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Bush v. Iran, (2004) page 2
From The Australian: 02jan04
Bush lists demands of Iran From correspondents in Farfullias, Texas
... "The Iranian government must listen to the voices of those who long for freedom, must turn over al-Qaeda that are in their custody and must abandon their nuclear weapons program," he said.
From The Washington Post: Friday, January 2, 2004; Page A01
U.S. Makes Overture To Iran Sen. Dole Could Head Aid Mission, By Robin Wright
The United States has approached Iran about dispatching a high-level humanitarian mission to Tehran, headed by Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and including a member of the Bush family, U.S. and Iranian officials said yesterday. ...
From AP: Fri Jan 2, 2:05 PM ET
Iran Balks at U.S. Delegation Offer By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Iran informed the United States on Friday that it is not prepared to immediately accept an administration proposal to send Sen. Elizabeth Dole to Iran to deliver earthquake relief supplies. ... The United States moved quickly this past week to provide assistance to Iran's earthquake victims, insisting that there was no political component to the initiative. On Tuesday, the State Department indicated interest in opening a dialogue with Iran so long as it adheres to its international commitments. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said he sees no change in the 25-year U.S.-Iranian estrangement unless Washington changes its tone and behavior. ...
From Reuters: Friday, January 02, 2004 4:46 p.m. ET
Iran Declines Dole Visit for Now, U.S. Says By Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran on Friday declined a U.S. offer to send a humanitarian mission led by Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a former head of the American Red Cross, following last week's earthquake in Bam, the State Department said. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli suggested the Iranian decision reflected the extremely difficult conditions in Bam after the Dec. 26 earthquake, which killed more than 30,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless. ...
From The Sydney Morning Herald: January 4, 2004
Killer quake small by comparison: expert
The earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Iran was part of a normal pattern that included quakes in California, New Caledonia, Panama, Mexico and Indonesia in the past two weeks, the US Geological Survey office said yesterday. "We are in the norm of earthquake activity," seismologist Jim Devine said. "We would need several more large earthquakes before we start considering something unusual." ... "Ninety-five per cent of the time they appear to be quite random," Mr Devine said. "I haven't seen anything in this current pattern that would indicate that it's out of the ordinary." Seismologists do not understand why there are times when the earth appears to be in a more active mode, which results in more earthquakes, he said. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Jan 05, 2004
Iran to launch satellite with own rocket within 18 months
TEHRAN (AFP) Iran's defence minister said Monday that the Islamic republic would put its own satellite into orbit with an Iranian-made launch system within 18 months, the official news agency IRNA reported. "Within 18 months Iran will launch its own satellite. Iran will be the first Islamic country to enter the stratosphere with its own satellite and its own, indigenous launch system," Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani was quoted as saying. "The aerospace capacity of the Islamic republic is one of the main means of deterrence for the country, and is acquired through cooperation between the defence industries and universities," he added. ...
From Reuters: Thu February 12, 2004 12:51 PM ET
Russia Says Will Sign Deal on Nuclear Fuel for Iran By Maria Golovnina
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it planned to sign a deal with Iran next month to ship nuclear fuel for Iran's power plant, defying U.S. pressure on Moscow to sever nuclear ties with the Islamic Republic. ... Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev .. said he hoped to sign the final document, which also requires Iran to return spent nuclear fuel to Russia, during a visit to Tehran in late March. "The United States has criticized us and will continue to criticize us," Rumyantsev said. "They say Iran seeks nuclear weapons under the cover of our peaceful technology transfer. But we keep telling them they've got that wrong. We think we abide by all international laws." ... Minutes after Rumyantsev's briefing, top U.S. arms control official John Bolton accused Iran of failing to comply with the commitment it made last year to suspend uranium enrichment.
From THE ASSOCIATED PRESS at The NYT: February 12, 2004 12:20 p.m. ET
Undeclared Centrifuge Design Found in Iran
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- U.N. inspectors in Iran have discovered undeclared designs for an advanced centrifuge used to enrich uranium, diplomats said Thursday, another apparent link to the nuclear black market emanating from Pakistan. ... Accused of having nuclear weapons ambitions, Iran -- which denies the charge -- agreed late last year to throw open its programs to pervasive inspections by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency and said it would freely provide information to clear up international suspicions. ``We're not convinced Iran has come completely clean,'' Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton told a security conference in Berlin. ``There is no doubt in our minds that Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons. They have not complied even with the commitment they made in October.'' The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Iran did not volunteer the designs. Instead, they said, IAEA inspectors had to dig for them. ...
From AFP: (13/02/2004)
Iran still seeking nuclear weapons - Armitage
WASHINGTON (AFP) Iran is still seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, despite commitments to the contrary made to the international community, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said. "We have been following the question of Iran pretty closely and there's no doubt in our mind that Iran continues to pursue a nuclear weapons program," Armitage said in an interview with Washington's Salem Radio Network. ...
From Radio Australia (ABC Radio Australia News): 13/02/2004 12:00:47
US signals 'possible use of force' over Iran weapons
A senior American state department official says Iran is still trying to develop nuclear weapons, and the United States will consider all options to deal with the problem, including the possible use of force. UN nuclear weapons inspectors say they have found plans for an advanced centrifuge that Tehran failed to declare while disclosing its atomic program. Diplomats say the plans don't represent a new nuclear capability, but the State Department's John Bolton says the findings show Iran isn't co-operating with the UN inspectors. ...
The Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, has denied his country is developing nuclear weapons. On a visit to Rome, Kharrazi, has responded angrily to the allegations made by the United States, saying Iran has nothing to hide and stands ready to be inspected again by the International Atomic Energy Agency. ...
From AP at My Way News: Feb 15, 10:15 PM (ET)
Iran Offers to Sell Potential Nuke Fuel By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran declared Sunday it plans to sell nuclear reactor fuel internationally, establishing the Islamic republic as a country in possession of technology the United States wants to keep from spreading. Announcing the decision, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Iran has made an "important achievement" in possessing the technology to enrich uranium, and insisted the project would be for peaceful use. Once Iran produces nuclear fuel, it will market it under the strict supervision of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, he said. "This is an industry which can both be used by our plants and supplied to the international markets," Kharrazi was quoted as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, or IRNA. "No one can deprive us of this natural, legal and legitimate right. This industry is strictly for peaceful use." He added that Iran has suspended uranium enrichment, "but this does not mean that we will give up this industry, which is our national pride." The United States seeks to restrict countries from acquiring uranium enrichment technology, and Iran's sale of fuel internationally would prove it already possesses the capability. ...
MEMORANDUM TO: OPINION LEADERS at The PNAC: February 24, 2004
Regime Change for Iran FROM: GARY SCHMITT
From AFP at SpaceWar: Feb 27, 2004
Iranian defence minister slams US plan for Middle East
BEIRUT (AFP) - Iran's Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani on Friday rejected Washington's plan to spread US-style democracy across the Middle East, saying it was a pretext to threaten his country, as well as Lebanon and Syria. "My visit aims to reinforce cooperation to counterbalance American threats against the region under the slogan of the extension of democracy," said Shamkhani shortly after he arrived in Beirut from Damascus. He said the alleged threats "are not aimed only at Iran, Syria and Lebanon, but also at the Umma (Islamic nation) and the people, as well as the Muslim religion under the false pretext of the fight against terrorism". ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Feb 28, 2004
Iranian defense minister threatens Israel in case of attack
BEIRUT (AFP) - Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani threatened Israel here Saturday with a blinding response if the Jewish state attacked Iran, despite ruling out the possibility of such a strike. ... the minister said he had conducted "fruitful" meetings here with Lebanese leaders and Hassan Nasrallah, chief of the Shiite Hezbollah movement, which is supported by Iran. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Mar 10, 2004
Iran threatens to stop IAEA cooperation, slams Europeans for bowing to US
VIENNA (AFP) Iran criticized European states Wednesday for bowing to US pressure to condemn Tehran's atomic program before the UN nuclear watchdog and threatened to cut cooperation with the international agency. ...
From The Guardian: Saturday March 13, 2004
Showdown looms as Iran bars nuclear inspections by Ian Traynor
International concern about Iran's suspect nuclear projects deepened last night when Tehran barred the International Atomic Energy Agency's nuclear inspectors.
It told the IAEA that its inspectors could not return to resume their search for evidence for at least six weeks. Tehran's allies at the IAEA board meeting in Vienna yesterday blocked a tough resolution on Iran supported by the US and Europe. The sudden intensification of the crisis appeared to pave the way for a showdown by the next IAEA board meeting in June. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Mar 16, 2004
Iran to accept IAEA inspection unconditionally: Rowhani
TOKYO (AFP) Iran's top nuclear policy-maker Hassan Rowhani said here Tuesday Tehran is to accept an International Atomic Energy Agency inspection unconditionally from March 27. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Mar 18, 2004
Iran cooperating fully with nuclear agency - IAEA chief
At Antiwar.com: April 10, 2004
Neocons See Iran Behind Shi'ite Uprising by Jim Lobe
Neo-conservatives close to the administration of President George W Bush are pushing for retribution against Iran for, they say, sponsoring this week's Shia uprising in Iraq led by radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr. Despite the growing number of reports that depict the fighting as a spontaneous and indigenous revolt against the US-led occupation, the influential neo-cons are calling on Bush to warn Tehran to cease its alleged backing for al-Sadr and other Shia militias or face retaliation, ranging from an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities to covert action designed to overthrow the government. ...
Same article also at Hi Pakistan: April 11 Neo-cons ask: who is behind Shia uprising?
From the Washington Post: Thursday, April 22, 2004; Page A06
Iran 'Will Be Dealt With,' Bush Says By Mike Allen
Bid to Start at U.N., President Says
President Bush told newspaper editors in Washington yesterday that Iran "will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations" if it does not stop developing nuclear weapons and begin total cooperation with international inspectors. ... "The Iranians need to feel the pressure from the world that any nuclear weapons program will be uniformly condemned -- it's essential that they hear that message," he said. "The development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is intolerable, and a program is intolerable. . . . Otherwise, they will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations." ...
From Reuters: Tue May 4, 2004 12:37 PM ET
Iranian Gas Attack Victims Vow to Take U.S. to Court
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian victims of chemical attacks said Tuesday they would take the United States to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for supplying the weapons that scarred them, the official IRNA news agency said. Iran's Society of Victims of Weapons of Mass Destruction demanded compensation from Washington and U.S. firms, saying they supplied poison gases to Saddam Hussein's Iraq during his 1980-1988 war against the Islamic Republic. ...
From AP at Radio Free Europe: 6 May 2004
U.S. Congress Condemns Iran's Nuclear Program
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a resolution accusing Iran of "continuing deceptions and falsehoods" involving development of nuclear weapons. The resolution urged Europe, Japan, and Russia to cut commercial and energy ties until Iran permanently ceases such activities. ...
At TruthNews: May 7, 2004
US House Of Representatives Passes Bill Condemning Iranian Nuclear Program
by Gary Fitleberg
The House of Representatives on [Thursday] overwhelmingly passed a resolution which "expresses the concern of Congress over Iran's development of the means to produce nuclear weapons" and "calls upon all State Parties to the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), including the United States, to use all appropriate means to deter, dissuade and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons." The legislation, originally introduced by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Il), passed by a margin of 376-3, with 14 members voting "present." ...
From Reuters at STUFF (NZ): 20 May 2004
Thousands rally in Iran against occupation of Iraq
TEHRAN: Tens of thousands of Iranians took part in a state-sponsored rally yesterday to demand US-led forces leave Iraq. Shi'ite Muslim Iran has voiced growing opposition to the occupation of its western neighbour in recent days with senior government and religious figures incensed by the presence of US military forces in the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. Chanting "Death to America! Death to Britain!", the crowd burned the US flag at Tehran's central Enqelab square. "We will not tolerate the occupation of Shi'ite Iraqi holy sites," said an angry protester who was burning an Uncle Sam effigy. ...
From The BBC: Sunday, 23 May, 2004, 14:22 GMT 15:22 UK
Iran tells US to pull out of Iraq
The Iranian foreign ministry has sent a warning message to the US, criticising its policy in Iraq. A spokesman said Iran wanted "the departure of the occupation forces as quickly as possible and the restitution of authority to the Iraqi people". ...
From Reuters: Sat May 29, 2004 01:14 PM ET
Iran Quake Kills 25, Six Die in Helicopter Crash By Parisa Hafezi
QAZVIN, Iran (Reuters) - Officials said on Saturday at least 25 people had died in Friday's earthquake in northern Iran and that six more, including provincial leaders, were killed when a helicopter crashed en route to the disaster scene. The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey measured at 6.2 magnitude, also shook the capital Tehran, sending startled residents running into the streets and shattering some windows. ...
From NEWSInsight - The Public Affairs Magazine (India): 9 June 2004
US to invade Iran before 2005 Christmas
The reason for the US breakup with Ahmed Chalabi, the Shiite Iraqi politician, could be his leak of Pentagon plans to invade Iran before Christmas 2005, but the American government has not changed its objective, and the attack could happen earlier if president George W.Bush is re-elected, or later if John Kerry is sworn in. ...
From The Guardian: Wednesday June 16, 2004
Iran takes on west's control of oil trading By Terry Macalister
Iran is to launch an oil trading market for Middle East and Opec producers that could threaten the supremacy of London's International Petroleum Exchange. ...
From Reuters: Wed Jun 16, 2004 05:42 PM ET
Iran threatens to resume uranium enrichment By Parisa Hafezi and Louis Charbonneau
TEHRAN/VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran on Wednesday threatened to resume uranium enrichment, a process that could be used to make atomic bombs, if the U.N. nuclear agency passed a toughly-worded resolution rebuking Tehran for poor cooperation. ...
At The Washington Post: Saturday, June 19, 2004; Page A01
U.N. Agency Rebukes Iran on Nuclear Activity By Peter Slevin and Dafna Linzer
Broken Promises on Disclosure Cited
From Reuters: Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:35 AM ET
Iran Seizes Three British Vessels, 8 Crewmen By Amir Paivar
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran seized three British naval boats on Monday, which it said had entered its waters near the Iraqi border, and arrested eight British crew. ...
From Reuters: Thu Jun 24, 2004 08:35 AM ET
Iran Releases Eight British Military Servicemen By Parisa Hafezi and Christian Oliver
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Eight British servicemen were freed on Thursday after three nights in the hands of Iranian Revolutionary Guards, ending a diplomatic wrangle that had threatened to inflame tensions over Britain's presence in Iraq. ...
From Voice of America News: 24 Jun 2004, 22:18 UTC
Iran Says it Will Resume Production of Uranium Centrifuge Parts By Dan Robinson
A State Department official says Iran has told European governments it will resume production of uranium centrifuge parts, in what the U.S. official calls a clear example of Iranian government determination to develop a nuclear weapon.
The announcement came from John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control, who appeared before the US House Subcommittee on the Middle East. "We have been informed that Iran has announced a substantial resumption of its uranium enrichment program, reneging on the commitment that it made to the United Kingdom, Germany and France by informing them and the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] that it will begin next week the production of uranium centrifuge parts and equipment, assembly and testing," Mr. Bolton said. He called the Iranian move a thumb in the eye of the international nuclear agency and international community and proof of a strategic decision by Tehran to continue seeking a nuclear weapons capability.
Last week, the IAEA declared that Iran had broken promises of complete disclosure concerning its nuclear efforts and urged Tehran to answer all outstanding questions about its nuclear ambitions. ...
From The Telegraph: (Filed: 30/06/2004)
Attack Iran, US chief ordered British By Michael Smith, Defence Correspondent
America's military commander in Iraq ordered British troops to prepare a full-scale ground offensive against Iranian forces that had crossed the border and grabbed disputed territory, a senior officer has disclosed. An attack would almost certainly have provoked open conflict with Iran. But the British chose instead to resolve the matter through diplomatic channels. ... The incident began last July when Revolutionary Guards pushed about a kilometre into Iraq to the north and east of Basra in an apparent attempt to reoccupy territory which they claimed belonged to Iran. Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez then ordered the British to prepare to send in several thousand troops to attack the Revolutionary Guard positions. The Revolutionary Guard Corps has 125,000 soldiers, making it 25 per cent larger than the entire British Army, and is equipped with 500 tanks, 600 armoured personnel carriers and 360 artillery weapons. ... The Iran-Iraq incident lasted around a week and was resolved by a telephone conversation between Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Kamal Kharrazi, his Iranian counterpart, British officials said. ...
From News24: 05/07/2004 15:29 - (SA)
Iran gives US stern warning
Tehran - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States on Monday that any attack on the Islamic republic's interests would be met with a global response. "If the enemy attacks our scientific, natural, human or technological interests, the Iranian people will cut off its hand without hesitation and place in danger the interests of the aggressor everywhere in the world," he told a gathering in the western city of Hamedan. ...
From 123Bharath: July 7, 2004
Powell, Shalom say Iran poses serious threat
Washington - Highlighting the alleged nuclear weapons programme of Iran, the United States and Israel have stressed that Tehran has to be stopped from pursuing nuclear weapons development. "Iran is the country that has announced that one missile towards Israel will destroy the Jewish State. So we should be concerned about the Iranians' efforts to develop a nuclear weapon," Israel Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told reporters yesterday after holding talks with U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell. ... Speaking on the occasion, Powell said "We know Iran's intentions, and those intentions are to keep a nuclear weapons development programme going. The United States will continue to press in every way that we can, use all the diplomatic and other resources at our disposal, to make sure the international community stands unified behind the effort to stop Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons development, or worse, acquiring a nuclear weapon," he said. ...
From The Jerusalem Post: Jul. 18, 2004 22:11
Report: Israel's 'first strike' plan against Iran ready By DOUGLAS DAVIS
Israel has completed military rehearsals for a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear power facility at Bushehr, Israeli officials told the London-based Sunday Times. Such a strike is likely if Russia supplies Iran with fuel rods for enriching uranium. The rods, currently stored at a Russian port, are expected to be delivered late next year after a dispute over financial terms is resolved. An Israeli defense source in Tel Aviv, who confirmed that the military rehearsals had taken place, told the paper: "Israel will on no account permit Iranian reactors - especially the one being built in Bushehr with Russian help - to go critical." ...
From The Sunday Herald: 18 July 2004
Regime change in Iran now in Bush’s sights By Jenifer Johnston
PRESIDENT George Bush has promised that if re-elected in November he will make regime change in Iran his new target. Bush named Iran as part of the Axis of Evil along with North Korea and Iraq almost three years ago. A US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that military action would not be overt in changing Iran, but rather that the US would work to stir revolts in the country and hope to topple the current conservative religious leadership. The official said: “If George Bush is re-elected there will be much more intervention in the internal affairs of Iran.”
The Iranian government announced this weekend that it had successfully eradicated all al-Qaeda cells operating in the country, but the statement comes as leaked reports from the US September 11 Commission show definite links between Iran and the September 11 terrorists. The final report from the cross-party inquiry, which is examining the origins of the September 11 attacks, is believed to contain concrete evidence of contacts between al-Qaeda and Iran. ...
From The NYT: July 18, 2004
9/11 Panel's Report to Offer New Evidence of Iran-Qaeda Ties By PHILIP SHENON
The final report of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks will offer new evidence of cooperative ties between Iran and Al Qaeda, including information drawn from intelligence reports suggesting that Iran provided several of the hijackers with safe passage in the year before the attacks, government officials said yesterday. The officials emphasized that the commission had no evidence to suggest that Iranian officials knew of the Sept. 11 plot. ... The existence of the new intelligence was first reported on Time magazine's Web site. The officials said the bipartisan commission had uncovered evidence that as many as 10 of the Sept. 11 hijackers traveled through Iran in late 2000 and early 2001 and would have benefited from the Iranian policy, allowing them to enter the United States without an Iranian passport stamp, which could have made them subject to special scrutiny. ...
From CNN: Monday, July 19, 2004 Posted: 3:24 PM EDT (1924 GMT)
Bush: U.S. probes possible Iran links to 9/11
Tehran government hiding Al Qaeda members, president says
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iran is harboring members of al Qaeda, and the United States is investigating whether the Iranian government had a role in the September 11, 2001, attacks, President Bush said Monday. ... On Monday, Bush accused Iran of harboring suspected al Qaeda members and developing nuclear weapons. If the country's Islamic government is to improve ties with Washington, the president said, it must hand over any al Qaeda members to their home countries, abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program and end its support of Islamic militant groups such as Hezbollah, which the United States considers to be a terrorist organization. "As to direct connections to September 11, we're digging into the facts to determine if there was one," Bush said. Iran has said it has al Qaeda members in its custody and will put them on trial. It denies trying to develop a nuclear bomb, saying its nuclear program is aimed at producing electrical power. ...
At Lew Rockwell: July 21, 2004
New Battle Joined Between Realists and Neo-Cons on Iran by Jim Lobe
From AFP at SpaceWar: Jul 21, 2004
Israel warns Iran will have nuclear weapons capacity in 2007
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli intelligence chiefs told Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's security cabinet in a joint assessment Wednesday that Iran will have a nuclear weapons capacity by 2007, public radio reported. ...
From The Jerusalem Post: Jul. 24, 2004 23:52 | Updated Jul. 25, 2004 16:56
US Senate condemns Iran over nukes By JANINE ZACHARIA
WASHINGTON - The US Senate late Thursday passed by unanimous voice vote a resolution urging the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons to the UN Security Council. The Senate said the Security Council may need to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran to thwart the program. The House approved a similar vote in May. The Senate resolution expressed "the deep concern of Congress regarding the failure of the Islamic Republic of Iran to adhere to its obligations under a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the engagement by Iran in activities that appear to be designed to develop nuclear weapons." The IAEA is expected in September at its next meeting to refer the issue of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons' program to the UN Security Council. ...
From The Washington Post: Monday, July 26, 2004; Page A14
Official Warns of Iranian Infiltration By Doug Struck
Iraqi Government Worries That Old Enemies Are Exploiting Open Borders
BAGHDAD, July 25 -- Hazim Shalan, Iraq's defense minister, charged in an interview that Iran has taken over Iraqi border positions, sent spies and saboteurs into the country and infiltrated the new government -- including his own ministry. Iran remains "the first enemy of Iraq," he declared. ...
From Aljazeera: Monday 26 July 2004, 22:49 Makka Time, 19:49 GMT
Iran warns Israel of harsh retaliation
Iran has responded to regional and Israeli threats of attack by vowing to destroy Israel if it attacks the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities. ...
From The Telegraph: (Filed: 27/07/2004)
Iran starts atom tests in defiance of EU deal By Anton La Guardia
Iran has broken the seals on nuclear equipment monitored by United Nations inspectors and is once again building and testing machines that could make fissile material for nuclear weapons. Teheran's move, revealed to The Daily Telegraph yesterday by western sources, breaks a deal with European countries under which Iran suspended "all uranium enrichment activity". ...
From The Tehran Times: July 28, 2004
U.S., Israel Have No Claim On Iran Nuclear Program: Russian Official
MOSCOW (IRNA) -- A Russian official said here Tuesday that Russia should lodge a protest to the U.S. over its threats against Iran. A Duma member and Head of Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Committee Youri Savilov, in an interview with the website 'Iranro' added, "The threats by the U.S. and Israel against Iran contravene international law." He specifically highlighted accusations by U.S. and Israel asserting non-transparency of Iran's nuclear program. The determination of the veracity of the issue rests in the domain of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and not those two countries, he underlined. Savilov said Israel's claims has no basis since it posses[ses] a large arsenal of nuclear armaments, has not signed the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and is not a member of the IAEA. The U.S. has on occasions misled its public and international community by falsely claiming the existence of biological and chemical weapons in some nations, "Iraq being the last of them." He said Iran is strategic partner and a solid neighbor for Russia. "Moscow and Tehran have recently signed a 10-year economic cooperation agreement." ...
At The WORLD TRIBUNE.COM: Friday, July 30, 2004
CFR to Bush: Stop Israeli strike on Iran's nuke sites
Iran: Time for a New Approach - http://www.cfr.org/pdf/Iran_TF.pdf
From The LA Times at Yahoo: Mon Aug 2, 7:55 AM ET
Terrorism Suspects Traced to Iran By Sebastian Rotella
PARIS — Despite its periodic crackdowns on the terrorist network, Iran has served as a refuge for Al Qaeda operatives suspected of plotting attacks in Europe and the Middle East and of playing a central role in the Iraqi insurgency, European investigators say. ...
From USA Today: Posted 8/2/2004 2:37 PM
Inspectors, diplomats: Iran acquiring nuclear materials
WASHINGTON (GNS) — The brewing problem of Iran's apparent plan to make nuclear weapons is approaching a flash point, threatening to create another explosive situation for Americans in the Middle East and spark a regional arms race. ... "It is our judgment that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and a nuclear weapons program, and we'll all have to take note of this," Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters Thursday while traveling in Kuwait. "It is a very troubling development." ... Bush diplomats are now working with European allies to bring the Iranian problem to the United Nations Security Council in hopes of imposing economic sanctions. ...
From THE ASSOCIATED PRESS at The NYT: August 8, 2004 2:54 p.m. ET
Rice Says World Is Determined to Prevent a Nuclear-Armed Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With Iran stepping up its nuclear program, a top White House aide said Sunday the world finally is ``worried and suspicious'' over the Iranians' intentions and is determined not to let Tehran produce a nuclear weapon. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice also said the Bush administration sees a new international willingness to act against Iran's nuclear program. ... On NBC's ``Meet the Press,'' Rice reasserted that the world has fallen in line on Iran and said she expects next month to get a very strong statement from the IAEA ``that Iran will either be isolated, or it will submit to the will of the international community.'' She also said, ``We cannot allow the Iranians to develop a nuclear weapon. The international community has got to find a way to come together and to make certain that that does not happen.''
From The Age: August 10, 2004
US out to sabotage Iran's bomb plans By David Rennie
Washington - The Bush Administration is trying to find covert ways to sabotage or delay Iran's nuclear weapons program believing that diplomatic deals struck with European nations have barely slowed Tehran's rush towards the bomb. White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday that the US could not rule out taking such action against Iran. "We will use many means to try to disrupt these programs," Dr Rice told NBC television. "The president will look at all the tools that are available to us." ...
From AFP at The Sydney Morning Herald: August 11, 2004
Iran tests upgraded medium-range missile
Iran on Wednesday tested an upgraded version of its conventional medium-range Shahab-3 missile, two weeks after Israel tested its Arrow II anti-missile missile, the official IRNA news agency has reported. ... In the July 28 test of Israel's Arrow II missile, the Jewish state made it clear the improved anti-missile system was aimed squarely at fending off any attack by archfoe Iran. ... Tehran finalised its testing of the Shahab-3 only in June. The missile, whose name means "meteor" or "shooting star" in Farsi, is thought to be capable of carrying a 1,000kg warhead at least 1,300km, well within range of Israel. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Aug 11, 2004
US says Iranian missiles, nuclear program threaten stability
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday renewed accusations that Iran is secretly trying to develop atomic weapons and said that the program along with Tehran's possession of missiles threaten Middle East and global security. ...
From Reuters at The Sydney Morning Herald: August 12, 2004
Nuclear Iran turns the tables on Europe
Iran has issued an extraordinary list of demands to Britain and other European countries, telling them to provide advanced nuclear technology, conventional weapons and a security guarantee against nuclear attack by Israel. ... Iran's move came during crisis talks in Paris this month with diplomats from Britain, France and Germany. ... The US is demanding that the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which meets next month, refer Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. US officials are also openly discussing "covert" means of disrupting the Iranian nuclear program, while Israel has openly threatened military action. However, there were signs the next report of Mohammed ElBaradei, the IAEA director-general, may give Iran a boost. A mystery during the past year has been the source of traces of highly enriched uranium found by IAEA inspectors at several sites in Iran. ... Diplomats said that inspectors have confirmed that in at least one case the contamination did come from Pakistan, as Iran insisted. ...
From AFP at The Daily Times (Pak): Friday, August 13, 2004
Muslims will not forgive US for ‘atrocities’ in Iraq
TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States on Wednesday that Muslims would not forgive it for “atrocities” committed in Iraq’s Shiite holy city of Najaf. ...
From Knight Ridder Newspapers: Friday, Aug 13, 2004
Bush administration stepping up pressure to stop Iran's nuclear program
By Warren P. Strobel
WASHINGTON - Get ready for another crisis over weapons of mass destruction. Convinced that Iran is covertly speeding toward making nuclear weapons, the Bush administration has begun a diplomatic campaign to sharply increase the pressure on Tehran. The sudden sense of urgency follows the apparent collapse of a three-nation European initiative to persuade Iran to freeze its nuclear program. Iran is trying to renegotiate the deal and insists that its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes. The Bush administration faces a fundamental dilemma similar to the one it faced two years ago in Iraq: Should the United States continue to work with allies who favor negotiation or should it take pre-emptive, unilateral action to stop Iran? ...
"Iran is going to be the 800-pound gorilla of American foreign policy come September," said a State Department official. ... "This is a troubling development ... and you just can't ignore it any longer," Secretary of State Colin Powell said recently. ... A senior administration official went further in an interview this week. He hinted that if Bush is re-elected, the use of U.S. military force to stop Iran from going nuclear - even by overthrowing the government in Tehran - wouldn't be out of the question. U.S. credibility on Iran, however, has been undercut by the failure to find the weapons of mass destruction that the White House warned of in Iraq. "This administration has been discredited by the WMD experience" in Iraq, said Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter. Said another State Department official: "Would it have been better if prewar Iraq intelligence had been better? Sure. ... But it doesn't mean we're wrong" on Iran. Brzezinski co-chaired a task force sponsored by the private Council on Foreign Relations that last month called on the White House to open a broad dialogue with Iran, rather than waiting until the nuclear issue is settled. "The problem with this administration is, it doesn't know the difference between diplomacy and unilateralism," Brzezinski said. "If it simply uses inflammatory rhetoric, it will make the Iranians dig in their heels." Moreover, Iran, which borders Iraq and Afghanistan, could make life much more difficult for the United States in those places if it chose to, he said...
Vastly complicating matters, Iran's suspected weapons program uses the same basic technology involved in a civilian nuclear energy program, which it's permitted to have under the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty. "Our ability to stop that program is very limited," said former CIA Director Robert Gates, who co-chaired the task force with Brzezinski. ... It now appears the United States will not have enough support to refer Iran to the Security Council when the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors meets in mid-September. ...
From Reuters: Sun Aug 15, 2004 10:30 AM ET
Iran Warns Its Missiles Can Hit Anywhere in Israel By Paul Hughes
TEHRAN (Reuters) - A senior Iranian military official said Sunday Israel and the United States would not dare attack Iran since it could strike back anywhere in Israel with its latest missiles, news agencies reported. Iranian officials have made a point of highlighting the Islamic state's military capabilities in recent weeks in response to some media reports that Israeli or U.S. warplanes could try to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities in air strikes. ...
From The Washington Post: Wednesday, August 18, 2004; Page A14
Iran a Nuclear Threat, U.S. Says By Dafna Linzer
State Dept. Official Cites Country's Claims to Other Nations
Iran told British, French and German officials last month that it could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb within a year, Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton said yesterday in arguing the case for international pressure on the Islamic Republic. In a speech at the Hudson Institute, Bolton characterized Iran as a grave danger. He said the U.S. strategy would be to isolate rather than "engage" with the country, a tactic European allies are still hoping will work. ... there were discrepancies between Bolton's account and those of European and U.S. diplomats, who said that Iran's deputy negotiator, Hoseyn Moussavian, said Iran could start enriching uranium within a year, but it would take longer to enrich enough for a weapon. ... Bolton also cited a recent press report that said Iran had tried to buy deuterium gas from Russia. The substance could be used to boost an explosion in a nuclear bomb. Two U.S. officials said the press report could not be substantiated.
From AFP at SpaceWar: Aug 18, 2004
Iran warns of preemptive strike to prevent attack on nuclear sites
DOHA (AFP) - Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani warned Wednesday that Iran might launch a preemptive strike against US forces in the region to prevent an attack on its nuclear facilities. "We will not sit (with arms folded) to wait for what others will do to us. Some military commanders in Iran are convinced that preventive operations which the Americans talk about are not their monopoly," Shamkhani told Al-Jazeera TV when asked if Iran would respond to an American attack on its nuclear facilities. "America is not the only one present in the region. We are also present, from Khost to Kandahar in Afghanistan; we are present in the Gulf and we can be present in Iraq," said Shamkhani, speaking in Farsi to the Arabic-language news channel through an interpreter. "The US military presence (in Iraq) will not become an element of strength (for Washington) at our expense. The opposite is true, because their forces would turn into a hostage" in Iranian hands in the event of an attack, he said. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Aug 19, 2004
US says troops in Iraq are no threat to Iran
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Thursday reassured Iran that US troops in Iraq pose no threat to Tehran and that Washington will use diplomacy to address its concerns over Iran's nuclear program. US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Iran's concerns that it was threatened by the troops were "unwarranted." ... Ereli sought to appease what he called Tehran's "rhetoric concerning strikes and counterstrikes over Iran's nuclear program." ...
From IRNA at Persian Journal: Aug 24, 2004, 19:11
US warplanes violate Iran's air space
Five US warplanes entered Iran's air space last Thursday night from the southwestern Shalamcheh border and flew over the city of Khorramshahr for a while, press reports said Tuesday. According the Persian daily Seday-e Edalat, 'the jet fighters which flew at high speed and altitude, then headed to the Arvand River'. ...
At Aljazeera: Sunday 29 August 2004, 14:00 Makka Time, 11:00 GMT
Israel to US: Now for Iran By Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank
Having succeeded in getting the United States to invade and occupy Iraq, Israel is now making efforts to instigate the Bush administration to deal with the "Iranian threat". This week, a high-ranking Israeli official urged the US "and the rest of the free world" to deal with the "Iranian threat before it is too late". The remarks - reminiscent of the vitriolic propaganda campaign against Iraq prior to the Anglo-American invasion of the Arab country last year - coincided with the publication of an article by a leading Israeli military historian Martin Van-Creveld, suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon might very well order an attack on Iranian nuclear plants. ...
From AFP at TurkishPress: 8/30/2004
US Defeated By "Spiritual Glory" Of Najaf: Khamenei
From RFE/RL: 1 September 2004
IAEA Reports Slow Progress Over Iran's Nuclear Program
The UN's nuclear watchdog agency today delivered a mixed report on Iranian nuclear activities but said there is so far no evidence that would confirm U.S. allegations that Iran is building a nuclear bomb. ...
From Reuters: Wed Sep 1, 2004 04:42 PM ET
Iran Uranium Conversion Plans Provoke U.S. Fury By Louis Charbonneau
VIENNA, Austria (Reuters) - The United States condemned Iran Wednesday as a threat to global peace with its plans to process 37 tons of raw uranium, which one nuclear expert said could eventually yield material for five atomic bombs. The comments from the top American disarmament official were a response to a report by U.N. inspectors on Tehran's nuclear activities that listed unresolved issues, but contained nothing to confirm U.S. allegations that Tehran is building a bomb. In the confidential report, obtained in full by Reuters, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran planned a large-scale test of a uranium conversion facility this month. "Iran's announcements are further strong evidence of the compelling need to take Iran's nuclear program to the Security Council," U.S. Under Secretary of State John Bolton said in a statement. The Security Council can impose economic sanctions. "The United States will continue to urge other members of the IAEA Board of Governors to join us in this effort, to deal with the Iranian threat to international peace and security." ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Sep 02, 2004
Iran greets UN report but US warns Tehran is still an atomic threat
From AFP at SpaceWar: Sep 02, 2004
US wants IAEA to refer Iran nuclear program to UN now: Powell
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States will push the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refer Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions when the group's board of governors meets this month, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday. ... "We are looking at a range of possible actions of a political, economic, and diplomatic nature and other measures that might be taken," Powell said without elaborating. ... "Whether there is a consensus to do that now remains to be seen, but we think we've seen enough, the world should have seen enough over the last year to come to the conclusion that it's time for it to be referred to the Security Council," he said. ... However, he made clear that Washington would press its point hard and suggested that US patience with the board's previous reluctance to agree to a UN referral was wearing thin. "We think there is enough now to do it, but I will have to hear what other members have to say," Powell said, adding: "This should have been referred before." ...
From Reuters: Thu Sep 2, 2004 05:15 PM ET
Iran Sees Nuclear Lesson in Iraq, N.Korea -Experts By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration may think tough talk will discourage Iran's nuclear ambitions, but U.S. policy on Iraq and North Korea has left the Islamic state believing that only nuclear weapons can deter the possibility of U.S. invasion, experts said on Thursday. ...
From Reuters: Tue Sep 7, 2004 05:01 PM ET
U.S. Skeptical of Reported Iran Nuclear Deal By Carol Giacomo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday dismissed reports of another Iranian agreement to halt sensitive nuclear activities, saying "we have seen enough" of Tehran's nuclear ambitions to warrant punitive action. Diplomats in Vienna reported Tehran had agreed in principle to freeze production, testing and assembly of centrifuges in an apparent move to ease pressure ahead of a U.N. watchdog meeting next week. But Powell told reporters: "We believe that we have seen enough, that action is warranted and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) should refer the matter to the (U.N.) Security Council at its upcoming meeting next week." ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Sep 10, 2004
Exiles claim Tehran planning first nuke next year
From Reuters: Fri Sep 17, 2004 02:39 PM ET
Iran Nuclear Enrichment Freeze Offer a Ploy - U.S. By Louis Charbonneau
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran said on Friday it might extend a partial freeze on uranium enrichment in order to ease Western fears about its nuclear ambitions, but a senior U.S. official dismissed this as a ploy to fend off tough U.N. action. U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said his agency had seen no sign of nuclear-related activity at a site in Iran called Parchin that several U.S. officials said may be linked to secret atom bomb research. ...
From Reuters UK: Sat 18 September, 2004 18:38
UN calls on Iran to freeze enrichment By Louis Charbonneau
VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog has called on Iran to immediately halt activities related to uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make atomic weapons. ... France, Britain and Germany co-sponsored the toughly worded resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board of governors after a week of closed-door haggling over the wording. The United States failed to get the Europeans to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council, or even include a "trigger" clause for a report in November. But it fully endorsed the resolution. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Sep 18, 2004
UN watchdog adopts resolution setting deadline for review of Iranian nuclear program
VIENNA (AFP) - The UN nuclear watchdog on Saturday adopted a resolution setting a November 25 deadline for a full, definitive review of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program, a UN nuclear agency spokeswoman said. "The resolution was adopted by consensus, without a vote," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters. Britain, France and Germany had submitted the resolution, which was strongly opposed by non-aligned countries, which are against imposing a deadline on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. The non-aligned states called for a vote on an amendment which would have made uranium enrichment not subject to the deadline but the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors decided not to vote on the amendment. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Sep 18, 2004
US ready for diplomatic action if Iran fails to heed UN uranium call
VIENNA (AFP) - The United States reserves the right to take diplomatic action if Iran fails to honor a United Nations call for it to cease all uranium enrichment activities, US Under Secretary of State John Bolton told AFP Saturday. "We have the option to do something before November. We are not now going to sleep until November," he said by telephone after the UN nuclear watchdog adopted a resolution in Vienna that set a November 25 deadline for a full review of Iran's nuclear program and called on Iran to "immediately" suspend all uranium enrichment activities. ...
From Reuters: Sun Sep 19, 2004 02:17 PM ET
Iran Rejects UN Call for Uranium Enrichment Freeze By Parisa Hafezi
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran rejected Sunday a U.N. resolution calling on it to freeze uranium enrichment activities and threatened to stop snap checks of its atomic facilities if its case were sent to the U.N. Security Council. It said that if the Security Council went as far as punishing Tehran with sanctions, Iran might follow North Korea and pull out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty altogether. ...
From the Associated Press at The Boston Globe: September 19, 2004
Iran says U.N. nuclear ban 'illegal' By Ali Akbar Dareini
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran said Sunday that demands from the U.N. atomic watchdog agency that it freeze all work on uranium enrichment -- technology that can be used for nuclear weapons -- were "illegal." Hasan Rowhani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, said at a news conference that his country would nonetheless continue with its voluntary suspension of what he described as "actual enrichment" -- the injection of uranium gas into centrifuges. But other activities, such as production, assembly and testing of centrifuges, were likely to continue, and he said Iran would limit its cooperation with the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency if the watchdog referred questions about its nuclear activities to the U.N Security Council for possible sanctions. ... "We are committed to the suspension of actual enrichment but we have no decision to expand the suspension," Rowhani said Sunday. "This demand is not legal and does not put any obligation on Iran. The IAEA board of governors has no right to make such a suspension obligatory for any country." Iran is not prohibited from enrichment under its obligations to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. ... "There is no justification to refer Iran's nuclear dossier to the Security Council," Rowhani said. "If one day they refer Iran's nuclear dossier to the U.N. Security Council, that day ... Iran will stop implementing the additional protocol and will limit its cooperation with the IAEA ...." ...
From Newsweek at MSNBC: Sept. 27 issue
War-Gaming The Mullahs By John Barry and Dan Ephron
The U.S. weighs the price of a pre-emptive strike
From Reuters: Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:57 PM ET
Iran converts uranium in defiance of U.N. By Francois Murphy
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran defied the United Nations on Tuesday by announcing it has begun converting a large amount of raw uranium to prepare it for enrichment, a process that can be used to develop atomic bombs. The announcement was likely to provoke an angry reaction from Washington and increase suspicion in Israel, which plans to buy 500 "bunker buster" bombs from the United States that could take out Iran's underground atomic facilities. Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, told reporters Iran had begun converting 37 tonnes of raw "yellowcake" uranium to process it for use in nuclear centrifuges -- the machines that enrich uranium. ... Israel has made clear it will never permit Iran, which does not recognise the right of the Jewish state to exist, to become a nuclear power. Diplomats and analysts say Israel would prefer diplomacy to war and a coalition if military action were needed against Iran, but is ready to act alone if needed. ...
From Reuters: Tue Sep 21, 2004 07:23 PM ET
Europe Warns Iran Against Nuclear Arms By Carol Giacomo
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Europe warned on Tuesday that it would not tolerate an Iran with nuclear weapons after the Islamic republic defied the United Nations by announcing it had begun converting a large amount of raw uranium to prepare it for enrichment, a process that can be used to develop atomic bombs. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said, however, the EU remained committed to offering energy and other cooperation if Tehran abandoned its nuclear ambitions. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Sep 22, 2004
Iran defying IAEA, pushing for nuclear weapons: US
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iran is defying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) while engaging in an "unrelenting push toward nuclear weapons capability," the United States said Tuesday. ...
From AP at The Straits Times: SEPT 22, 2004 WED
40 states can produce nuke arms: IAEA chief
Nuclear watchdog says peaceful programmes can be retooled to make weapons even as Iran says it will continue uranium enrichment
VIENNA - More than 40 countries with peaceful nuclear programmes could retool them to make weapons, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency says, amid new US and European demands that Iran give up technology capable of producing such arms. Mr Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, suggested in an address to the IAEA conference on Monday that it was time to tighten world policing of nuclear activities and to stop relying on information volunteered by countries. Beyond the declared nuclear arms-holding countries, 'some estimates indicate that 40 countries or more now have the know-how to produce nuclear weapons', Mr ElBaradei said. ...
From Reuters: Thu Sep 23, 2004 01:45 PM ET
Israel Charges Iran Replaces Saddam as Terror Exporter By Carol Giacomo
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israel charged on Thursday that Iran had replaced Saddam Hussein as the world's primary exporter of "terror, hate and instability." Stepping up a war of words between the Middle East's two most implacable enemies, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom challenged the U.N. General Assembly to "end its obsession" with the Jewish state and focus instead on "the active involvement of Iran and Syria in terrorism." "Indeed, Iran has replaced Saddam Hussein as the world's number one exporter of terror, hate and instability," Shalom asserted at the world forum. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Wednesday that Israel, not Iran, was the greatest threat to all countries in the Middle East because of its "nuclear bombs as well as other weapons of mass destruction." ...
From VOA News: 30 Sep 2004, 19:22 UTC
US Official Calls Alleged Iranian Nuclear Ambitions a Growing Threat By Gary Thomas
Washington - A senior U.S. official says the United States sees Iran, with its pursuit of nuclear technology, as a growing threat to U.S. troops in Iraq, as well as to its neighbors in the Middle East. The State Department official also denounced what he says is Iranian involvement in neighboring Iraq. In an interview with VOA Thursday, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton said Iran's alleged bid to make nuclear weapons is a threat to U.S. troops and allies. ...
From Reuters: Tue Oct 5, 2004 04:37 PM ET
Iran Says Its Missiles Can Now Reach 1,250 Miles By Parisa Hafezi
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has increased the range of its missiles to 1,250 miles, a senior official was quoted as saying on Tuesday, putting parts of Europe within reach for the first time. ... "If the Americans attack Iran, the world will change ... they will not dare to make such a mistake," Rafsanjani was quoted as saying in a speech at an exhibition on Space and Stable National Security. Washington has accused Tehran of secretly developing nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed only at generating electricity. It says its missiles are for defensive purposes and would be used to counter a possible Israeli or U.S. strike against its nuclear facilities. "The United States has had, and continues to have, serious concerns about Iran's missile programs," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters. "We view Iran's efforts to further develop its missile capabilities as a threat to the region and to the United States interests, and all the more so in light of its ongoing nuclear program." ...
From TBR News at The Truth Seeker: October 11, 2004
Voice of the White House October 11, 2004
" …it has been firmly decided that both Israel and the U.S. will launch a surprise attack against 1., Iranian missile sites, 2. Iranian nuclear facilities and 3. the leadership of Iran located in and around Tehran. ... Since it would be a problem for Israeli Air Force units to fly round trip from Israel, the solution will be to launch these attacks from U.S. aircraft carriers located in the Persian Gulf area. ... The entire attack is scheduled to last no more than one hour with at least three waves of Israeli aircraft utilized. No warning will be given to the Iranians and no declaration of war. ... This attack has the full support of the President who wants it launched before the elections. ... "
http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a1130.htm
From Lebanonwire: October 20, 2004
A Bush pre-election strike on Iran 'imminent' By Wayne Madsen
White House insider report "October Surprise" imminent
According to White House and Washington Beltway insiders, the Bush administration, worried that it could lose the presidential election to Senator John F. Kerry, has initiated plans to launch a military strike on Iran's top Islamic leadership, its nuclear reactor at Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, and key nuclear targets throughout the country, including the main underground research site at Natanz in central Iran and another in Isfahan. Targets of the planned U.S. attack reportedly include mosques in Tehran, Qom, and Isfahan known by the U.S. to headquarter Iran's top mullahs. The Iran attack plan was reportedly drawn up after internal polling indicated that if the Bush administration launched a so-called anti-terrorist attack on Iran some two weeks before the election, Bush would be assured of a landslide win against Kerry. Reports of a pre-emptive strike on Iran come amid concerns by a number of political observers that the Bush administration would concoct an "October Surprise" to influence the outcome of the presidential election.
According to White House sources, the USS John F. Kennedy was deployed to the Arabian Sea to coordinate the attack on Iran. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed the Kennedy's role in the planned attack on Iran when he visited the ship in the Arabian Sea on October 9. Rumsfeld and defense ministers of U.S. coalition partners, including those of Albania, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Iraq, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Qatar, Romania, and Ukraine briefly discussed a very "top level" view of potential dual-track military operations in Iran and Iraq in a special "war room" set up on board the aircraft carrier. America's primary ally in Iraq, the United Kingdom, did not attend the planning session because it reportedly disagrees with a military strike on Iran. London also suspects the U.S. wants to move British troops from Basra in southern Iraq to the Baghdad area to help put down an expected surge in Sh'ia violence in Sadr City and other Sh'ia areas in central Iraq when the U.S. attacks Iran as well as clear the way for a U.S. military strike across the Iraqi-Iranian border aimed at securing the huge Iranian oil installations in Abadan. U.S. allies South Korea, Australia, Kuwait, Jordan, Italy, Netherlands, and Japan were also left out of the USS John F. Kennedy planning discussions because of their reported opposition to any strike on Iran. In addition, Israel has been supplied by the United States with 500 "bunker buster" bombs. According to White House sources, the Israeli Air Force will attack Iran's nuclear facility at Bushehr with the U.S. bunker busters.The joint U.S.-Israeli pre-emptive military move against Iran reportedly was crafted by the same neo-conservative grouping in the Pentagon and Vice President Dick Cheney's office that engineered the invasion of Iraq. ...
From The Los Angeles Times at Yahoo: Fri Oct 22, 7:55 AM ET
Israel May Have Iran in Its Sights By Laura King
JERUSALEM — Increasingly concerned about Iran's nuclear program, Israel is weighing its options and has not ruled out a military strike to prevent the Islamic Republic from gaining the capability to build atomic weapons, according to policymakers, military officials, analysts and diplomats. ...
Comment at Information Clearing House: 10/26/04
Iran: A Bridge too Far? by Mark Gaffney
From AFP at SpaceWar: Oct 27, 2004
World wants peaceful solution to Iran nuclear issue, even Israel: Powell
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The entire world, including Israel, wants a peaceful solution to problems posed by Iran's nuclear program, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday. "I think the whole world, to include Israel, is trying to find a diplomatic and peaceful solution to this problem," Powell told CNBC. He said he had no information on rumors that Israel might launch pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities if Israeli officials suspect Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon. ...
From The Associated Press at MSNBC: 6:41 a.m. ET Oct. 31, 2004
Iranian lawmakers OK uranium enrichment
Shouts of ‘Death to America!’ ring out on parliament floor
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran’s parliament unanimously approved the outline of a bill Sunday that would require the government to resume uranium enrichment, legislation likely to deepen an international dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities. ...
From AFP at The Sydney Morning Herald: November 14, 2004 - 11:40AM
No plan for regime change in Iran: Powell
The United States has no intention to change Iran's regime and it has no plans to invade the nation neighbouring Iraq, where 140,000 US troops are stationed, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday. "We are not getting ready to invade Iran," Powell told CNBC television when asked if having 140,000 troops in Iraq makes it easier to deal with Iran. "We have no intention of regime change. That is our policy: no regime change," he said, although he added "we don't approve of this regime." ...
At Reuters: Sun Nov 14, 2004 03:25 PM ET
Iran Agrees to Full Nuclear Enrichment Freeze By Parisa Hafezi and Louis Charbonneau
From AFP at SpaceWar: Nov 15, 2004
Iran sends message to US after nuclear suspension
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran called on its arch-enemy the United States Monday to change its attitude following an agreement by the Islamic republic to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities as part of a deal with the European Union. ...
UN says found no proof of secret Iranian nuclear program
VIENNA (AFP) - The UN atomic watchdog said Monday it had found no proof of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program but could not yet conclude there was no covert activity, as Iran pledged to suspend uranium enrichment to prove its peaceful intentions.
In a confidential report, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that while Iran had been guilty of breaching international safeguards, almost two years of inspection had uncovered no proof of an illicit weapons program. ...
From The Washington Post: Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Page A18
U.N. Finds No Nuclear Bomb Program in Iran By Dafna Linzer
Agency Report and Tehran's Deal With Europe Undercut Tougher U.S. Stance
In its most positive assessment of Iran in two years, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported yesterday that it had found no evidence the nation had a nuclear weapons program and that Tehran's recent cooperation with the agency has been very good. The U.N. nuclear watchdog's report, along with Europe's acceptance of a wide-ranging nuclear agreement with Tehran, capped a pivotal day for the Islamic republic's relations with the West and left little chance for the Bush administration's Iran strategy to succeed in the near term. ...
From Xinhua: 2004-11-16 04:41:50
US demands Iran have its nuclear promise implemented
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States reacted cautiously Monday to a new promise by Iran to halt enrichment of uranium, stressing promises must be implemented. "We are making clear, this needs to be more than promises. This needs to be promises made and promises implemented," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a briefing here. Iran announced earlier in the day that it will begin a suspension of uranium enrichment-related activities as of Nov. 22 in accordance to an agreement signed with European Union trio, namely Britain, France and Germany. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Nov 16, 2004
Iranian hardliners rail against nuclear accord with Europeans
From Reuters: Wed Nov 17, 2004 02:41 PM ET
Exiles Say Iran Obtained Bomb Design, Uranium By Louis Charbonneau
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran obtained weapons-grade uranium and a nuclear bomb design from a Pakistani scientist who has admitted to selling nuclear secrets abroad, an exiled Iranian opposition group said on Wednesday. The group, which has given accurate information before, also said Iran is secretly enriching uranium at a military site previously unknown to the United Nations, despite promising France, Britain and Germany that it would halt all such work.
"(Abdul Qadeer) Khan gave Iran a quantity of HEU (highly enriched uranium) in 2001, so they already have some," Farid Soleiman, a senior spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told reporters. "I would doubt it was given enough for a weapon," he added. Soleiman said Khan, who ran a global nuclear black market until it was shut down earlier this year, also gave Iran a Chinese-developed warhead design sometime between 1994 and 1996. ... IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said the IAEA followed up "every solid lead." That will not be easy, because the U.N. agency has been denied access to Khan, who is under house arrest in Pakistan. ... The NCRI said Iran was enriching uranium, purifying it for use for fuel or bombs, at a site in northeastern Tehran under a covert arms program. "It continues to enrich uranium as we speak," Soleiman said. ...
From Reuters: Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:26 PM ET
U.S.: Iran May Seek to Mate Missile, Nuclear Warhead By Saul Hudson
MANAUS, Brazil (Reuters) - Washington has intelligence suggesting Iran is working on the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead on a missile, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday in a claim that could increase fears about Tehran's nuclear activities. ... President Bush has vowed Iran, a country he bracketed in an "axis of evil" with pre-war Iraq and North Korea, will not acquire a nuclear bomb. ...
From The Washington Post: Thursday, November 18, 2004; Page A01
Powell Says Iran Is Pursuing Bomb By Robin Wright and Keith B. Richburg
Evidence Cited of Effort to Adapt Missile
SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 17 -- The United States has intelligence that Iran is working to adapt missiles to deliver a nuclear weapon, further evidence that the Islamic republic is determined to acquire a nuclear bomb, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said Wednesday. Separately, an Iranian opposition exile group charged in Paris that Iran is enriching uranium at a secret military facility unknown to U.N. weapons inspectors. Iran has denied seeking to build nuclear weapons. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Nov 18, 2004
US cannot verify Iran nuclear claim
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AFP) - The White House said Thursday that it could not verify an Iranian exile opposition group's charge that the Islamic republic was running a secret nuclear bomb facility near Tehran. ...
From The Washington Post: Friday, November 19, 2004; Page A01
Nuclear Disclosures on Iran Unverified By Dafna Linzer
U.S. Officials Checking Evidence Cited by Powell
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell shared information with reporters Wednesday about Iran's nuclear program that was classified and based on an unvetted, single source who provided information that two U.S. officials said yesterday was highly significant if true but has not yet been verified. ...
From AP at Yahoo: Fri Nov 19, 7:24 PM ET
Analysis: Echoes of Iraq in Case Vs. Iran By BARRY SCHWEID
From AFP at SpaceWar: Nov 20, 2004
Bush warns Iran on nuclear activities
At The NYT: November 21, 2004
Bush Says Iran Speeds Output of A-Bomb Fuel By DAVID E. SANGER
From The Observer: Sunday November 21, 2004
Pentagon turns heat up on Iran By Peter Beaumont and Gaby Hinsliff
Washington and European Union on collision course over how to neutralise Tehran's nuclear capabilities
Pentagon hawks have begun discussing military action against Iran to neutralise its nuclear weapons threat, including possible strikes on leadership, political and security targets. With a deadline of tomorrow for Iran to begin an agreed freeze on enriching uranium, which can be used to produce nuclear weapons, sources have disclosed that the latest Pentagon gaming model for 'neutralising' Iran's nuclear threat involves strikes in support of regime change. Although the United States has made clear that it would seek sanctions against Iran through the United Nations should it not meet its obligations, rather than undertake military action, the new modelling at the Pentagon, with its shift in emphasis from suspected nuclear to political target lists, is causing deep anxiety among officials in the UK, France and Germany. ...
From The Washington Post: Friday, November 26, 2004; Page A18
Iran Seeks Limited Nuclear Program By Dafna Linzer
European Diplomats Reject Proposal to Operate 20 Centrifuges for Research
The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency was unable to confirm that Iran had completely suspended its nuclear programs yesterday, as it had committed to doing, because the Islamic republic said it wanted to continue working with some of its equipment. Iran's request to operate 20 centrifuges for research and development was rejected by European diplomats, who said such an arrangement would spell the end for a deal Tehran had just signed promising to suspend all of its nuclear work. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Nov 27, 2004
US commander warns Iran, others not to underestimate US military power
DOHA (AFP) - A top US commander has warned Iran and other countries to never underestimate US air and naval power, discounting concerns that US forces are too tied down in Iraq to respond to challenges elsewhere. "To deter a nation state you should never underestimate the air and naval power of the United States," General John Abizaid, the commander of US forces in the Middle East told AFP in a joint interview late Friday. "Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me. We have an incredible amount of power," he said. Abizaid made the comment in response to questions about whether the United States, with the bulk of its ground forces tied down in Iraq, had the means to meet other contingencies such as a conflict with Iran. ... "... we can generate more military power per square inch than anybody else on earth, and everybody knows it," he said. "If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give everybody the clear understanding that there is no power than can match us militarily" ...
From NNI at Daily Times (Pak): Nov. 28, 2004
US building army base near Iran border
KABUL: The US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan are working on a military base near the country’s western border with Iran. Locals told the Pajhwok news agency that US forces have been sketching and surveying the land for two months for a 300-hectare airbase in the desert area of Holang, in Ghorian district of Herat province, just 45 kilometres from the Iranian frontier. ...
From Daily Times (Pak): Nov. 29, 2004
19 escape from Afghan torture cell
MULTAN: Nineteen Pakistanis, including eight women artistes, who were forced by the Afghan police to spend their time in a torture cell in a fort in the Afghan city of Herat, finally managed to flee their captors and safely reach home. ...
From AFP at Daily Times (Pak): Nov. 29, 2004
Iran drops demand for nuclear fuel exemption
VIENNA: Iran confirmed on Sunday it is withdrawing a demand to exempt some equipment from a freeze on fuel cycle activities and accepts full suspension of uranium enrichment, a senior official told AFP. “I confirm from my side that we have delivered the letter to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to confirm that Iran will permit the IAEA to place these components, 20 centrifuges, under agency surveillance,” Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Moussavian said. “Iran will not conduct any testing (of the centrifuges) and will discuss further with the EU3 (Britain, Germany and France) in December when discussions for a long-term arrangement (on the freeze) commence,” Moussavian said. ...
From The Washington Post: Monday, November 29, 2004; 1:13 PM
IAEA Acts on Iran Nuclear Program By Dafna Linzer
Toned-Down Resolution Backs Voluntary Suspension of Nuclear Activities
The board of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna today approved a resolution governing Iran's nuclear programs after Tehran yesterday dropped a last minute demand and agreed to fully suspend its efforts. The move by Iran yesterday also came after it won some additional concessions from Europe to tone down the resolution, which excluded many of the Bush administration's proposals for increasing pressure on the Islamic republic. The resolution, drafted by Britain, France and Germany, is the mildest of the seven previous resolutions against Iran and does not include the explicit threat the White House had sought for reporting Tehran to the U.N. Security Council if it breaks the latest suspension. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Nov 29, 2004
Iran will 'never' give up nuclear bomb drive: Israeli FM
THE HAGUE (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Monday that the European Union should not be hoodwinked by Iran, which he claimed would "never" abandon a drive to build nuclear weapons. ...
From Reuters: Tue Nov 30, 2004 12:34 PM ET
Iran Boasts of Victory Over U.S. on Nuclear Case By Paul Hughes
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran boasted on Tuesday it had defeated U.S. efforts to send its nuclear case to the U.N. Security Council while warning that its uranium enrichment freeze would only last for a few months. ...
At Reuters: Tue Nov 30, 2004 03:27 PM ET
Bush Says Iran Must Go Beyond Nuclear Suspension
From AFP at SpaceWar: Nov 30, 2004
US says Iran freeze 'not the final step,' rejects Iranian victory claim
OTTAWA (AFP) - US President George W. Bush said Tuesday that Iran's agreement to freeze all uranium enrichment activities was "certainly not the final step" in easing US fears that Tehran seeks a nuclear weapon. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Dec 04, 2004
UN nuclear chief angrily denies charges of collaboration with Iran
VIENNA (AFP) - UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei angrily denied Saturday charges he had collaborated with Iran ahead of publishing written reports on his investigation of the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Dec 05, 2004
AFP Interview: UN nuclear chief says his agency has access it needs in Iran
VIENNA (AFP) - UN atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei weighed into the debate on whether the IAEA has the tools it needs to investigate Iran's nuclear program when he said his agency had good access to suspicious sites. ...
From AFP at SpaceWar: Dec 12, 2004
Iran is not imminent nuclear threat: ElBaradei
MADRID (AFP) - Iran's nuclear programme does not constitute an immediate threat, the head of the UN atomic watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, said in an interview published here on Sunday. "Iran does not represent an imminent nuclear threat," ElBaradei told El Pais newspaper, explaining why the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decided not to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for threatened sanctions over its nuclear programme. "For the time being, the Iranian government has not prevented our inspectors from accessing any military building or installation. Until 2003, the Iranians sought to hide things. But their collaboration is good now," ElBaradei said in the interview, given in Vienna on December 9. "There is still one large military installation left to inspect. I hope that we will be able to access it soon, but there has not been any ban or negative response," he said. ...
From The Washington Post: Sunday, December 12, 2004; Page A01
IAEA Leader's Phone Tapped By Dafna Linzer
U.S. Pores Over Transcripts to Try to Oust Nuclear Chief
The Bush administration has dozens of intercepts of Mohamed ElBaradei's phone calls with Iranian diplomats and is scrutinizing them in search of ammunition to oust him as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to three U.S. government officials. ...
From The Jerusalem Post: Dec. 12, 2004 3:24 | Updated Dec. 12, 2004 16:06
Feith to 'Post': US action against Iran can't be ruled out By CAROLINE GLICK
The US hopes that Iran will follow Libya's lead in abandoning its nuclear program, but nobody should rule out the possibility of military action against Teheran's nuclear sites if it does not, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview. ...
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