Santorum Hypes Iran ‘Threat’
Posted on 02/16/2012 by Juan
http://www.juancole.com/2012/02/santorum-hypes-iran-threat.html
GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum warned North Dakota on Wednesday that it was in the cross-hairs of an Iranian attack.
Among the news about Iran that had Americans thinking about that country was an announcement that Iran is making its own nuclear fuel and using it for a reactor.
Iran has a small medical research nuclear reactor, which produces nuclear isotopes for use in chemotherapy. The reactor requires uranium enriched to 19.75 percent to run. Iran announced on Wednesday that it had managed to enrich to that level , and is now installing the homemade fuel plates in the reactor.
The medical reactor was given to Iran by the United States and was inaugurated in 1967. The reactor is being regularly inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure it is being used only for civilian purposes, and the IAEA was present Thursday to watch the insertion of the fuel rod.
The reactor actually has no conceivable military purpose, and its fuel, uranium enriched to 19.75 percent, is used up when run through the reactor, so it cannot be used to make a nuclear warhead. Nuclear bombs need the uranium to be enriched to 95 percent, typically. Iran is not yet able to achieve that level of enrichment, and says it is not trying to.
Iran also unveiled 3000 new centrifuges,which will allow it to make new fuel rods for its civilian nuclear reactors more quickly.
I saw the CNN coverage of the fueling of the nuclear isotopes reactor and was astonished that they kept saying this development was “dangerous” or “ominous.” Actually, it is good news that Iran can make fuel for the research reactor, since it produces isotopes for treating cancer victims.
Iran is permitted by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that began being signed in the late 1960s to enrich uranium for peaceful uses such as fueling reactors, but the United States and the UN Security Council have attempted to unilaterally abrogate that right in the case of Iran. Israel is not signatory to the NPT, and has gone for broke to produce some 400 nuclear warheads. To the extent that Iraq wanted a nuclear weapon, it was impelled by competition with Israel; i.e., the Israeli bomb kicked off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Because of the reflection fallacy, the Israelis cannot imagine that Iran is not trying to do what they themselves did. But there is no good evidence for an Iranian nuclear weapons program, and the medical reactor does not point to one!
CNN had P.J. Crowley, the former State Department spokesman on, to explain that Russia and France had offered to supply the LEU needed to run the medical reactor. He did not say why Iran should not make its own fuel, since that is perfectly legal under the NPT.
Ahmadinejad took the occasion to complain about the “hegemonic powers”:
Ironically, Rick Santorum made similar comments, but in the reverse:
For Santorum, the sinister force that is preventing the US from having “science” and being energy independent is Barack Obama, who is beholden to hegemonic special interests.
For Ahmadinejad, the sinister force that prevents Iran from having science and being energy independent is the United States.
Both are conspiracy theorists, and both fail to put their finger on the real path to energy independence and cheap energy, which is renewables like solar and wind.
To sum up, medical nuclear reactor at Isfahan likely not a danger to the people of North Dakota.
You should here what he thinks of Venezuela!
The Democrats' Prayer:
Dear Loving and Almighty God, let the Republicans nominate Rick Santorum and let President Obama sweep to a second term in an unprecedented landslide - bigger than Lyndon Johnson's in 1964. Let the House of Representatives purge itself of the Tea Party and the Senate regain its veto-proof majority of Democrats. Let every down ballot office go Democratic - down to dogcatcher - in every county of every state in the union. We ask these things in the name of truth, justice and the American Way. Amen.
Thanks for the insightful article, Ryan.
Any Iranian attacks will a) be the result of military action taken against them and b) be directed against oil infrastructure in Iraq and Saudi Arabia where there are already Iran-friendly Shi'ite populations, not North Dakota.
The announcement, due to be confirmed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later Wednesday, was likely to further unsettle the United States and allies who believe Iran is also forging ahead with atomic weapon development.
At the Iranian Atomic Organization in Tehran, Ahmadinejad witnessed the insertion of Iran's first home-made nuclear fuel rods into a medical reactor.
The president then opened, via a video-conference link-up, two other projects in the Natanz plant in central Iran.
The plant there will now be able to enrich uranium to 20 per cent and will also use of a new type of centrifuge, capable of a far higher enrichment speed than previous models.
Also present at the ceremony in Tehran were Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi and nuclear chief Mohammad Abbasi.
The IRIB report did not mention the opening of the new enrichment site of Fordo in Qom province, which had been expected to be among the projects opened by the president.
The facility, about 160 kilometres south of Tehran, is capable of enriching uranium to levels of 3.5, 4 and 20 per cent.
The Tehran reactor was established in 1967 and equipped with a 5-megawatt pool-type. The fuel for this reactor was initially provided by Argentina, but this stopped a few years ago.
The fuel for was then supposed to be provided by Russia and France but a deal struck in October 2009 failed, and Iran began making the fuel itelf, by first enriching uranium to 20 per cent and then turning it into fuel rods.
Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and atomic weapons.
The new projects showed that Iran would not be intimidated by international threats over its nuclear programme, and would continue with its technological advances, ISNA news agency commented.
"We do have a pretty good bead on what is happening with their nuclear program," Obama said.
"Do we know all the dynamics inside of Iran? -- absolutely not.
"One of the difficulties is Iran itself is a lot more divided now than it was, knowing who is making decisions at any given time inside of Iran is tough.
Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney has accused Obama of not sufficiently laying the groundwork for any military action against Iran's nuclear program, but Obama disagreed.
"We have done extensive planning over the last several years about all our various options... we are prepared to exercise these options should the need arise," he said, but stressed he was seeking a diplomatic solution to the showdown.
On Sunday, Obama also talked about Iran in earlier parts of the interview aired on NBC before annual Super Bowl American football championship game.
He said Washington was working "in lockstep" with Israel to bring Iran to heel despite suggestions the allies had different perceptions of the current threat from Tehran.
"I don't think Israel has made a decision" to strike Iranian facilities, Obama said in a pre-Super Bowl interview with NBC.
When asked if Washington would be consulted first should Israel move ahead with those plans, he said he could not go into specifics but added that the two allies had "closer intelligence and military consultations" than ever before.
"My number one priority continues to be the security of the United States. But also, the security of Israel. And we're going to make sure that we work in lockstep, as we proceed to try to solve this -- hopefully diplomatically."
Obama said the Islamic republic was "feeling the pinch" of ever tougher sanctions imposed by the international community, and dismissed concerns that Tehran could retaliate by striking US soil, saying such a strike was unlikely.
"I've been very clear -- we're going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating a nuclear arms race in a volatile region," he said.
"We have mobilized the international community, in a way that is unprecedented. They are feeling the pinch. They are feeling the pressure," he said.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for strictly peaceful purposes.
Last week, a Washington Post opinion column said US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a "strong likelihood" that Israel will strike Iran's nuclear installations this spring.
When asked about the newspaper's article by reporters traveling with him to a NATO meeting in Brussels, Panetta brushed it aside.
"I'm not going to comment on that... Israel indicated they're considering this (a strike), we've indicated our concerns," he said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was due in Washington on Monday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the United States in early March.
Given this assessment, and the intelligence reports of Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and other world powers, there is general consensus on the direction of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program.
International Consensus on the Iranian Nuclear Program
Iran for its part has maintained that its program is for peaceful purposes only. The President of Iran, and the ruling clerics, maintains that it is Iran’s sovereign right to produce nuclear energy.
Western countries and Middle Eastern countries fear that the robust nuclear program – which is scattered throughout Iran – is geared toward producing fissile material for nuclear warheads. Their assertions are based on the aforementioned intelligence reports. As part of Western efforts to dissuade Iran from continuing in this vein, a series of punitive measures has been enacted.
Crippling economic sanctions have devastated the Iranian economy and resulted in high levels of inflation and rising unemployment.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – contrary to Western expectations – has been emboldened by efforts to stifle the nuclear program. Rather than seeking to embrace the European Union’s calls for serious discussions, the President has opted to expedite the process of nuclear enrichment.
The lines have been drawn. Observers across the world are united in their belief that while sanctions are the preferred method of dissuasion, all options must remain on the table. Two camps have arisen in the ensuing debacle: the Russian/Chinese block and the European/American block. Analysts have alluded to a scenario reminiscent of the Cold War era, with Iran in this instance being the powder keg.
The Threat of Inaction is Potentially More Devastating than Confrontation
The simmering tensions between the United States and Russia and China serve to deter any multilateral UN Security Council condemnation, or use of force against Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is well versed in international relations and he is fully aware that no United Nations Security Council action will be taken against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
That leaves either a European or American-led initiative against Iran. Neither of those possibilities is likely, given the widely unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, for Western nations the threat of inaction appears to be more treacherous than waging a war against Iran.
Western leaders use as their reasoning, the pre-stated intent of the Iranian President to wipe entire countries off the face of the earth. Leading experts feel that it is safe to say that entrusting nuclear weapons capability to such individuals will result in nothing short of an apocalypse.
The issue thus becomes one of conducting a conventional war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, or gearing up to conduct a nuclear war against Iran. With such limited choice, the option (in the event of sanctions failing) is clear: a conventional war must be waged to ensure that the Middle East does not teeter off the edge and into absolute cataclysm.
The lesser of the two evils is the best-case scenario. President Ahmadinejad has chosen his allies in Hamas, Hezbollah, Bashar Assad and company. If the Iranian nuclear program is not halted, a nuclear arms race will begin in the Middle East.
Sadly the will of millions of Iranians is being subjugated by the oppressive policies of a virtual dictator intent on leading his people right to the gates of hell.
Among the news about Iran that had Americans thinking about that country was an announcement that Iran is making its own nuclear fuel and using it for a reactor.
Iran has a small medical research nuclear reactor, which produces nuclear isotopes for use in chemotherapy. The reactor requires uranium enriched to 19.75 percent to run. Iran announced on Wednesday that it had managed to enrich to that level , and is now installing the homemade fuel plates in the reactor.
The medical reactor was given to Iran by the United States and was inaugurated in 1967. The reactor is being regularly inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure it is being used only for civilian purposes, and the IAEA was present Thursday to watch the insertion of the fuel rod.
The reactor actually has no conceivable military purpose, and its fuel, uranium enriched to 19.75 percent, is used up when run through the reactor, so it cannot be used to make a nuclear warhead. Nuclear bombs need the uranium to be enriched to 95 percent, typically. Iran is not yet able to achieve that level of enrichment, and says it is not trying to.
Iran also unveiled 3000 new centrifuges,which will allow it to make new fuel rods for its civilian nuclear reactors more quickly.
I saw the CNN coverage of the fueling of the nuclear isotopes reactor and was astonished that they kept saying this development was “dangerous” or “ominous.” Actually, it is good news that Iran can make fuel for the research reactor, since it produces isotopes for treating cancer victims.
Iran is permitted by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that began being signed in the late 1960s to enrich uranium for peaceful uses such as fueling reactors, but the United States and the UN Security Council have attempted to unilaterally abrogate that right in the case of Iran. Israel is not signatory to the NPT, and has gone for broke to produce some 400 nuclear warheads. To the extent that Iraq wanted a nuclear weapon, it was impelled by competition with Israel; i.e., the Israeli bomb kicked off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Because of the reflection fallacy, the Israelis cannot imagine that Iran is not trying to do what they themselves did. But there is no good evidence for an Iranian nuclear weapons program, and the medical reactor does not point to one!
CNN had P.J. Crowley, the former State Department spokesman on, to explain that Russia and France had offered to supply the LEU needed to run the medical reactor. He did not say why Iran should not make its own fuel, since that is perfectly legal under the NPT.
Ahmadinejad took the occasion to complain about the “hegemonic powers”:
“They built atomic bombs, they built chemical weapons, and today, using their domination of centers of power, both in the arena of economics and politics, they have imposed a modern and complex system of plunder on the world.Ahmadinejad highlights the paternalistic attitude of the West toward the nations of the global South, and the constrictions placed on new countries learning to close the fuel cycle (which the NPT permits them to do).
In this way, the wealth of nations is systematically plundered and transferred into the pocket of the oppressors of the world. In my view, even more treacherous and more odious than this is their attitude toward science.
It is their approach toward the progress of nations. They monopolize science. They monopolize technologies that originated from that science. Science has to be at the service of the international community…
Look at this very nuclear science; first of all they equated nuclear science to the technology of the bomb. Whenever you mention nuclear science it immediately conjures up the image of a bomb in your mind. Nuclear science and technology are quite useful to humanity and in various aspects of human life.
One of these is radio medicine. Another is radio isotopes which find applications in industry, agriculture, and medicine or generating clean power that is very cheap. It can lead to the speedy progress of nations and provide them with welfare and health and security.
Nevertheless, they (the West) equate all this to the nuclear bomb. At first glance, you might think that this is not very important. Of course, it is; when it is equated to the bomb many of the regulations related to security and constraints and monopoly creating laws are formulated. They impose various restrictions which you are witness to, that after 70-80 years it is only seven or eight nations that enjoy the benefit of nuclear power. The rest of the nations are deprived of it.
Any nation that dares to develop this science and technology is faced with pressures and sanctions on top of insults and much hullaballoo.
In my view, the biggest assault that they made on humanity was the assault on science. Look at what they have done in the arena of Iran’s nuclear episode. How much noise did they make?
How much bad conduct they showed and how impolite they were toward the nation of Iran.
They tried to prevent the progress of the nation of Iran. They launched resolutions and sanctions against us and applied political pressure and launched propaganda against Iran but all to no avail.”
Ironically, Rick Santorum made similar comments, but in the reverse:
“”You have a president who’s not interested in science. He’s interested in politics. Instead of doing something that is in the best interest of creating energy security for our country and economic growth, he plays petty politics and partisan politics and special interest politics…”Like Ahmadinejad, Santorum puts a high value on energy independence. For him, it lies in the environmentally ruinous Canadian shale oil pipeline that President Obama nixed. For Ahmadinejad, Iran’s energy independence lies in nuclear energy.
For Santorum, the sinister force that is preventing the US from having “science” and being energy independent is Barack Obama, who is beholden to hegemonic special interests.
For Ahmadinejad, the sinister force that prevents Iran from having science and being energy independent is the United States.
Both are conspiracy theorists, and both fail to put their finger on the real path to energy independence and cheap energy, which is renewables like solar and wind.
To sum up, medical nuclear reactor at Isfahan likely not a danger to the people of North Dakota.
Rick Santorum Tells North Dakota to Fear Iranian Terrorists
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has taken fear mongering to a new level. His claims that Iran’s next target will be the North Dakota's oil industry are both irresponsible and disingenuous.
“Folks, you've got energy here. They're going to bother you,” Santorum said, “No one is safe from asymmetric threats of terrorism.”
Wanting to win the presidency is one thing, to do so on the back of the same level of deceit that the U.S. partook in to justify invading Iraq is reprehensible.
Iran has long stated that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. The U.S. and its allies, namely Israel, have long claimed that Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb. Nuclear power is cheaper and cleaner than fossil fuel power plants. The Natanz medical reactor was given to Iran by the U.S. and had its fuel supplied by Argentina until recently.
Though other nations have offered to supply fuel in 2009, those plans never materialized and Iran opted to make its own rods by enriching uranium to 20%. When enriched to this level, uranium can be used in military and civilian applications. Put simply, bombs or power plants. This is where the international outrage comes in.
In a speech, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, “They built atomic bombs, they built chemical weapons…they equated nuclear science to the technology of the bomb.” He later added “Any nation that develops this science and technology is faced with pressures and sanctions.”
Santorum’s threats came from a report by National Intelligence Director James Clapper that stated “Iran may be willing to sponsor future attacks on U.S. soil.” What Santorum failed to address is that clapper also said the following in that same report: “We assess Iran is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons, in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that better position it to produce such weapons, should it choose to do so. We do not know, however, if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons.”
In addition to showing off its new enriched uranium fuel rods, Iran showed off 3,000 centrifuges it will use to enrich uranium that will be used as fuel at the reactor and at potential nuclear power plants around the country.
Whether Iran will build nuclear bombs or not is a question no one outside the country really has the answer to yet. Even IAEA inspectors at the Natanz reactor have asserted that it appears to be for peaceful purposes, but they are not willing to say anything further.
If Ahmadinejad simply wants energy independence, that makes Iran no different than the U.S. If it wants to build bombs, it will most likely be bombed into the Stone Age before it has a chance to attack an outpost like North Dakota.
Photo Credit: George Skidmore
“Folks, you've got energy here. They're going to bother you,” Santorum said, “No one is safe from asymmetric threats of terrorism.”
Wanting to win the presidency is one thing, to do so on the back of the same level of deceit that the U.S. partook in to justify invading Iraq is reprehensible.
Iran has long stated that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. The U.S. and its allies, namely Israel, have long claimed that Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb. Nuclear power is cheaper and cleaner than fossil fuel power plants. The Natanz medical reactor was given to Iran by the U.S. and had its fuel supplied by Argentina until recently.
Though other nations have offered to supply fuel in 2009, those plans never materialized and Iran opted to make its own rods by enriching uranium to 20%. When enriched to this level, uranium can be used in military and civilian applications. Put simply, bombs or power plants. This is where the international outrage comes in.
In a speech, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, “They built atomic bombs, they built chemical weapons…they equated nuclear science to the technology of the bomb.” He later added “Any nation that develops this science and technology is faced with pressures and sanctions.”
Santorum’s threats came from a report by National Intelligence Director James Clapper that stated “Iran may be willing to sponsor future attacks on U.S. soil.” What Santorum failed to address is that clapper also said the following in that same report: “We assess Iran is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons, in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that better position it to produce such weapons, should it choose to do so. We do not know, however, if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons.”
In addition to showing off its new enriched uranium fuel rods, Iran showed off 3,000 centrifuges it will use to enrich uranium that will be used as fuel at the reactor and at potential nuclear power plants around the country.
Whether Iran will build nuclear bombs or not is a question no one outside the country really has the answer to yet. Even IAEA inspectors at the Natanz reactor have asserted that it appears to be for peaceful purposes, but they are not willing to say anything further.
If Ahmadinejad simply wants energy independence, that makes Iran no different than the U.S. If it wants to build bombs, it will most likely be bombed into the Stone Age before it has a chance to attack an outpost like North Dakota.
Photo Credit: George Skidmore
- Ahmed Medien
- 11 hours ago
- Seamus Light
- 11 hours ago
You should here what he thinks of Venezuela!
- Susan Kraykowski
- 14 hours ago
The Democrats' Prayer:
Dear Loving and Almighty God, let the Republicans nominate Rick Santorum and let President Obama sweep to a second term in an unprecedented landslide - bigger than Lyndon Johnson's in 1964. Let the House of Representatives purge itself of the Tea Party and the Senate regain its veto-proof majority of Democrats. Let every down ballot office go Democratic - down to dogcatcher - in every county of every state in the union. We ask these things in the name of truth, justice and the American Way. Amen.
- Manar Hijaz
- 14 hours ago
Thanks for the insightful article, Ryan.
- Ed Hancox
- 14 hours ago
Any Iranian attacks will a) be the result of military action taken against them and b) be directed against oil infrastructure in Iraq and Saudi Arabia where there are already Iran-friendly Shi'ite populations, not North Dakota.
Iran has new nuclear fuel plates: state TV
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to the media while attending for an official meeting with Russia's Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev in Tehran.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2012/02/15/iran-has-new-nuclear-fuel-plates-state-tv
Image by: MORTEZA NIKOUBAZL / REUTERS
Image by: MORTEZA NIKOUBAZL / REUTERS
State television reported on Wednesday that Iran has made advances in its nuclear programme, building new uranium enrichment centrifuges and producing its own nuclear reactor fuel plates.
Related News
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Ahmadinejad says ready for nuclear talks, blasts sanctions
-
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Iran threatens US, Israel with retaliation if attacked
-
At the Iranian Atomic Organization in Tehran, Ahmadinejad witnessed the insertion of Iran's first home-made nuclear fuel rods into a medical reactor.
The president then opened, via a video-conference link-up, two other projects in the Natanz plant in central Iran.
The plant there will now be able to enrich uranium to 20 per cent and will also use of a new type of centrifuge, capable of a far higher enrichment speed than previous models.
Also present at the ceremony in Tehran were Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi and nuclear chief Mohammad Abbasi.
The IRIB report did not mention the opening of the new enrichment site of Fordo in Qom province, which had been expected to be among the projects opened by the president.
The facility, about 160 kilometres south of Tehran, is capable of enriching uranium to levels of 3.5, 4 and 20 per cent.
The Tehran reactor was established in 1967 and equipped with a 5-megawatt pool-type. The fuel for this reactor was initially provided by Argentina, but this stopped a few years ago.
The fuel for was then supposed to be provided by Russia and France but a deal struck in October 2009 failed, and Iran began making the fuel itelf, by first enriching uranium to 20 per cent and then turning it into fuel rods.
Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and atomic weapons.
The new projects showed that Iran would not be intimidated by international threats over its nuclear programme, and would continue with its technological advances, ISNA news agency commented.
US ready for military action against Iran: Obama
Staff Sgt. Bryan Holloway, 510th Aircraft Maintenance Unit avionics craftsman, performs scheduled radar maintenance on an F-16 fighter jet at Aviano Air Base in this U.S. Air Force handout photo.
Image by: HO
Image by: HO
President Barack Obama said the United States had a good fix on the progress of Iran's nuclear program and had long prepared a military response in the Gulf should it become necessary.
Obama made his latest attempt to calm speculation about a possible Israeli or US strike on Iran in the short-term in an interview aired on NBC Monday, but said it was tough to figure out political dynamics inside the Islamic republic.
"We do have a pretty good bead on what is happening with their nuclear program," Obama said.
"Do we know all the dynamics inside of Iran? -- absolutely not.
"One of the difficulties is Iran itself is a lot more divided now than it was, knowing who is making decisions at any given time inside of Iran is tough.
Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney has accused Obama of not sufficiently laying the groundwork for any military action against Iran's nuclear program, but Obama disagreed.
"We have done extensive planning over the last several years about all our various options... we are prepared to exercise these options should the need arise," he said, but stressed he was seeking a diplomatic solution to the showdown.
On Sunday, Obama also talked about Iran in earlier parts of the interview aired on NBC before annual Super Bowl American football championship game.
He said Washington was working "in lockstep" with Israel to bring Iran to heel despite suggestions the allies had different perceptions of the current threat from Tehran.
"I don't think Israel has made a decision" to strike Iranian facilities, Obama said in a pre-Super Bowl interview with NBC.
When asked if Washington would be consulted first should Israel move ahead with those plans, he said he could not go into specifics but added that the two allies had "closer intelligence and military consultations" than ever before.
"My number one priority continues to be the security of the United States. But also, the security of Israel. And we're going to make sure that we work in lockstep, as we proceed to try to solve this -- hopefully diplomatically."
Obama said the Islamic republic was "feeling the pinch" of ever tougher sanctions imposed by the international community, and dismissed concerns that Tehran could retaliate by striking US soil, saying such a strike was unlikely.
"I've been very clear -- we're going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating a nuclear arms race in a volatile region," he said.
"We have mobilized the international community, in a way that is unprecedented. They are feeling the pinch. They are feeling the pressure," he said.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for strictly peaceful purposes.
Last week, a Washington Post opinion column said US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a "strong likelihood" that Israel will strike Iran's nuclear installations this spring.
When asked about the newspaper's article by reporters traveling with him to a NATO meeting in Brussels, Panetta brushed it aside.
"I'm not going to comment on that... Israel indicated they're considering this (a strike), we've indicated our concerns," he said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was due in Washington on Monday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the United States in early March.
The Feasibility of Attacking Iran: iLIVE
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. File photo.
Image by: HANDOUT / REUTERS
Image by: HANDOUT / REUTERS
The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to feature prominently in international news. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has conducted multiple assessments of Iran’s nuclear program and the overall consensus of this international agency (comprising some 151 member states), is that Iran is working towards building a nuclear weapons program.
Related News
International Consensus on the Iranian Nuclear Program
Iran for its part has maintained that its program is for peaceful purposes only. The President of Iran, and the ruling clerics, maintains that it is Iran’s sovereign right to produce nuclear energy.
Western countries and Middle Eastern countries fear that the robust nuclear program – which is scattered throughout Iran – is geared toward producing fissile material for nuclear warheads. Their assertions are based on the aforementioned intelligence reports. As part of Western efforts to dissuade Iran from continuing in this vein, a series of punitive measures has been enacted.
Crippling economic sanctions have devastated the Iranian economy and resulted in high levels of inflation and rising unemployment.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – contrary to Western expectations – has been emboldened by efforts to stifle the nuclear program. Rather than seeking to embrace the European Union’s calls for serious discussions, the President has opted to expedite the process of nuclear enrichment.
The lines have been drawn. Observers across the world are united in their belief that while sanctions are the preferred method of dissuasion, all options must remain on the table. Two camps have arisen in the ensuing debacle: the Russian/Chinese block and the European/American block. Analysts have alluded to a scenario reminiscent of the Cold War era, with Iran in this instance being the powder keg.
The Threat of Inaction is Potentially More Devastating than Confrontation
The simmering tensions between the United States and Russia and China serve to deter any multilateral UN Security Council condemnation, or use of force against Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is well versed in international relations and he is fully aware that no United Nations Security Council action will be taken against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
That leaves either a European or American-led initiative against Iran. Neither of those possibilities is likely, given the widely unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, for Western nations the threat of inaction appears to be more treacherous than waging a war against Iran.
Western leaders use as their reasoning, the pre-stated intent of the Iranian President to wipe entire countries off the face of the earth. Leading experts feel that it is safe to say that entrusting nuclear weapons capability to such individuals will result in nothing short of an apocalypse.
The issue thus becomes one of conducting a conventional war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, or gearing up to conduct a nuclear war against Iran. With such limited choice, the option (in the event of sanctions failing) is clear: a conventional war must be waged to ensure that the Middle East does not teeter off the edge and into absolute cataclysm.
The lesser of the two evils is the best-case scenario. President Ahmadinejad has chosen his allies in Hamas, Hezbollah, Bashar Assad and company. If the Iranian nuclear program is not halted, a nuclear arms race will begin in the Middle East.
Sadly the will of millions of Iranians is being subjugated by the oppressive policies of a virtual dictator intent on leading his people right to the gates of hell.
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