Tag Archive for Iran Nuclear Program

| December 13, 2012
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IAEA arrives in Iran to investigate new satellite imagery that shows construction at Parchin

According to a U.S.think tank, imagery shows ‘steady pace’ of reconstruction at the military site that’s linked to suspected nuclear activity & which the UN nuclear inspector’s team is still attempting to gain access to.

 

A U.S. think tank published satellite imagery on Wednesday which it said shows ongoing construction at Iran’s Parchin military complex, a site linked to suspected nuclear activity. The publication came just ahead of the arrival of a UN nuclear inspector’s team in Tehran on Thursday.
Satellite imagery of Iran's Parchin military complex, taken on December 9, 2012.

Satellite imagery of Iran’s Parchin military complex, taken on December 9, 2012. – Photo by DigitalGlobe – ISIS

The Institute for Science and International Security said that an image taken on December 9 shows “a steady pace of what appears to be the ‘reconstruction’ phase” of a site that had undergone considerable alterations between April and July 2012,  including demolition of buildings and movement of earth. Continue Reading »

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| December 12, 2012
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US Report: ‘Israel using Eritrean bases to spy on Iran’

Report by US-based firm: Israel using ‘small but significant presence’ in northeastern African nation in an effort to boost intel gathering on Iran

Ynet

 

Israel is trying to increase its intelligence gathering efforts vis-à-vis Iran and is now using Eritrea to that effect, a new report by Stratfor Global Intelligence said Tuesday.

(Illustration) Photo: Shutterstock

‘Spying’ – Photo: Shutterstock

According to the strategy consultancy firm, Eritrea, which sits on the eastern shore of the Red Sea, has become an arena of operations for both Israel and Iran, as both are trying to bolster their influence on the Horn of Africa. Continue Reading »

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| December 10, 2012
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Report: Israel leaking intel of Iranian nuclear program

‘Guardian’ cites Western diplomats blasting Israel with leaking information to rally world on striking Iran

Netanyahu believes Iran must be confronted in 2013.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS

 

Western diplomats believe Israel has been leaking sensitive information about Iran’s nuclear program in a bid to rally the international community to action, The Guardian reported Monday.

Interior of Bushehr nuclear plant - Photo: REUTERS/Stringer Iran

Interior of Bushehr nuclear plant – Photo: REUTERS/Stringer Iran

The report came as Israel renewed calls against the Iranian program, as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday the problem would have to be confronted in 2013.

According to the Guardian report, Western diplomats suspect the Israeli moves have backfired, and have instead jeopardized the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation into the Iranian nuclear program.

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| December 9, 2012
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Iran says joint Israeli-Azerbaijani drones were tracked along Iranian border

Islamic Republic alleges Zionist spy-drones were on an espionage mission along the Astara Rayon region

Ynetnews

 

Iran’s Press TV reported Sunday that Israeli-Azeri drones – allegedly on a “secret spy mission” – were spotted flying over Iran and Karabakh’s common border.

According to the report Azerbaijan has been enlisting the help of “Israeli military advisors” in order to improve its drone capabilities.

According to the report, Baku “has been using Orbiter ultra-light drones assembled with the help of Israeli experts to carry out operations along the border with Karabakh.”

The report further quoted Iranian military experts as saying that Azerbaijan uses Elbit Systems’ Hermes-450 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for control and surveillance missions. Continue Reading »

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| November 29, 2012
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Washington gives Iran ‘Red Line’ of March to cooperate with IAEA

The White House warns Iran, it will bring Iranian nuclear program issue to the UN Security Council if Tehran fails to cooperate with UN atomic watchdog

By Reuters

 

The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a UN nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the UN Security Council.

Barack Obama Photo: AP

Barack Obama – Photo: AP

The comments by US diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington’s growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA’s inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran’s nuclear program. Continue Reading »

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| November 27, 2012
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Iran caught planning nuclear devise stronger than bomb used on Hiroshima

Leaked diagram obtained by the Associated Press shows Islamic Republic ran computer simulation for a weapon 3 times more powerful than that used during World War II.

 

 

A diagram obtained by The Associated Press shows that Iranian scientists have run computer simulations for a nuclear weapon that would produce more than triple the explosive force of the World War II bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

Iran nuclear diagram

The undated diagram that was given to the AP by officials of a country critical of Iran’s atomic program allegedly calculating the explosive force of a nuclear weapon. Photo by AP

The diagram was leaked by officials of a country critical of Iran’s atomic program to bolster their arguments that Iran’s nuclear program must be halted before it produces a weapon. Continue Reading »

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| November 6, 2012
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Iran to join nuclear-free Middle East Conference

A day after IAEA chief said Tehran not cooperating with probe of its nuclear program, Iran’s ambassador to UN offers to take part in the December conference in Helsinki.

By and Reuters

 

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic would take part in a proposed international conference in December on creating a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.

Iran nuclear Arak - AP - Archive

Heavy-water production plant in the central Iranian town of Arak, – Photo by AP

“The Islamic Republic of Iran now finally has decided to participate at the conference in Finland, in Helsinki, in December on a Middle East [nuclear] free zone,” Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters in Brussels where he attended a seminar on nuclear non-proliferation. Continue Reading »

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| September 23, 2012
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Tehran slams Siemens over nuclear sabotage

Iran accuses German electronics giant of implanting explosives in components for its nuclear program. Siemens denies doing any business with Tehran

By Associated Press

 

Iran accused Germany’s Siemens on Saturday of implanting tiny explosives inside equipment the Islamic Republic purchased for its disputed nuclear program, a charge the technology giant denied.

Siemens HQ Photo: AP

Siemens HQ – Photo: AP

Prominent lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Iranian security experts discovered the explosives and removed them before detonation, adding that authorities believe the booby-trapped equipment was sold to derail uranium enrichment efforts.

“The equipment was supposed to explode after being put to work, in order to dismantle all our systems,” he said. Continue Reading »

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| September 21, 2012
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Dershowitz & Ross are confident Obama has Israel’s back with regards to Iran

Both high-profile supporters of Israel & Obama tell ‘Post’ they believe US president would support Jerusalem should it strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, JPOST CORRESPONDENT

 

WASHINGTON – Dennis Ross and Alan Dershowitz, high-profile supporters of both Israel and US President Barack Obama, told The Jerusalem Post Thursday they were confident the president would support Israel should it attack Iran in a last-ditch effort to stop a nuclear bomb, and that Obama would attack Iran himself if necessary.

Dennis Ross - Photo: Brett Weinstein/Wikimedia Commons (CC)

Dennis Ross – Photo: Brett Weinstein/Wikimedia Commons (CC)

They also took issue with Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney’s recently uncovered statements at a closed-door fund-raiser in May about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, where he said he doesn’t see much potential

“You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem,” Romney said, pointing to a lack of desire for peace on the part of Palestinians and the security risks Israel would have to take in any two-state deal.

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| September 21, 2012
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Washington warns Iran: Time is running out on ‘diplomatic solution’ over nuclear program

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, tells Iran at UN Security Council meeting, Tehran must respond constructively to Western proposals on nuclear concerns.

By DPA

The United States said Thursday that “time is wasting” in seeking a solution to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities as Tehran has failed to respond constructively to Western proposals.

UN Security Council - AP - Archive


A session of UN Security Council – Photo by AP

“We believe there is still time and space for diplomacy,” U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told a UN Security Council meeting on Iran’s nuclear program.

“However, the onus is on Iran to respond constructively,” Rice said, adding that Washington is seeking a “clear, united resolution” to Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which she said has advanced beyond the 20-per-cent enrichment needed for civilian use of nuclear energy. Continue Reading »

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| September 19, 2012
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Could US Special Forces be behind Iran’s power-line blasts?

Daily Beast suggests US Special Forces have been training for operations in Iran for years, may be responsible for the explosions that sabotaged Iranian nuke sites’ power grid

By Ynet

 

Could the United States be behind a move to sabotage power lines at Iran‘s nuclear facilities? The Daily Beast on Wednesday suggested that US Special Forces, which have been training for operation inside Islamic Republic for years, could already be on the ground .

Fereydoun Abbasi Photo: AFP

Fereydoun Abbasi – Photo: AFP

On Monday, Fereydoun Abbasi, Iran’s vice president and the chief of its nuclear energy agency, said that power lines between the city of Qom and the underground Fordo nuclear centrifuge facility were blown up with explosives on August 17. Continue Reading »

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| September 8, 2012
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Canada says Tehran ‘most significant threat’ to world peace, recalls Ambassador, Closes Iran Embassy

 

Citing hostility to Israel, assisting Assad & its nuclear program, Foreign Minister John Baird said Canada will expel all Iranian diplomats within 5 days; Netanyahu: Canada took a moral step.

Canada has closed its embassy in Iran and will expel all remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada within five days, Foreign Minister John Baird said on Friday, denouncing Tehran as the biggest threat to global security.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - AP.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. – Photo by AP

Baird cited Iran’s nuclear program, its hostility toward Israel and Iranian military assistance to the government of President Bashar Assad in Syria, which is locked in civil war with rebels, as the reasons for suspending diplomatic relations. Continue Reading »

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| September 2, 2012
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Wall Street Journal tells Why Israel Doesn’t Trust Obama

WSJ describes U.S. President Barack Obama’s attitude towards Israel as being “between animus & incompetence”; reports Obama’s “‘head-in-the-sand’ performance” on Iran has increased the likelihood of an Israeli preempted strike.

By Yoni Hirsch and Israel Hayom Staff

 

A Wall Street Journal article published on Saturday has examined U.S. President Barack Obama’s handling of the Iranian nuclear threat, as well as his position on Israel. The newspaper, which is among the most widely read news publications in the U.S., criticized Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey’s comments from last Thursday.

“Head-in-the-sand performance.” The Wall Street Journal slammed Obama’s handling of the Iranian nuclear threat, Saturday.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| August 29, 2012
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Apparently President Obama Can Stop Iran

President Obama must now use language that commits him, in the eyes of the Iranians, to keep his promise that he will, if necessary, use military force to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

by Alan M. Dershowitz

 

It is now become clear that neither diplomacy nor sanctions will halt the Iranian march toward nuclear weapons. Iran is today stronger diplomatically than it has been in years, as evidenced by the meeting of the nonaligned nations in Tehran. Iran is neither isolated nor alone in a world in which nonaligned nations form a majority at the United Nations.

Obama- Photo: AP

Obama – Photo: AP

The sanctions, while hurting the Iranian economy and making life more difficult for the average Iranian, are having zero impact on the Iranian nuclear program, which according to objective intelligence reports, is gathering steam and moving even more quickly toward its ultimate goal of a nuclear weapon that will be a game changer. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| August 24, 2012
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Ya’alon says That History Will Judge the U.S. on Iran

Strategic Affair Minister Moshe Ya’alon places the responsibility on the US if Iran successfully realizes their nuclear ambitions.

By Elad Benari

 

As the debate continues over Iran’s nuclear program and a possible Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities, Strategic Affair Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Thursday placed the responsibility on the United States if the Islamic Republic realizes its nuclear ambitions.

“History will judge whether the United States stood in the face of the Shiite threat and prevented the Iranian military nuclear capability in time,” Ya’alon said during a forum at the Gordon College of Education in Haifa. “A Middle East with a nuclear Iran is a Middle East with nuclear chaos.”

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