Iran 'reaches key nuclear goal'

[LiberalAndProud]

Source: BBC News

Iran has met a key target for its nuclear programme and now has 3,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said.
Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran would continue its drive in spite of UN sanctions.

Enriched uranium can be used for power stations but also for nuclear bombs. The West has accused Iran of trying to develop weapons - a charge Iran denies.

A BBC correspondent says there is some scepticism about Iran's claim, with the UN believing it is short of the 3,000.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6974903.stm

[Joanne98]

1. And it begins!

[Joanne98]

2. They're having naval war games in the Bay of Bengal Tuesday!

Naval war machines from five nations nearing Bay of Bengal

New Delhi, Sept. 2 (PTI): Notwithstanding protests by the Left parties, powerful warships from five nations today started nearing a rendezvous point in the Bay of Bengal for the start of the biggest naval wargame hosted by India.

The four-day wargame set to begin early on Tuesday will see a flotilla of 26 warships, including aircraft carriers, missile frigates and destroyers, in intense action.

Nine of the 13 US warships taking part in the exercises, including nuclear-powered carrier USS Nimitz, conventional carrier USS Kitty Hawk and nuclear submarine USN Chicago, have reached the exercise point located 180 nautical miles from Vishakhapatnam, almost mid-way to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

A missile frigate from the Singapore Navy and eight Indian warships led by the country's sole aircraft carrier INS Viraat have also reached the spot.

Two warships each from Australia and Japan are also close to the spot, naval officials said.

The wargame is being held just 30 to 40 nautical miles from Myanmar's Coco Islands, where the Chinese Navy is reportedly building a naval base.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200709021920.htm

[stillcool]

9. and then there's this...

Washington, Baghdad silent on Iraq border conflict

Source: Earthtimes
Posted : Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:11:04 GMT
- Feature
Posted : Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:11:04 GMT
Ankara - On Iraq's northern border, Turkey and Iran have a common enemy in their sights. The armies of both countries are engaged in conflict with around 7,000 Kurdish militants who, tolerated by the government of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, are entrenched in the mountainous frontier region.

The militants belong to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkey, and the Party for Freedom and Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) from Iran.
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Iranian artillery fire targeting suspected PJAK positions in the provinces of Sulaymanyah and Arbil is heard almost on a daily basis. Yet on the political front, the conflict is little heard of. Few seem to be troubled by this border war, save for the residents of Kurdish villages who have been forced to flee their homes.
In contrast to the ongoing car bombing campaign targeting markets, bridges and barracks in the Iraqi capital, the violence in the north seems to be little more than a sideshow to the main conflict for the politicians in the capital.
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Even in Washington, where any interference by Iran in Iraqi affairs normally results in accusations and warnings from the Bush administration, any opposition to the Iranian attacks on the border region remains firmly behind closed doors.
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Although the Turkish army has massed 10,000 troops along the Iraqi frontier and readied for a major offensive, it has so far engaged only in minor missions. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears committed to a policy of restraint.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/101088.html

[kurth]

3. Ahmadinejad is a moron

If you REALLY want to build a nuclear weapon, keep your mouth shut and get it done SECRETLY and QUIETLY. Learn from Israel and North Korea.

[rabies1]

4. Iran is still 8 to 10 years away from building a nuclear bomb.

[ahimsa]

5. And what's this?

It's hard to take anything in the media seriously anymore - for all we know, everyone is just catapulting the propaganda.

U.S.: NKorea agrees to account for, disable all nuclear programs by end of year.

Of course, one is BBC and the other AP so...

[bananas]

7. The OP was Iran, your article was North Korea. nt

[SlowDownFast]

6. Iran Reaffirms Its Defiance of the West

Iran Reaffirms Its Defiance of the West
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN and NAZILA FATHI
Published: September 2, 2007

TEHRAN, Iran Sept. 2 — Iran’s leaders maintained their defiant position to the West today, with the president announcing the nation had 3,000 active centrifuges to enrich uranium and the nation’s supreme leader appointing a war veteran and ideological hard-liner as the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

While the details of each announcement did not signal any significant change of course for Iranian policy, the pairing of the messages appeared intended to reaffirm Iran’s refusal to back down in the face of stepped-up pressure from the United States over its nuclear program and its role in Iraq, political analysts in Iran said.

The White House has threatened to declare the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization, which could open the way for far-reaching economic sanctions against Iran since the Guards are involved in nearly every aspect of the state-controlled economy, diplomats here said. At the same time, Iran faces the prospect of being sanctioned a third time by the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear program.

“What is important is the spirit that dominates the system and that has not changed,” said Saeed Leylaz, a political analyst and former government official in Tehran.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced today that Iran had finally reached its stated goal of developing 3,000 centrifuges, but his message seemed more of a challenge to the United States and Europe than it did a statement of a technological breakthrough.

more:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/world/middleeast/02cnd-iran.html?hp

[burrowowl]

8. I think the man is bluffing

and the U$ of A is trying to use this as an excuse to bomb.
"A BBC correspondent says there is some scepticism about Iran's claim, with the UN believing it is short of the 3,000."

[Eugene]

10. No proof Iran running 3,000 centrifuges: diplomats

Source: Reuters

No proof Iran running 3,000 centrifuges: diplomats
Tue Sep 4, 2007 9:58AM EDT

By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA (Reuters) - There is no evidence for the
Iranian president's announcement that Iran has 3,000
centrifuges running, which would allow it to produce
significant amounts of nuclear fuel, diplomats
familiar with U.N. inspections said.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defiantly proclaimed
the achievement on Sunday after Western powers
cast doubt on an Iranian atomic transparency plan
and warned of stiffer sanctions against Tehran over
its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

Nuclear experts say 3,000 centrifuges run smoothly in
unison at supersonic speed for long periods could
refine enough uranium for an atom bomb in about a
year, although Iran says it has no plan to develop
nuclear weapons.

But Ahmadinejad's reference to 3,000 "working"
appeared at odds with the latest quarterly
International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran,
which said about 2,000 centrifuges were enriching
uranium as of August 19 at the underground Natanz
plant.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0479215320070904