US warships entering the Gulf.
Is all this muscle flexing all that necessary? Possibly. Depends on whom one reads. Israel is disillusioned and the Brits are concerned while the USA is preparing to 'impress' Iran. It's not a bad idea to bring a potential threat under control, namely Iran's nuclear program, while insuring Israel is safe. It's worrisome to ignore the threat completely because the Iranian president has stated a goal is to have nuclear weapons and in the same breath he'll state The Holocaust is a lie and demand for Hebrews to go back to Germany.
What bothers me about this issue is that the media seems to be taking for granted the contents of the report when according to the IAEA site the report by Mr. ElBaradei is confidential. So, I don't know what sources the media has but all are skeptical at this point.
IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has circulated his latest report to the upcoming meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors on the Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and Relevant Provisions of Security Council Resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The report - submitted in parallel to the UN Security Council - covers developments since Dr. ElBaradei´s report of 22 February 2007.
The 35-member Board will consider the report at its next meetings beginning in Vienna on 11 June. The report´s circulation is restricted and unless the IAEA Board decides otherwise it cannot be released to the public.
See Story Resources for more information.
The 35-member Board will consider the report at its next meetings beginning in Vienna on 11 June. The report´s circulation is restricted and unless the IAEA Board decides otherwise it cannot be released to the public.
See Story Resources for more information.
IAEA: Iran Continues to Defy U.N. (click here)
Wednesday May 23, 2007 6:01 PM
By GEORGE JAHN
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran continues to defy U.N. Security Council demands to scrap its uranium enrichment program and has instead expanded its activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday in a finding that sets the stage for new council sanctions.
The report from Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency, also faulted Tehran for blocking IAEA efforts to probe suspicious nuclear activities, saying that meant it could not ``provide assurances about ... the exclusively peaceful nature'' of its atomic program.
And, in new and worrying phrasing, it expressed concern about its ``deteriorating'' understanding of unexplored aspects of the program, despite four years of a probe sparked by revelations that Tehran had been clandestinely developing enrichment and other nuclear activities that could be used to make weapons for nearly two decades.
Wednesday May 23, 2007 6:01 PM
By GEORGE JAHN
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran continues to defy U.N. Security Council demands to scrap its uranium enrichment program and has instead expanded its activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday in a finding that sets the stage for new council sanctions.
The report from Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency, also faulted Tehran for blocking IAEA efforts to probe suspicious nuclear activities, saying that meant it could not ``provide assurances about ... the exclusively peaceful nature'' of its atomic program.
And, in new and worrying phrasing, it expressed concern about its ``deteriorating'' understanding of unexplored aspects of the program, despite four years of a probe sparked by revelations that Tehran had been clandestinely developing enrichment and other nuclear activities that could be used to make weapons for nearly two decades.
By HERB KEINON AND AP
Iran's uranium enrichment program has undergone notable advances, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday, warning for the first time that its knowledge of Teheran's nuclear activities was shrinking.
The IAEA's finding that Iran was expanding enrichment instead of curtailing it was not surprising. But it was important as a trigger for possible new UN sanctions, which would be the third since such penalties were initially imposed December 23.
Iran's uranium enrichment program has undergone notable advances, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday, warning for the first time that its knowledge of Teheran's nuclear activities was shrinking.
The IAEA's finding that Iran was expanding enrichment instead of curtailing it was not surprising. But it was important as a trigger for possible new UN sanctions, which would be the third since such penalties were initially imposed December 23.
Livni: World must prevent Iran's expanded nuclear enrichment (click here)
By The Associated Press
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Wednesday that "the international community needs to focus on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons." Livni made the remarks in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency's report that was released earlier Wednesday, which slams Iran for expanding its nuclear activities and for disregarding UN Security Council demands to scrap its uranium enrichment program.The foreign minister maintained that the report "shows that time is of the essence, therefore it is critical that the entire world unite and recognize that we must not deviate from this vital goal."
