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Arellia
The Quiet One
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 4425
Location: Dallas, TX
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 Tue Nov 16, 2004 12:02 am Iran Agrees to Suspend Nuclear Development |
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| Quote: | Iran has agreed in writing to suspend efforts to make nuclear fuel, apparently staving off a U.S. push to bring that nation before the United Nations Security Council for punishment for what the Bush administration says are secret attempts to develop a nuclear bomb.
"We have agreed to suspend nearly all activities related to (uranium) enrichment," Iranian national security adviser Hassan Rowhani said Sunday following talks with the ambassadors of Britain, France and Germany, who have been negotiating with Iran to halt its nuclear fuel activities.
The deal could lessen the likelihood of a confrontation between Iran and the Bush administration, which included Iran in its original "axis of evil" with North Korea and prewar Iraq and has warned it would not accept a nuclear-armed Iran.
Despite the apparent deal, though, some negotiators remained wary of Iran's intentions, said a high-ranking Washington-based diplomat from one of the nations that negotiated the agreement. The diplomat, who has detailed knowledge of the talks but asked not to be named because he said he has not yet been given permission by his government to brief the Bush administration, cautioned that the details of the agreement must still be checked and verified.
Iran's latest agreement came in a letter Sunday to the IAEA. The Vienna-based IAEA said Sunday that it had received the letter but did not divulge details.
Iran denies it wants nuclear weapons and says it is pursuing a nuclear-fuel program solely to produce electricity. But the Iranian government concealed much of its nuclear program from the IAEA until secret installations were disclosed by an Iranian opposition group two years ago. In September, the IAEA demanded Iran suspend all its uranium enrichment activities and satisfy questions about its nuclear program to prove it is not pursuing a nuclear bomb.
The Bush administration has been urging the IAEA board to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible economic or other penalties, but that appears unlikely now. Sunday's apparent agreement could be welcomed by the administration at a time when the White House is preoccupied with Iraq and new Arab-Israeli developments following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. But an Iran deal could also upset hard-liners within the administration who seek to further isolate Iran's Islamic regime. State Department spokesperson Darla Jordan declined to comment on the deal Sunday, saying the department is awaiting a briefing by the European negotiators.
Last Tuesday, however, Stephen Rademaker, an assistant secretary of State for arms control, said in Vienna that the Bush administration is "very skeptical of Iran's long-term intentions, and we do not expect Iran to comply over the long term with any commitment not to develop nuclear weapons."
Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian said Iran had agreed to suspend not only enrichment but also activities related to it: converting raw uranium into the feed gas for enrichment at a uranium conversion facility and making centrifuges used for enrichment.
Mousavian said the suspension would remain in force while Iran and the European Union negotiated a long-term cooperation accord in talks that start Dec. 15. At stake is what the Europeans are willing to give Iran for suspending its uranium activities, most likely trade and other concessions, including a guaranteed source of fuel for civilian nuclear power plants.
"The suspension is valid for the duration of the negotiations," Mousavian said.
Iran agreed to suspend uranium enrichment a year ago, but an IAEA report in September said Iran had converted as much as 77 pounds of raw uranium � so-called yellowcake � into uranium hexafluoride last spring. Uranium hexafluoride is partially processed uranium that can be further enriched to make high-grade nuclear reactor fuel or the fuel for a nuclear bomb. This fall, Iran converted far more � an additional 40 tons � yellowcake into uranium hexafluoride.
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-http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-11-14-iran-uranium_x.htm
A step in the right direction...
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Tue Nov 16, 2004 12:05 am |
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Let's hope they're not deceiving us. It's hard to believe in the goodwill of terrorists.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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