4R2M battery
“ All these measures which you see there for resolving our outstanding issues go beyond the requirements of the Additional Protocol ... If the answers are not satisfactory, we are making new questions until we are satisfied with the answers and we can conclude technically that the matter is resolved—it is for us to judge when we think we have enough information. Once the matter is resolved, then the file is closed.[351] ” Sony PCG-4U2M battery
Following the implementation of the Modalities Agreement, the IAEA issued another report on the status of Iran's nuclear program on 22 February 2008. According to this report, the IAEA had no evidence of a current, Sony PCG-6Z4M battery
Sony VPCZ21X9R battery undeclared nuclear program in Iran, and all of the remaining issues listed in the Modalities Agreement regarding past undeclared nuclear activities had been resolved, with the exception of the "Alleged Studies" issue. Regarding this report, IAEA director ElBaradei specifically stated: Sony PCG-6112M battery
“ [W]e have made quite good progress in clarifying the outstanding issues that had to do with Iran's past nuclear activities, with the exception of one issue, and that is the alleged weaponization studies that supposedly Iran has conducted in the past. We have managed to clarify all the remaining outstanding issues, including the most important issue, which is the scope and nature of Iran's enrichment programmeSony PCG-6121M battery
Sony VPCZ12Z9E/X battery.[352] ”
The US had made some of the "Alleged Studies" documentation available to the IAEA just a week prior to the issuance of the IAEA's February 2008 report on Iran's nuclear program. According to the IAEA report itself, the IAEA had "not detected the use of nuclear material in connection with the alleged studies, Sony PCG-6122M battery
nor does it have credible information in this regard." Some diplomats reportedly dismissed the new allegations as being "of doubtful value ... relatively insignificant and coming too late."[353]
It was reported on 3 March 2008, that Olli Heinonen, the IAEA Deputy Director general of safeguards, had briefed diplomats about the contents of the "Alleged Studies" documents a week earlier. Reportedly, Sony PCG-6124M battery
Sony VPCZ12Z9E/B battery Heinonen added that the IAEA had obtained corroborating information from the intelligence agencies of several countries, that pointed to sophisticated research into some key technologies needed to build and deliver a nuclear bomb.[354]
In April 2008, Iran reportedly agreed to address the sole outstanding issue of the "Alleged Studies"[355] Sony VPCZ13 battery
Sony VPCZ12X9E/B batteryHowever, according to the subsequent May 2008 IAEA report, the IAEA was not able to actually provide these same "Alleged Studies" documents to Iran, because the IAEA did not have the documents itself or was not allowed to share them with Iran. For example, in paragraph 21, the IAEA report states: "Although the Agency had been shown the documents that led it to these conclusions, Sony VPCZ13M9E/B battery
Sony VPCZ12V9E/B battery it was not in possession of the documents and was therefore unfortunately unable to make them available to Iran." Also, in paragraph 16, the IAEA report states: "The Agency received much of this information only in electronic form and was not authorised to provide copies to Iran." Sony VPCZ13V9E battery
Sony VPCZ12V9E batteryThe IAEA has requested that it be allowed to share the documents with Iran. Nevertheless, according the report, Iran may have more information on the alleged studies which "remain a matter of serious concern" but the IAEA itself had not detected evidence of actual design or manufacture by Iran of nuclear weapons or components. Sony VPCZ13Z9E/X battery
Iran's refusal to respond to the IAEA's questions unless it is given access to the original documents has caused a standoff. In February 2008, the New York Times reported that the U.S. refusal to provide access to those documents was a source of friction between the Bush Administration and then Director General ElBaradei.[35Sony VPCZ23K9E battery
Sony VPCZ12M9E/B battery6] ElBaradei later noted that these documents could not be shared because of the need to protect sources and methods, but noted that this allowed Iran to question their authenticity.[357] Sony VGP-BPL20 battery
Sony VPCZ12M9E battery According to Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, "The government of the United States has not handed over original documents to the agency since it does not in fact have any authenticated document and all it has are forged documents."[358] Sony VGP-BPS20/B battery
The IAEA has requested that third-parties[vague] allow it to share the documents on the alleged studies with Iran. The IAEA has further stated that though it has not provided full documents containing the alleged studies, information from other countries has corroborated some of the allegations, which appear to the IAEA to be consistent and credible, Sony VGP-BPS20/S battery
Sony VPCZ11Z9E/B battery and that Iran should therefore address the alleged studies even without obtaining the full documents. However, questions about the authenticity of the documents persist, with claims that the documents were obtained either from Israel or the MEK, an Iranian dissident group officially considered to be a terrorist organization by the United States,
Sony VPCZ11Z9E batteryand that investigations into the alleged studies are intended to reveal intelligence about Iran's conventional weapons programs.[359][360][361][362] Some IAEA officials have requested a clear statement be made by the agency that it could not affirm the documents' authenticity.
Sony VPCZ11X9E/B batteryThey cite that as a key document in the study had since been proven to have been fraudulently altered, it put in doubt the entire collection.[363]
Nuclear power as a political issue[edit source | editbeta]
Iran's nuclear program and the NPT[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Iran says that its program is solely for peaceful purposes and consistent with the NPT.[364] The IAEA Board of Governors has found Iran in non-compliance with its NPT safeguards agreement, concluding in a rare non-consensus decision with 12 abstentions,[365 Sony VPCZ11X9E battery] that Iran's past safeguards "breaches" and "failures" constituted "non-compliance" with its Safeguards Agreement[105][366] In the decision, the IAEA Board of Governors also concluded that the concerns raised fell within the competence of the UN Security Council.[105] Sony VGN-TT1RLN/B battery
Most experts recognize that non-compliance with an NPT safeguards agreement is not equivalent to a violation of the NPT or does not automatically constitute a violation of the NPT itself.[367][368Sony VGN-TT1RWN/X battery
] The IAEA does not make determinations regarding compliance with the NPT,[369] and the UN Security Council does not have a responsibility to adjudicate treaty violations.[370] Dr. James Acton, an associate in the Nonproliferation Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has said the 2010 NPT Review Conference could recognize that non-compliance with safeguards agreements would violate article III of the NPT.[371Sony VGN-TT11LN/B battery
Sony VGN-Z11XN/X battery Director of the Australian Nonproliferation and Safeguards Organization and then Chairman of IAEA Standing Advisory Group on Safeguards Implementation[372] John Carlson wrote in considering the case of Iran that "formally IAEA Board of Governors (BOG) decisions concern compliance with safeguards agreements, Sony VGN-TT11M/N battery
rather than the NPT as such, but in practical terms non-compliance with a safeguards agreement constitutes non-compliance with the NPT."[373]
A September 2009 Congressional Research Service paper said "whether Iran has violated the NPT is unclear."[374Sony VGN-TT11RM/R battery
Sony VGN-Z11WN/B battery] A 2005 U.S. State Department report on compliance with arms control and nonproliferation agreements concluded, based on its analysis of the facts and the relevant international laws, that Iran's extensive failures to make required reports to the IAEA made "clear that Iran has violated Article III of the NPT and its IAEA safeguards agreement."[369Sony VGN-TT11VN/X battery
Sony VGN-Z11MN/B battery] Testimony presented to the Foreign Select Committee of the British Parliament drew the opposite conclusion:
“ The enforcement of Article III of the NPT obligations is carried out through the IAEA's monitoring and verification that is designed to ensure that declared nuclear facilities are operated according to safeguard agreement with Iran, which Iran signed with the IAEA in 1974.
Sony VGP-BPS14/S battery In the past four years that Iran's nuclear programme has been under close investigation by the IAEA, the Director General of the IAEA, as early as November 2003 reported to the IAEA Board of Governors that "to date, there is no evidence that the previously undeclared nuclear material and activities ... were related to a nuclear weapons programme." .
Sony VGP-BPS14 battery.. Although Iran has been found in non-compliance with some aspects of its IAEA safeguards obligations, Iran has not been in breach of its obligations under the terms of the NPT.[375] ”
The 2005 U.S. State Department compliance report also concluded that "Iran is pursuing an effort to manufacture nuclear weapons, and has sought and received assistance in this effort in violation of Article II of the NPT".[369Sony VGN-TT11WN/B battery
Sony VGP-BPL14/B battery] The November 2007 United States National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) asserted that Tehran halted a nuclear weapons program in fall 2003, but that Iran "at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapon".[156] Sony VGN-TT11XN/B battery
Sony VGP-BPL14 batteryRussian analyst Alexei Arbatov, said "no hard facts on violation of the NPT per se have been discovered" and also wrote that "all this is not enough to accuse Iran of a formal breach of the letter of the NPT" and "giving Iran the benefit of the doubt, there is no hard evidence of its full-steam development of a military nuclear program."[376] Sony VGN-TT21VN/X battery
NPT Article IV recognizes the right of states to research, develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but only in conformity with their nuclear nonproliferation obligations under Articles I and II of the NPT. Sony VGN-TT21WN/B battery
The UN Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its nuclear enrichment activities in multiple resolutions.[377][378] The United States has said the "central bargain of the NPT is that if non-nuclear-weapon states renounce the pursuit of nuclear weapons, and comply fully with this commitment, they may gain assistance under Article IV of the Treaty to develop peaceful nuclear programs". Sony VGN-TT46MG/W battery
Sony VGN-TT46SG/W batteryThe U.S. has written that Paragraph 1 of Article IV makes clear that access to peaceful nuclear cooperation must be "in conformity with Articles I and II of this Treaty" and also by extension Article III of the NPT.[3Sony VGN-Z21MN/B battery
Sony VGN-Z11VN/X battery79] Rahman Bonad, Director of Arms Control Studies at the Center for Strategic Research at Tehran, has argued that demands to cease enrichment run counter to "all negotiations and discussions that led to the adoption of the NPT in the 1960s and the fundamental logic of striking a balance between the rights and obligations stipulated in the NPT."[38Sony VGN-Z21WN/B battery
Sony VGN-Z51XG/B battery0] In February 2006 Iran's foreign minister insisted that "Iran rejects all forms of scientific and nuclear apartheid by any world power," and asserted that this "scientific and nuclear apartheid" was "an immoral and discriminatory treatment of signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty,"[3Sony VGN-Z21XN battery
Sony VGN-Z51WG/B battery81] and that Iran has "the right to a peaceful use of nuclear energy and we cannot accept nuclear apartheid."[382]
Russia has said it believes Iran has a right to enrich uranium on its soil. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested that there could be work toward an international nuclear fuel bank instead of indigenous Iranian enrichment,[383] Sony VGN-Z21ZN/X battery
Sony VGN-Z51MG/B battery while Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, has said "the United States should be willing to discuss what Iran describes as its 'right to enrich' ... provided that Iran accepts both limits on its enrichment program (no HEU) and enhanced safeguards".[384] Officials of the Iranian government and members of the Iranian public believe Iran should be developing its peaceful nuclear industry.[385][38Sony VGN-Z31MN/B battery
Sony VGN-Z51XTG/B battery6] A March 2008 poll of 30 nations found moderate support for allowing Iran to produce nuclear fuel for electricity alongside a full program of UN inspections.[387]
Iranian statements on nuclear deterrence[edit source | editbeta] Sony VGN-Z31WN/B battery
The Iranian authorities deny seeking a nuclear weapons capacity for deterrence or retaliation since Iran's level of technological progress cannot match that of existing nuclear weapons states, and the acquisition of nuclear weapons would only spark an arms race in the Mideast. According to Ambassador Javad Zarif: Sony VGN-Z51 battery
“ It is true that Iran has neighbors with abundant nuclear weapons, but this does not mean that Iran must follow suit. In fact, the predominant view among Iranian decision-makers is that development, acquisition or possession of nuclear weapons would only undermine Iranian security. Viable security for Iran can be attained only through inclusion and regional and global engagement.[388] ” Sony VGN-Z51WG battery
Iran's President Ahmadinejad, during an interview with NBC anchor Brian Willians in July 2008, also dismissed the utility of nuclear weapons as a source of security and stated:
“ Again, did nuclear arms help the Soviet Union from falling and disintegrating? For that matter, did a nuclear bomb help the U.S. to prevail inside Iraq or Afghanistan, Sony VGN-Z51XG battery
Sony VGN-Z41WD/B batteryfor that matter? Nuclear bombs belong to the 20th century. We are living in a new century ... Nuclear energy must not be equaled to a nuclear bomb. This is a disservice to the society of man.[389] ” Sony VGN-Z battery
And according Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation:
“ In matters of national security we are not timid. We will assert our intentions. If nuclear weapons would have brought security, we would have announced to the world that we would go after them ... We do not think a nuclear Iran would be stronger ... If we have weapons of mass destruction we are not going to use them Sony VGP-BPL12 battery
– we cannot. We did not use chemical weapons against Iraq. Secondly, we do not feel any real threat from our neighbours. Pakistan and the Persian Gulf, we have no particular problems with them, nor with Afghanistan. The only powerful country is Russia in the north, and no matter how many nuclear weapons we had we could not match Russia. Israel, Sony VGP-BPS12 battery
Sony VGP-BPS12/Q batteryour next neighbour, we do not consider an entity by itself but as part of the US. Facing Israel means facing the US. We cannot match the US. We do not have strategic differences with our neighbours, including Turkey.[390]