Report: Iran has 'extremely advanced' nuclear program

Zero · March 10, 2003, 09:37

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/...ear/index.html

Quote:

Report: Iran has 'extremely advanced' nuclear program
Facility violates non-proliferation pact, sources say
Monday, March 10, 2003 Posted: 3:00 AM EST (0800 GMT)

According to a published report, Iran has a nuclear program that is far more advanced than has been previously disclosed. CNN's Deanna Marowski reports (March 10)

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- According to a Time magazine report, Iran has a nuclear program that is far more advanced than has been previously disclosed.

Citing unnamed diplomatic sources, Time says U.N. weapons inspectors have discovered that Iran's uranium-enrichment facility is "extremely advanced," to the point that it violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT].

On a visit last month to Iran, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, visited the facility designed to enrich uranium that Iran is building near Natanz.

But diplomatic sources quoted by TIME say he found the plant much further advanced than previously believed. The sources say work on the plant is "extremely advanced," involves hundreds of gas centrifuges ready to produce enriched uranium and "the parts for a thousand others ready to be assembled."

Iran has confirmed that two facilities, the one in Natanz and another near Arak, are indeed nuclear plants, but it says the country's nuclear program is aimed at building nuclear power plants.

"Iranian experts have acquired the knowledge for civilian application of the nuclear technology," President Mohammed Khatami said in February. The Iranian leader added that nations have a right to do so.

Sources told Time that the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, found that Iran has added uranium to some centrifuges as a test -- in "blatant violation" of the NPT, to which Iran is a signatory.

"If Iran were found to have an operating centrifuge, it would be a direct violation [of the treaty] and is something that would need immediately to be referred to the United Nations Security Council for action,"Jon Wolfstahl of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was quoted as saying in the article.

The IAEA has neither publicly released the information nor responded to the Time report.

U.S. officials have long accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons.

In December 2002, the State Department said recent satellite photos reinforced the belief that Iran was "actively working" on a nuclear weapons program. However, the IAEA said that Iran had notified it of its intentions and invited it to inspect the facilities.

Referring to Sunday's report, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," "Here, we suddenly discover that Iran is much further along -- with a far more robust nuclear weapons development program -- than anyone said it had, and now the IAEA has found that out.

"We've provided them information, they have discovered it, and it shows you how a determined nation that has the intent to develop a nuclear weapon can keep that development process secret from inspectors and outsiders."

National security adviser Condoleezza Rice said the news "does not surprise us at all."

"We've said all along that there are real problems with Iran and its so-called peaceful nuclear programs," she said on ABC's "This Week." "It's been couched as a peaceful program, but we've been one of the lone voices that said the Iranians are a problem."

Last year, President Bush called on Russia to end its work with Iran on nuclear reactors, insisting that Tehran was trying to develop nuclear weapons. Moscow refused.

"We've talked to the Russians about it," Rice said Sunday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi cited Iran last week in presenting her argument that regime change in Iraq will not ensure its disarmament. Iraq is "in a very dangerous neighborhood," the California Democrat said. "The Iranians are developing weapons of mass destruction. Practically every country in the region is developing weapons of mass destruction and the capability to launch them."

Israel, which is widely believe to have developed nuclear weapons and which destroyed an Iraqi nuclear plant in Osirak in a 1981 raid, says it is deeply alarmed by the developments.

An Israeli official told Time that the news is "a huge concern" because Iran denies Israel's right to exist and is a principal sponsor of Hezbollah, which has carried out attacks against Israelis and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

Time magazine is a unit of AOL Time Warner, which also owns CNN.

Looks like even before Iraq and N.K is dealt with, they wanna start revving up the engine for showdown with Iran.

"Showdown with Iraqn"

CerberusIV · March 10, 2003, 09:43

It is turning into a race for these countries to get nukes before the US stops them by force. NK may have won, Iraq has lost and the Iranians are close to the finish line.

Who else I wonder?

Urban Ranger · March 10, 2003, 09:45

"unnamed diplomatic sources"

Again, eh? They are really everywhere, these sources.

MRT144 · March 10, 2003, 09:45

israel

TheStinger · March 10, 2003, 09:48

Quote:

Originally posted by CerberusIV
It is turning into a race for these countries to get nukes before the US stops them by force. NK may have won, Iraq has lost and the Iranians are close to the finish line.

Who else I wonder?

Germany and Japan

Zero · March 10, 2003, 09:49

Quote:

Originally posted by CerberusIV
It is turning into a race for these countries to get nukes before the US stops them by force. NK may have won, Iraq has lost and the Iranians are close to the finish line.

Who else I wonder?

I think everyone in the "axis of evil" list has been named.

If I see Bush adding countries, or even people into that list... you better watch out.

alva · March 10, 2003, 09:50

Calc?, ~~do you mean like this?~~

<_strike> text<_/strike> (drop the underscores)

Zero · March 10, 2003, 09:55

yes indeed..

Seeker · March 10, 2003, 09:58

Who else?

The wacky guy in Turkmenistan who decided to rename all the months after himself probably has a few nukes.

I wouldn't be surprised if South Africa( which is NOT my idea of a stable country) had few nukes locked away in some secret mineshaft.

I know Libya has had chem weapons for 30 years, but I don't know if they have nukes. Quaddaffi probably has one just for an ego boost/conversation piece.

I'm surprised Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia aren't developing nukes.

I'm sure the Syrians would love to have nukes if they weren't sure that Israel would 'take it the wrong way'.

MRT144 · March 10, 2003, 10:00

forget it all, we should just have sex with one another while we drop the nukes everywhere. there really is no hope for this planet anymore.

Zero · March 10, 2003, 10:03

Im sure we didnt just conveniently come up with these evidence all of sudden when we created the magical list of evildoers.

I wonder why all these evidence are surfacing up now?

Sava · March 10, 2003, 10:18

Quote:

there really is no hope for this planet anymore.

Zero · March 10, 2003, 10:27

better look around ebay for one way ticket to alpha centauri

Panag · March 10, 2003, 12:22

hi ,

intrestingly the report says nothing about the fast amounts of uranium the country is sitting on , ......

have a nice day

TheStinger · March 10, 2003, 12:25

I'm not sure a country should get into trouble for possessing uranium deposits.

Panag · March 10, 2003, 12:28

Quote:

Originally posted by TheStinger
I'm not sure a country should get into trouble for possessing uranium deposits.

hi ,

its what they intend to do with it , .....

have a nice day

TheStinger · March 10, 2003, 12:31

Isn't Uranium relativley easy to get anyway, its the advanced enginering to make the bomb and enrich it thats the difficult bits

Panag · March 10, 2003, 12:57

Quote:

Originally posted by TheStinger
Isn't Uranium relativley easy to get anyway, its the advanced enginering to make the bomb and enrich it thats the difficult bits

hi ,

it depends , in Iran the uranium is very high in its quality , therefore its easier to get weapons grade plutonium from this uranium , ...... and thats the risk factor , ...

have a nice day

Carver · March 10, 2003, 13:19

If the Iranians are enriching uranium then Iraq and Iran, together, can build a bomb. Iraq has all the technology needed for a nuke, they just lack the fissionable material. If Saddam is smart he has or is negotiating for uranium from Iran. Desert Storm II might be interesting afterall.

Stuie · March 10, 2003, 13:33

Quote:

Originally posted by Carver
If the Iranians are enriching uranium then Iraq and Iran, together, can build a bomb. Iraq has all the technology needed for a nuke, they just lack the fissionable material. If Saddam is smart he has or is negotiating for uranium from Iran. Desert Storm II might be interesting afterall.

I don't think the country that spent eight years fighting Iraq in the 80's would be too keen on helping out their nuclear program. That's just not going to happen.

Kepler · March 10, 2003, 13:47

It shouldn't happen, but the Iranian regime is probably not long for this world, to be overthrown not by the US but by their own people. So, take 3 regimes that are facing elimination -- Iran has uranium, North Korea has reactors to make it weapons grade, and Iraq... well, it's really too late for Iraq to have anything to say about it, because the US is going to off them within the month, with or without the Europeans. But North Korea and Iran might have something to talk about. Also: once the bombs start falling there will probably be as many Saddamites in western Iran as there are Osamites in northwestern Pakistan (another fun country with nukes).

The Chinese are virtually encircled by these countries. If they weren't paraboid before...

Jaakko · March 10, 2003, 15:08

The door to nuclear proliferation was blown off its hinges a long time ago, in a mushroom cloud. It's like trying to stick the crap back into the bull.

If, after the upcoming war with Iraq, Bush starts to pick a fight with the Iranians as well (which I doubt), I'm personally going to fly to Washington DC and ***** slap him.