[lit-ideas] Iran capable of conducting a fission reaction
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 15:42:45 -0800
Ilan Berman ended is Tehran Rising somewhat weakly in my opinion. He says
we ought to engage more in diplomatic efforts. He thinks we should
concentrate on Voice of America broadcasts because 50% of Iran's population
is in its 20s and very susceptible to that sort of thing. The 20 year olds
are more pro American than the older people in Iran. After Bush called Iran
part of the axis of evil, Iran took a poll and discovered that 50% of
Iranians agreed with Bush. 70% thought Iran should open dialogue with Bush.
Berman says pretty much what Phil Enns has been saying about the Iranian
population. These facts, that so many Iranians are opposed to the Mullahs
and are in fact pro-American, have added to the reasons we flounder in
regard to our Iranian policies.
In the meantime, here is the latest report on Iran's nuke-making progress:
Special Alert - Iran
February 8, 2006
No. 15
"Iran is Capable of Conducting a Fission Reaction" Iranian Supreme National
Security Council Secretary-General Ali Larijani
In what appears to be the first acknowledgement by any high-ranking Iranian
official that Iran has attained nuclear fission production capability,
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary-General Ali Larijani,
who is in charge of Iran's nuclear talks, said on Monday, February 6, 2006
that Iran had attained nuclear fission production capability.
Speaking in Persian, Larijani answered "Yes" to a reporter's question, "Have
Iran's nuclear scientists attained nuclear fission [production]
capability?"(1) However, in the English-language report on his statement in
the Tehran Times, the paper added the word "controlled," which did not exist
in his statement in Persian.(2)
These reports may suggest that Iran has moved another step towards attaining
indigenous nuclear fuel cycle capability. Yet it was not clear whether
Tehran Times and Sharq were referring to a capability _ which could imply
that Iran possesses either highly enriched uranium or plutonium for military
purposes, thus violating the NPT _ or to a result of a chain reaction
typical of activity in the operation of a controlled civilian or research
nuclear reactor. It should be underlined that there is no operational
civilian reactor in Iran today; therefore, this would most likely be
achieved in a research reactor.
Endnotes:
(1) Sharq (Iran), February 7, 2006,
http://www.sharghnewspaper.com/841118/html/iran.htm#s368322
(2) Tehran Times (Iran), February 7, 2006.
For more on the Iranian nuclear issue, see:
* MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 253, " The _Second Islamic Revolution_ in
Iran: Power Struggle at the Top," November 17, 2005,
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives
<http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA25305>
&Area=ia&ID=IA25305
* MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 957, "Chief Iranian Nuclear Affairs Negotiator
Hosein Musavian: The Negotiations with Europe Bought Us Time to Complete the
Esfahan UCF Project and the Work on the Centrifuges in Natanz,"August 12,
2005, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries
<http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=iran&ID=SP95705>
&Area=iran&ID=SP95705
* MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 940, "Senior Iranian Official: Europe Will
Recognize Iran's Right to a Limited Nuclear Fuel Cycle; Iran to Start
Operations at Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility," July 22, 2005,
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries
<http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=iran&ID=SP94005>
&Area=iran&ID=SP94005
* MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 218, "Head of Iranian Nuclear Negotiating
Team Sirus Nasseri: _We Are Walking on a Knife's Edge_; U.S. and EU Should
_Get Used to the Idea of a Nuclear Iran,'" April 7, 2005,
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries
<http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=iran&ID=IA21805>
&Area=iran&ID=IA21805
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