Iran Nuclear Standoff

[cycloneye]

UNITED NATIONS -- The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have begun talks over Iran's nuclear program following a formal report by the head of the agency's atomic watchdog.

Diplomats from the veto-wielding powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- met briefly in New York on Wednesday before the full council tackles the issue next week.

The 15-nation council is expected to issue a statement urging Iran to comply with resolutions by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

But there are differences among the permanent council members over what the statement should say, and diplomats from the five nations are expected to meet again on Friday, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei sent a February 27 report on Iran to the Security Council after presenting it to the 35-nation IAEA board of governors in Vienna, Austria.

The IAEA meeting with marked by tension between the West and Iran, which warned that the U.S. could face "harm and pain" for its role in pushing Tehran to end its nuclear program. (Watch the U.S., Iran engage in an explosive war of words -- 1:49)

Washington dismissed the comments as "provocative" and said Iran had "only contributed to mounting international concerns about its pursuit of nuclear weapons." (Full story)

U.S. officials believe Iran's program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Iran says it is for civilian purposes only.

Britain has suggested the Security Council ask for a report from the IAEA in 14 days on whether Iran has made any progress in complying with its requests, diplomats said.

But Russia's U.N. Ambassador Andrei Denisov said two weeks was not enough time and warned that the controversy should not "spin out of control of the IAEA."

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who chaired the meeting, told reporters, "We talked about the role and reaction of the Security Council to the continued Iranian violation of the (nuclear) Nonproliferation Treaty."

"It has been a core element of our position since I have been working on this that Iran has to cease enrichment activities. And I think what comes next is the word 'period,' " Reuters quoted Bolton as saying.

In Washington, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns suggested that if appeals and demands failed, the United States would push for sanctions against Iran.

"We believe that next Monday or Tuesday the United Nations Security Council will begin a very active debate about Iran's nuclear ambitions," Burns said Wednesday.

"That debate will be designed to shine a very large, intensive spotlight on what we believe to be a clear Iranian (weapons) program."

He told a congressional committee that Washington would like to see the Security Council consider a statement condemning Iran, if not something stronger that would "entertain the possibility of a resolution to isolate and hopefully influence (Iran's) behavior."

He also indicated that if action failed in the Security Council, the United States would look elsewhere.

"It's going to be incumbent upon our allies around the world, and interested countries, to show that they are willing to act, should the words and resolutions of the United Nations not suffice," Reuters quoted Burns as saying.


Now the Iran situation goes to the UN.Let's see what they decide to do but there are divisions between the U.S,Russia and China.

[cycloneye]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran is probably the No. 1 challenge to the United States, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday after Tehran vowed no compromise in a standoff with the West over its nuclear programs.

Rice, who wants the United Nations Security Council this month to start taking action against Iran that could lead to sanctions, also repeated concerns that Washington believes Tehran supports anti-Israel militants and meddles in neighboring Iraq.

"We may face no greater challenge from a single country than from Iran, whose policies are directed at developing a Middle East that would be 180 degrees different than the Middle East we would like to see developed," Rice said at a congressional hearing.

Faced with the threat of eventual international sanctions, Iran warned the United States on Wednesday it could also inflict "harm and pain" in its dispute over nuclear programs that it says are peaceful despite Western suspicions it wants a bomb.


Harsh words from Condi Rice about the Iran standoff.

[f5]

Iran is also developing the EMP bomb which which will shut off all american electricity.the EMP is a bigger threat than a nuke in 1/100 of a second america will be living in the 1800s

[MiamiensisWx]

Huh? f5, where did you get that information? I'm curious.

[f5]

i got the Information from a variety of sources some of which i will not name the EMP has been known in the intelligence community for 20 yrs this is worst than nuclear weapons this will set the US back to the time of Abraham Lincoln.this is something not to take lightly.if this is used it will have super mind boggling catastrophic effects

[brunota2003]

EMP? you are reffering to the "will make everything electronic die" right? if so...refer to what happened in War of the Worlds...they are also in some aircraft aka jamming devices...just alot worse...

[brunota2003]

As in this:

Anyone who's been through a prolonged power outage knows that it's an extremely trying experience. Within an hour of losing electricity, you develop a healthy appreciation of all the electrical devices you rely on in life. A couple hours later, you start pacing around your house. After a few days without lights, electric heat or TV, your stress level shoots through the roof.



But in the grand scheme of things, that's nothing. If an outage hits an entire city, and there aren't adequate emergency resources, people may die from exposure, companies may suffer huge productivity losses and millions of dollars of food may spoil. If a power outage hit on a much larger scale, it could shut down the electronic networks that keep governments and militaries running. We are utterly dependent on power, and when it's gone, things get very bad, very fast.

An electromagnetic bomb, or e-bomb, is a weapon designed to take advantage of this dependency. But instead of simply cutting off power in an area, an e-bomb would actually destroy most machines that use electricity. Generators would be useless, cars wouldn't run, and there would be no chance of making a phone call. In a matter of seconds, a big enough e-bomb could thrust an entire city back 200 years or cripple a military unit.

The U.S. military has been pursuing the idea of an e-bomb for decades, and many believe it now has such a weapon in its arsenal. On the other end of the scale, terrorist groups could be building low-tech e-bombs to inflict massive damage on the United States.

[f5]

an emp attack will shut down all forms of electricity cars,trucks,gas pumps,refregerated appliances ,computers(storm2k will go out of business)ect the point is anything that has a cord pluged into the wall will not work beacuse there won't be no electricity.this will be espically hard beacuse a 2006 society is dependednt on electricity

[pelican13]

an emp attack will shut down all forms of electricity cars,trucks,gas pumps,refregerated appliances ,computers(storm2k will go out of business)ect the point is anything that has a cord pluged into the wall will not work beacuse there won't be no electricity.this will be espically hard beacuse a 2006 society is dependednt on electricity

[alicia-w]

dont start any alarmist stuff. it's bad enough as it is.

[f5]

i'm not trying to be an alarmist but a regime like Iran having an EMP is Catastrophic North Korea has that technology right know yes i said North Korea has that capability why beacuse we sat on the sidelines and did nothing and if we do the same with Iran god help us.if you thought the Chaos in NO was bad wait for an EMP attack

[BEER980]

f5 an EMP is a byproduct of a nuclear blast. If you detonate a nuke over a target it will fry all unprotected electronics for quite a distance depending on the yield. You can protect equipment with a Faraday cage.

[brunota2003]

no...read my above post...there is an EMP Bomb...they are defficult to make though...

[Colby]

No functional EMP bomb (that is, one that produces only the EMP and no blast) is known to exist, or at least not one of any great power.

[BEER980]

brunota2003 I will buy the story of a false flag or real Iranian sub attack scheduled for two west coast cities this Saturday before I buy that EMP one. Iran hasn't shown proof of being able to make a nuke yet let alone a very difficult EMP one. Among the 6 Kilo class subs they have from Russia they have added one of their own. They have launched a sub they built for the Gulf but it would not be used for an attack here.

Tehran accompanied the 35-member International Atomic Energy Agency’s decision Wednesday, March 8, by launching a new, locally-built submarine, the Nahang (whale) in the Persian Gulf. With the capability to carry multipurpose weapons, the sub is especially adapted to Gulf waters

[cycloneye]

'US not doing enough to stop Iran'
By YAAKOV KATZ



The United States has until now not done enough to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a senior Defense Ministry official has told The Jerusalem Post while expressing hope that Wednesday's referral of the Iranian issue to the United Nations Security Council would prove to be effective.

"America needs to get its act together," the official said. "Until now the US administration has just been talking tough but the time has come for the Americans to begin to take tough action."

The only real way to stop Teheran's race to obtain the bomb apart from military action was through tough economic sanctions that caused the Iranian people to suffer. "Once the people understand that their government is bringing upon them a disaster will they realize that the [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad's regime needs to be replaced," the official said.

Iran, the official said, was doing all it could to stall for time, including holding "pointless" talks with Russia concerning the enrichment of its uranium. "They are just trying to get more time and they will continue lying and deceiving the international community while simultaneously trying to obtain nuclear power," he said.

While it was complicated to overthrow the current regime in Teheran, "it is not impossible," the official said. If the world stopped refining Iranian oil, the official said as an example, the country would not have gas for its cars. "If the people start to suffer then they will understand that a change in government is needed." But if the diplomatic course failed, Israel and the US needed to be prepared, the official said, to take military action against Teheran. "This option may be needed but it should only be used as a last resort," he said.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told reporters in Germany on Wednesday that Israel had all it needed to defend itself against Iran. Asked by reporters if Israel had a military plan handy in a desk drawer to strike Iran, Mofaz said: "Israel has many drawers containing everything it needs to defend its citizens." Israel, Mofaz told senior German officials, would not stand by idly while its very existence was at risk. "We do not plan to turn a blind eye to these threats and we will do everything possible to make sure they do not materialize."


Above is what Israel is saying about the slow approach the U.S is having with Iran.

[alicia-w]

"Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told reporters in Germany on Wednesday that Israel had all it needed to defend itself against Iran. Asked by reporters if Israel had a military plan handy in a desk drawer to strike Iran, Mofaz said: "Israel has many drawers containing everything it needs to defend its citizens." Israel, Mofaz told senior German officials, would not stand by idly while its very existence was at risk. "We do not plan to turn a blind eye to these threats and we will do everything possible to make sure they do not materialize."

That's what it's all about. Having the tools and the cojones to get the job done.

[cycloneye]

Iranian University Holds "Holocaust Myth" Conference
13:18 Mar 10, '06 / 10 Adar 5766
By Michael Freund, International Affairs Correspondent



At the initiative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a state-run Iranian university held a Holocaust-denial conference this week.

The conference, reported by Iran's official IRIB radio, was held at Isfahan University. It was entitled Holocaust: myth or reality, and was attended by students and faculty. According to the report, it was organized by Khamenei's Isfahan office.

Alireza Soltanshahi, a representative of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who heads the Presidential Office for the Study of the Palestinian Issue, addressed the gathering, telling participants that, the Holocaust myth has turned into an industry for the Zionists to gain money.

Ahmadinejad, who came to power in a surprise election victory last June, has provoked international outrage in recent months by labeling the Holocaust a myth and calling for Israel to be wiped off the map.

At the Isfahan conference, Soltanshahi further asserted that Germany was being compelled to pay reparations to Israel for the Holocaust even though there are no documents to substantiate the claim.

Soltanshahi also blasted the Zionist regime for what he termed its attempts to show that the Holocaust is real through various methods, such as establishing institutions to propagate its memory and offering literary prizes to people who write about the subject.


More talk inside Iran about the Holocaust.

[SouthFloridawx]

That's interesting that they want isreal to prove it's true...

[alicia-w]

my husband's uncle was a photographer for the army when they liberated several camps in Europe. He has LOTS of pictures to prove it wasnt made up. My mom had scars that werent self inflicted and emotional baggage that eventually caused her death. Tell ME it was fiction.

I lecture on it at our local college.....