Iran and the Violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (Jeremy R. Hammond)

[Tace]

by Jeremy R. Hammond -- World News Trust

Dec. 3, 2006 -- Iran has begun operation of a group of uranium enrichment centrifuges, thus violating a legally binding demand by the United Nations Security Council that Iran suspend such activities until the international community is confident that the country’s nuclear program “is for exclusively peaceful purposes,” an op-ed in The New York Times reported Saturday.

Iran’s response was that a suspension would abrogate its rights under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty -– even though under international law, it has temporarily surrendered these rights by violating the obligations that condition them.<1>

Apparently, the “obligations” in question are compliance with the Security Council resolution calling on it to suspend uranium enrichment activities. Complying with the resolution is a “condition” of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT Treaty), according to the Times.

This is useful propaganda, but incorrect. (Incidentally, the Times seems to have had a hard time of things getting it right on Iran’s nuclear program. In just one notable example, last month the Times reported that Iran’s heavy-water reactor at Arak was “inherently dangerous for nuclear proliferation” because it could more easily produce “weapons-grade plutonium” than light-water reactors. In some cases, the Times reported, “uranium is transformed into plutonium.” Uranium, of course, cannot be “transformed” into plutonium. To the best of my knowledge, this glaring error was left uncorrected.<2>)

more

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=688