INTL 2/7/10 Iran to enrich uranium beyond power reactor grade

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...-to-confrontation-with-West-over-uranium.html


Iran moves closer to confrontation with West over uranium
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran took his country closer to confrontation with the West on Sunday, ordering scientists to enrich Iran's stockpiles of uranium to the higher level needed for nuclear power.

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent
Published: 2:50PM GMT 07 Feb 2010

Mr Ahmadinejad's order was the culmination of a series of confusing statements by the regime in the last week. If it is carried out, it will scupper what was hoped to be a looming deal to transfer most of Iran's uranium abroad for further processing. Many in the West want uranium processing to take place outside the country so that fears over a weapons programme are allayed and the country's nuclear plans are better monitored.

European nations and America were already leading calls for more sanctions to be applied to Iran in the absence of a deal. Now if further enrichment starts, they are likely to put proposals to the United Nations security council soon.

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Mr Ahmadinejad made his announcement with characteristic melodrama. In a speech filmed live for state television, he accused the West of "playing games" over the proposed deal and then turned towards Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation, who was in the audience.

"I now ask Dr Salehi to start work on the production of 20 per cent fuel using centrifuges," he said.

Like previous demands by Mr Ahmadinejad that his scientists build 20 new uranium enrichment plants, the stream of statements may be designed to rally support at home as much as to spread confusion abroad.

The wave of protest against his re-election last June has subsided since the country's main cities were convulsed by demonstrations in December, but is heading for a new peak this week, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Opposition activists and exile groups are said to be organising an infiltration of government rallies planned for Thursday.

Under the deal, put forward in October by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran would transfer three-quarters of its uranium, currently enriched to 3.5 per cent, to Russia for processing to 20 per cent. It would be handed back as fuel rods that could be used only in a research reactor in Tehran.

Once enriched to 20 per cent, uranium needs to be further processed to 90 per cent for weapons purposes, but analysts believe Iran now has or is close to having the technical means to achieve that enhancement.

The total sum involved in the deal is significant as it would reduce the quantities still in Iran to below the level needed to build a nuclear weapon. For that reason, Iran's negotiating partners have rejected the idea of handing over stockpiles bit by bit.

Last week, Mr Ahmadinejad appeared to accept the deal's terms, but Manouchehr Mottaki, the foreign minister, on Friday reiterated conditions that are unacceptable to the West, including allowing Iran to determine the quantities involved.

In his speech yesterday, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "We had told them to come and have a swap, although we could produce the 20 per cent enriched fuel ourselves. We gave them two to three months' time for such a deal. They started a new game."

This apparent decision to cross the line of further enrichment came in spite of meetings, described by Mr Mottaki as "very good", with Yukiya Amano, the new head of the IAEA.

A Foreign Office spokesman said Mr Ahmadinejad's order would be "a deliberate breach of five United Nations Security Council Resolutions".

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German defence minister, said: "Today's statement shows that farce is being played out just like we have seen in the past, that the outstretched hand of the international community has not only not been taken but pushed back."

Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said in Rome: "If the international community will stand together and bring pressure to bear on the Iranian government, I believe there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work."

You mean they LIED, but they PROMISED it was only for peacefull uses, and the dims believed them!

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/07/AR2010020701173.html?hpid=topnews

Iran's president orders production of higher-enriched uranium

By Thomas Erdbrink and Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, February 8, 2010; A09
Comments

TEHRAN -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday ordered the production of higher-enriched uranium -- significantly beyond the levels of its regular nuclear fuel -- prompting the United States to renew threats of carefully targeted sanctions.

Ahmadinejad's instructions were followed by an announcement from the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization that Iran would alert the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday of its plans to "start making 20 percent enriched fuel on Tuesday."

The official, Ali Akbar Salehi, did not elaborate in an interview with Arabic-language state television on how close Iran may be to reaching that goal.

Iran says it needs the higher-enriched fuel to operate a 41-year-old, U.S.-built reactor used for medical purposes, but Washington and its allies worry that the uranium enrichment is a precursor to making bombs.

The IAEA said in a November report that Iran had not gone beyond its declared maximum enrichment level of 5 percent. Analysts say Iran is not yet able to produce enough uranium enriched at 20 percent to supply the needs of the Tehran reactor, but that it may not be far away, either.

"Iran could have been preparing for a few months to make 20-percent material, in which case they could start the process of producing this material on Tuesday," said David Albright, a former weapons inspector and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington. "Otherwise, on Tuesday they could start preparing to do so. We will have to wait and see what the IAEA says about what it knows and when they knew it."

Analysts say that even with 20-percent enriched fuel, running the medical reactor would be extremely difficult because Iran is thought to lack the technology to turn the fuel into rods. But that fuel could ultimately be further enriched to 90 percent or more, the level needed for a weapon.

If Iran enriched all of its current stock of fuel, Albright said, the nation would need only a small facility of about 500 to 1,000 centrifuges "to produce enough weapon-grade nuclear material in a breakout strategy aimed at getting enough for a weapon in about six months. Such a plant would be extremely hard to find."

U.S. officials have been dissatisfied with Iran's reaction to attempts to negotiate over its enrichment program, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in Rome on Sunday that "there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work" against Iran.

Iran's leaders have given conflicting signals in recent days about whether they will accept a U.N.-brokered deal under which Tehran would hand over a stockpile of low-enriched uranium for processing outside the country. In exchange, Iran would receive higher-enriched uranium in the form of special fuel assemblies that would enable it to power the medical research reactor in Tehran, but not make bombs.

On Friday, Iran's foreign minister said that Tehran was "nearing a final agreement that can be accepted by all parties."

But Ahmadinejad's order on Sunday to Salehi to "please start the production of 20-percent enriched uranium" was a step in the opposite direction. U.S. and European officials said it appeared to confirm their suspicions that Iran is not serious about reaching a deal and is instead stalling for time.

Ahmadinejad immediately followed his order, broadcast on state television, by saying negotiations with the West over the proposed uranium swap are not over.

"If they came and said, 'We will exchange without conditions,' then we will exchange," Ahmadinejad said. "If they say they will cooperate regarding the reactor and the medicines, we will say, 'Very well, we cooperate.' " During a visit to Rome for meetings with Italian leaders, Gates called Iran's actions "very disappointing" and appealed to other countries to present a united diplomatic front against Tehran.

The United States has been pressing members of the U.N. Security Council to impose harsher sanctions against Iran, but has met resistance from Russia and China.

Asked Sunday what kinds of sanctions the United States favored, Gates did not offer specifics but said measures targeting the Iranian government -- rather than the population at large -- "have the greater potential to achieve the objective."

"The international community does not want the people of Iran to suffer more hardship than absolutely necessary," he said.

Iranian officials were quick to separate Ahmadinejad's order to produce enriched uranium and the proposed swap.

"Ahmadinejad's order on enrichment of uranium to 20 percent necessary for the Tehran research reactor has no contradiction with fuel swapping. These two are not inconsistent," Ramin Mehmanparast, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told the semiofficial Fars News Agency on Sunday.

Whitlock reported from Rome. Staff writer Glenn Kessler contributed to this report from Washington.

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http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wo...anium_Enrichment_Is_Matter_Of_Serious_Concern

'Serious Concern' Over Iran Nuclear Plans

6:02am UK, Monday February 08, 2010
Neal Walker, Sky News Online

The Foreign Office says it is treating Iran's latest apparent move to escalate uranium enrichment as a matter of "serious concern".

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered scientists in the country to upgrade enrichment of the nuclear fuel to 20%.

The hardened stance from Tehran coincides with calls from the US for greater pressure to be placed on Iran over the issue.

Speaking during a week-long visit to Europe, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said there was "still time for sanctions to work" if the international community stood together.

But he appeared to express scepticism over the potential of Iran signing up to a plan currently being discussed, under which it would export a large bulk of its nuclear material for enrichment overseas.

Under the proposal, the uranium would be turned into refined fuel rods that could only be used in civilian programmes and returned to Tehran.

Last week Mr Ahmadinejad said he had "no problem" with the plan. But his latest comments seem to distance Iran from the scheme.

In a statement broadcast on Iranian state television, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "God willing, 20% enrichment will start."

Turning to the head of Iran's atomic energy agency Ali Akbar Salehi, the president added: "Mr Salehi, begin production of 20%."

The ordered 20% enrichment is still far below the 90% needed for a nuclear warhead.

But it will raise western concerns that Tehran is moving further towards creating weapons grade nuclear material.

The jump from 20% to 70% enrichment can be much more quickly achieved than from the 3.5% to 4.5% that the country currently produces.

It is likely to lead to greater calls from the US for a fourth round of United Nations sanctions to be placed on Tehran to keep it in check over its perceived nuclear intentions.

A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said: "Reports that Iran is planning to enrich some of their fuel to 20% level of enrichment are clearly a matter of serious concern.

She added that it would constitute a "deliberate breach" of five UN Security Council Resolutions.

Maybe Barry will write him a scolding letter.

Odds are they're already enriching the high grade if they're announcing this publicly.

Iran is doing this because they can. NO ONE has the balls to take on Iran everybodys too chicken shit. This is no different than the Iran hostages during the Carter Administration. Once Reagan took office things changed and the hostages were released because they knew he wouldn’t put up with that crap.

onetimer said:

Odds are they're already enriching the high grade if they're announcing this publicly.

Click to expand...

Yes I agree!

Iran most likely has several weapons ready to go and one will be tested on February 11th 2010.

Hey TB2T space geeks!

Anyone know the orbital position on Iran's satellite that was launched last week?

I am just courious if this satellite will be over CONUS or Israel on Feb 11, 2010.

Thanks SIRR1

SIRR1 said:

Yes I agree!

Iran most likely has several weapons ready to go and one will be tested on February 11th 2010.

Hey TB2T space geeks!

Anyone know the orbital position on Iran's satellite that was launched last week?

I am just courious if this satellite will be over CONUS or Israel on Feb 11, 2010.

Thanks SIRR1

Click to expand...

Wondering what the time difference is in Iran??? Should we be concerned about the 10th, 11th or both days here in America? Not that it matters much if they have something big planned and we are unable to stop it!!

KKC said:

Iran is doing this because they can. NO ONE has the balls to take on Iran everybodys too chicken shit. This is no different than the Iran hostages during the Carter Administration. Once Reagan took office things changed and the hostages were released because they knew he wouldn’t put up with that shit.

Click to expand...

That is exactly right, though, I might have worded it slightly differently.

rodeorector said:

That is exactly right, though, I might have worded it slightly differently.

Click to expand...

I know I know. I wondered if I should have used the words "Iran" and "hostages" in the same sentence. Damn it I’m an idiot!!!

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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LB09Ak01.html

Feb 9, 2010
Dangerous steps in Iran's nuclear dance
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Days after announcing that Iran was willing to send its low-enriched uranium for further processing abroad, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad told the country's Atomic Energy Agency to begin the enrichment process in the country. However, Ahmadinejad emphasized that Iran was still open to a "fuel-for-fuel" option.

The US and its allies now face a dilemma: they can go ahead with the fuel swap, or allow Iran to come near to the threshold of "weapons-capable" uranium enrichment - 20%. On October 1, the International Atomic Energy Agency proposed a plan under which Iran would send the bulk of its low-enriched uranium to a third country to be further enriched, then shipped back to Iran for use in a medical research reactor in Tehran. Should the West choose the fuel-swap option, it will likely need to accept less than the 1,200 kilograms of uranium originally stipulated by the (IAEA) plan and give Tehran guarantees of delivery.

Ahmadinejad's two statements - on February 2 accepting the fuel swap, then on Sunday telling Iran's nuclear agency to itself enrich the nuclear fuel for theTehran research reactor - seem contradictory. But from Tehran's standpoint, one complements the other.

Above all, the aim is to increase Iran's bargaining ability with respect to the IAEA-proposed deal. The net effect, some in Iran hope, will be to pressure the West to demonstrate a greater degree of flexibility and revise its present stubborn approach - of "either or", to paraphrase Iran's envoy to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee.

A number of foreign policy experts in Tehran were surprised at the lukewarm reaction to Ahmadinejad's fuel offer in the West, recalling United States President Barack Obama's enthusiastic endorsement of the deal last October. By signaling Iran's determination to produce the nuclear fuel at home, Ahmadinejad may add fresh fuel to a US-led drive for greater sanctions on Iran.

On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with the chief of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency, Yukiya Amano, at the Munich Security Conference. But on Sunday, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for the international community to coordinate sanctions and pressure on Iran.

Ahmadinejad's order to enrich nuclear fuel domestically is a gamble that may backfire with China and Russia, which had welcomed his earlier announcement regarding the fuel swap. To reassure the rest of the world that Ahmadinejad's initial offer was sincere, Iran will need to make a formal approach to the IAEA.

A sticking point may be Iranian insistence on a "simultaneous exchange" of nuclear fuel within Iranian territory. This was reiterated by Iran's ambassador to Moscow, who has openly dismissed Western media reports that Ahmadinejad had consented to a "four or five months" time gap between export and import of the enriched uranium. (See Iran launches new phase in nuclear crisis, Asia Times Online, February 5, 2010).

The ultimate aim of Ahmadinejad's intricate, dualistic diplomacy appears to be to secure the best deal for Iran. But this also raises the issue of Iran's stark choices, since the nuclear fuel for the Tehran medical research reactor will soon run out, affecting the operation of some 200 hospitals which rely on its radioisotopes for cancer patients.

"Iran's biggest challenge is technological because of some recent problems with the centrifuges [necessary for enriching uranium]," said a Tehran policy expert on the condition of anonymity. "If somehow Iran succeeds in meeting this challenge, then it would be cheaper, more efficient, and of course better for the country's long-term interest not to be dependent on foreign sources."

This argument makes sense, according to Western nuclear experts who point out that under present arrangements, Iran loses some 50% of a key isotope due to decay during shipment, and it costs a lot more to import than to produce locally.

The best option may be a "multi-nationalization" of Iran's enrichment activity, meaning that the nation's whole fuel cycle is based on a regional or multi-national approach, something that Iran's officials have repeatedly welcomed.

In the coming days, sources in Tehran tell the author, Iran is likely to give its final response on the IAEA-proposed deal to the IAEA, and this might explain the behind-the-scenes meeting of Mottaki and IAEA chief Amano in Munich, which culminated in an optimistic statement from Mottaki.

"We discussed and exchanged views about a wide range of issues ... We also exchanged views about the proposal that is on the table. I tried to explain the views of the Islamic republic of Iran for the director general," said Mottaki.

It is unlikely that Mottaki would be up-beat if there was no momentum behind the deal, since the foreign minister's reputation would no doubt suffer.

However, the biggest question mark hangs over Washington's commitment to the fuel deal. Obama was enthusiastic about it four months ago, but since then a powerful chorus of voices - including some from within the Obama administration - has been raised against it. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never displayed any genuine interest in the fuel swap, though she accused Iran of walking away from a good deal.

The threat of Iran embarking on its own enrichment drive may be just what Washington's hawks need to accept the fuel-swap option. If they do not, and continue with military threats and coercive diplomacy, then they may have to deal with the unwanted consequences of escalating the Iran nuclear crisis at a time when the US - already bogged down in two of Iran's neighbors - can ill afford such a prospect.

At a recent presentation to the US Congress, Dennis Blair, the head of US intelligence, said Iran had probably not yet decided to build nuclear weapons and was open to diplomatic influence from the West. That is a keen observation, and the US needs to take into consideration the ramifications of pushing Iran into a corner.

In other words, the US will likely prefer to strike a bargain with Iran than go to war with it. After all, Iran would not be breaching international obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if it were to produce its own nuclear fuel for the Tehran reactor. Several other nations, such as Canada, import weapons-grade uranium for their research reactors.

"People in the West forget that Iran continues to have the plutonium that the US delivered to Iran in the late 1960s for this reactor in Tehran that is under IAEA safeguards. Iran's record, which shows it has not misused this ... is under appreciated," the Tehran expert said.

Indeed, Tehran has been in possession of weapons-capable resources for many years without any report of diversion to weapons purposes, so why is there concern now? The answer may lie less with Iran's nuclear intentions but with a US desire for power projection in the Middle East and Persian Gulf.

Kaveh L Afrasiabi, PhD, is the author of After Khomeini: New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy (Westview Press) . For his Wikipedia entry, click here. His latest book, Reading In Iran Foreign Policy After September 11 (BookSurge Publishing , October 23, 2008) is now available.

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