Iran agrees to suspend uranium enrichment

[shadowdude]

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By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer

VIENNA, Austria - Iran has given the United Nations (news - web sites) a written promise to fully suspend uranium enrichment, diplomats said on Sunday, in an apparent bid to dispel suspicions that Tehran wants to build a nuclear bomb.

The move also would appear to blunt an American drive to take Iran before the United Nations for the imposition of sanctions.

By issuing the written commitment to the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency — the International Atomic Energy Agency — Iran dropped demands for modification of a tentative deal worked out on Nov. 7 with European negotiators, agreeing instead to continue a freeze on enrichment and to suspend related activities, diplomats told The Associated Press.

"Basically it's a full suspension," said one of the diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's what the Europeans were looking for."

Washington has argued that Iran's enrichment activities are part of a nuclear arms program. Uranium enrichment is a precursor process to building nuclear bombs.

As negotiators for France, Germany and Britain struggled with the Iran to bridge differences over the weekend, the IAEA delayed a report on Iran's nuclear activities scheduled for limited circulation to diplomats accredited to the agency.

A diplomat familiar with the IAEA said the delay was meant to give the two sides a chance to resolve the dispute and allow agency head Mohamed ElBaradei to include an Iranian commitment to suspend its uranium enrichment and related activities in his report.

The IAEA survey on nearly two decades of clandestine activities that the United States asserts is a secret weapons program is being prepared for review by the agency's 35-nation board of governors when they meet Nov. 25.

Based on that report, they will decide on actions that include possible referral of Iran to the U.N. Security Council, which, in turn, could call for sanctions.

After ending talks in Paris with Iranian envoys last weekend, European diplomats said there was tentative agreement by Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment and all related activities. The suspension would be in effect for at least as long as it took for the two sides to negotiate a deal on European technical and financial aid, including help in the development of Iranian nuclear energy for power generation.

But on Friday the diplomats told The Associated Press that Iranian officials had presented British, French and German envoys in Tehran with a version of the agreement that was unacceptable to the three European powers — the main negotiators of the deal — and the European Union (news - web sites) as a whole.

The key dispute was over the conversion of uranium into gas, which when spun in centrifuges can be enriched to lower levels for producing electricity or processed into high-level, weapons grade uranium, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity.

The diplomats — all of them briefed on the dispute and based in Europe — said that as of Friday Iran had insisted that the deal allowed it to process uranium into a precursor of uranium hexafluoride, the gas introduced into centrifuges for enrichment.

Your thoughts?

 

[JohnRM]

Yeah, I imagine the Europeans said something like this...

"Please, please slow down, you're making it so difficult for us to load you up with gifts. You're making us look bad!"

 

[SeleucusNicator]

This is most likely a lie directed towards appeasing the Europeans. One day, a few years from now, Iran will say "oops, we built nukes anway" and then there will be nothing that can be done about it.

As for now, any European support for a strike against Iran will be prevented, giving the Mullahs time to build and plot. I hope that, somewhere in Israel, there's a fighter pilot getting ready.

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

You cannot dictate the right of another nation to build and own weapons that you youreself own.

 

[JohnRM]

Pasi, would you have let Hitler develop nuclear weapons simply because we have them?

 

[Quasar1011]

This would be good news, if true. I wouldn't trust the Iranian government though.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

You cannot dictate the right of another nation to build and own weapons that you youreself own.

Sure we can.

Or, rather, the types of weapons in our own arsenal has no impact on what we can or cannot do in such a regard.

 

[G-Man]

You cannot dictate the right of another nation to build and own weapons that you youreself own.

On the contrary. It is the weapons in your own arsenal that make it possible for you to prevent others from getting them.



As to Iran, hopefully they're really gonna stop with the development. But there will have to be a very strict inspections regime about this.

 

[Sarevok]

good, hopefully we wont have to shoot them after all...

 

[CenturionV]

As to Iran, hopefully they're really gonna stop with the development. But there will have to be a very strict inspections regime about this.

I see an israeli/iranian air war coming.........

 

[Sanaz]

Pasi, would you have let Hitler develop nuclear weapons simply because we have them?

Please don't compare modern day Iran with Nazi Germany. It is pointless spreading of hatred, and is inaccurate.

I am glad this is resolved diplomatically, and that the US and Israel (mostly) stayed out of it. When the US was pressing so hard, even moderate Iranians were starting to think it would be a good idea, and were beginning to align with their government (not a good thing). There is so much distrust of American motives that they could only assume that if the US wants something, it is bad for any Middle Eastern country. I agree with this attitude.

 

[G-Man]

I see an israeli/iranian air war coming.........

An air war between an air force that can barely reach the scene and and air force that doesn't have spare parts for 25 years?

 

[Sanaz]

An air war between an air force that can barely reach the scene and and air force that doesn't have spare parts for 25 years?

Perfect answer!

 

[CenturionV]

An air war between an air force that can barely reach the scene and and air force that doesn't have spare parts for 25 years?

??? The israelis would could use american carriers to re-fuel, and re-arm of course if they needed, but they DO have aircraft that can easily reach iran. take a look here http://www.sitesatlas.com/Maps/Maps/MEast.htm
http://www.combataircraft.com/operators/is.asp

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Please don't compare modern day Iran with Nazi Germany. It is pointless spreading of hatred, and is inaccurate.

I am glad this is resolved diplomatically, and that the US and Israel (mostly) stayed out of it. When the US was pressing so hard, even moderate Iranians were starting to think it would be a good idea, and were beginning to align with their government (not a good thing). There is so much distrust of American motives that they could only assume that if the US wants something, it is bad for any Middle Eastern country. I agree with this attitude.

I think you are rather naieve if you think this is "resolved". Iran will almost certainly still build nuclear weapons, this treaty simply takes the Europeans out of the picture in terms of groups trying to stop them.

 

[amadeus]

I'm sure we can trust Iran.

 

[Zeekater]

Is there anything Iran could do in order to be trusted?

 

[BasketCase]

The Soviet Union had nuclear weapons.

The Soviet Union no longer exists.

Conclusion: nuclear weapons are NOT going to protect Iran. If the U.S. or anybody else is determined to wipe Iran off the map, the wiping will happen. It will just be slower.

 

[amadeus]

Is there anything Iran could do in order to be trusted?

No.

We may as well offer Iran the Sudetenland while we're at it.

 

[Sanaz]

The Soviet Union had nuclear weapons.

The Soviet Union no longer exists.

Conclusion: nuclear weapons are NOT going to protect Iran. If the U.S. or anybody else is determined to wipe Iran off the map, the wiping will happen. It will just be slower.

If the ultimate fate of Iran is self destruction as an unsustainable nation, so be it. That is much different than the fear and distrust shown by American hypernationalists (who from my point of view are also hell-bent on destroying the US as a relevant force in the world) who call for unprovoked attack. Don't forget, the US is also on the path of the old Soviet Union in several ways, the difference being a better political system with solid checks and balances. It certainly isn't the innate "betterness" of American citizens.