Iran breakthrough may be in sight

[villager]

Iran breakthrough may be in sight

FRASER NELSON POLITICAL EDITOR

Key points
• Russia moves towards US and European stance on Iran; China silent
• Iranian ambassador welcomes offer to move nuclear programme to Russia
• Atomic agency chief says Iran could acquire nuclear weapon this year

Key quote
"If they have the nuclear material and they have a parallel weaponisation programme along the way, they are really not very far - a few months - from a weapon" - Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency

Story in full:

A POTENTIAL breakthrough in the nuclear stand-off with Iran came last night when the Iranian ambassador in Moscow praised a proposal to move Tehran's uranium enrichment programme to Russia.
As Britain, the United States, Russia, France and China met in London yesterday to discuss how to handle Iran's illegal nuclear development, the country was facing the growing certainty that it would be referred to the UN Security Council.

While China remained resolutely silent on the possibility of sanctions - a move which it has the power to veto - Russia made significant moves towards the western stance on Iran's nuclear programme.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said last night that his position is "very close" to that of the United States and Britain. And it appeared that he could hold the key to a resolution when Iran's ambassador to Russia, Gholamreza Ansari, welcomed an offer to move the Iranian uranium enrichment programme to Russia.

Such a move would mean Iran, which is developing a missile which could reach Israel, could not acquire enough material for a bomb.

<snip>


http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=76282006

[bananas]

1. Bush wants regime change in Iran, so we will bomb anyway. nt

[villager]

3. not if the nuclear work is publicly moved to Russia...

n/t

[bananas]

7. I hate to be so cynical

but no matter how cynical I get, this bunch always surprises me.
Powell made a very convincing presentation to the U.N. proving that Iraq was hiding WMDs. It was total bullshit. Condi will do the same thing. It doesn't matter what Iraq is doing publicly - it is what they are hiding, and we have the fake satellite photos to prove it!

[villager]

8. yes, but can they get away with it twice?

Not to America -- the country is chockablock with gullible buffoons -- but I mean, to the world at large?

[bananas]

9. I guess we'll find out.

There will be a lot of protests and anger over it by people around the world, but there isn't anything any other country can really do to stop it from happening (except maybe China economically, but that would hurt them too because our economies are so tied together right now).

Try looking at it from the perspective of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld. Iraq was a success. The economy is good. There's no reason not to.

My concern is there won't be any warning - they'll do it without any UM approval, like Israel did to the Iraqi nuclear power plant. We'll wake up one morning to news that we used nuclear bunker-busters to destroy a number of targets scattered around Iran.

[leveymg]

17. I don't think so. There are 350 nuclear-related sites in Iran

Osirik was a single target, and the Israelis used only eight F-16s. An attempt to destroy Iran's nuclear infrastructure would require a massive build-up of aircraft and ordinance -- no way to keep an operation of that size secret.

No, if they really want to do this, it will be after months of propaganda and logistical preparation.

http://debka.com/article.php?aid=940

[Nomen Tuum]

15. Yes

since millions of the masses only watch Fox News or Jesus TV. They will believe whatever Bush says.

[Massacure]

11. I wouldn't call the satellite photos fake.

They were photos of a trailer in the desert. Who knows what was in them. Maybe WMD was a purposeful lie, maybe it was carelessness. Who knows. Until someone steps up to the plate and releases documents we will never know. This is why it is important to elect Democrats in 2006.

[stillcool]

2. It's all in the cards...

and somebody is always bluffing...

[BlueManDude]

4. Bush will find a way to isolate the US

didn't the RWers used to hate ElBaradei beacuse he was debunking the WMD in Iraq prior to the occupation?

[lovuian]

5. Well Russia is close but China is a whole different

equation...

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. Since China only has an opinion on this matter...

...because Iran is an energy partner, China will seek whatever option has the best chance of keeping the oil flowing. They appear to be waiting for Iran to make the next move.

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. WTF is the USA so concerned about Iran getting one or two nukes

.
.
.

When the USA has thousands of them ?

OH!

Iran has oil

silly me

:silly:

[IndianaGreen]

10. Nukes are a deterrent to US invasion

I advise all nations of the world to buy nukes in the black market and then let the world know that if they are attacked, they will retaliate with nukes.

MAD as a policy did prevent war between US and USSR, so why not use son of MAD to prevent Bush from attacking other countries?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

14. Well, there's that.

And there's also Iran's stated goal of destroying Israel, Iran's links to terrorism (which actually exist, unlike Iraq's,) and the bad precedent it sets for other batshit crazy theocracies.

[EuroObserver]

12. Propaganda!

"Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, said in a magazine interview that Iran could acquire a nuclear weapon later this year.

""If they have the nuclear material and they have a parallel weaponisation programme along the way, they are really not very far - a few months - from a weapon," he told Newsweek."

This seems to be twisting ElBaradei's words (if, and if - that is, if and when, and if and when); this is certainly not what ElBaradei said in an interview with Spain's El País just a week or two ago.

[HuffleClaw]

16. "IF they have..."

IS NOT 'they HAVE'

and china is not very likely to go along with this. i'm surprised russia is playing along.

[no_hypocrisy]

18. They omitted the critical issue: Iran selling oil in dollars, not euros.

With the March 20, 2006 oil bourse, Iran will devalue the American dollar. That screws up our massive deficit (for which I believe Congress will raise the ceiling in February), interest rates, real estate values, taxes, inflation, not to mention the money in your bank being much lighter than when you deposited it.

It's not "nukular"; it's $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

[IDemo]

19. Bingo! I meant, Ding Ding Ding!

Mandatory reading on the topic from Energy Bulletin: http://www.energybulletin.net/12125.html

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. Major pile of bull.