Iranians from Ayatollah Khamenei on down have been insisting for years that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but a major Iranian official essentially denied all that today, making clear that Iran’s nuclear intentions are military:
Last week, Reuters reported world powers were planning to offer to ease sanctions barring trade in gold and other precious metals with Iran in return for steps to shut down Fordow [underground uranium enrichment].
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, referred to the reported offer on Sunday and dismissed any idea of a closure, the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported.
“Fordow will never be shut down because … our national duty is to be able to defend our nuclear and vital centers against an enemy threat,” Boroujerdi was quoted as saying by the agency.
“This suggestion (shutting down Fordow) is meant to help the Zionist regime (Israel),” he added.
“Enemy threat?” Unless Boroujerdi is referring to some mysterious Israeli plot to interfere with Iranian cancer treatments, what he is clearly saying is that the purpose of Fordow is to supply material for nuclear weapons.
Most people already suspected this, but the Iranians are evidently no longer bothering to hide it.
While no official report has been made, and while credible informers say it’s too soon to have an idea of the damages, Fordow is said to have been badly destroyed a few weeks ago. Maybe is it the real reason why it can’t be closed.
Iran’s military agenda has been clear since the day they enriched uranium at a purer rate than needed for peaceful applications. The official statements are pure taqquya, but it’s good to have them spitting the word by mistake.
Happily, Israel does what is needed for the world to be a safer place.
Despite its customary bluster, Iran might well consider the offer of greater availability of gold and other precious metals in exchange for shutting down the Fordow facility or at least permitting inspections. There is also an EU plan to tighten sanctions on North Korea’s access to gold and diamonds due to its recent nuke test.
Iran and North Korea have long cooperated in nuke and missile technology. If these plans go forward, they seems likely to do more harm than good.
With increased availability of gold for Iran, and decreased availability for North Korea, Iran could become an even better partner with, and customer for, North Korea’s technology and uranium enrichment while North Korea could become an even more willing partner and seller. To the extent that it could rely on North Korea for enrichment and deal with any transport problems, Iran could even commit to foregoing all significant domestic enrichment and thereby reap substantial international benefits while simultaneously advancing its own quest for nukes and missiles capable of delivering them.
well, obama was reelected.
there really isn’t any reason to pretend any longer.
Exactly. Thus Pyongyang detonates another bomb, Iran comes out of the nuclear closet, Russia spurns the pathetic John Kerry, all knowing the weak Obama won’t do squat. As they turn the screws on him, they know full well he will increase his attacks and scapegoating against the American electorate. They have a helpful tool in Obama.
I also firmly believe that Iran and other terror actors already possess nukes. There is no way that desperate states like Pakistan and NoKo can resist Saudi or Iranian petro-billions. NO WAY.
I believe it is a 100% likelihood that we will be attacked in the not-so-far future by murkey Muslim front groups. They will be acting on the orders of their terror paymasters in Riyadh and Tehran, and they will use purchased nuclear components from Pak/NoKo.
How’s that leading from behind workin’ out?
Those charming mullah-wullahs got flexibility, too, baby.
What is simultaneously funny and deeply tragic is that I am sure Obama sees himself as a “strong leader.”
Obama causes water levels to fall, maybe he has an astroid or megameteor aimed at fordow!
The Iranian propoganda department cannot seem to get the level of photoshop skills that any American 9th grader would consider basic.
The latest effort is one of the worst yet. After being laughed at for the fake stealth jet they simply pasted the exact same jet with the same shadows and reflections on top of a stock wallpaper photo of a mountain as proof that the thing can fly.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2277412/Fake-stealth-plane-Irans-Photoshopped-fighter-jet-spotted-air.html
This sort of thing is just more reason to be concerned. Anybody who thinks they can figure out what the Iranians are up to based on some kind of cold war rationale is kidding themselves. These folks are not playing with a full deck.
playing devil’s advocate for a moment; why SHOULDN’T Iran be able to defend itself?!? Maybe if the US and Israel stopped rattling sabres at them, they wouldn’t be so interested in building nukes. Iran is smart enough to see that the US doesn’t tend to bully nuclear powers, so they wish to have their own deterant as a safeguard against an Iraq/Afghan/Libya style attack from the US. Besides, Morton’s comment earlier is quite correct; Iran ALREADY has nukes, and has had them for years. It’s common knowledge in the intel community that Iran purchased at least three tactical nukes from one of the former Soviet republics (one of the central Asian stans, I believe) back in the 90s., and, so far, they haven’t shot one at anyone.
“Maybe if the US and Israel stopped rattling sabres at them, they wouldn’t be so interested in building nukes.”
Why are Israel and the US rattling sabres at them? Is it a plan to conquer Persia? Some new Israeli settlment outpost or something? Why are the Euros and Gulf States worried about the same thing and opposing sanctions? Do they have it wrong also?
If they were trying to scare us off why keep insisting that the program is peaceful? All they had to do was play nice, keep quiet about the big and little Satan and open up for a commercial reactor with international seal of approval.
You have put the cart before the horse. Nobody could give a pistachio about Iran if they were not trying to get nuclear weapons.
All Iran has to do is stop the weapons program and open up the doors for inspection. They could do that tomorrow and all of this would end.