US says India nuclear deal may depend on Iran vote

Wednesday, 25 January 2006

Reuters, NEW DELHI - The United States said on Wednesday a nuclear cooperation deal with India may stall unless New Delhi votes against Iran next month at the U.N. nuclear energy watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meets on February 2 to discuss whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over a nuclear program the West says is aimed at developing weapons, which Tehran denies.

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UN Security Council leaders to meet on Iran

Wednesday, 25 January 2006

Reuters - Foreign ministers of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany will meet on Monday to bridge differences over Iran's nuclear work before a crisis meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, diplomats said. They said Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany would strive in London for a consensus before the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) holds an emergency meeting on Iran in Vienna on February 2. The United States and European Union allies want the IAEA to refer Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions. Russia and China are urging caution, preferring something like an IAEA statement of concern about Iran without a referral now.

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Merkel to discuss Iran standoff on Middle East visit

Wednesday, 25 January 2006

Agence France Presse - BERLIN, Jan 24, 2006 (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the Middle East next Sunday and Monday for talks expected to touch on the Iranian nuclear crisis, the government said on Tuesday. Merkel will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories in her first trip to the region since taking office in November, her office said, adding that the details of her programme were still being negotiated.

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Iran heading 'in the wrong direction' in nuclear row: EU presidency

Tuesday, 24 January 2006

Agence France Presse, BRUSSELS - Iran is "marching off in the wrong direction" in its nuclear standoff with the West, the European Union's Austrian presidency said on Tuesday. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said that both the Islamic republic's resumption of nuclear activity and the public outbursts against Israel by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were of growing concern.

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Why US doesn't trust Iran on nukes

Tuesday, 24 January 2006

By Peter Grier The Christian Science Monitor - Asked why they're suspicious of Iran's nuclear intentions, US officials point to Natanz. Iran's Natanz nuclear site is in a remote area 200 miles south of Tehran. Key facilities are buried, with vehicle entrance ramps hidden beneath dummy buildings. Construction there has continued in recent months despite Iran's nuclear negotiations with the West - recent satellite photos revealed at least seven new buildings.

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Rice says time for talking with Iran is over

Monday, 23 January 2006

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday there was strong international consensus against Iran's nuclear plans and time had run out for talking to Tehran. With Italy's foreign minister at her side, Rice said the next step must be to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council. The United States believes Iran is building a nuclear bomb but Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful, energy purposes.

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Iran: Mullahs blackmail world with "oil weapon"

Monday, 23 January 2006

Iran's vast oil and gas reserves have been used to perpetuate the life of the religious dictatorship ruling that country. Now, the mullahs are brandishing the "oil weapon" in an attempt to blackmail the international community. Tehran's top nuclear negotiators boast brazenly that if in the case of referral to the UN Security Council and the imposition of sanctions, they will use their "full national capabilities" against the West. This "full national capabilities" is a clear reference to the use of oil as a weapon.

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Iran extends nuclear plant in secret

Monday, 23 January 2006

By Philip Sherwell in Washington The Sunday Telegraph - Iran has secretly extended the uranium enrichment plant at the centre of the international controversy over its resumption of banned nuclear research earlier this month, satellite imagery has revealed. Seven buildings have been erected around the concealed centrifuges which Western governments fear will be used to manufacture weapons-grade uranium at the Natanz site, 200 miles south of Teheran.

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Iran may have received advanced centrifuges: diplomats

Friday, 20 January 2006

Agence France Presse - Iran may have received three shipments of sophisticated P-2 centrifuges capable of enriching uranium, diplomats said Friday, which could support Western claims that Tehran is hiding sensitive nuclear work. There were reportedly three shipments of one centrifuge each from the black-market network of disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan in 1997, one diplomat said.

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