Salon.com > George Jahn

US, Russia bridge differences on Iran at nuke meet

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:00:00 +0000

VIENNA (AP) — The United States and its Western allies have persuaded Russia and China to support a resolution critical of Iran's nuclear defiance in hope of showing Israel that diplomacy is an alternative to military force in pressuring Tehran, diplomats said Wednesday.

The resolution, which demands that Iran stop activities that could be used to make nuclear arms, cannot be enforced by the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, even if approved by vote or consensus as expected Thursday. But with Israel increasingly floating force as an alternative to failed international efforts to curtail suspected Iranian nuclear activities, the document is significant in seeking to show world-power resolve in pursuing a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

Israel views a nuclear-armed Iran as a mortal threat, citing Iran's persistent calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, its development of missiles capable of striking Israel, and Iranian support for Arab militant groups.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. But it refuses foreign offers of reactor fuel if it stops making its own through uranium enrichment — a process that worries the international community because it could also be used to arm nuclear warheads.

AP Exclusive: Security Council to talk Syria nukes

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 20:51:36 +0000

The U.N. Security Council plans to meet in closed session next week to discuss what to do about Syria's refusal to cooperate with an investigation of its alleged secret nuclear activities, diplomats told The Associated Press on Monday.

The move comes just weeks after the International Atomic Energy Agency referred it the council for action that result in anything from debate to sanctions of the kind imposed on Iran for defying international demands to cease activities that could be used to make nuclear arms.

Sanctions are unlikely: Iran continues to expand its nuclear activities in defiance of the council, whereas Syria's alleged violations appeared to have occurred in the past and thus do not seem to represent a present proliferation threat.

Still, one of the three diplomats who agreed to discuss confidential information on condition of anonymity said the planned July 14 discussions are significant. He pointed to the fact that the council found the issue important enough to take it up less then a month after the June 9 IAEA referral.

Iran hunts for uranium, finds scrutiny

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:02:00 +0000

Iran is expanding its covert global search for the uranium it needs for its nuclear activities and a key focus is Zimbabwe, says a new intelligence report acquired Tuesday by The Associated Press.

The report is in line with international assessments that Iran's domestic supplies cannot sustain its nuclear program that could be turned toward making weapons.

An intelligence report from a member country of the International Atomic Energy Agency -- shared with the AP by an official from that nation -- says Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi met secretly last month with senior Zimbabwean mining officials "to resume negotiations ... for the benefit of Iran's uranium procurement plan."

"This follows work carried out by Iranian engineers to map out uranium deposits in Africa and assess the amount of uranium they contain," said the two-page intelligence summary.

The report -- confirmed independently by an official from another IAEA country -- was shared as an Iranian delegation led by the head of the Cooperative Ministry Abbas Johari was meeting Thursday with "agriculture and mining interests" in the Zimbabwean capital Harare.

Preliminary report warns of Iran nuke disaster

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:50:00 +0000

The control systems of Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant have been penetrated by a computer worm unleashed last year, according to a foreign intelligence report that warns of a possible Chernobyl-like disaster once the site becomes fully operational.

Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, also has raised the specter of the 1986 reactor explosion in Ukraine, but suggested last week that the danger had passed.

The report, drawn up by a nation closely monitoring Iran's nuclear program and obtained by The Associated Press, said such conclusions were premature and based on the "casual assessment" of Russian and Iran scientists at Bushehr.

With control systems disabled by the virus, the reactor would have the force of a "small nuclear bomb," it said.

"The minimum possible damage would be a meltdown of the reactor," it says. "However, external damage and massive environmental destruction could also occur ... similar to the Chernobyl disaster."

The virus, known as Stuxnet, has the ability to send centrifuges spinning out of control and temporarily crippled Iran's uranium enrichment program. It is believed to have been the work of Israel or the United States, two nations convinced that Iran wants to turn nuclear fuel into weapons-grade uranium

Russia reclaims tons of nuclear waste

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:58:00 +0000

The U.N. nuclear agency says tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste from a defunct Serbian reactor have been repatriated to Russia.

An official familiar with the operation said Wednesday the waste included 13 kilograms (28.66 pounds) of uranium enriched at a level close to that used to make nuclear warheads.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, who coordinated the project, said 2.5 metric tons (2.76 tons) of the spent fuel arrived Wednesday at a secure Russian facility from Serbia's Vinca reactor.

An IAEA statement said the amount is the largest single shipment of its kind so far repatriated under an international program to return such material.

The agency said it took more than a month for the shipment to reach the Russian reprocessing facility.

World powers press Iran on nuclear issues during talks

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:19:00 +0000

Six world powers held their first talks with Iran in more than a year Monday, pressing Tehran to focus on the need to diffuse fears that its nuclear activities could be harnessed to make weapons.

Delegates from Iran, the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany met at a conference center in Geneva, with talks beginning after European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton escorted Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief negotiator, into the session.

Tehran says it does not want atomic arms and insists its nuclear program is only designed to provide more power for its growing population. Yet as Iran builds up its capacity to make such weapons, neither Israel nor the U.S. have ruled out military action if Tehran fails to heed U.N. Security Council demands that it freeze key nuclear programs.

"About 75 percent" of Monday's three-hour morning session was devoted to nuclear issues, said one official close to the talks. That was significant, because the Islamic Republic had come to the table insisting that the negotiations address Iran's nuclear program only peripherally -- if at all.

Monday's afternoon talks ran 90 minutes past schedule. Jalili, the first to emerge, smiled at reporters but said nothing. Officials said a second round of talks would be held Tuesday as scheduled.

U.N. atomic agency approves nuclear fuel bank

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:44:00 +0000

The U.N. atomic agency has approved a nuclear fuel bank that nations can draw on for their atomic programs in emergencies.

It is the second such facility. A Russian-run fuel bank went into operation earlier this year.

But the one approved Friday by the International Atomic Energy Agency will be run by the IAEA. That is meant to be a further guarantee of its impartiality.

Both fuel banks are meant to ensure a reliable supply of nuclear fuel in case commercial supplies are interrupted.

They are meant as alternatives to nations developing their own uranium enrichment programs to produce fuel. Enrichment can also make fissile warhead material.

Technical troubles stop Iran nuclear enrichment

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Iran's nuclear program has suffered a recent setback, with major technical problems forcing the temporary shutdown of thousands of centrifuges enriching uranium, diplomats told The Associated Press on Monday.

The diplomats said they had no specifics on the nature of the problem that in recent months led Iranian experts to briefly power down the machines they use for enrichment -- a nuclear technology that has both civilian and military uses.

But suspicions focused on the Stuxnet worm, the computer virus thought to be aimed at Iran's nuclear program, which experts last week identified as being calibrated to destroy centrifuges by sending them spinning out of control.

Iran says its enrichment efforts are geared only to make nuclear fuel but the program has aroused international concerns because it can be re-engineered to produce uranium for nuclear warheads.

But, there have been hints that the program is beset by technical problems. Even a brief shutdown of the thousands of enriching machines would be the strongest documentation to date that the program -- Iran's nuclear cornerstone and a source of national pride -- is in trouble.

U.S. and Russia sign treaty to cut nuclear arms

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:07:00 +0000

Seeking to end years of rancor, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed the biggest nuclear arms pact in a generation and envisioned a day when they can compromise on the divisive issue of missile defense.

The new treaty, the first of its kind in two decades and nearly a year in the making, signaled a bold new opening in relations between the former Cold War foes. Both leaders hoped for more progress on economic matters and potentially even deeper cuts in their robust nuclear arsenals, while the Russian president still warned of potential pitfalls ahead.

The pact will shrink the limit of nuclear warheads to 1,550 per country over seven years. That still allows for mutual destruction several times over. But it is intended to send a strong signal that Russia and the U.S. -- which between them own more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons -- are serious about disarmament.

Obama and Medvedev reaffirmed their commitment to considering new sanctions against Iran if the Islamic republic continues to refuse to suspend uranium enrichment and start talks on its nuclear program.

Iran derides Obama’s “cowboy” nuclear stance

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:12:00 +0000

U.S. allies on Wednesday lined up behind President Barack Obama's new policy aimed at reducing the likelihood of nuclear conflict. But Iran -- classified as a possible target under the guideliness -- dismissed it as a "cowboy" policy by a political newcomer doomed to fail.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in the Slovak capital Bratislava for an official visit, did not address the issue before leaving for Prague to sign a landmark treaty Thursday with Obama aimed at paring U.S.-Russian strategic nuclear weapons by 30 percent. But Washington's supporters in Asia and Europe welcomed Obama's pledge Tuesday to reduce America's nuclear arsenal, refrain from nuclear tests and not use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them.

North Korea and Iran were not included in that pledge because they do not cooperate with other countries on nonproliferation standards.

The U.S. considers them nuclear rogues -- Pyongyang for developing and testing nuclear weapons and Tehran because it is suspected of trying to do the same under the cover of a peaceful program, something Iran denies. Outlining the policy Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the focus would now be on terror groups such as al-Qaida as well as North Korea's nuclear buildup and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Report: Iran seeking to smuggle raw uranium

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Diplomats are concerned about an intelligence report that says Iran is trying to import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan in violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

Such a deal would be significant because Tehran appears to be running out of that material, which it needs to feed its uranium enrichment program.

A summary of the report obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday said the deal could be completed within weeks. It said Tehran was willing to pay $450 million, or close to 315 million euros, for the shipment.

An official from the country that drew up the report said Kazakh government employees acting on their own were behind the deal. The official demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing intelligence matters.

After-hours calls put in to offices of Kazatomprom, the Kazak state uranium company, in Kazakhstan and Moscow, were not answered. There was no immediate reaction from Tehran.

Iran is under three sets of Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze its enrichment program and related activities that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Tehran denies such aspirations.

U.S. in talks with Iran over nukes

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:34:00 +0000

The United States and five other world powers have begun high-stakes talks with Iran to demand a freeze of its nuclear activities.

A senior U.S. official says Washington is open to rare one-on-one talks with Iranian diplomats.

The EU's Javier Solana, who is formally heading the negotiations Thursday with chief Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili, was upbeat before the start of the talks in an 18th century villa in the suburbs of Geneva.

But he declined to comment on the atmosphere of the talks and told reporters only, "It's a very nice day."

The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the talks, briefed reporters in Geneva. Such a move reflects Washington's determination to get results from the meeting.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

GENEVA (AP) -- The U.S. and five other world powers go to the table with Iran on Thursday to demand a freeze of its nuclear activities, and a senior U.S. official said Washington may seek rare face-to-face talks with Iranian diplomats.