Iran Will Know How to Build Bomb in 6 Months - Israel from Reuters.com.
Hm... seems like we've heard a similar claim before. Wasn't it Saddam that could lauch some sort of WMD within a really short period of time, too? I don't see why we should believe the press or the USGov or the Israeli Gov on this until we se some serious smegging proof. An Iran Attack would be a bad idea--worse than the Iraq Attack. I digress, more headlines:
Iran and Syria confront US with defence pact from Guardian.co.uk. I think the headline is pretty obvious. If the US and/or Israel invade/attack Iran/Syria, Syria/Iran will fight back together.
Bush Favors Diplomacy to Solve Iran Nuclear Dispute from Reuters.com. Again, the headline is pretty obvious. The deal here is that Bush seems to be quietly admitting that he's learned from his mistakes with Iraq. He has learned from his mistakes, but not in the way we should hope. He's now making a bigger deal about giving diplomacy a chance so when he decides enough is enough, he can invade and point to this point and say "Look! I tried diplomacy!"
Obviously something's going to happen with Iran and Syria. Maybe Israel will do an airstrike or something to relieve pressure or maybe it will be a full-on Iraq-style invasion. Then again, it might be something else entirely--but I'm betting that it'll be one of the attacks.
The Bush 43 Admin is just so obvious these days.From Reuters.com:
Iran Will Know How to Build Bomb in 6 Months - Israel
Wed Feb 16, 2005 08:17 AM ET
By Andrew Cawthorne
LONDON (Reuters) - Israel said on Wednesday arch-foe Iran was just six months away from having the knowledge to build an atomic bomb, as Tehran accused the United States of using satellites "and other tools" to spy on its nuclear sites.
The Israeli warning followed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's call last week for Iran to abandon any pursuit of nuclear weapons and meet its international obligations if it was to be sure of avoiding conflict.
"The question is not if the Iranians will have a nuclear bomb in 2009, 10 or 11, the main question is when are they going to have the knowledge to do it," Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on a visit to London.
"We believe in six months from today they will end all the tests and experiments they are doing to have that knowledge."
The chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency said in January Iran would have the capability to produce enriched uranium, which can be used in both power stations and nuclear bombs, by the end of 2005.
Iran's Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi on Wednesday again denied that his country's civilian nuclear facilities were a cover for an atomic weapons program, saying U.S. satellites were spying on Iran but would find nothing as "we have nothing to hide."
While Europe has pursued a policy of engagement with Iran, the United States and Israel have taken a more aggressive stance. Washington has said it favors diplomacy but does not rule out any option in stopping Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and Israel has hinted at possible military action.
An Israeli air strike on the Iraqi reactor Osiraq in 1981 dealt a severe blow to Saddam Hussein's nuclear program.
Israel plans to buy 500 "bunker buster" bombs from the United States that could prove effective against Iran's nuclear facilities, many of which are underground.
"They are trying very hard to develop the nuclear bomb. This kind of extreme regime with a nuclear bomb is a nightmare, not only for us," Shalom told reporters at the London briefing.
SATELLITES AND DRONES
France, Britain and Germany have been trying to persuade Iran to scrap potentially weapons-related activities in return for economic incentives, but Iran says its suspension of uranium enrichment activities last November is only temporary.
Iran has warned it would both retaliate and accelerate its drive to master nuclear technology if the United States or Israel attacked its atomic facilities.
The Washington Post, citing information from unnamed U.S. officials, reported this week the United States had been flying drones over Iran for the past year looking for evidence of nuclear weapons programs.
The pilotless planes flew into Iran from U.S. military bases in Iraq and used radar, photography and air filters to detect signs of nuclear activity, the newspaper said.
"We believe the United States has been spying against Iran for some time using satellites and other tools," Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Yunesi as saying on Wednesday, after he was asked about U.S. denials that it was using drones.
"Our nuclear and military activities are transparent. We have nothing to hide," he said.
The Central Intelligence Agency's National Intelligence Council has ordered an updated assessment on Iran's WMD program and a comprehensive new report on the country, known as a national intelligence estimate.
The Iranian air force was ordered in December to shoot down any unknown or suspicious flying objects over its territory.
"If any of these bright objects come close, they will definitely face our fire," Yunesi said.
(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi)
© Reuters 2005
Iran and Syria confront US with defence pact
Ewen MacAskill in Beirut and Duncan Campbell
Thursday February 17, 2005
The Guardian
Iran and Syria heightened tension across the Middle East and directly confronted the Bush administration yesterday by declaring they had formed a mutual self-defence pact to confront the "threats" now facing them.
The move, which took the Foreign Office by surprise, was announced after a meeting in Tehran between the Iranian vice-president, Mohammed Reza Aref, and the Syrian prime minister, Naji al-Otari.
"At this sensitive point, the two countries require a united front due to numerous challenges," said Mr Otari.
Regarded as rogue states by the White House, Iran is under pressure over its nuclear ambitions, while Syria came under renewed scrutiny over the assassination this week of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Yesterday's announcement came as the Israeli foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, predicted that Tehran would have the knowledge to produce a nuclear weapon within six months.
Speaking in London, he accused Iran of preparing nuclear weapons that would be able to target "London, Paris and Madrid" by the end of the decade.
"We believe the Iranians will never abandon their dreams" of nuclear weapons, Mr Shalom said. "It is not Israel's problem any more, it is the world's problem."
He said that "the question is not if Iran will hold a nuclear bomb in 2009, 2010, 2111, it is whether they have that knowledge. In six months, they will finish the tests to have the knowledge to produce weapons of mass destruction".
A British official cautioned that Israel has always put Iran's nuclear development "ahead of the estimates here and in the US".
"But no one knows for sure. We know the Iranians will not surprise us tomorrow, but whether it will be one year, or five or 10, we do not know."
The potential for further conflict in the region was highlighted yesterday by the reaction of the financial markets to speculative reports of an explosion near a nuclear facility in Iran. Oil prices surged by more than a dollar. It later emerged that the explosion had been caused during construction of a dam.
Though Syrian diplomats insisted the alliance with Iran was not a move to provoke the US, there was no qualification when the declaration was made in Tehran. Speaking at the end of the talks, the Syrian prime minister said: "This meeting, which takes place at this sensitive time, is important, especially because Syria and Iran face several challenges and it is necessary to build a common front."
Mr Aref added: "We are ready to help Syria on all grounds to confront threats."
Syria and Iran do not have a natural affinity but are alleged by western governments to have engaged in covert military cooperation in the past.
The British official said the pact could just be rhetoric, "a marriage of convenience" for two countries feeling a need to bolster one another.
Syria has recently been engaged in a diplomatic offensive to try to ward off US criticism, and its ambassador to the UN, Imad Moustapha, reflected this yesterday, denying the pact was anti-American.
"Today we do not want to form a front against anybody, particularly not against the United States," he said.
But tension between the countries remains high.
Washington recalled its ambassador to Damascus on Tuesday after the assassination of Mr Hariri, who advocated the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
As well as withdrawal from Lebanon, the US has called on Damascus to close the headquarters in the capital of Hamas, the main Palestinian group responsible for suicide bombers; to end its support for Hizbullah, the Lebanese-based, anti-Israeli militia; and to block support for the insurgency in Iraq from within Syria. It has also called on Iran to end its support for Hizbullah.
Washington at present is focused on pressing the security council to introduce new sanctions against Iran and Syria.
Iran denies having ambitions to build a nuclear weapon and claims its programme is for purely civil purposes.
Iran's intelligence minister, Ali Yunesi, claimed yesterday the US has been flying spy drones over Iran's nuclear sites and they would be shot down if they came within range.
Negotiations in Geneva between Britain, France, Germany and Iran aimed at resolving the crisis ended last week. Further talks are planned, but the US and Israel are sceptical about the value of these talks.
The Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, said in Berlin that the negotiations could succeed. "I believe there are possibilities ... to remove the concerns of the European side," he said.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
Bush Favors Diplomacy to Solve Iran Nuclear Dispute
Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:46 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said on Thursday that he would use diplomacy to convince Iran that it would be unacceptable for it to develop nuclear weapons, and vowed to support Israel if its security is threatened by Tehran.
"Iran has made it clear they don't like Israel, to put it bluntly. And the Israelis are concerned whether or not Iran develops a nuclear weapon, as are we, as should everybody," Bush told a news conference.
"We've made a very strong commitment to support Israel," he added. "We will support Israel if their security is threatened."
Bush said he would use next week's trip to Europe to discuss "strategies, ways forward" with key allies who are negotiating with Iran.
"The objective is to solve this issue diplomatically, is to work with friends -- like we're doing with France, Germany and Great Britain -- to continue making it clear to the Iranians that developing a nuclear weapon will be unacceptable," he said.
© Reuters 2005
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