| Topic: |
Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus |
| User: |
"=?utf-8?B?VGhlIExhc3QgMjQ3OCBkYXlz4oSiIOKZpQ==?=" |
| Date: |
08 Mar 2006 09:59:07 PM |
| Object: |
World War III NEWS, Thursday, March 9th, 2006 AD.....NATO May Help US Airstrikes on Iran |
The Sunday Times (London) March 05, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2070420,00.html
NATO May Help US Airstrikes on Iran
WHEN (Germany's) Major-General Axel Tuttelmann, the head of Nato's
Airborne Early Warning and Control Force, showed off an AWACS early
warning surveillance plane in Israel a fortnight ago, he caused a
flurry
of concern back at headquarters in Brussels.
It was not his demonstration that raised eyebrows, but what he said
about
Nato's possible involvement in any future military strike against Iran.
"We would be the first to be called up if the Nato council decided we
should be," he said.
Nato would prefer the emphasis to remain on the "if", but Tuttelmann's
comments revealed that the military alliance could play a supporting
role
if America launches airstrikes against Iranian nuclear targets.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will tomorrow confirm
Iran's
referral to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions.
Iran insists it is developing peaceful nuclear energy, a claim regarded
as
bogus by America and Britain, France and Germany, which believe it
wants
to develop nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks
about
wiping Israel "off the map" have added to fears.
America and Israel have warned that they will not tolerate a
nuclear-armed
Iran. If negotiations fail, both countries have plans of last resort
for
airstrikes against Iran's widely dispersed nuclear facilities.
Porter Goss, the head of the CIA, visited Recep Erdogan, the prime
minister of Turkey, a Nato country, late last year and asked for
political, logistical and intelligence support in the event of
airstrikes,
according to western intelligence sources quoted in the German media.
The news magazine Der Spiegel noted: "Washington appears to be
dispatching high-level officials to prepare its allies for a possible
attack."
Nato would be likely to operate air defences in Turkey, according to
Dan
Goure, a Pentagon adviser and vice-president of the Lexington
Institute, a
military think tank.
A former senior Israeli defence official said he believed all Nato
members
had contingency plans.
John Pike, director of the US military studies group
Globalsecurity.org,
said America had little to gain from Nato military help. "I think we
are
attempting to bring the alliance along politically so that when all
diplomatic initiatives have been exhausted and we blow up their sites,
we
can say, 'Look, we gave it our best shot'."
A senior British defence official said plans to attack Iran were pure
speculation. "I don't think anybody has got that far yet," he said.
"We're all too distracted by Iraq."
Israel's special forces are said to be operating inside Iran in an
urgent
attempt to locate the country's secret uranium enrichment sites. "We
found several suspected sites last year but there must be more," an
Israeli intelligence source said. They are operating from a base in
northern Iraq, guarded by Israeli soldiers with the approval of the
Americans, according to Israeli sources.
The commander of Israel's nuclear missile submarines warned Iran
indirectly in a comment to an Israeli newspaper last week that "we are
able to hit strategic targets in a foreign country".
The Israelis fear Iran may reach the "point of no return" -- at which
it
has the capacity to enrich uranium to bomb-grade purity -- in the next
few
months. The Americans are more interested in the point at which Iran is
close to developing an actual bomb, thought to be at least three years
away.
Two Iranian opposition groups claimed this weekend that Iran had
increased
its production of Shahab 3 missiles, which have a range of 1,200 miles,
sufficient to reach Israel.
Diplomatic efforts to contain Iran are likely to proceed slowly, given
Russian and Chinese opposition to punitive action. A Foreign Office
official said although the IAEA would refer Iran to the security
council,
any sanctions would be a "strictly step-by-step process".
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Thursday, March 09, 2006
IAEA clears way for UN action on Iran
* UNSC to take up watchdog=E2=80=99s report next week
* ElBaradei says political settlement still possible
* Russia sees no military solution, says sanctions ineffective
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday opened the way for
Security Council action against Iran over its nuclear programme,
sparking an angry reaction from Tehran which threatened Washington with
=E2=80=9Charm and pain=E2=80=9D for leading the charge.
A report on Iran=E2=80=99s programme, which the West fears is hiding a cove=
rt
drive for the atom bomb, will now be sent to the UN body in New York,
US ambassador Gregory Schulte told reporters here. A top US official in
Washington said the dossier would be brought up next week at the
Security Council.
=E2=80=9CIf Iran doesn=E2=80=99t respond to words, we believe the world com=
munity
should entertain the possibility of sanctions,=E2=80=9D Under Secretary of
State Nicholas Burns told a House of Representatives committee. =E2=80=9CBut
it=E2=80=99s going to be incumbent upon our allies around the world to show
that they are willing to act,=E2=80=9D he added.
In Vienna, the IAEA wrapped up a three-day regular meeting that focused
Wednesday on the Iranian standoff, with an assessment by IAEA director
Mohamed ElBaradei. He said it was still possible to reach a political
settlement and urged all sides to =E2=80=9Clower the rhetoric=E2=80=9D to a=
chieve
this. =E2=80=9CThis is simply a new phase of diplomacy, an extension of
diplomatic efforts to find a solution,=E2=80=9D ElBaradei said.
Unlike the IAEA, the UNSC has enforcement powers and can impose
punitive measures, including sanctions. Europe and the US have led the
drive for action, saying Iran has hidden the truth about its nuclear
program and should not be allowed to enrich uranium, which can provide
the fuel for civilian reactors but also, in highly enriched form, the
material for atomic weapons. =E2=80=9CIran has not met the conditions at the
IAEA=E2=80=9D to suspend all enrichment and cooperate fully with inspectors,
Burns said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, said in New York
that there was no military solution to the row and cast doubt on the
effectiveness of any sanctions against Tehran.
Moscow has been trying to broker a compromise under which Iran could
enrich uranium in Russia, so that it gets the nuclear fuel but not the
technology for making bombs.
Iran has proposed suspending industrial-scale enrichment but doing
research work, but the West says even small-scale enrichment is too
dangerous. Iranian security official Javad Vaidi, who led the Iranian
delegation here, threatened reprisals against the United States.
=E2=80=9CThe US may have the power to cause harm and pain but it is also
susceptible to harm and pain,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CSo if the United S=
tates
wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll.=E2=80=9D
Vaidi reiterated that Iran would press on with small-scale enrichment
work despite the IAEA=E2=80=99s calls to halt this activity. =E2=80=9CWe wi=
ll
continue to exercise our R and D activities based on our right,=E2=80=9D
Vaidi said.
The US alleged that Iran has enough uranium gas to make =E2=80=93 if
sufficiently enriched =E2=80=93 10 nuclear weapons. =E2=80=9CIt already has=
a
85-tonne stockpile of UF6 (uranium hexafluoride gas) which, if
enriched, could produce enough material for about 10 nuclear
weapons,=E2=80=9D US ambassador Gregory Schulte alleged. agencies
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Iran readies to fend off =E2=80=9Cenemy assaults=E2=80=9D on capital
Sat. 25 Feb 2006
Iran Focus
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25 =E2=80=93 Radical Islamist militiamen affiliated to
Iran=E2=80=99s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps staged military exercises
in the western suburbs of Tehran on Friday to defend the Iranian
capital against =E2=80=9Cenemy assaults=E2=80=9D, a government-run news age=
ncy
reported.
Some 2,500 members of the paramilitary Bassij took part in Friday
morning=E2=80=99s military drills in Qods (Jerusalem) Garrison in Tehran=E2=
=80=99s
Garm-Darreh district.
=E2=80=9CIn the military exercises, the Bassij forces destroyed the positio=
ns
of enemy forces who had been ferried to Tehran by helicopters and
mopped up the drop zone=E2=80=9D, Isca-News reported.
=E2=80=9CThe Bassij forces accomplished more than 90 percent of their
mission=E2=80=9D, the report added.
Deputy Commander of the Bassij forces in Tehran, Brigadier General
Ahmad Zolqadr, attended the rally. Zolqadr=E2=80=99s brother, Mohammad-Baqe=
r,
is a top IRGC commander who was recently appointed as Deputy Interior
Minister.
While the Revolutionary Guards and the Bassij regularly stage military
and security exercises in Tehran and its suburbs, it is the first time
that the objective of the war games is to destroy heliborne =E2=80=9Cenemy
forces=E2=80=9D in the Iranian capital.
The exercises were code-named Imam Hassan Askari, one of the two Shia
Imams whose shrine was destroyed this week in Samarra, Iraq.
The Supreme Commander of the IRGC announced on Thursday that God and
Muslims would carry out a retaliatory strike against the United States,
Britain, and Israel, who he alleged were behind Wednesday=E2=80=99s attack =
in
Samarra.
Iran=E2=80=99s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and hard-line President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad each separately announced that the attack on the
revered shrine was the work of agents of =E2=80=9Cthe occupiers of Iraq and
the Zionists=E2=80=9D.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Iran Threatens U.S. Over Nuclear Program
By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria - Iran threatened the United States with "harm and
pain" Wednesday if the U.S. tries to use the U.N. Security Council
=E2=80=94 which has the power to impose sanctions =E2=80=94 as a lever to p=
unish
Tehran for its suspect nuclear program.
Washington warned that Tehran has enough nuclear material for up to 10
atomic bombs.
Hours after the Iranian and U.S. exchange, the some members of the
Security Council took up the issue for the first time, with the five
permanent nations holding consultations in New York.
The rhetoric reflected the intensity of the debate at a meeting of the
International Atomic Energy's 35-nation board in Vienna over a critical
report on Iran's nuclear program. The meeting ended late Wednesday,
formally opening the path to Security Council action that could range
from a mild statement urging compliance to sanctions or even military
measures.
The meeting also set the stage for a potential struggle between
Washington, which seeks harsh measures against Tehran, and Moscow,
which advocates a softer line.
But the head of the IAEA =E2=80=94 the U.N. nuclear watchdog =E2=80=94 cast
Security Council involvement as a continuation of diplomacy with Iran.
Mohamed ElBaradei also suggested that Washington might need to talk to
Tehran directly if negotiations reach the stage of focusing on security
guarantees to Tehran in exchange for concessions on its nuclear
program.
"Once we start to discuss security issues my personal view (is) that at
one point the U.S. should also be engaged into a dialogue," ElBaradei
told reporters.
The IAEA put the Security Council on alert over the issue last month
but delayed any action to give more time for diplomacy under an
agreement by the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain =E2=80=94
the five permanent Security Council members that wield veto power.
Meanwhile, the five permanent members of the council met to discuss a
first response to the Iran nuclear crisis.
One council diplomat said after the quick meeting that Britain had
proposed that ElBaradei report back in two weeks about Iran's progress
toward compliance with IAEA resolutions. The diplomat spoke on
condition of anonymity because consultations were private.
Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful and only aimed at
generating electricity, but an increasing number of countries have come
to share the U.S. view that Tehran is seeking to develop atomic
weapons.
Iran has been under growing international pressure over the past three
years as the IAEA compiled worrying details about its nuclear
activities.
But formal Security Council involvement opens a new dimension because
the U.N. body could impose economic and political sanctions against
Iran. Such action is unlikely because of opposition from Russia and
China, which have strategic and commercial ties with Tehran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested Wednesday that Moscow
would not support sanctions and he ruled out military action.
"I don't think sanctions as a means to solve a crisis have ever
achieved a goal in the recent history," Lavrov said after meeting
Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations.
He added that Russia was "convinced that there is no military solution
to this crisis" =E2=80=94 an apparent rebuttal to Vice President *****
Cheney's warning this week that Iran would face "meaningful
consequences" if it does not back away from an international
confrontation over its nuclear program. Cheney did not specify what the
U=2ES. would do, but said it "is keeping all options on the table."
U=2ES. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns suggested America would
push for sanctions if appeals and demands failed.
"We believe that next Monday or Tuesday the United Nations Security
Council will begin a very active debate about Iran's nuclear
ambitions," Burns said Wednesday. "That debate will be designed to
shine a very large, intensive spotlight on what we believe to be a
clear Iranian (weapons) program."
Burns told the House International Relations Committee that U.S.
officials expect the Security Council to consider a statement of
condemnation against Iran. He said, however, that the Bush
administration would like to go "beyond that to entertain the
possibility of a resolution to isolate and hopefully influence (Iran's)
behavior."
If Iran does not respond to words and resolutions, "then we believe
that the world community should entertain the possibility of sanctions
against Iran," Burns said.
ElBaradei's report accused Iran of withholding information, possessing
plans linked to nuclear weapons and refusing to freeze uranium
enrichment =E2=80=94 a possible pathway to nuclear arms.
In comments to the IAEA board meeting, Gregory Schulte, the U.S.
delegate to the agency, said the 85 tons of feedstock uranium gas
already produced by Iran "if enriched, could produce enough material
for about 10 nuclear weapons."
Separately, France, Germany and Britain warned that what is known about
Iran's enrichment program could represent "the tip of the iceberg."
Iran reacted angrily to Washington's role in the standoff over its
nuclear ambitions.
"The United States has the power to cause harm and pain," Ali Asghar
Soltanieh, the chief Iranian delegate to the IAEA, said, reading from a
statement. "But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain.
So if that is the path that the U.S. wishes to choose, let the ball
roll."
He did not elaborate, but diplomats said the comment as possibly a
veiled threat to use oil as a weapon. Iran is the second-largest
producer within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and
has leverage with extremist groups in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle
East that could harm U.S. interests.
Iran's minister of petroleum, Sayed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, however,
sought to ease concerns about Iran's oil plans, telling reporters at an
OPEC meeting in Vienna: "Iran has no intention whatsoever of
reducing its oil exports."
The White House dismissed Iran's threats.
"I think that provocative statements and actions only further isolate
Iran from the rest of the world," White House press secretary Scott
McClellan told reporters traveling with President Bush.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said the comments reflected
the menace posed by Iran.
"Their threats show why leaving a country like that with a nuclear
weapon is so dangerous," John Bolton told The Associated Press by phone
from Washington.
___
Associated Press reporters Palma Benczenleitner in Vienna, Pauline
Jelinek in Washington and Nick Wadhams at the United Nations
contributed to this report.=20
___
.
|
|
| User: "Mr. Hyde" |
|
| Title: Re: World War III NEWS, Thursday, March 9th, 2006 AD.....NATO May Help US Airstrikes on Iran |
09 Mar 2006 12:49:03 AM |
|
|
Having to 'Jump The Wall' this time, here at the "Home For Psychic Burn-Outs".
All I have to say is, "Wally, You're NUTs". - even most of my 'Comme Padres' back at the Home
agree.
The U.S. Government is to "tapped-out" to take on such an 'effort' !!!
Where are you coming up with these Outrages "Claims" - you've been listening too much to this
guy called 'Sollog' (OR something). - OR maybe even "The Jewish World Press" ???
America (The United States) has neither the means [nor the manpower] to spare, to do such an
attack.
Haven't you been watching the World News - OR are you just hoping to fulfill a 'mis-guided'
prophecy ???
[:-o]
"The Last 2478 daysT ?" <stargatedecember2012@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
news:1141875950.280008.138010@z34g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
The Sunday Times (London) March 05, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2070420,00.html
NATO May Help US Airstrikes on Iran
WHEN (Germany's) Major-General Axel Tuttelmann, the head of Nato's
Airborne Early Warning and Control Force, showed off an AWACS early
warning surveillance plane in Israel a fortnight ago, he caused a
flurry
of concern back at headquarters in Brussels.
It was not his demonstration that raised eyebrows, but what he said
about
Nato's possible involvement in any future military strike against Iran.
"We would be the first to be called up if the Nato council decided we
should be," he said.
Nato would prefer the emphasis to remain on the "if", but Tuttelmann's
comments revealed that the military alliance could play a supporting
role
if America launches airstrikes against Iranian nuclear targets.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will tomorrow confirm
Iran's
referral to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions.
Iran insists it is developing peaceful nuclear energy, a claim regarded
as
bogus by America and Britain, France and Germany, which believe it
wants
to develop nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks
about
wiping Israel "off the map" have added to fears.
America and Israel have warned that they will not tolerate a
nuclear-armed
Iran. If negotiations fail, both countries have plans of last resort
for
airstrikes against Iran's widely dispersed nuclear facilities.
Porter Goss, the head of the CIA, visited Recep Erdogan, the prime
minister of Turkey, a Nato country, late last year and asked for
political, logistical and intelligence support in the event of
airstrikes,
according to western intelligence sources quoted in the German media.
The news magazine Der Spiegel noted: "Washington appears to be
dispatching high-level officials to prepare its allies for a possible
attack."
Nato would be likely to operate air defences in Turkey, according to
Dan
Goure, a Pentagon adviser and vice-president of the Lexington
Institute, a
military think tank.
A former senior Israeli defence official said he believed all Nato
members
had contingency plans.
John Pike, director of the US military studies group
Globalsecurity.org,
said America had little to gain from Nato military help. "I think we
are
attempting to bring the alliance along politically so that when all
diplomatic initiatives have been exhausted and we blow up their sites,
we
can say, 'Look, we gave it our best shot'."
A senior British defence official said plans to attack Iran were pure
speculation. "I don't think anybody has got that far yet," he said.
"We're all too distracted by Iraq."
Israel's special forces are said to be operating inside Iran in an
urgent
attempt to locate the country's secret uranium enrichment sites. "We
found several suspected sites last year but there must be more," an
Israeli intelligence source said. They are operating from a base in
northern Iraq, guarded by Israeli soldiers with the approval of the
Americans, according to Israeli sources.
The commander of Israel's nuclear missile submarines warned Iran
indirectly in a comment to an Israeli newspaper last week that "we are
able to hit strategic targets in a foreign country".
The Israelis fear Iran may reach the "point of no return" -- at which
it
has the capacity to enrich uranium to bomb-grade purity -- in the next
few
months. The Americans are more interested in the point at which Iran is
close to developing an actual bomb, thought to be at least three years
away.
Two Iranian opposition groups claimed this weekend that Iran had
increased
its production of Shahab 3 missiles, which have a range of 1,200 miles,
sufficient to reach Israel.
Diplomatic efforts to contain Iran are likely to proceed slowly, given
Russian and Chinese opposition to punitive action. A Foreign Office
official said although the IAEA would refer Iran to the security
council,
any sanctions would be a "strictly step-by-step process".
=========================================
Thursday, March 09, 2006
IAEA clears way for UN action on Iran
* UNSC to take up watchdog's report next week
* ElBaradei says political settlement still possible
* Russia sees no military solution, says sanctions ineffective
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday opened the way for
Security Council action against Iran over its nuclear programme,
sparking an angry reaction from Tehran which threatened Washington with
"harm and pain" for leading the charge.
A report on Iran's programme, which the West fears is hiding a covert
drive for the atom bomb, will now be sent to the UN body in New York,
US ambassador Gregory Schulte told reporters here. A top US official in
Washington said the dossier would be brought up next week at the
Security Council.
"If Iran doesn't respond to words, we believe the world community
should entertain the possibility of sanctions," Under Secretary of
State Nicholas Burns told a House of Representatives committee. "But
it's going to be incumbent upon our allies around the world to show
that they are willing to act," he added.
In Vienna, the IAEA wrapped up a three-day regular meeting that focused
Wednesday on the Iranian standoff, with an assessment by IAEA director
Mohamed ElBaradei. He said it was still possible to reach a political
settlement and urged all sides to "lower the rhetoric" to achieve
this. "This is simply a new phase of diplomacy, an extension of
diplomatic efforts to find a solution," ElBaradei said.
Unlike the IAEA, the UNSC has enforcement powers and can impose
punitive measures, including sanctions. Europe and the US have led the
drive for action, saying Iran has hidden the truth about its nuclear
program and should not be allowed to enrich uranium, which can provide
the fuel for civilian reactors but also, in highly enriched form, the
material for atomic weapons. "Iran has not met the conditions at the
IAEA" to suspend all enrichment and cooperate fully with inspectors,
Burns said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, said in New York
that there was no military solution to the row and cast doubt on the
effectiveness of any sanctions against Tehran.
Moscow has been trying to broker a compromise under which Iran could
enrich uranium in Russia, so that it gets the nuclear fuel but not the
technology for making bombs.
Iran has proposed suspending industrial-scale enrichment but doing
research work, but the West says even small-scale enrichment is too
dangerous. Iranian security official Javad Vaidi, who led the Iranian
delegation here, threatened reprisals against the United States.
"The US may have the power to cause harm and pain but it is also
susceptible to harm and pain," he said. "So if the United States
wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll."
Vaidi reiterated that Iran would press on with small-scale enrichment
work despite the IAEA's calls to halt this activity. "We will
continue to exercise our R and D activities based on our right,"
Vaidi said.
The US alleged that Iran has enough uranium gas to make - if
sufficiently enriched - 10 nuclear weapons. "It already has a
85-tonne stockpile of UF6 (uranium hexafluoride gas) which, if
enriched, could produce enough material for about 10 nuclear
weapons," US ambassador Gregory Schulte alleged. agencies
====================================
Iran readies to fend off "enemy assaults" on capital
Sat. 25 Feb 2006
Iran Focus
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25 - Radical Islamist militiamen affiliated to
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps staged military exercises
in the western suburbs of Tehran on Friday to defend the Iranian
capital against "enemy assaults", a government-run news agency
reported.
Some 2,500 members of the paramilitary Bassij took part in Friday
morning's military drills in Qods (Jerusalem) Garrison in Tehran's
Garm-Darreh district.
"In the military exercises, the Bassij forces destroyed the positions
of enemy forces who had been ferried to Tehran by helicopters and
mopped up the drop zone", Isca-News reported.
"The Bassij forces accomplished more than 90 percent of their
mission", the report added.
Deputy Commander of the Bassij forces in Tehran, Brigadier General
Ahmad Zolqadr, attended the rally. Zolqadr's brother, Mohammad-Baqer,
is a top IRGC commander who was recently appointed as Deputy Interior
Minister.
While the Revolutionary Guards and the Bassij regularly stage military
and security exercises in Tehran and its suburbs, it is the first time
that the objective of the war games is to destroy heliborne "enemy
forces" in the Iranian capital.
The exercises were code-named Imam Hassan Askari, one of the two Shia
Imams whose shrine was destroyed this week in Samarra, Iraq.
The Supreme Commander of the IRGC announced on Thursday that God and
Muslims would carry out a retaliatory strike against the United States,
Britain, and Israel, who he alleged were behind Wednesday's attack in
Samarra.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and hard-line President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad each separately announced that the attack on the
revered shrine was the work of agents of "the occupiers of Iraq and
the Zionists".
==========================================
Iran Threatens U.S. Over Nuclear Program
By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria - Iran threatened the United States with "harm and
pain" Wednesday if the U.S. tries to use the U.N. Security Council
- which has the power to impose sanctions - as a lever to punish
Tehran for its suspect nuclear program.
Washington warned that Tehran has enough nuclear material for up to 10
atomic bombs.
Hours after the Iranian and U.S. exchange, the some members of the
Security Council took up the issue for the first time, with the five
permanent nations holding consultations in New York.
The rhetoric reflected the intensity of the debate at a meeting of the
International Atomic Energy's 35-nation board in Vienna over a critical
report on Iran's nuclear program. The meeting ended late Wednesday,
formally opening the path to Security Council action that could range
from a mild statement urging compliance to sanctions or even military
measures.
The meeting also set the stage for a potential struggle between
Washington, which seeks harsh measures against Tehran, and Moscow,
which advocates a softer line.
But the head of the IAEA - the U.N. nuclear watchdog - cast
Security Council involvement as a continuation of diplomacy with Iran.
Mohamed ElBaradei also suggested that Washington might need to talk to
Tehran directly if negotiations reach the stage of focusing on security
guarantees to Tehran in exchange for concessions on its nuclear
program.
"Once we start to discuss security issues my personal view (is) that at
one point the U.S. should also be engaged into a dialogue," ElBaradei
told reporters.
The IAEA put the Security Council on alert over the issue last month
but delayed any action to give more time for diplomacy under an
agreement by the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain -
the five permanent Security Council members that wield veto power.
Meanwhile, the five permanent members of the council met to discuss a
first response to the Iran nuclear crisis.
One council diplomat said after the quick meeting that Britain had
proposed that ElBaradei report back in two weeks about Iran's progress
toward compliance with IAEA resolutions. The diplomat spoke on
condition of anonymity because consultations were private.
Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful and only aimed at
generating electricity, but an increasing number of countries have come
to share the U.S. view that Tehran is seeking to develop atomic
weapons.
Iran has been under growing international pressure over the past three
years as the IAEA compiled worrying details about its nuclear
activities.
But formal Security Council involvement opens a new dimension because
the U.N. body could impose economic and political sanctions against
Iran. Such action is unlikely because of opposition from Russia and
China, which have strategic and commercial ties with Tehran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested Wednesday that Moscow
would not support sanctions and he ruled out military action.
"I don't think sanctions as a means to solve a crisis have ever
achieved a goal in the recent history," Lavrov said after meeting
Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations.
He added that Russia was "convinced that there is no military solution
to this crisis" - an apparent rebuttal to Vice President *****
Cheney's warning this week that Iran would face "meaningful
consequences" if it does not back away from an international
confrontation over its nuclear program. Cheney did not specify what the
U.S. would do, but said it "is keeping all options on the table."
U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns suggested America would
push for sanctions if appeals and demands failed.
"We believe that next Monday or Tuesday the United Nations Security
Council will begin a very active debate about Iran's nuclear
ambitions," Burns said Wednesday. "That debate will be designed to
shine a very large, intensive spotlight on what we believe to be a
clear Iranian (weapons) program."
Burns told the House International Relations Committee that U.S.
officials expect the Security Council to consider a statement of
condemnation against Iran. He said, however, that the Bush
administration would like to go "beyond that to entertain the
possibility of a resolution to isolate and hopefully influence (Iran's)
behavior."
If Iran does not respond to words and resolutions, "then we believe
that the world community should entertain the possibility of sanctions
against Iran," Burns said.
ElBaradei's report accused Iran of withholding information, possessing
plans linked to nuclear weapons and refusing to freeze uranium
enrichment - a possible pathway to nuclear arms.
In comments to the IAEA board meeting, Gregory Schulte, the U.S.
delegate to the agency, said the 85 tons of feedstock uranium gas
already produced by Iran "if enriched, could produce enough material
for about 10 nuclear weapons."
Separately, France, Germany and Britain warned that what is known about
Iran's enrichment program could represent "the tip of the iceberg."
Iran reacted angrily to Washington's role in the standoff over its
nuclear ambitions.
"The United States has the power to cause harm and pain," Ali Asghar
Soltanieh, the chief Iranian delegate to the IAEA, said, reading from a
statement. "But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain.
So if that is the path that the U.S. wishes to choose, let the ball
roll."
He did not elaborate, but diplomats said the comment as possibly a
veiled threat to use oil as a weapon. Iran is the second-largest
producer within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and
has leverage with extremist groups in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle
East that could harm U.S. interests.
Iran's minister of petroleum, Sayed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, however,
sought to ease concerns about Iran's oil plans, telling reporters at an
OPEC meeting in Vienna: "Iran has no intention whatsoever of
reducing its oil exports."
The White House dismissed Iran's threats.
"I think that provocative statements and actions only further isolate
Iran from the rest of the world," White House press secretary Scott
McClellan told reporters traveling with President Bush.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said the comments reflected
the menace posed by Iran.
"Their threats show why leaving a country like that with a nuclear
weapon is so dangerous," John Bolton told The Associated Press by phone
from Washington.
___
Associated Press reporters Palma Benczenleitner in Vienna, Pauline
Jelinek in Washington and Nick Wadhams at the United Nations
contributed to this report.
___
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