Iran’s Bushehr atomic power station crossed a major milestone on Wednesday following an announcement that the construction of the facility had been completed and a series of tests that would lead the formal commissioning of the 1000MW plant had commenced.
Sergei Kiriyenko, visiting head of Russia’s nuclear agency, Rosatom told reporters at Bushehr that the construction of the plant was now complete. “The construction stage of the nuclear power plant is over, we are now in the pre-commissioning stage, which is a combination of complex procedures,” he said. Mohsen Shirazi, spokesman of the atomic energy agency said dummy fuel rods were now being inserted in the reactor as part of the comprehensive tests that were scheduled. He said virtual fuel made of lead, which was designed to imitate nuclear fuel was being loaded in the plant.
“Virtual fuel which does not have uranium will be loaded in the core of the reactor,” the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Mohammad Saeedi, told Iranian state television. “The main units, especially the primary circuit, back-up systems and sub-units are tested to remove any failure that could happen in the commissioning stage,” he said.
Iran is building the Bushehr facility with Russian help under a $1-billion contract.
(Source: The Hindu)
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Russia will fulfill duties on Iran’s nuclear power plant
Russia will fulfill its commitments on completing Iran’s first nuclear power plant in Bushehr despite of any pressures, said Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi.
Speaking in an interview with the Russian newspaper Zavtra Online, the ambassador said Iran did not believe that the Russian side has deliberately delayed completion of the 1,000-MW power plant.
Based on the previously agreed timetable, the power plant which is being built in cooperation with Russia, was to become operational in fall of 2008. However its construction was delayed for various reasons including some difficulties occurred in delivering its remaining equipment and necessary fuel.
Sajjadi regretted that completion of the project has been prolonged.
“However, this was not only the fault of the Russian side, but some countries that should produce equipment of the power plants have, sometimes failed, surprisingly, to fulfill their commitments,” explained the ambassador.
He stressed that certain states would not miss a chance to disturb promotion of Iran-Russia ties.
“We will not be surprised if the U.S. offers to construct new power plants in Iran in half of their real price, if U.S. officials see that Moscow will build them for the country,” Sajjadi said.
Iran is to increase the number of its nuclear power plants to help electricity generation to meet the country’s energy demands.
Sajjadi denied U.S. allegations that Iran was to develop nuclear weapons saying producing those weapons “has no place in Iran’s defensive doctrine.”
Referring to Iran’s complete cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the ambassador said that the IAEA’s inspectors had “free access” to Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities and the agency was fully informed of their activities.
As for the U.S. and Israeli threats against Iran, Sajjadi said, “Iran is not Iraq or Afghanistan. If the U.S. enters any adventurism against Iran, then we would threaten its interest worldwide.”
(Source: Tehran Times)
Speaking in an interview with the Russian newspaper Zavtra Online, the ambassador said Iran did not believe that the Russian side has deliberately delayed completion of the 1,000-MW power plant.
Based on the previously agreed timetable, the power plant which is being built in cooperation with Russia, was to become operational in fall of 2008. However its construction was delayed for various reasons including some difficulties occurred in delivering its remaining equipment and necessary fuel.
Sajjadi regretted that completion of the project has been prolonged.
“However, this was not only the fault of the Russian side, but some countries that should produce equipment of the power plants have, sometimes failed, surprisingly, to fulfill their commitments,” explained the ambassador.
He stressed that certain states would not miss a chance to disturb promotion of Iran-Russia ties.
“We will not be surprised if the U.S. offers to construct new power plants in Iran in half of their real price, if U.S. officials see that Moscow will build them for the country,” Sajjadi said.
Iran is to increase the number of its nuclear power plants to help electricity generation to meet the country’s energy demands.
Sajjadi denied U.S. allegations that Iran was to develop nuclear weapons saying producing those weapons “has no place in Iran’s defensive doctrine.”
Referring to Iran’s complete cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the ambassador said that the IAEA’s inspectors had “free access” to Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities and the agency was fully informed of their activities.
As for the U.S. and Israeli threats against Iran, Sajjadi said, “Iran is not Iraq or Afghanistan. If the U.S. enters any adventurism against Iran, then we would threaten its interest worldwide.”
(Source: Tehran Times)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Bushehr nuclear power plant to come on stream next year: Borujerdi
Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Alaedin Borujerdi said on Monday that the Bushehr nuclear power plant will come on stream during the next Iranian calendar year (March 2009-March 2010).
“With operating this power plant we achieve an important stage of technology,” he stated during his visit to Bushehr power plant.
Borujerdi emphasized that the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security of the IAEA monitors the Bushehr power plant and no security concerns exists.
He went on to say that the power plant poses no threat to the regional countries, adding, “Their officials have traveled to Bushehr and visited Iran’s nuclear activities many times; so, these countries have no concerns over the plant.”
“Iranian engineers are designing a 360 mw power plant and our country is entering a new stage of the important technology of power plant construction. If the Westerners decide not to participate in the tender by the Atomic Energy Organization (of Iran), this capability exists inside the country,” Borujerdi remarked.
He also expressed satisfaction over Iranian engineers’ the participation in the construction of the Bushehr power plant.
(Source: Tehran Times)
“With operating this power plant we achieve an important stage of technology,” he stated during his visit to Bushehr power plant.
Borujerdi emphasized that the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security of the IAEA monitors the Bushehr power plant and no security concerns exists.
He went on to say that the power plant poses no threat to the regional countries, adding, “Their officials have traveled to Bushehr and visited Iran’s nuclear activities many times; so, these countries have no concerns over the plant.”
“Iranian engineers are designing a 360 mw power plant and our country is entering a new stage of the important technology of power plant construction. If the Westerners decide not to participate in the tender by the Atomic Energy Organization (of Iran), this capability exists inside the country,” Borujerdi remarked.
He also expressed satisfaction over Iranian engineers’ the participation in the construction of the Bushehr power plant.
(Source: Tehran Times)
Monday, December 1, 2008
IAEA monitors safety of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant
The International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) representative to Iran Christer Viktorsson said on Sunday that IAEA monitors the safety of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, in Iran's southern Bushehr province, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"Cooperation between IAEA and Iran on the security and safety of Bushehr nuclear power plant is in line with existing protocols and agreements," IRNA quoted Viktorsson as saying, adding that "Iran is now fully cooperating with IAEA to maintain safety of Bushehr nuclear power plant."
He made the remarks in the First International Seminar on Nuclear Power Plant, Environment and Sustainable Development which was opened in Tehran Sunday morning in the presence of Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani.
Referring to IAEA's due obligations, he added that "IAEA renders any services to meet safety demands during setting up of new nuclear power plants," and technical points should be observed by the countries in the construction of the nuclear power plants.
The Bushehr nuclear power plant is Iran's first nuclear power plant. It originally started in the mid-1970s by Siemens of Germany but abandoned with the outbreak of the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran and Russia, after reached the agreement on nuclear cooperation in 1992, signed a contract in January 1995 to finish the construction of the plant.
However, completion of the plant has been repeatedly delayed. The construction of the plant is at its last stages and Russians have promised to complete it in 2009, according to the Iranian media.
Source: ChinaView
"Cooperation between IAEA and Iran on the security and safety of Bushehr nuclear power plant is in line with existing protocols and agreements," IRNA quoted Viktorsson as saying, adding that "Iran is now fully cooperating with IAEA to maintain safety of Bushehr nuclear power plant."
He made the remarks in the First International Seminar on Nuclear Power Plant, Environment and Sustainable Development which was opened in Tehran Sunday morning in the presence of Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani.
Referring to IAEA's due obligations, he added that "IAEA renders any services to meet safety demands during setting up of new nuclear power plants," and technical points should be observed by the countries in the construction of the nuclear power plants.
The Bushehr nuclear power plant is Iran's first nuclear power plant. It originally started in the mid-1970s by Siemens of Germany but abandoned with the outbreak of the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran and Russia, after reached the agreement on nuclear cooperation in 1992, signed a contract in January 1995 to finish the construction of the plant.
However, completion of the plant has been repeatedly delayed. The construction of the plant is at its last stages and Russians have promised to complete it in 2009, according to the Iranian media.
Source: ChinaView
Iran proposes joint nuclear plants with Gulf states
Iran on Sunday proposed developing nuclear power plants jointly with neighbouring Arab states in the Gulf, amid international pressure on Tehran to halt its sensitive atomic work.
"I suggest that countries in the region put on their agenda the creation of a consortium to build and develop light-water nuclear plants," said Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's atomic energy organisation.
"Iran is ready to present a comprehensive proposal if the Persian Gulf countries agree to it in principal," he told an energy conference in Tehran.
However, he did not give any specifics about the proposal, or its feasibility.
Iran has long defied UN demands to halt uranium enrichment and it is under sanctions targetting individuals and institutions involved in its nuclear programme.
The light-water reactor market is dominated by Western countries and Russia, which is currently building Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr on the Gulf.
However, completion of the plant has been repeatedly delayed.
Officials say Iran's first home-built nuclear plant using domestic technology is at the basic design stage and is scheduled to come on line in around nine years.
The Islamic republic is also building a 40-megawatt heavy water research reactor in Arak, in central Iran.
Uranium enrichment lies at the centre of fears about Iran's nuclear programme as the process can be used to make the fissile core of an atom bomb.
Iran, OPEC's second largest oil exporter, insists it only wants to enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel to meet the growing energy demands of its population.
Tehran has not responded to a proposal by world powers offering Iran incentives including help with peaceful nuclear technology and a light water reactor in return for suspending enrichment.
(Source: AFP)
"I suggest that countries in the region put on their agenda the creation of a consortium to build and develop light-water nuclear plants," said Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's atomic energy organisation.
"Iran is ready to present a comprehensive proposal if the Persian Gulf countries agree to it in principal," he told an energy conference in Tehran.
However, he did not give any specifics about the proposal, or its feasibility.
Iran has long defied UN demands to halt uranium enrichment and it is under sanctions targetting individuals and institutions involved in its nuclear programme.
The light-water reactor market is dominated by Western countries and Russia, which is currently building Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr on the Gulf.
However, completion of the plant has been repeatedly delayed.
Officials say Iran's first home-built nuclear plant using domestic technology is at the basic design stage and is scheduled to come on line in around nine years.
The Islamic republic is also building a 40-megawatt heavy water research reactor in Arak, in central Iran.
Uranium enrichment lies at the centre of fears about Iran's nuclear programme as the process can be used to make the fissile core of an atom bomb.
Iran, OPEC's second largest oil exporter, insists it only wants to enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel to meet the growing energy demands of its population.
Tehran has not responded to a proposal by world powers offering Iran incentives including help with peaceful nuclear technology and a light water reactor in return for suspending enrichment.
(Source: AFP)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Iran Makes Nuclear Headway, IAEA Says
Defying the U.N. Security Council, Iran has continued to both enrich uranium and expand its capacity to process even more material, the International Atomic Energy Agency disclosed today.
The nation's uranium enrichment centrifuges at Natanz have so far manufactured 630 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, and work is under way to assemble significantly more centrifuge "cascades," according to a report by agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei that was circulated today.
In addition, Iran has tested a small number of more advanced centrifuges by feeding them gaseous natural uranium, the report says.
So far, Iran has kept enrichment levels below 5 percent, a typical level for the type of nuclear power reactors the nation has said it wishes to build.
Like earlier reports, this document complains of Iran's refusal to offer complete cooperation as the agency tries to understand the full scope of Iran's two-decade-old nuclear program that Tehran only acknowledged in 2003. U.S. and Western officials have warned that Iran is seeking a nuclear-weapon capability, while Tehran has steadfastly denied such charges, claiming instead that is is developing the infrastructure for civilian nuclear power.
The agency has met particular resistance in seeking information about Iran's possible weapon-related research.
"Regrettably, as a result of the lack of cooperation by Iran in connection with the alleged studies and other associated key remaining issues of serious concern, the agency has not been able to make substantive progress on these issues," the report says.
The report could fuel U.S. efforts to persuade key U.N. Security Council members to adopt additional sanctions against Iran, a step that was recently rejected by Russia (see GSN, Nov. 17; Greg Webb, Global Security Newswire, Nov. 19).
Such tools could gain leverage over Iran as the global economic crisis persists, a foreign policy adviser to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday.
Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat of the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations, called for Washington to threaten harsher penalties against Tehran for refusing to comply with its demands while simultaneously offering more significant incentives for cooperation, the Denver Post reported. The United States has expressed concern that certain Iranian atomic activities could contribute to a nuclear weapons program, but Tehran contends that its atomic aims are strictly civilian.
A drop in the cost of oil, which supplies Iran with 85 percent of its income, has dramatically affected the country's economy, Ross said during an event in Denver.
"When they imposed (gasoline) rationing last year, there were riots; gas stations were burned down," he said, noting that Iran is suffering from a 29.4 percent inflation rate while unemployment in the country hovers between 30 and 40 percent.
"I don't suggest that the regime is teetering on the brink of collapse because I don't think that is the case," he said. "But what I'm highlighting is that they are going to have to make choices. And if we can marshal greater pressure on them, then you are going to put them in [a] situation where they are going to have to make decisions that they've been allowed to avoid."
Ross said the Bush administration has adopted "the approach of weak sticks and weak carrots" to deal with Iran.
"The sticks weren't strong enough to concentrate their minds, and the carrots weren't strong enough to give them a reason to rationalize changing their course," he said.
"We need to engage them directly," Ross added. "Barack Obama made it clear he was prepared to engage Iran directly, but he also said we have to prepare" (Howard Pankratz, Denver Post, Nov. 18).
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said that "sanctions are clearly having an impact on the Iranian economy," Arab News reported yesterday.
"All diplomatic means” are being explored to convince Iran to halt its disputed nuclear activities, the Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying. Miliband did not comment on the potential results of a failed diplomatic effort.
Miliband recently spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, Israeli sources said (Arab News, Nov. 18).
Iran yesterday urged the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency not to be swayed by international allegations about the intent behind Tehran's uranium enrichment program, which can produce nuclear power plant fuel but also a key nuclear-weapon ingredient, Iran's Press TV reported.
"We hope that baseless claims about Iran's uranium enrichment would not influence IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei in his new report," which was expected as early as today, said Iranian Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Mohsen Delaviz.
Delaviz ruled out a potential “freeze-for-freeze” arrangement, under which Tehran would suspend uranium enrichment, six world powers would not seek new economic penalties on the Middle Eastern state and the sides would negotiate a permanent halt to Iranian enrichment.
"Western reports suggesting Iran's agreement with the 'freeze-for-freeze' package are outright lies," he said, adding that Iran would not abandon its right to develop civilian nuclear capabilities (Press TV, Nov. 18).
Delaviz reaffirmed Iran's commitment to opening its Bushehr nuclear power station next year, Reuters reported yesterday.
"The commissioning stage of [the] Bushehr nuclear power station has begun and we are hopeful the power station will be commissioned in 2009 as per the agreement we have had with the Russian party," Iranian state media quoted him as saying.
Delaviz did not provide a more specific opening time, but Russian construction contractor Atomstroiexport said in September that the facility was nearly finished and would begin "technological work" between December and February, slating it for "irreversible final" completion" (Reuters, Nov. 18).
Meanwhile, Israeli air force chief Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan said his service was capable of carrying out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, the Xinhua News Agency reported today.
Israel's air force "is a very robust and flexible force" that is "ready to do whatever is demanded," Nehushtan told Der Spiegel. He emphasized that a decision on whether to take military action was a political matter and did not involve questions about the demands a strike would make of Israel's military.
"I can only say this: [Whether to attack] is not a technical or logistical question," he said (Xinhua News Agency, Nov. 19)
(Source: NTI)
The nation's uranium enrichment centrifuges at Natanz have so far manufactured 630 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, and work is under way to assemble significantly more centrifuge "cascades," according to a report by agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei that was circulated today.
In addition, Iran has tested a small number of more advanced centrifuges by feeding them gaseous natural uranium, the report says.
So far, Iran has kept enrichment levels below 5 percent, a typical level for the type of nuclear power reactors the nation has said it wishes to build.
Like earlier reports, this document complains of Iran's refusal to offer complete cooperation as the agency tries to understand the full scope of Iran's two-decade-old nuclear program that Tehran only acknowledged in 2003. U.S. and Western officials have warned that Iran is seeking a nuclear-weapon capability, while Tehran has steadfastly denied such charges, claiming instead that is is developing the infrastructure for civilian nuclear power.
The agency has met particular resistance in seeking information about Iran's possible weapon-related research.
"Regrettably, as a result of the lack of cooperation by Iran in connection with the alleged studies and other associated key remaining issues of serious concern, the agency has not been able to make substantive progress on these issues," the report says.
The report could fuel U.S. efforts to persuade key U.N. Security Council members to adopt additional sanctions against Iran, a step that was recently rejected by Russia (see GSN, Nov. 17; Greg Webb, Global Security Newswire, Nov. 19).
Such tools could gain leverage over Iran as the global economic crisis persists, a foreign policy adviser to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday.
Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat of the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations, called for Washington to threaten harsher penalties against Tehran for refusing to comply with its demands while simultaneously offering more significant incentives for cooperation, the Denver Post reported. The United States has expressed concern that certain Iranian atomic activities could contribute to a nuclear weapons program, but Tehran contends that its atomic aims are strictly civilian.
A drop in the cost of oil, which supplies Iran with 85 percent of its income, has dramatically affected the country's economy, Ross said during an event in Denver.
"When they imposed (gasoline) rationing last year, there were riots; gas stations were burned down," he said, noting that Iran is suffering from a 29.4 percent inflation rate while unemployment in the country hovers between 30 and 40 percent.
"I don't suggest that the regime is teetering on the brink of collapse because I don't think that is the case," he said. "But what I'm highlighting is that they are going to have to make choices. And if we can marshal greater pressure on them, then you are going to put them in [a] situation where they are going to have to make decisions that they've been allowed to avoid."
Ross said the Bush administration has adopted "the approach of weak sticks and weak carrots" to deal with Iran.
"The sticks weren't strong enough to concentrate their minds, and the carrots weren't strong enough to give them a reason to rationalize changing their course," he said.
"We need to engage them directly," Ross added. "Barack Obama made it clear he was prepared to engage Iran directly, but he also said we have to prepare" (Howard Pankratz, Denver Post, Nov. 18).
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said that "sanctions are clearly having an impact on the Iranian economy," Arab News reported yesterday.
"All diplomatic means” are being explored to convince Iran to halt its disputed nuclear activities, the Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying. Miliband did not comment on the potential results of a failed diplomatic effort.
Miliband recently spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, Israeli sources said (Arab News, Nov. 18).
Iran yesterday urged the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency not to be swayed by international allegations about the intent behind Tehran's uranium enrichment program, which can produce nuclear power plant fuel but also a key nuclear-weapon ingredient, Iran's Press TV reported.
"We hope that baseless claims about Iran's uranium enrichment would not influence IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei in his new report," which was expected as early as today, said Iranian Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Mohsen Delaviz.
Delaviz ruled out a potential “freeze-for-freeze” arrangement, under which Tehran would suspend uranium enrichment, six world powers would not seek new economic penalties on the Middle Eastern state and the sides would negotiate a permanent halt to Iranian enrichment.
"Western reports suggesting Iran's agreement with the 'freeze-for-freeze' package are outright lies," he said, adding that Iran would not abandon its right to develop civilian nuclear capabilities (Press TV, Nov. 18).
Delaviz reaffirmed Iran's commitment to opening its Bushehr nuclear power station next year, Reuters reported yesterday.
"The commissioning stage of [the] Bushehr nuclear power station has begun and we are hopeful the power station will be commissioned in 2009 as per the agreement we have had with the Russian party," Iranian state media quoted him as saying.
Delaviz did not provide a more specific opening time, but Russian construction contractor Atomstroiexport said in September that the facility was nearly finished and would begin "technological work" between December and February, slating it for "irreversible final" completion" (Reuters, Nov. 18).
Meanwhile, Israeli air force chief Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan said his service was capable of carrying out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, the Xinhua News Agency reported today.
Israel's air force "is a very robust and flexible force" that is "ready to do whatever is demanded," Nehushtan told Der Spiegel. He emphasized that a decision on whether to take military action was a political matter and did not involve questions about the demands a strike would make of Israel's military.
"I can only say this: [Whether to attack] is not a technical or logistical question," he said (Xinhua News Agency, Nov. 19)
(Source: NTI)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Iran wants Bushehr operational in 2009
Iran plans to launch its first nuclear power plant in 2009, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The completion of the Bushehr plant, built by Russia under a $1 billion contract with the Islamic Republic, has been delayed more than once, mainly due to Iran lagging in payments. Moscow took over building the Bushehr plant on the site where an earlier nuclear project was started and neglected by German company Siemens in the wake of the Iran-Iraq War.
"The commissioning stage of Bushehr nuclear power station has begun and we are hopeful the power station will be commissioned in 2009 as per the agreement we have had with the Russian party," Reuters quoted Mohsen Delaviz, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying. He did not give a more precise date.
"There is a good environment prevailing in our relations with the Russians and we are hoping they will honor their commitments," he added.
Atomstroyexport, the Russian firm building the plant, said in September that the plant was nearing completion and that it would start "technological work" between December 2008 and February 2009 which would put the plant on an "irreversible final" course.
(Source: Jerusalem Post)
The completion of the Bushehr plant, built by Russia under a $1 billion contract with the Islamic Republic, has been delayed more than once, mainly due to Iran lagging in payments. Moscow took over building the Bushehr plant on the site where an earlier nuclear project was started and neglected by German company Siemens in the wake of the Iran-Iraq War.
"The commissioning stage of Bushehr nuclear power station has begun and we are hopeful the power station will be commissioned in 2009 as per the agreement we have had with the Russian party," Reuters quoted Mohsen Delaviz, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying. He did not give a more precise date.
"There is a good environment prevailing in our relations with the Russians and we are hoping they will honor their commitments," he added.
Atomstroyexport, the Russian firm building the plant, said in September that the plant was nearing completion and that it would start "technological work" between December 2008 and February 2009 which would put the plant on an "irreversible final" course.
(Source: Jerusalem Post)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Iran criticizes Obama's nuclear comments
Iran's Foreign Ministry dismissed on Monday comments by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama about Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions and said it did not expect any major change in the policies of its old foe.
Obama called on Friday for an international effort to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, saying it was "unacceptable."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi repeated Tehran's official position that nuclear weapons had no place in the Islamic Republic's defense doctrine.
"We need a change in the erroneous impressions of the United States," he told a news conference, broadcast and translated by Iran's English-language Press TV station. "It is very clear that Iran does not ... possess nuclear weapons."
Iran says its nuclear plans are to make electricity so it can export more oil and gas. But its refusal to halt sensitive work has drawn three sets of U.N. sanctions and U.S. measures.
Washington severed diplomatic ties with Iran shortly after its 1979 Islamic revolution and is spearheading the drive to isolate Tehran over its nuclear activities.
Iranian officials have said Obama's victory showed Americans wanted a fundamental change from the policies of President George W. Bush, who branded Iran part of an "axis of evil."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week congratulated Obama, who has said he would harden sanctions on Iran but has also held out the possibility of direct talks.
"Can the gentleman (Obama) bring about change or not? Let us wait and see," Qashqavi said.
Asked whether he believed Obama would hold talks with the present Iranian government or whether he preferred to wait for Iran's 2009 presidential election, Qashqavi replied: "We shouldn't expect fundamental, revolutionary changes in American policy ... This is equally true when it comes to the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Qashqavi said Iran was studying a letter from European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on the nuclear issue. Solana represents the six powers -- the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany -- in talks with Iran.
Iranian media reported on Monday that a proposal put forward by the six powers in June, under which they would hold off from further sanctions if Iran froze enrichment expansion, was raised in talks between Iranian MPs and officials in Brussels.
(Source: Reuters)
Obama called on Friday for an international effort to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, saying it was "unacceptable."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi repeated Tehran's official position that nuclear weapons had no place in the Islamic Republic's defense doctrine.
"We need a change in the erroneous impressions of the United States," he told a news conference, broadcast and translated by Iran's English-language Press TV station. "It is very clear that Iran does not ... possess nuclear weapons."
Iran says its nuclear plans are to make electricity so it can export more oil and gas. But its refusal to halt sensitive work has drawn three sets of U.N. sanctions and U.S. measures.
Washington severed diplomatic ties with Iran shortly after its 1979 Islamic revolution and is spearheading the drive to isolate Tehran over its nuclear activities.
Iranian officials have said Obama's victory showed Americans wanted a fundamental change from the policies of President George W. Bush, who branded Iran part of an "axis of evil."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week congratulated Obama, who has said he would harden sanctions on Iran but has also held out the possibility of direct talks.
"Can the gentleman (Obama) bring about change or not? Let us wait and see," Qashqavi said.
Asked whether he believed Obama would hold talks with the present Iranian government or whether he preferred to wait for Iran's 2009 presidential election, Qashqavi replied: "We shouldn't expect fundamental, revolutionary changes in American policy ... This is equally true when it comes to the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Qashqavi said Iran was studying a letter from European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on the nuclear issue. Solana represents the six powers -- the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany -- in talks with Iran.
Iranian media reported on Monday that a proposal put forward by the six powers in June, under which they would hold off from further sanctions if Iran froze enrichment expansion, was raised in talks between Iranian MPs and officials in Brussels.
(Source: Reuters)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Jalili calls for a balance between nuclear rights and commitments
Iran's nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said ignoring a necessary balance between countries' nuclear commitments and their nuclear rights means weakening the IAEA status and disregarding its purposes.
Jalili made the remarks in a meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, in Tehran as outlining Iran's vast and continuous cooperation with the agency which sought building confidence.
He also described Iran's support for its irrefutable nuclear rights as favoring all the IAEA members' rights.
Iran and Brazil sharing the same stance on nuclear disarmament can take constructive measures on promoting the IAEA status, the Supreme National Security Council Secretary said.
Amorim for his part expressed satisfaction on the IAEA recent positive report on Iran's nuclear program and said his country hopes Iran's nuclear dossier could be referred to the IAEA soon.
The Brazilian official also moved to Iran's significant regional role and said creating peace and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan need Iran's aids.
(Source: ISNA)
Jalili made the remarks in a meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, in Tehran as outlining Iran's vast and continuous cooperation with the agency which sought building confidence.
He also described Iran's support for its irrefutable nuclear rights as favoring all the IAEA members' rights.
Iran and Brazil sharing the same stance on nuclear disarmament can take constructive measures on promoting the IAEA status, the Supreme National Security Council Secretary said.
Amorim for his part expressed satisfaction on the IAEA recent positive report on Iran's nuclear program and said his country hopes Iran's nuclear dossier could be referred to the IAEA soon.
The Brazilian official also moved to Iran's significant regional role and said creating peace and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan need Iran's aids.
(Source: ISNA)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Experts Say Next US President Must Deal With Tehran's Nuclear Program
Several American experts say the next U.S. president will have to confront the need to do something about Iran's nuclear enrichment program. They say efforts over the last five years to negotiate with Tehran have been ineffective, with Iran now closer to acquiring the technology to make an atomic bomb. VOA's Ravi Khanna has more on the story.
Tehran continues to defy the West, with Iranian President Ahmadinejad saying Iran has every right to enrich uranium and that it's for peaceful uses. The U.S. and other countries believe Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons technology. The country's repeated missile tests are also a concern.
The next U.S. president will have to deal with Iran's nuclear program, the experts agree.
They say an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would have widespread consequences, because a surgical strike is impossible. Iran's nuclear facilities are believed to be deep underground and dispersed.
Experts also believe U.N. sanctions have not and will not deter Iran.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, says Russian and Chinese backing for more sanctions is doubtful.
Russia helped build an Iranian nuclear power plant and has provided Iran with nuclear fuel. China needs Iran's oil and natural gas.
If Israel decides to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, as it did with Iraq, Bolton favors helping the Israelis with military equipment.
"It is risky, it may not succeed fully, or it may not succeed at all. There are undoubtedly consequences that Israel would face," Bolton said. "But I think from the Israeli point of view, and from the American point of view, however deeply unattractive the use of military force is, it is far more unattractive to contemplate an Iran with deliverable nuclear weapons."
But recently, Ehud Olmert, Israel's outgoing prime minister, said the assumption that Israel will attack Iran may not be realistic.
James Phillips at the Heritage Foundation says if the new U.S. president decides on a military option, he will have to answer three questions ahead of time.
"Do we have adequate intelligence to target the key parts of Iran's nuclear program, secondly, do we have the means to destroy those targets, and thirdly, how long a military strike is likely to delay Iran's efforts to attain nuclear weapons," Phillips asked.
David Albright is a physicist at the Institute for Science and International Security. He says the military option is not practical because Iran has several thousand nuclear centrifuges, which can be hidden over a wide area.
"We don't see how you can take out the Iranian program, short of full scale aerial bombardment that will go on for quite a while," Albright said. "There is a risk of pretty widespread war in that region."
Henry Sokolski at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center prefers a cold war against Tehran even though it might take time.
The new president, he says, should open talks with Iran but widen their scope.
"I would focus on something where you have comparative advantage that Iranians claim they care about," Sokolski said. "They claim they want security guarantees."
Steps to guarantee Iran's security, he says, should be on the agenda.
(Source: VOA)
Tehran continues to defy the West, with Iranian President Ahmadinejad saying Iran has every right to enrich uranium and that it's for peaceful uses. The U.S. and other countries believe Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons technology. The country's repeated missile tests are also a concern.
The next U.S. president will have to deal with Iran's nuclear program, the experts agree.
They say an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would have widespread consequences, because a surgical strike is impossible. Iran's nuclear facilities are believed to be deep underground and dispersed.
Experts also believe U.N. sanctions have not and will not deter Iran.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, says Russian and Chinese backing for more sanctions is doubtful.
Russia helped build an Iranian nuclear power plant and has provided Iran with nuclear fuel. China needs Iran's oil and natural gas.
If Israel decides to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, as it did with Iraq, Bolton favors helping the Israelis with military equipment.
"It is risky, it may not succeed fully, or it may not succeed at all. There are undoubtedly consequences that Israel would face," Bolton said. "But I think from the Israeli point of view, and from the American point of view, however deeply unattractive the use of military force is, it is far more unattractive to contemplate an Iran with deliverable nuclear weapons."
But recently, Ehud Olmert, Israel's outgoing prime minister, said the assumption that Israel will attack Iran may not be realistic.
James Phillips at the Heritage Foundation says if the new U.S. president decides on a military option, he will have to answer three questions ahead of time.
"Do we have adequate intelligence to target the key parts of Iran's nuclear program, secondly, do we have the means to destroy those targets, and thirdly, how long a military strike is likely to delay Iran's efforts to attain nuclear weapons," Phillips asked.
David Albright is a physicist at the Institute for Science and International Security. He says the military option is not practical because Iran has several thousand nuclear centrifuges, which can be hidden over a wide area.
"We don't see how you can take out the Iranian program, short of full scale aerial bombardment that will go on for quite a while," Albright said. "There is a risk of pretty widespread war in that region."
Henry Sokolski at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center prefers a cold war against Tehran even though it might take time.
The new president, he says, should open talks with Iran but widen their scope.
"I would focus on something where you have comparative advantage that Iranians claim they care about," Sokolski said. "They claim they want security guarantees."
Steps to guarantee Iran's security, he says, should be on the agenda.
(Source: VOA)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
UN nuclear chief says Iran blocking progress
The U.N. nuclear chief said Monday that Iran is blocking his watchdog agency from verifying whether the nation has any ambitions for nuclear weaponry.
"I regret that we are still not in a position to achieve full clarity regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran," Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the U.N. General Assembly.
He urged Iran to do more to ensure "transparency," but emphasized the Vienna-based IAEA "does not in any way seek to pry into Iran's conventional or missile-related military activities."
Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee countered that the U.N. Security Council's demand that his nation suspend uranium enrichment is "illegal."
Iran's nuclear program, he said, is only for peaceful purposes and designed to produce nuclear energy and the nation "will never accept illegal demands."
Khazaee also said that the five permanent members of the Security Council — the U.S., Britain, China, Russia and France — plus Germany never responded to Tehran's proposal that they negotiate without preconditions. The six powers have offered economic and political incentives if Iran suspends its enrichment work.
"The policy of few powers in insisting on suspension as a precondition for negotiations bears zero relation to realities and is an irrational and failed policy," he said.
ElBaradei also told the General Assembly in his annual report that he hoped North Korea, which tested a nuclear device two years ago, would return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty from which it withdrew in 2003 after expelling all IAEA inspectors from the country.
IAEA inspectors were allowed to use some monitoring equipment at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex earlier this month, based on a U.S. deal that revived disarmament negotiations.
"I naturally still hope that conditions can be created for the DPRK (North Korea) to return to the NPT soon and for the resumption by the agency of comprehensive safeguards," ElBaradei said.
On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world's nuclear powers to start negotiations on eliminating nuclear weapons and begin talks to assure other nations they will not be attacked. ElBaradei also said it was time to move from resolution to action.
Last month, the Security Council unanimously approved a new resolution reaffirming previous sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program and offering Tehran incentives to do so.
It resulted from a compromise between the United States and Russia to lead a new council effort to condemn Iran's nuclear program, without introducing any new sanctions.
The brief resolution reaffirmed the three earlier Security Council sanctions resolutions, which imposed progressively tougher sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program.
Existing sanctions include an asset freeze on 65 companies and individuals linked to Iran's nuclear program, and a travel ban on five people associated with Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The sanctions also include bans on Iranian arms exports, supplying Iran with materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programs, and on trade in goods that have both civilian and military uses.
Enrichment can turn uranium into fissile material used in nuclear warheads, but it can also be used to generate power and is allowed under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
(Source: AP)
"I regret that we are still not in a position to achieve full clarity regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran," Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the U.N. General Assembly.
He urged Iran to do more to ensure "transparency," but emphasized the Vienna-based IAEA "does not in any way seek to pry into Iran's conventional or missile-related military activities."
Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee countered that the U.N. Security Council's demand that his nation suspend uranium enrichment is "illegal."
Iran's nuclear program, he said, is only for peaceful purposes and designed to produce nuclear energy and the nation "will never accept illegal demands."
Khazaee also said that the five permanent members of the Security Council — the U.S., Britain, China, Russia and France — plus Germany never responded to Tehran's proposal that they negotiate without preconditions. The six powers have offered economic and political incentives if Iran suspends its enrichment work.
"The policy of few powers in insisting on suspension as a precondition for negotiations bears zero relation to realities and is an irrational and failed policy," he said.
ElBaradei also told the General Assembly in his annual report that he hoped North Korea, which tested a nuclear device two years ago, would return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty from which it withdrew in 2003 after expelling all IAEA inspectors from the country.
IAEA inspectors were allowed to use some monitoring equipment at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex earlier this month, based on a U.S. deal that revived disarmament negotiations.
"I naturally still hope that conditions can be created for the DPRK (North Korea) to return to the NPT soon and for the resumption by the agency of comprehensive safeguards," ElBaradei said.
On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world's nuclear powers to start negotiations on eliminating nuclear weapons and begin talks to assure other nations they will not be attacked. ElBaradei also said it was time to move from resolution to action.
Last month, the Security Council unanimously approved a new resolution reaffirming previous sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program and offering Tehran incentives to do so.
It resulted from a compromise between the United States and Russia to lead a new council effort to condemn Iran's nuclear program, without introducing any new sanctions.
The brief resolution reaffirmed the three earlier Security Council sanctions resolutions, which imposed progressively tougher sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program.
Existing sanctions include an asset freeze on 65 companies and individuals linked to Iran's nuclear program, and a travel ban on five people associated with Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The sanctions also include bans on Iranian arms exports, supplying Iran with materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programs, and on trade in goods that have both civilian and military uses.
Enrichment can turn uranium into fissile material used in nuclear warheads, but it can also be used to generate power and is allowed under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
(Source: AP)
US Says Curbing Iran's Nuclear Program in Moscow's Interest
The U.S. State Department said Monday that working to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions is in Russia's own interest and not a favor to Washington. Moscow has threatened to cut back cooperation on Iran because of new U.S. non-proliferation sanctions on a Russian company. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
The State Department says Russia would only be harming its own interests if it follows through with a threat to curtail cooperation with other major powers on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The Russian warning came from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who angrily protested a U.S. decision announced Friday to impose non-proliferation sanctions against 13 foreign companies including Russia's state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.
A State Department announcement, published in the U.S. government's official journal, the Federal Register, did not specify charges against the Russian firm.
But it did say there was credible information that it violated U.S. laws curbing sales of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology to Iran, North Korea and Syria.
Rosoboronexport had previously been sanctioned in 2006 in a move protested by Moscow, and the decision Friday extends U.S. penalties against it for another two years.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, at a news conference in Luxembourg Friday, called the U.S. sanctions against the Russian firm illegal and unjust, and said they undermine cooperation among the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany, the P5+1 group, to get Iran to stop enriching uranium.
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack confirmed that Moscow had made a similar complaint about the sanctions move through diplomatic channels. He said Russia would only be harming itself if it cut back its role in the P5+1.
"This is not a favor to us. Iran having a nuclear weapon is not in Russia's interest. It is in nobody's interest. So, working diplomatically to see that they do not have the abilities and the know-how and the technologies and the hardware to solve some of the toughest problems that could lead to a nuclear weapon is in Russia's interest," he said.
State Department officials said the reasons for penalizing the Russian firm and the others were classified, but Lavrov indicated it had to do with Rosoboronexport dealings with Iran.
Lavrov said all Russian military-technical cooperation with Iran is in strict accordance with international law, and called the U.S. move an arrogant extra-territorial exercise of American law.
The action bars all U.S. government business dealings with the Russian company and its subsidiaries, and sales to them of U.S. military hardware and technology.
Other foreign entities named in the sanctions announcement are Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, three companies from China, two each from North Korea and Sudan, and one each from Syria, Venezuela, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
(Source: VOA)
The State Department says Russia would only be harming its own interests if it follows through with a threat to curtail cooperation with other major powers on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The Russian warning came from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who angrily protested a U.S. decision announced Friday to impose non-proliferation sanctions against 13 foreign companies including Russia's state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.
A State Department announcement, published in the U.S. government's official journal, the Federal Register, did not specify charges against the Russian firm.
But it did say there was credible information that it violated U.S. laws curbing sales of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology to Iran, North Korea and Syria.
Rosoboronexport had previously been sanctioned in 2006 in a move protested by Moscow, and the decision Friday extends U.S. penalties against it for another two years.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, at a news conference in Luxembourg Friday, called the U.S. sanctions against the Russian firm illegal and unjust, and said they undermine cooperation among the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany, the P5+1 group, to get Iran to stop enriching uranium.
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack confirmed that Moscow had made a similar complaint about the sanctions move through diplomatic channels. He said Russia would only be harming itself if it cut back its role in the P5+1.
"This is not a favor to us. Iran having a nuclear weapon is not in Russia's interest. It is in nobody's interest. So, working diplomatically to see that they do not have the abilities and the know-how and the technologies and the hardware to solve some of the toughest problems that could lead to a nuclear weapon is in Russia's interest," he said.
State Department officials said the reasons for penalizing the Russian firm and the others were classified, but Lavrov indicated it had to do with Rosoboronexport dealings with Iran.
Lavrov said all Russian military-technical cooperation with Iran is in strict accordance with international law, and called the U.S. move an arrogant extra-territorial exercise of American law.
The action bars all U.S. government business dealings with the Russian company and its subsidiaries, and sales to them of U.S. military hardware and technology.
Other foreign entities named in the sanctions announcement are Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, three companies from China, two each from North Korea and Sudan, and one each from Syria, Venezuela, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
(Source: VOA)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Big-Power Diplomats Discuss Iran Nuclear Issue
Senior diplomats of the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany, the P5+1, conferred by telephone Monday on next steps in efforts get Iran to curb its nuclear program. It was the first six-party Iran discussion in nearly a month.
The State Department says the P5+1 political directors reaffirmed their commitment to the dual-track strategy of offering Iran incentives to stop enriching uranium and sanctions if it doesn't.
However, there was no claim of progress toward new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran for its defiance of demands to curb nuclear activity that U.S. and European officials say is weapons-related.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood says Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns represented the United States in the conference call, the first joint conversation of the six powers on Iran since a ministerial-level meeting in New York late last month.
Wood said they discussed "the way forward" following a September 27 U.N. Security Council resolution pressing Iran for compliance on the nuclear issue and reaffirming terms of the three existing sanctions resolutions.
Wood said they agreed to remain in close touch on the issue, although there was no agreement on further political-director or ministerial meetings.
The spokesman rejected a press report depicting Monday's discussion as a failure, saying the meeting had no fixed agenda other than for the parties to talk. He said there is no recent sign of Iranian interest in accepting nuclear incentives.
"The P5+1has given Iran a generous package of incentives," said Robert Wood. "We encourage Iran every day to take up that package of incentives. We've offered them a pathway forward to better relations with the international community. The ball is in the Iranian court right now. Iran knows what it needs to do, and we all want to see that happen."
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and their colleagues in the six-party group agreed on last month's resolution as a show of unity on Iran, despite tense relations between Washington and Moscow over Russia's recent military intervention in Georgia.
But the measure only reaffirmed existing sanctions because of Russian and Chinese opposition to additional penalties against Tehran.
Iran denies that it has nuclear weapons ambitions and says it has a right to enrich fuel for nuclear power plants.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani - the country's former chief nuclear envoy - said last week that Tehran wants to continue negotiations over its nuclear program but that it will not accept an end to uranium enrichment as a precondition for talks.
(Source: VOA)
The State Department says the P5+1 political directors reaffirmed their commitment to the dual-track strategy of offering Iran incentives to stop enriching uranium and sanctions if it doesn't.
However, there was no claim of progress toward new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran for its defiance of demands to curb nuclear activity that U.S. and European officials say is weapons-related.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood says Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns represented the United States in the conference call, the first joint conversation of the six powers on Iran since a ministerial-level meeting in New York late last month.
Wood said they discussed "the way forward" following a September 27 U.N. Security Council resolution pressing Iran for compliance on the nuclear issue and reaffirming terms of the three existing sanctions resolutions.
Wood said they agreed to remain in close touch on the issue, although there was no agreement on further political-director or ministerial meetings.
The spokesman rejected a press report depicting Monday's discussion as a failure, saying the meeting had no fixed agenda other than for the parties to talk. He said there is no recent sign of Iranian interest in accepting nuclear incentives.
"The P5+1has given Iran a generous package of incentives," said Robert Wood. "We encourage Iran every day to take up that package of incentives. We've offered them a pathway forward to better relations with the international community. The ball is in the Iranian court right now. Iran knows what it needs to do, and we all want to see that happen."
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and their colleagues in the six-party group agreed on last month's resolution as a show of unity on Iran, despite tense relations between Washington and Moscow over Russia's recent military intervention in Georgia.
But the measure only reaffirmed existing sanctions because of Russian and Chinese opposition to additional penalties against Tehran.
Iran denies that it has nuclear weapons ambitions and says it has a right to enrich fuel for nuclear power plants.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani - the country's former chief nuclear envoy - said last week that Tehran wants to continue negotiations over its nuclear program but that it will not accept an end to uranium enrichment as a precondition for talks.
(Source: VOA)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Foreign firms interested to build Darkhovin nuclear plant: official
Iran power plant construction company managing director, Mohammad Qods, said some Western countries have expressed readiness to cooperate in the construction of Darkhovin nuclear power plant.
Iran is seeking to build a light water nuclear power plant at a capacity of 360 megawatts near the city of Darkhovin. Iran nuclear energy production and development company has authorized the nuclear power plant construction company to implement the project, Qods told a press conference in Shiraz.
The company has arranged a 3-day seminar on designing and constructing nuclear power plants in Shiraz.
Qods said a number of Russian nuclear scientists including the Russian director of the Bushehr nuclear power station have been invited to the conference.
He stated that during the conference Iranian scientists would hold talks with foreign nuclear experts about the implementation of Darkhovin nuclear power plant.
Meanwhile Hamid Soltani, the managing director of the Iran nuclear power plant construction company, said, “Most of the project will be done by Iranian experts but we will also seek the views of foreign experts.”
He said the designing process of Darkhovin power plant would take 6 years and its construction would start by the beginning of 2013.
(Source: Tehran Times)
Iran is seeking to build a light water nuclear power plant at a capacity of 360 megawatts near the city of Darkhovin. Iran nuclear energy production and development company has authorized the nuclear power plant construction company to implement the project, Qods told a press conference in Shiraz.
The company has arranged a 3-day seminar on designing and constructing nuclear power plants in Shiraz.
Qods said a number of Russian nuclear scientists including the Russian director of the Bushehr nuclear power station have been invited to the conference.
He stated that during the conference Iranian scientists would hold talks with foreign nuclear experts about the implementation of Darkhovin nuclear power plant.
Meanwhile Hamid Soltani, the managing director of the Iran nuclear power plant construction company, said, “Most of the project will be done by Iranian experts but we will also seek the views of foreign experts.”
He said the designing process of Darkhovin power plant would take 6 years and its construction would start by the beginning of 2013.
(Source: Tehran Times)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Iran says West has no choice but to win its trust
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Monday that Western states have no choice but to win Iranians' trust on the country's nuclear issue, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The West had to give a responsive and "positive" answer to the letter sent by Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Qashqavi told reporters at his weekly press conference.
"We hope to continue (nuclear) talks," Qashqavi was quoted as saying.
Iran has so far had a "massive, constructive and serious cooperation" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he said, adding that Tehran has given a 200-page response to show its goodwill to those "undocumented claims."
Jalili sent a letter to Solana recently, disclosing Iran's stance on the West's behavior towards Iran's nuclear activities.
The spokesman said the constructive cooperation between Iran, the IAEA and six major powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States has been emphasized in the letter.
Iranian Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani said Saturday that Iran does not think that nuclear negotiations with the West have reached a standstill and an appropriate solution is still possible if the West would alter some of its behaviors.
On June 14, Solana handed an offer of incentives to the Iranian authorities on behalf of the six nations during his visit to Tehran in a bid to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment.
The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted Resolution 1835to reaffirm its previous resolutions on Iran and demand full compliance from the Islamic Republic.
It called on Iran, which till now has been under three UN sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, "to comply fully and without delay with its obligations" and to meet the requirements of the IAEA Board of Governors.
According to an IAEA recent report, the UN nuclear watchdog had been unable to make much progress in investigating Iran's suspect nuclear program due to Tehran's block.
The United States and its allies have accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Iran insists that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
(Source: ChinaView)
The West had to give a responsive and "positive" answer to the letter sent by Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Qashqavi told reporters at his weekly press conference.
"We hope to continue (nuclear) talks," Qashqavi was quoted as saying.
Iran has so far had a "massive, constructive and serious cooperation" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he said, adding that Tehran has given a 200-page response to show its goodwill to those "undocumented claims."
Jalili sent a letter to Solana recently, disclosing Iran's stance on the West's behavior towards Iran's nuclear activities.
The spokesman said the constructive cooperation between Iran, the IAEA and six major powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States has been emphasized in the letter.
Iranian Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani said Saturday that Iran does not think that nuclear negotiations with the West have reached a standstill and an appropriate solution is still possible if the West would alter some of its behaviors.
On June 14, Solana handed an offer of incentives to the Iranian authorities on behalf of the six nations during his visit to Tehran in a bid to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment.
The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted Resolution 1835to reaffirm its previous resolutions on Iran and demand full compliance from the Islamic Republic.
It called on Iran, which till now has been under three UN sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, "to comply fully and without delay with its obligations" and to meet the requirements of the IAEA Board of Governors.
According to an IAEA recent report, the UN nuclear watchdog had been unable to make much progress in investigating Iran's suspect nuclear program due to Tehran's block.
The United States and its allies have accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Iran insists that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
(Source: ChinaView)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Iran: six powers "unreasonable" in nuclear row
Iran has accused six major powers of "unreasonable behavior" over its disputed nuclear program, but the European Union said on Tuesday it would stick to a dual approach combining diplomacy with the threat of sanctions.
Tehran's accusation was contained in a letter from its top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, that was delivered to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Monday.
"It's a letter that in a way complains about our policy but our policy is clear. It's a double-track approach," Solana told Reuters in Berlin on Tuesday.
Asked whether the letter would make negotiations with Iran more difficult, Solana replied: "It's just a letter."
The United States and other Western powers suspect Tehran is seeking a nuclear bomb under cover of its civilian nuclear program. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, denies it has any such intentions, saying it only wants to generate electricity.
Jalili's letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, was addressed through Solana to foreign ministers of the six-power group consisting of the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.
In Washington, a U.S. official said the six powers planned to hold a conference call later this week to discuss the letter and their possible response, but declined to say exactly when.
IMPROVED OFFER
In June, the six gave Iran a beefed-up offer of political and economic incentives, including nuclear reactors, in exchange for suspending its uranium enrichment program.
Iran responded at the time with a non-committal letter. The group of six handed the United Nations Security Council a toothless draft resolution on Iran's nuclear program in September after Washington, facing stiff Russian opposition, failed to secure agreement for fresh sanctions.
"In the judgment of the world community, this unreasonable behavior is an indication of the lack of a clear response to the principled questions of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Jalili said in the letter.
Iran has shown no sign of compromise, vowing to resist U.S. "bullying" to force it to abandon its right to develop peaceful nuclear technology. Enrichment is at the heart of the dispute because it can be used either to provide reactor fuel or -- if the uranium is purified to a much higher degree -- to supply the fissile material for a nuclear bomb.
Jalili said "logical behavior" by major powers could pave the ground for constructive talks to remove international concerns over the country's nuclear work.
Solana, representing the six powers, and Jalili last discussed Tehran's nuclear program by telephone in August.
"It is interesting ... to see that in the course of talks ... the other party (the major powers) ... resorts to levers of pressure instead of offering answers to questions and trying to remove ambiguities," Jalili said.
A senior Iranian official said Jalili's letter would also be delivered to the Swiss embassy in Tehran on Tuesday. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran since Washington severed ties with Tehran a year after its 1979 Islamic revolution.
(Source: Reuters)
Tehran's accusation was contained in a letter from its top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, that was delivered to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Monday.
"It's a letter that in a way complains about our policy but our policy is clear. It's a double-track approach," Solana told Reuters in Berlin on Tuesday.
Asked whether the letter would make negotiations with Iran more difficult, Solana replied: "It's just a letter."
The United States and other Western powers suspect Tehran is seeking a nuclear bomb under cover of its civilian nuclear program. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, denies it has any such intentions, saying it only wants to generate electricity.
Jalili's letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, was addressed through Solana to foreign ministers of the six-power group consisting of the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.
In Washington, a U.S. official said the six powers planned to hold a conference call later this week to discuss the letter and their possible response, but declined to say exactly when.
IMPROVED OFFER
In June, the six gave Iran a beefed-up offer of political and economic incentives, including nuclear reactors, in exchange for suspending its uranium enrichment program.
Iran responded at the time with a non-committal letter. The group of six handed the United Nations Security Council a toothless draft resolution on Iran's nuclear program in September after Washington, facing stiff Russian opposition, failed to secure agreement for fresh sanctions.
"In the judgment of the world community, this unreasonable behavior is an indication of the lack of a clear response to the principled questions of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Jalili said in the letter.
Iran has shown no sign of compromise, vowing to resist U.S. "bullying" to force it to abandon its right to develop peaceful nuclear technology. Enrichment is at the heart of the dispute because it can be used either to provide reactor fuel or -- if the uranium is purified to a much higher degree -- to supply the fissile material for a nuclear bomb.
Jalili said "logical behavior" by major powers could pave the ground for constructive talks to remove international concerns over the country's nuclear work.
Solana, representing the six powers, and Jalili last discussed Tehran's nuclear program by telephone in August.
"It is interesting ... to see that in the course of talks ... the other party (the major powers) ... resorts to levers of pressure instead of offering answers to questions and trying to remove ambiguities," Jalili said.
A senior Iranian official said Jalili's letter would also be delivered to the Swiss embassy in Tehran on Tuesday. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran since Washington severed ties with Tehran a year after its 1979 Islamic revolution.
(Source: Reuters)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Iran: Resolution 1835 an unjustified political statement: spokesman
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said on Monday that the United Nations Resolution 1835 is an unjustified political statement.
In his weekly press briefing, Qashqavi reaffirmed Iranian right to produce nuclear energy for civilian utility.
He said that Western governments and the 5+1 group should clarify what they have done for confidence building with Iranian nation.
Qashqavi rejected the idea that Iran had made a deal with Russia over Moscow’s support for Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program in return for Iran’s support of Russia on Georgia crisis.
“Who said that we make compromise with this or that power on Iran’s nuclear issue or our national interests?” asked the spokesman noting that such impressions are devoid of sense.
Qashqavi challenged the Security Council interference in technical dispute between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“No Security Council resolution is required as long as Iranian nuclear program poses no threat.”
The IAEA has verified non-diversion of Iranian nuclear program calling on Iran to accept Additional Protocol to Non-Proliferation Treaty which grants the agency intrusive inspection to nuclear sites.
Iran said in response that it will accept the Additional Protocol if the Security Council returns the Iranian dossier to the Vienna-based specialized agency.
No further delay envisaged for Bushehr power plant
On Bushehr power plant project, Qashqavi said the project will face no further delay and it will come on stream on schedule.
Asked whether the latest resolution by UN Security Council on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program will have any impact on the Russian role to commission the Bushehr power plant, Qashqavi told reporters that no delay will take place in inauguration of Bushehr power plant.
He rejected the speculation that Bushehr power plant should have become operational on September 21.
Enrichment of uranium to continue to produce fuel
Elsewhere in his address Qashqavi said that Iran will continue uranium enrichment to produce fuel citing the rights enshrined by Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“We regard uranium enrichment as our legitimate rights and believe that its suspension is an illegal demand,” he said.
Qashqavi termed the recent UN Security Council resolution as a political statement and ‘unjustifiable’ adding that the Islamic Republic of Iran is to continue its peaceful nuclear program.
Cameras of the International Atomic Energy Agency are monitoring all Iranian nuclear sites round the clock.
“Now it is the western countries along with the 5+1 group who should answer our questions to prove their sincerity in confidence building for Iranian nation,” he said.
“We are ready to continue cooperation within IAEA’s Safeguards Agreement.”
Criticizing the Resolution 1835, he said Iran’s peaceful nuclear program does not require Security Council resolution.
Iran cooperates progressively with regional countries
On allegations made by United Arab Emirates foreign minister at UN General Assembly, Qashqavi said “All should avoid voicing comments which will be misused by others.”
“We have a progressive cooperation with the countries in the region and hope that through expansion of mutual relations to witness constructive approach to this end.”
He said that certain powers seek to influence the regional developments and that the countries in the region should exercise vigilance to prevent such measures.
In response to a question on Washington’s plan to open an interest section in Tehran, he said Iran has not received formal request from the U.S. to that effect.
(Source: Tehran Times)
In his weekly press briefing, Qashqavi reaffirmed Iranian right to produce nuclear energy for civilian utility.
He said that Western governments and the 5+1 group should clarify what they have done for confidence building with Iranian nation.
Qashqavi rejected the idea that Iran had made a deal with Russia over Moscow’s support for Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program in return for Iran’s support of Russia on Georgia crisis.
“Who said that we make compromise with this or that power on Iran’s nuclear issue or our national interests?” asked the spokesman noting that such impressions are devoid of sense.
Qashqavi challenged the Security Council interference in technical dispute between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“No Security Council resolution is required as long as Iranian nuclear program poses no threat.”
The IAEA has verified non-diversion of Iranian nuclear program calling on Iran to accept Additional Protocol to Non-Proliferation Treaty which grants the agency intrusive inspection to nuclear sites.
Iran said in response that it will accept the Additional Protocol if the Security Council returns the Iranian dossier to the Vienna-based specialized agency.
No further delay envisaged for Bushehr power plant
On Bushehr power plant project, Qashqavi said the project will face no further delay and it will come on stream on schedule.
Asked whether the latest resolution by UN Security Council on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program will have any impact on the Russian role to commission the Bushehr power plant, Qashqavi told reporters that no delay will take place in inauguration of Bushehr power plant.
He rejected the speculation that Bushehr power plant should have become operational on September 21.
Enrichment of uranium to continue to produce fuel
Elsewhere in his address Qashqavi said that Iran will continue uranium enrichment to produce fuel citing the rights enshrined by Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“We regard uranium enrichment as our legitimate rights and believe that its suspension is an illegal demand,” he said.
Qashqavi termed the recent UN Security Council resolution as a political statement and ‘unjustifiable’ adding that the Islamic Republic of Iran is to continue its peaceful nuclear program.
Cameras of the International Atomic Energy Agency are monitoring all Iranian nuclear sites round the clock.
“Now it is the western countries along with the 5+1 group who should answer our questions to prove their sincerity in confidence building for Iranian nation,” he said.
“We are ready to continue cooperation within IAEA’s Safeguards Agreement.”
Criticizing the Resolution 1835, he said Iran’s peaceful nuclear program does not require Security Council resolution.
Iran cooperates progressively with regional countries
On allegations made by United Arab Emirates foreign minister at UN General Assembly, Qashqavi said “All should avoid voicing comments which will be misused by others.”
“We have a progressive cooperation with the countries in the region and hope that through expansion of mutual relations to witness constructive approach to this end.”
He said that certain powers seek to influence the regional developments and that the countries in the region should exercise vigilance to prevent such measures.
In response to a question on Washington’s plan to open an interest section in Tehran, he said Iran has not received formal request from the U.S. to that effect.
(Source: Tehran Times)
Monday, September 29, 2008
West, Islamic nations split at nuclear meeting
Islamic anger over Israel's nuclear program and bids by Iran and Syria to gain more influence threaten to turn this week's 145-nation International Atomic Energy Agency meeting into an unprecedented showdown between the West and the developing world.
Opening Monday, the IAEA's general conference has traditionally been an annual chance for the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency's member countries to plan general nuclear policies that range from strengthening nonproliferation to programs of medical and scientific benefit.
Decisions are traditionally made by consensus, a practice that had led all sides to bridge sometimes substantial differences and opt for compromise on most issues for most of the general conference's 52-year history. A vote on any topic is unusual and considered a huge dent in the meeting's credibility.
But Islamic frustration over Israel's refusal to put its nuclear program under international purview and resistance by the Jewish state to Muslim pressure on the issue threatens to force a vote for the third year running.
After losing the vote two consecutive years, Islamic nations are threatening to up the ante this year, warning they will call for a ballot on every item, no matter how uncontroversial, unless they get conference backing on the issues close to their heart.
"In all my years of dealing with the general conference, I have never seen it as divided as this," said one conference veteran Sunday, the eve of the conference. The diplomat demanded anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment to the media.
As in the past two years, Islamic IAEA members are expected to put forward a resolution urging all Mideast nations to refrain from testing or developing nuclear arms and urging nuclear weapons states "to refrain from any action" hindering a Mideast nuclear-free zone.
Israel, widely considered the only Mideast nuclear weapons state, last year called for a vote on that resolution because of the introduction of a separate Arab-backed resolution deeming Israel a "nuclear threat" and refusal by its sponsors to withdraw it. The resolution was defeated but the fact it was put to the ballot further weakened the consensus principle.
Arab members — backed by Iran — this year have again asked conference organizers to include a similar item. Although it is now labeled "Israeli Nuclear Capabilities" instead of "Nuclear Threat," the Jewish State still objects to being singled out. And diplomats told The Associated Press ahead of the meeting that it will again force a vote on the Mideast nuclear-free zone resolution unless the second item is withdrawn.
Focusing on Israel by name "is substantially unwarranted and flawed," said a letter prepared for review by the conference from Israel Michaeli, the Jewish State's IAEA representative.
Sponsors of the item should instead "address the most pressing proliferation concerns in the Middle East," said the letter in allusion to Iran's defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusal to stop uranium enrichment and world concerns about allegations that Tehran had past plans to make nuclear weapons.
On Saturday, the U.N. Security Council approved a fourth resolution critical of Tehran's defiance on uranium enrichment, which can create both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of warheads.
But Iran, along with ally Syria, figures even more directly at the Vienna conference because they are among four nations seeking their geographic region's nomination for a seat on the IAEA's decision-making 35-nation board.
Iran's bid is strategic. Tehran is running to counteract a U.S. push to have Afghanistan or outsider Kazakhstan elected over Syria, which is under IAEA investigation for allegedly hiding a secret nuclear program, including a nearly completed plutonium producing reactor destroyed last year by Israel.
Tehran is ready to withdraw from the race if Afghanistan does so, narrowing the field to favored Syria and Kazakhstan, diplomats told the AP. But as of Sunday, Afghanistan, backed by the U.S. and its allies, was not ready to do so.
If the regional group does not agree on a candidate by the time the conference turns to the issue, the meeting will also be asked to vote on which nation should take the board seat.
(Source: AP)
Opening Monday, the IAEA's general conference has traditionally been an annual chance for the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency's member countries to plan general nuclear policies that range from strengthening nonproliferation to programs of medical and scientific benefit.
Decisions are traditionally made by consensus, a practice that had led all sides to bridge sometimes substantial differences and opt for compromise on most issues for most of the general conference's 52-year history. A vote on any topic is unusual and considered a huge dent in the meeting's credibility.
But Islamic frustration over Israel's refusal to put its nuclear program under international purview and resistance by the Jewish state to Muslim pressure on the issue threatens to force a vote for the third year running.
After losing the vote two consecutive years, Islamic nations are threatening to up the ante this year, warning they will call for a ballot on every item, no matter how uncontroversial, unless they get conference backing on the issues close to their heart.
"In all my years of dealing with the general conference, I have never seen it as divided as this," said one conference veteran Sunday, the eve of the conference. The diplomat demanded anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment to the media.
As in the past two years, Islamic IAEA members are expected to put forward a resolution urging all Mideast nations to refrain from testing or developing nuclear arms and urging nuclear weapons states "to refrain from any action" hindering a Mideast nuclear-free zone.
Israel, widely considered the only Mideast nuclear weapons state, last year called for a vote on that resolution because of the introduction of a separate Arab-backed resolution deeming Israel a "nuclear threat" and refusal by its sponsors to withdraw it. The resolution was defeated but the fact it was put to the ballot further weakened the consensus principle.
Arab members — backed by Iran — this year have again asked conference organizers to include a similar item. Although it is now labeled "Israeli Nuclear Capabilities" instead of "Nuclear Threat," the Jewish State still objects to being singled out. And diplomats told The Associated Press ahead of the meeting that it will again force a vote on the Mideast nuclear-free zone resolution unless the second item is withdrawn.
Focusing on Israel by name "is substantially unwarranted and flawed," said a letter prepared for review by the conference from Israel Michaeli, the Jewish State's IAEA representative.
Sponsors of the item should instead "address the most pressing proliferation concerns in the Middle East," said the letter in allusion to Iran's defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusal to stop uranium enrichment and world concerns about allegations that Tehran had past plans to make nuclear weapons.
On Saturday, the U.N. Security Council approved a fourth resolution critical of Tehran's defiance on uranium enrichment, which can create both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of warheads.
But Iran, along with ally Syria, figures even more directly at the Vienna conference because they are among four nations seeking their geographic region's nomination for a seat on the IAEA's decision-making 35-nation board.
Iran's bid is strategic. Tehran is running to counteract a U.S. push to have Afghanistan or outsider Kazakhstan elected over Syria, which is under IAEA investigation for allegedly hiding a secret nuclear program, including a nearly completed plutonium producing reactor destroyed last year by Israel.
Tehran is ready to withdraw from the race if Afghanistan does so, narrowing the field to favored Syria and Kazakhstan, diplomats told the AP. But as of Sunday, Afghanistan, backed by the U.S. and its allies, was not ready to do so.
If the regional group does not agree on a candidate by the time the conference turns to the issue, the meeting will also be asked to vote on which nation should take the board seat.
(Source: AP)
Nuclear developments in North Korea, India and Iran
NORTH KOREA: A top U.S. envoy plans to travel to the secretive communist nation this week, seeking to salvage a faltering accord to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs, sources said. North Korea said last week that it plans to begin reprocessing spent fuel rods into the raw material needed for weapons. Its leaders are furious that President Bush has not removed their country from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. In June, North Korea blew up a nuclear reactor cooling tower to signal its commitment to ending its weapons programs. But it has rejected U.S. proposals for verifying other matters.
INDIA: The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to allow the U.S. to provide nuclear materials to India. The deal, which faces obstacles in the Senate, would reverse three decades of U.S. policy. India would get atomic fuel in return for allowing international inspections of its civilian reactors. Military reactors would not be examined. Supporters say the deal would bring India's atomic program under closer scrutiny. Critics say it would spark an arms race in South Asia and send the wrong message to countries – such as Iran – that are pursuing atomic programs. India has refused to sign pledges not to pursue nuclear weapons.
IRAN: The U.N. Security Council unanimously reaffirmed previous sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program. The council introduced no new sanctions. Iran said it remained determined to pursue "peaceful uses of nuclear technology."
(Source: Dallas News)
INDIA: The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to allow the U.S. to provide nuclear materials to India. The deal, which faces obstacles in the Senate, would reverse three decades of U.S. policy. India would get atomic fuel in return for allowing international inspections of its civilian reactors. Military reactors would not be examined. Supporters say the deal would bring India's atomic program under closer scrutiny. Critics say it would spark an arms race in South Asia and send the wrong message to countries – such as Iran – that are pursuing atomic programs. India has refused to sign pledges not to pursue nuclear weapons.
IRAN: The U.N. Security Council unanimously reaffirmed previous sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program. The council introduced no new sanctions. Iran said it remained determined to pursue "peaceful uses of nuclear technology."
(Source: Dallas News)
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