DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTORS: China Warns Of Turmoil Over Iran, Mute On Sanctions

DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTORS: China Warns Of Turmoil Over Iran, Mute On Sanctions

*Iran moved nuclear material to bunker: U.N. watchdog

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / BEIJING, China - November 9, 2011: China warned on Wednesday against turmoil in the Middle East from action over Iran's nuclear program, but declined to comment on the possibility of new sanctions following a U.N. report that Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China was "studying" the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, and repeated a call to resolve the issue peacefully through talks.

"I wish to point out that China opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and disapproves of any Middle Eastern country developing nuclear weapons. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran bears the responsibilities of nuclear non-proliferation," he told a daily news briefing.

"The Iranian side should also demonstrate flexibility and sincerity, and engage in serious cooperation with the agency," Hong said, referring to the IAEA.

"I want to stress that avoiding fresh turmoil in the Middle Eastern security environment is important for both the region and for the international community."

Hong made no mention of sanctions, and indicated China was in no rush to take the matter back to the United Nations Security Council, saying only that all sides should do more to promote dialogue and cooperation.

"I've already pointed out that China has consistently advocating using dialogue and cooperation to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue," he said, when asked about the possibility of new unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Chinese policy-makers are caught between their demand for Iranian oil and worry that the United States and its allies will demand harsher sanctions against Iran, even risk military action, after the IAEA concluded Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

China has kept close ties with Iran but has also backed past U.N. Security Council resolutions criticizing Iran's position on nuclear issues and authorizing limited sanctions.

But China has repeatedly resisted Western proposals for sanctions that could seriously curtail its energy and economic ties with Iran. As one of the Security Council's five permanent members, China holds the power to veto any resolutions.

China has also denounced the United States and European Union for imposing their own separate sanctions on Iran, and said they should not take steps reaching beyond the U.N. resolutions.

"WHITE HOT"

A Chinese state newspaper said a standoff between Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear plans could erupt in military conflict.

"It is clear that contention between the various sides over the Iranian nuclear issue has reached white hot levels and could even be on the precipice of a showdown," the overseas edition of the People's Daily said in a front-page commentary.

If Iran refused to back down in the face of growing U.S. conviction that it was developing nuclear weapons, "the risks of war will grow," said the paper, noting reports that Israel could consider a military strike on Iranian nuclear sites.

The People's Daily is the top newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party and broadly reflects official thinking, as well as the anxieties weighing on Beijing after the latest U.N. nuclear agency report.

China's official Xinhua news agency also suggested that Beijing would respond warily to the report. The U.N. watchdog still "lacks a smoking gun," Xinhua said in a commentary.

"There are no witnesses or physical evidence to prove that Iran is making nuclear weapons," it said.

"In dealing with the Iran nuclear issue, it is extremely dangerous to rely on suspicions, and the destructive consequences of any armed action would endure for a long time."

China is likely to face difficult choices as it tries to keep steady ties with the United States, which is likely to introduce new unilateral sanctions on Iran. [ID:nN1E7A71OB]

"If these sanctions harm China's substantive interests, then China will have to respond in some way," said Li Hong, the secretary general of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, a government-controlled body.

"It would certainly have an impact on bilateral relations," Li said in an interview.

ONUS ON CHINA?

Iran is China's third-largest crude oil supplier, shipping 20.3 million tonnes in the first nine months of the year, up by almost a third on the same time last year, according to Chinese data. Overall trade between the two countries grew to $32.9 billion in value in the first nine months, up by 58 percent.

"The onus will really be on China, as the only country whose economic relations with Iran have grown," Suzanne Maloney an expert on Iran at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington, said in a telephone interview.

Over the past year or more, China has quietly stalled on oil and gas investments in Iran, seeking to ward off stricter unilateral sanctions from Washington while preserving a foothold in Iran. But that implicit deal will come under growing pressure, especially from Congress, said Maloney.

"They've had a compromise for the past 18 months of a go-slow in investment. But it's difficult to see how that bargain can hold in the wake of the latest revelations," said Maloney.

Citing what it called "credible" information from member states and elsewhere, the IAEA said Iran appeared to have carried out activities applicable to developing nuclear weapons, such as high explosives testing and developing a trigger that could be used for an atomic bomb.

This week and last, China urged Iran to show flexibility over its nuclear program and warned that the use of force to resolve the issue was the last thing the Middle East needed.

Li from the Chinese arms control association said Beijing was worried about the tension, but war remained a slim risk.

"Overall, I think the international conditions show governments couldn't stomach armed conflict over Iran," he said.

"The U.S. economy is in poor shape, and Europe has its debt crisis," he said. "Iran is not like Libya; it has the strength to counter attack."

(Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Reuters

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DTN News: Iran Tested Advanced Nuclear Warhead ~ Media Report

DTN News: Iran Tested Advanced Nuclear Warhead ~ Media Report *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) LONDON, UK - November 6, 2009: The U.N. nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting the Islamic Republic's scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design, the Guardian reported in its Friday edition. Iranian Mehdi Abrishamchi, head of a peace commission speaks during a conference of the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) on new dimensions to the secret Iranian nuclear programme on November 3, 2009 in Paris. The newspaper, citing what it describes as "previously unpublished documentation" from an International Atomic Energy Agency compiled dossier, said Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of a "two-point implosion" device. The IAEA said in September it has no proof Iran has or once had a covert atomic bomb program. The Vienna-based IAEA was not immediately available for comment on Thursday. Iran's Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) were also unavailable for comment when contacted by Reuters. The IAEA statement in September followed reports from the Associated Press quoting what it called a classified IAEA document saying agency experts agreed Iran now had the means to build atomic bombs and was heading towards developing a missile system able to carry a nuclear warhead. The Guardian report said that even the existence of two-point implosion nuclear warhead technology is officially secret in both the United States and Britain. The technology allows for the production of smaller and simpler warheads, making it easier to put a warhead on a missile, the newspaper said. Extracts of the dossier have been published before, but it was not known the dossier included documentation of such a sophisticated warhead, the newspaper said. U.N. inspectors found "nothing to be worried about" in a first look at a previously secret uranium enrichment site in Iran last month, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in remarks released on Thursday. ElBaradei also told the New York Times that he was examining possible compromises to unblock a draft nuclear cooperation deal between Iran and three major powers that has foundered over Iranian objections. A nuclear site, which Iran revealed in September three years after diplomats said Western spies first detected it, added to fears of covert Iranian efforts to develop atom bombs. Iran says it is enriching uranium only for electricity.

DTN News: Iran TODAY October 28, 2009 ~ Iran Reportedly To Seek To Alter Nuclear Plan

DTN News: Iran TODAY October 28, 2009 ~ Iran Reportedly To Seek To Alter Nuclear Plan *Tehran will ask this week for 'important adjustments' to the proposal by the West that Iran send most of its uranium stockpile abroad for enrichment and eventual return, state-owned TV says. *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) BEIRUT, Lebanon - October 28, 2009: Iran will seek to amend a proposed deal it reached with the U.S. and other major powers to ship the bulk of its nuclear material overseas, state television reported Tuesday.An undated handout picture provided by the Iran Atomic Organization shows the Iranian research reactor located in Tehran. (Iran Atomic Organization / Handout, EPA / October 21, 2009) Tehran will respond by Thursday to the plan for it to transfer most of its nuclear stockpile to Russia and France to be turned into fuel for an Iranian medical reactor, but its counteroffer will include "important adjustments," said Iran's state-controlled Al Alam, citing unnamed sources. The Arabic-language television news channel often broadcasts official news or floats trial balloons before other state-controlled networks. The U.S., Russia, France and the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, last week signed off on the proposal to transport the bulk of Iran's enriched uranium to Russia and France to be further refined and shaped into fuel plates for the medical reactor, which produces isotopes for cancer diagnoses and treatment. While the proposed deal would not fully allay international concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions, it would temporarily reduce the country's stockpile and dampen fears that Tehran could suddenly break out of treaty obligations and make a quick sprint toward developing a nuclear weapon. And diplomats said the deal could also lay the groundwork for broader negotiations. But Iran watchers said they expected Tehran to try to negotiate hard over the quantity of enriched uranium sent abroad and the shipments' timing in order to gain maximum advantage and ease hard-liners' mistrustful of any deal with the West. "My experience in dealing with a lot of these guys is they won't give up anything until they absolutely have to," said Mark Fowler, a former CIA Iran expert now working as an analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington. "They will hold a very hard line. They won't give anything up, at least not upfront." U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. was waiting until Iran submitted an official response to the proposal before weighing in. But at least one American ally expressed impatience with Tehran. "Iran is wasting time because it is now that we need to talk. One day it will be too late," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on the sidelines of a meeting with European counterparts in Luxembourg, according to Agence France-Presse. "The Americans, through Mr. Obama's determination, have injected fresh vigor into this need for dialogue, but this will not last forever. Answers are needed." According to Al Alam, "Tehran will agree with the general framework of the agreement on fuel for the Tehran research nuclear reactor, but it will also stipulate important provisos," which its source did not specify. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki said Iran was closely considering the deal, but may want to send less than the 2,650 pounds of enriched uranium it specifies, or purchase the enriched uranium required for the Tehran reactor. Al Alam's editor for Iranian affairs, Nevid Behrouz, said Tehran's worries about the plan centered on the quantity of uranium to be shipped abroad and concern the West would not send the material back. In addition to angling for a better deal, Iranian officials lack confidence in the West and the United Nations and even feel betrayed by Russia for dragging its feet in providing fuel for a nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Fowler said. "They truly believe that if they're not careful, they're going to step into some kind of trap. . . . They're going to be literally cheated, embarrassed or backed into a corner," he said. Iran missed a Friday deadline to respond to the proposal but gained important leverage this week when Russia, which holds U.N. Security Council veto power, came to its defense and urged patience. "In this month alone concrete and potentially effective solutions have been found," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybakov said in an interview published Monday, according to the Interfax news agency. "It can't be ruled out that the process won't continue with the same intensity. But everyone should arm themselves with as much patience as possible." He added, "By and large, Iran is showing readiness for cooperation with both the IAEA and others." U.S. conservatives, such as Bush administration veteran John R. Bolton, have criticized the Obama administration for endorsing the deal, saying doing so legitimized Iran's continued enrichment of uranium in violation of the Security Council. Behrouz agreed. "By accepting this draft," the analyst said, "the West has annulled the previous U.N. Security Council decisions on halting enrichment."

DTN News: UN Inspectors Visit Once-Secret Iranian Site

DTN News: UN Inspectors Visit Once-Secret Iranian Site
*Source: DTN News / By ALI AKBAR DAREINI (AP)
(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - October 26, 2009: U.N. inspectors entered a once-secret uranium enrichment facility with bunker-like construction and heavy military protection that raised Western suspicions about the extent and intent of Iran's nuclear program.Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)*
The visit Sunday by the four-member International Atomic Energy Agency team, reported by state media, was the first independent look inside the planned nuclear fuel lab, a former ammunition dump burrowed into the treeless hills south of Tehran and only publicly disclosed last month. The inspectors are expected to study plant blueprints, interview workers and take soil samples before wrapping up the three-day mission.
No results from the inspection are expected until the team leaves the country, but some Iranian officials hailed the visit as an example that their nuclear program was open to international scrutiny.
"IAEA inspectors' visit to Fordo shows that Iran's nuclear activities are transparent and peaceful," the official IRNA news agency quoted lawmaker Hasan Ebrahimi as saying.
Another test of Iran's cooperation is fast approaching, however. Iran has promised to respond this week to a U.N.-brokered deal to process its nuclear fuel abroad — a plan designed to ease Western fears about Iran's potential ability to produce weapons-grade material.
The current inspection of Iran's second enrichment site came about a month after Tehran disclosed its existence in a letter to the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. The notification to the U.N. agency came just days before President Barack Obama and other Western leaders claimed Iran has been hiding the facility from the world for years.
After Iran's disclosure, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that "the burden of proof is on Iran" to convince the international community its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iran says that by reporting the existence of the site voluntarily, it "pre-empted a conspiracy" by the United States and its allies who were hoping to present the site as evidence that Iran was developing its nuclear program in secret.
But the IAEA says Tehran should have reported it before it started construction. And the new facility, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of the holy city of Qom, immediately raised suspicions about the aim of the nuclear program — which Iran claims is only for peaceful research and energy production. The site is reached by tunnels and is protected by military installations including missile silos and anti-aircraft batteries, Iranian officials said last month.
Iran says the facility — known as Fordo after a village believed to have the largest percentage of fighters killed in the 1980-88 war with Iraq — was fortified to protect against any possible attack by the United States or Israel.
Officials say the plant won't be operational for another 18 months and would produce uranium enrichment levels up to 5 percent, suitable only for peaceful purposes. Weapons-grade material is more than 90 percent enriched.
Iran says its other known enrichment facility — a much larger industrial-scale plant in Natanz in central Iran — is also only to produce nuclear fuel and not at levels for weapons. But many experts say the enrichment centrifuges could be expanded and upgraded to make weapons-grade material.
Another worry for the West is Iran's plans to install a more advanced type of centrifuge at the Fordo site, capable of enriching uranium several times faster and with higher efficiency.
Iran also has promised to respond later this week on U.N.-drafted proposal to have its nuclear fuel processed in Russia, which would limit Iran's stockpiles and allow more international controls.
Although Iran has not given its official answer on the proposed nuclear deal — discussed last week after talks in Vienna with the United States, France and Russia — there are increasing doubts that Iran's leadership will come on board.
On Saturday, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani claimed the West was trying to "cheat" Iran under the deal that would ship most of Iran's uranium to Russia for reactor-ready enrichment.
Larijani, the country's former nuclear negotiator, said Iran prefers to buy the nuclear fuel it needs for a reactor under construction that makes medical isotopes.
He did not specifically address the fuel needs for Iran's planned full-scale reactor, but Russia is required to provide fuel as part of an agreement to build it for Iran in the southern city of Bushehr. The reactor is nearly operational.
Rejection of the U.N. deal would force the United States and its allies to either return to talks or step up demands for greater economic sanctions and seek to further isolate Iran.
The four-member delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency is led by Herman Nackaerts, director of IAEA's division of operations department of safeguards. The inspectors are expected to stay three days in Iran.
They are expected to compare Iran's engineering plans with the actual layout of the plant, interview employees and take environmental samples to check for the presence of nuclear materials.
The small-scale site is meant to house no more than 3,000 centrifuges — much less than the estimated 8,000 machines at Natanz.
A recent satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe and GeoEye shows a well-fortified facility built into a mountain about 20 miles northeast of Qom, with ventilation shafts and a nearby surface-to-air missile site, according to defense consultancy IHS Jane's, which did the analysis of the imagery. The image was taken in September.
GlobalSecurity.org analyzed images from 2005 and January 2009 when the site was in an earlier phase of construction and believes the facility is not underground but was instead cut into a mountain. It is constructed of heavily reinforced concrete and is about the size of a football field — large enough to house 3,000 centrifuges used to refine uranium.

DTN News: Iran TODAY October 24, 2009 ~ Iran Misses Nuclear Deal Deadline In Defiance Of West

DTN News: Iran TODAY October 24, 2009 ~ Iran Misses Nuclear Deal Deadline In Defiance Of West *Iran defied the West by missing a deadline it had been set to agree to hand over its stockpiles of enriched uranium for processing abroad. *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) DUBAI - October 24, 2009: Tehran frustrated hopes it would move quickly to resolve fears about its nuclear programme by saying it would only give a formal response "next week". However, in an apparent effort to buy time after stalling the negotiations, an Iranian nuclear official insisted the regime was "considering the proposal in depth and in a favourable light".The recently revealed enrichment plant at Qom. It had earlier said it was making fresh proposals under which it would keep its current stocks and buy even more enriched uranium for its civilian research reactor. Reports from Tehran suggested that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, had refused to back the original deal, put forward by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed ElBaradei, in talks in Vienna. Even though it would have enabled Iran to continue its enrichment programme, the leadership was not prepared to see so much of its principal bargaining chip leave the country in one go. If delay turns into rejection or another series of protracted talks, it will be a disappointment to its negotiating partners, the United States, France and Russia, and deal the biggest blow yet to President Barack Obama's policy of diplomatic engagement with "pariah states". It will add weight to those in Britain, France and America who believe that Iran may not be building a nuclear weapon now but wants to maintain its stockpiles of low enriched uranium so that it can stage a quick "break-out" to manufacture one in the future. Under the deal, the Iranians would hand over three quarters of their stockpile of 1.5 tons of uranium, enriched to five per cent, to Russia, who would further refine it to 20 per cent, possibly with French help. It would then be returned in "fuel plate" form for use in Iran's long-standing research reactor, which has medical uses. Iran is thought not to have the technical ability to convert fuel plates to the 90 per cent enrichment levels needed for a bomb. However, its total stockpiles, if they do not leave the country, could be enriched from their current state sufficiently to create a single bomb within a year, according to western security analysts. Iran's alternative proposal would fail any test of acceptability by the West. It would mean abandoning a key part of existing sanctions, which prevent the sale of nuclear-related material, while doing nothing to reduce fears over the current state of the country's nuclear programme. "Iran is interested in buying fuel for the Tehran research reactor within the framework of a clear proposal," an unnamed source close to Iran's nuclear negotiating team told state television in the government's first response. "We are waiting for the other party's constructive and trust-building response. "The other party is expected to avoid past mistakes in violating agreements and to gain Iran's trust." The West's best hope is that this is just a tactic to draw out negotiations further. The United States said it could wait a "few more days". "We hope that they will next week provide a positive response," the state department's spokesman Ian Kelly said. "Obviously we would have preferred to have a response today. We approach this with a sense of urgency." News of the delay was given after the other three countries had all signalled their agreement. "We will give our answer to Mr ElBaradei next week," Ali Asghar Soltanieh, its ambassador to the IAEA, said. An IAEA statement said: "Iran informed the director general today that it is considering the proposal in depth and in a favourable light, but it needs time until the middle of next week to provide a response. "The director general hopes that Iran's response will equally be positive, since approval of this agreement will signal a new era of cooperation."

DTN News: Iran Test-Fires Missiles Amid Nuclear Tension

DTN News: Iran Test-Fires Missiles Amid Nuclear Tension *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info)TEHRAN, Iran - September 27, 2009: Iran test-fired short-range missiles as its elite Revolutionary Guards began war games on Sunday aimed at boosting the Islamic Republic's deterrent capabilities, official media reported. In this photo released by the Iranian semi-official Mehr News Agency, Revolutionary Guard's Zelzal missile is launched in a drill, Sunday Sept. 27, 2009, near the city of Qom, 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Tehran, Iran. Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles during military drills Sunday by the elite Revolutionary Guard, a show of force days after the U.S. warned Tehran over a newly revealed underground nuclear facility it was secretly constructing.* The missile maneuvers coincide with increased tension in Iran's nuclear dispute with the West, after last week's disclosure by Tehran that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant. State radio said the Guards on Monday would test-fire the Shahab 3 missile, which Iranian officials say has a range of around 2,000 km, potentially putting Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf within reach. It has been tested several times before. Iran's English-language Press TV said two short-range missiles as well as a multiple missile launcher were tested on the exercise's first day. It showed footage of a missile launch in desert-like terrain, leaving a vapor trail. "Iran tests two short-range missiles," it said in a scrolling headline, naming them as the ground-to-ground Fateh (Victorious) missile and the Tondar (Thunder) naval missile. The Revolutionary Guards said "the drill aims to maintain and boost the country's armed forces deterrent capabilities," Press TV said. The United States, which suspects Iran is seeking to build nuclear bombs, has previously expressed concern about Tehran's missile programme. Iran says its nuclear work is for peaceful power generation purposes. Iran often conducts war games or tests weapons to show its determination to counter any attack by foes such as Israel or the United States. "FABRICATED WESTERN CLAMOUR" Neither the United States nor its ally Israel have ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the nuclear row. Iran has said it would respond to any attack by targeting U.S. interests in the region and Israel, as well as closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for world oil supplies. Iran acknowledged the existence of the enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom for the first time on Monday in a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog. U.S. officials said the disclosure was designed to pre-empt an announcement by Western governments, which were aware of the site, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the plant was legal and open for inspection by the IAEA. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday the discovery of a secret nuclear plant showed a "disturbing pattern" of evasion by Iran which added urgency to its talks with six world powers in Geneva on Thursday. An Iranian official warned that "fabricated Western clamour" over the new enrichment plant would negatively affect the talks, state radio said on Sunday. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's IAEA envoy, said, referring to the six powers: "This Western approach will have a negative impact on Iran's negotiations with the 5+1 countries." Earlier this month, Obama scrapped a Bush-era plan to deploy missiles in Poland that had been proposed amid concerns Iran was trying to develop nuclear warheads it could mount on long-range missiles.

DTN News: Japan's Yukiya Amano Named New IAEA Chief

DTN News: Japan's Yukiya Amano Named New IAEA Chief *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) VIENNA, Austria - September 15, 2009: The International Atomic Energy Agency named Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano as its new head, ending a protracted struggle between the U.S. and some developing countries over who will succeed Mohamed ElBaradei as chief of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) new Director General Yukiya Amano of Japan delivers a speech during the General conference on September 14, 2009 in Vienna. The IAEA on September 14, 2009 formally appointed Yukiya Amano of Japan as its new director general from December 1, succeeding Mohamed ElBaradei. The 150 member states of the UN nuclear watchdog approved Amano -- who has been Tokyo's ambassador to the IAEA -- by acclamation. On Monday, the IAEA's highest governing body, the 150-nation IAEA General Conference approved Mr. Amano's selection by acclamation. This year, the agency's 35-member Board of Governors, its second-highest body, had rejected Mr. Amano's nomination 10 times, until a shift of one "no" vote to abstention gave Mr. Amano the necessary two-thirds majority in July. The U.S. and other Western nations backed Mr. Amano's candidacy as director general of the IAEA. But Mr. Amano, who starts his four-year term in December, had to overcome opposition from developing countries, which supported South African Abdul Minty for the top job. The contest reflected disagreement between the U.S. and other advanced industrial nations, which want the IAEA to police the spread of nuclear technology strictly, and developing countries, which tend to be more sympathetic to demands from nonnuclear states -- including Iran -- that they should be able to use their legal right to make nuclear fuel. Mr. Amano, a 62-year-old lawyer, has served as Japan's ambassador to the IAEA since 2005, representing an industrial country that has vigorously developed civilian nuclear technology. Fellow ambassadors at the agency say they view Mr. Amano as competent but uninspiring. The U.S. clashed with Mr. ElBaradei for years over how to strike the balance between Western security concerns and developing nations' desire to acquire nuclear technology. Mr. ElBaradei, an Egyptian lawyer and diplomat, angered the Bush administration in 2003 by casting doubt on its claims that Saddam Hussein's Iraq was developing nuclear weapons. U.S. officials later tried unsuccessfully to oust Mr. ElBaradei. In 2005, Mr. ElBaradei and the agency's staff were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to counter the spread of nuclear weapons. Mr. ElBaradei said in a speech to the IAEA's governing body on Monday that he had been vindicated over Iraq. Relations between the U.S. and Mr. ElBaradei have improved under the Obama administration, which -- like the departing IAEA head -- supports dialogue with Iran. The U.S. and the European Union have been pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear-enrichment program. Low-enriched fuel can be used for nuclear power; highly enriched uranium can be used for nuclear weapons. The Iranian government is thought to possess about enough low-enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon if the fuel were enriched. Iran says it plans to use the uranium for peaceful nuclear purposes, such as electric power generation. Experts say it could take Tehran years to acquire the know-how to refine the uranium to weapons-grade purity -- an opportunity for diplomacy the Obama administration hopes to seize. The IAEA's central mission is to monitor nuclear facilities around the world, requiring the body to maintain good relations with sometimes difficult partners. Should international disarmament talks with North Korea prove successful, the U.S., North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea will ask the IAEA to monitor and report on North Korea's steps to dismantle its nuclear stockpile. Mr. Amano says he envisions the IAEA as a technical body, not a political one. In an interview this year, he said the agency should monitor nuclear programs to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promote peaceful uses for nuclear energy. "The IAEA should not be a venue for negotiating disarmament," he said in the interview. The organization is charged with exposing secret nuclear programs that violate the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which went into effect in 1970. Under the treaty, Britain, France, Russia, China and the U.S. may retain nuclear weapons -- but must move toward disarmament. In return, a bloc of dozens of nonaligned nations -- primarily developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America -- demand IAEA assistance in obtaining access to nuclear technology for civilian uses. Iran has exploited this inherent tension to garner support for its nuclear program, which it says is purely for peaceful purposes.

DTN News: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Changing To Moderate Tunes Towards US On IAEA

DTN News: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Changing To Moderate Tunes Towards US On IAEA

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - September 7, 2009: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expresses the country's readiness to hold "fair and logical" talks with the five veto-wielding of the UN Security Council plus Germany. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to the media as he arrives for a press conference at the presidency in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Sept. 7, 2009. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is ready for talks with world powers over its nuclear program.

"If wise officials of certain Western countries and the United States are to make final decisions, we expect change of approaches, an issue which Iran welcomes," the president told a news conference on Monday.

"Although the Iranian nation will turn threats into unique opportunities, continuation of the current approaches will not be beneficial," he added. "We are ready to hold talks and exchange views in a correct direction to solve global challenges," Ahmadinejad said.

The president ruled out talks on nuclear rights of the Iranian nation, saying, "Iran will never negotiate on obvious rights of our people."

"From our view point our nuclear issue is finished," he added. "We will continue our work in the framework of global regulations and in close cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency," he stated.

Referring to Iran's plan to present its updated proposed nuclear package in view of last year's global developments to the Group 5+1, Ahmadinejad said, "Iran has prepared other packages on different issues which will be presented to other countries."

DTN News: Iran Proposes Measure Against Nuclear Facility Attacks

DTN News: Iran Proposes Measure Against Nuclear Facility Attacks *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - August 14, 2009: Iran's IAEA envoy says Tehran has asked the UN to hold a conference of 150 countries to vote on a proposal which bans attacks on nuclear installations. According to Fars news agency, the request was made on Wednesday through a letter which was sent to the UN Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei. "In that letter, Iran formally requested that the proposal be presented at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) general conference in September," the agency quoted Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh as saying. (Photo: Iran's Ambassador to IAEA, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh) "The protection of such installations is of great importance," he added. Soltaniyeh further pointed out that in September 1990, the IAEA general conference passed a resolution, proposed by Iran, entitled "Prohibition of All Armed Attacks Against Nuclear Installations Devoted to Peaceful Purposes Whether Under Construction or in Operation." "It is necessary to protect such facilities as the number of nuclear installations has increased since then," he said. "It is undoubtedly a matter of concern for all countries.” "The proposal will surely be supported by other countries and will pave the way for discussing and approving a resolution in this regard at the IAEA general conference to be held on September 14," Soltaniyeh concluded.

DTN News: Iran Has Enough Uranium For Nuclear Bomb: UN / Iran 'Has Atomic Bomb Capability'

DTN News: Iran Has Enough Uranium For Nuclear Bomb: UN / Iran 'Has Atomic Bomb Capability'

(NSI News Source Info) VIENNA - June 5, 2009: Iran has significantly expanded uranium enrichment with almost 5,000 centrifuges now operating and this has made it harder for U.N. inspectors to keep track of the disputed nuclear activity, an IAEA report said on Friday.

A United Nations report says Iran now has enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb. The UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, says Iran has more than 1,300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, which is well over the amount needed to make a single nuclear bomb. The UN Security Council has ordered Iran to suspend its enrichment related activities until the IAEA can verify the exact nature of Tehran's controversial nuclear program. But Iran says it is enriching uranium solely for nuclear energy.

DTN News: North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test / Backgrounder: Nuclear Issue On Korean Peninsula

DTN News: North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test / Backgrounder: Nuclear Issue On Korean Peninsula *By acting in blatant defiance of the United Nations Security Council, North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community....By U.S. President Barack Obama (DTN News Defense-Technology News .... May 25, 2009)

(NSI News Source Info) PYONGYANG - May 25 2009: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced on Monday it has successfully conducted "one more" underground nuclear test earlier in the day. Here is a brief introduction of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. North Korean soldiers walk on the banks of Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, May 25, 2009. North Korea said it successfully conducted a nuclear test on Monday, a move certain to further isolate the prickly state, which argues it has no choice but to build an atomic arsenal to protect itself in a hostile world. The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula surfaced in the early 1990s, when the United States, based on its satellite information, suspected that the DPRK had facilities for the development of nuclear weapons. Pyongyang denied the allegation, saying it had neither the intention nor the capability to develop nuclear weapons. It also criticized the U.S. for deploying nuclear weapons in South Korea, which served as a threat to DPRK's security. From May 1992 to Feb. 1993, the DPRK accepted six irregular inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The DPRK and the U.S. signed the Framework Agreement in Geneva in October 1994. Under the accord, Pyongyang agreed to freeze its nuclear program in exchange for the construction of light-water reactors and fuel oil provided by a U.S.-led Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization to make up for the loss of electric power in the DPRK due to the suspension of its nuclear plan. In October 2002, the U.S. said the DPRK had admitted that it had a program to enrich uranium after U.S. special envoy James Kelly visited the country. The DPRK responded by claiming that it had the right to develop nuclear weapons and weapons even more powerful. In December 2002, the U.S. stopped shipping fuel oil deliveries to the DPRK, charging that the DPRK had violated the Geneva accord. In response, the DPRK announced an end to its nuclear freeze, removed the seals and monitoring cameras from the frozen nuclear facilities installed by the IAEA and restarted the nuclear facilities used for producing electricity. Moreover, the DPRK released a statement in January 2003, announcing its withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty while claiming it had no intention to develop nuclear weapons. The Chinese government has made positive efforts for a peaceful solution for the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and finally brokered the six-party talks involving China, the DPRK, the United States, South Korea, Russia and Japan. The first round of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue was held in Beijing in August 2003, in which the principle of peacefully resolving the nuclear issue through negotiations had been established. On Feb. 13, 2007, the third phase of the fifth round of the six-party talks ended in Beijing with a joint statement on the first step toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In July the same year, the DPRK closed and sealed its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. On October 3, the second phase of the sixth round of six-party talks released a joint document, named the Second-Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement, under which the DPRK and the United States remain committed to improving their bilateral relations and moving toward a full diplomatic relationship. A female North Korean soldier guards the banks of Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong May 25, 2009. North Korea said it successfully conducted a nuclear test on Monday, a move certain to further isolate the prickly state, which argues it has no choice but to build an atomic arsenal to protect itself in a hostile world. In November, the DPRK began to disable three nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. However, the agreement reached on Oct. 3 had not been effectively implemented due to a divergence on the nuclear declaration between the DPRK and the U.S. In June 2008, the DPRK destroyed the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, marking a symbolic step forward towards the denuclearization on the Peninsula. On April 5, 2009, the DPRK carried out a rocket launch, arousing serious concern of various sides. The UN Security Council on April 13 adopted a presidential statement on the April 5 launch by the DPRK, saying it is "in contravention of Security Council resolution 1718" and urging the early resumption of the six-party talks. Pyongyang subsequently announced it was quitting the six-party talks on nuclear disarmament and would restart nuclear facilities in protest of the UN statement. On May 25, the DPRK announced it has successfully conducted the second underground nuclear test, following with a short-range missile launch in the same day.

U.S. Blasts North Korea For Reactivating Nuke Program

U.S. Blasts North Korea For Reactivating Nuke Program

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - April 26, 2009: The United States on April 25 blasted North Korea's decision to reactivate its nuclear program and called for the reclusive nation to return to international denuclearization talks. A Japanese tourist visits a pavilion with a board showing details of North Korean missiles, at an observation post near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, about 45 km (28 miles) north of Seoul, April 26, 2009. North Korea has started to extract plutonium from spent fuel rods at its nuclear arms plant, its foreign ministry said on Saturday, further raising regional tensions already stoked by its defiant rocket launch this month. "We will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-weapons state," said Megan Mattson, a State Department spokeswoman. The North's announcement that it had started reprocessing spent fuel rods to make weapons-grade plutonium came just hours after the United Nations slapped sanctions on three North Korean firms accused of backing missile development. On April 14, the North said it would quit six-nation nuclear disarmament talks and restart its atomic weapons program after the U.N. Security Council issued a statement condemning the Pyongyang's controversial April 5 rocket launch. Pyongyang says it put a satellite into orbit but the United States and its allies say the launch was a disguised long-range ballistic missile test. "The United States remains committed to the six-party goal of the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner through the six-party talks," said Mattson. Mattson said the U.S. continues "to seek full implementation of the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement under which North Korea committed to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and return, at an early date, to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to IAEA safeguards." Infuriated by the U.N.'s actions, North Korea has expelled inspectors from the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who had been monitoring its stated efforts to dismantle its nuclear programs. The North had been disabling parts of the Yongbyon nuclear complex as agreed under a February 2007 six-nation deal involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan. But six-party negotiations stalled last December because of disputes about ways to verify its declared nuclear activities. Analysts say it will take three to four months before the North completes reprocessing some 8,000 spent fuel rods from the reactor in Yongbyon to obtain plutonium. The North, which carried out its first nuclear test in October 2006, reportedly put the size of its plutonium stockpile at 31 kilograms when it handed over a nuclear declaration in June 2008. If all has been turned into weapons, the North might have six to eight bombs, experts say.

Kazakhstan Proposes Hosting Nuclear Fuel Bank

Kazakhstan Proposes Hosting Nuclear Fuel Bank (NSI News Source Info) ASTANA - April 7, 2009: Kazakhstan has offered the UN nuclear watchdog its territory to set up a nuclear fuel bank, the president said on Monday at a joint press conference with Iran's leader. "If a nuclear fuel bank is created for the nuclear power industry, Kazakhstan could consider the possibility of placing it on our territory, as a country that signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and voluntarily gave up nuclear weapons," Nursultan Nazarbayev said. In September 2008, the United States said it would allocate $50 million to create a nuclear fuel bank under the International Atomic Energy Agency, and called on all countries to invest funds for the purpose. Some countries have already made the decision to allocate $5-10 million for this task. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he backed Nazarbayev's idea, saying: "We believe Nazarbayev's proposal to create a nuclear fuel bank in Kazakhstan is a very good proposal."

IAEA Chief Welcomes Nuclear Reduction By U.S., Russia

IAEA Chief Welcomes Nuclear Reduction By U.S., Russia

(NSI News Source Info) VIENNA - April 3, 2009: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) welcomed on Thursday the newly announced U.S. and Russian commitment to reduce their nuclear arsenals. Mohamed ElBaradei said in an IAEA statement that he believed Wednesday's joint statement by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama on starting talks on a new strategic arms reduction treaty demonstrated their leadership and "finally moves us beyond the Cold War mentality." Obama and Medvedev met on Wednesday for the first time as world leaders gathered in London for the G20 summit. After their bilateral talks, they issued a joint statement on immediately beginning talks on a replacement for the START agreement on strategic arms control, which expires in December 2009. "As leaders of the two largest nuclear weapons states, we agreed to work together to fulfill our obligations under Article VI of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and demonstrate leadership in reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world," read the joint statement published Wednesday on the White House web site. The two presidents also vowed to put an end to nuclear weapons testing. ElBaradei said the two presidents' initiative would help to create the impetus necessary for strengthening commitment to IAEA agreements, and would also lead to an improvement in the system of security. The IAEA head also welcomed the U.S. and Russian presidents' decision "to promote the safe and peaceful use of nuclear energy for all countries."

DTN News: UN Nuclear Watchdog To Elect New Chief

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) VIENNA - March 26, 2009: The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will meet to elect a new director general at a session in Vienna on Thursday. The term of the current IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who has headed the agency since 1997, ends in November 2009. The 66-year-old ElBaradei, who together with the watchdog was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, has signaled that he will step down when his term of office ends. The 35-nation board will meet in a closed session. The two frontrunners are Japan's IAEA ambassador, Yukiya Amano, and South Africa's envoy, Abdul Samad Minty, both need to secure a two-thirds majority to win the vote. Insiders say that Amano, whose candidacy is reported to be backed by the U.S. and some EU states, is the favorite for the four-year post over Minty, although neither is expected to garner the required two-thirds majority, which could mean the contest is thrown open to a new candidate. The vote comes at a crucial time for the nuclear watchdog involved in stalled investigations in Iran and Syria and high-profile monitoring of North Korea's nuclear disarmament program. In a recent report speech made to the IAEA board of governors on March 2 ElBaradei said that watchdog, charged with promoting the peaceful and safe use of nuclear technology, is continuing to monitor and verify the dismantling of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, but said that despite numerous efforts there had been no progress in investigations into Iran's nuclear activity.