Hahnz Bwix! Hahnz Bwix!
Nov. 18th, 2004 03:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
semiotic_pirateFollowing a conversation with my good friend crabbyolbastard about Colin Powell's latest announcement about a country having possible WMD's to use against the United States... I found the following article:
(of course, I keep getting flashbacks from Team America... "you're bweakin' mah bawws Hahnz Brix!") Thank again to the COB. ::winks::
So, the EU currency, the euro, is beating out the dollar... AND they're actually negotiating with foreign powers and getting stuff done. Huh. ::scratches head:: I wonder what we're doing wrong? Then again, why do people around the world think that owning nuclear weapons makes you more powerful? Oh, wait... it kinda does make another nation sit up and listen when you can kill a huge amount of people.
::sighs::
Iran trading 'a pearl for a bonbon'
By Bill Samii
Iran will voluntarily "continue and extend its suspension [of its uranium-enrichment] program to include all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities", according to its agreement on Sunday with the European Union's "Big Three" - France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Negotiation officials in Europe and Iran have welcomed the deal because it forestalls Iran's being referred to the UN Security Council and facing sanctions. On the other hand, representatives of Iran's top official, conservative legislators, and the press have objected to the deal.
The Iran-EU agreement notes that the suspension is "a voluntary confidence-building measure and not a legal obligation". Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Hassan Rohani stressed this point on Monday, Mehr News Agency reported. Rohani also noted that the agreement does not mention a permanent suspension of uranium enrichment. Nevertheless, according to the Iranian News Agency (IRNA), Rohani said that on November 22, next Monday, Iran will suspend its uranium-conversion activities, including the making and assembling of centrifuge components. He was adamant that Iran still wants to master the entire fuel cycle.
On Tuesday, Rohani had to appear at the legislature to explain the deal with the EU at a closed-door session. Afterward, he told reporters that the Iran-EU agreement is just a preliminary document that will determine future activities and it does not need parliamentary approval, the IRNA reported. "Once long-term agreements are finalized, they will have to be ratified by the parliament," Rohani said. He added that the actual suspension of enrichment-related activities will last only as long as the negotiations, but if they break down or reach a dead end, Iran will no longer be committed to the suspension.
Apparently, Rohani's explanation did not satisfy the parliamentarians, and he had to return for another closed-door session the following day, the Iranian Labor News Agency reported. Of greater relevance is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's opinion of the agreement with the Europeans, because he has the final say in all matters of policy. Khamenei's representative at the SNSC, Ali Larijani, dismissed the agreement for making concessions in exchange for nothing tangible, Fars News Agency reported. Larijani said Iran effectively exchanged a "pearl" for a "bonbon". Larijani went on to say that although he respected the Iranian diplomats who interacted with the Europeans, he had reservations about the negotiations themselves.
Uranium enrichment should not be halted without securing economic concessions, he said. The European promise of assistance in gaining World Trade Organization (WTO) membership, furthermore, is a one-time deal, whereas suspending uranium enrichment is a continuous commitment, according to Larijani.
Hussein Shariatmadari, the supreme leader's representative at the Kayhan Institute, also came out against the agreement. In an editorial in the Sunday issue of Kayhan, he wrote that the Iranian negotiators were "swindled". Shariatmadari wrote that in accordance with the September 2004 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors resolution, the negotiators have agreed to fully stop enrichment activities. Doing this, he continued, is a "retreat" from Iran's previously announced "red line".
In an attempt to calm the dispute over the wisdom of the agreement with the Europeans, SNSC official Hussein Musavian said on Wednesday that the supreme leader has been supervising Iranian nuclear affairs from the outset, IRNA reported. Musavian added that his colleague, Rohani, is just a coordinator.
President Mohammed Khatami also tried to pour oil on the troubled waters. "Production of uranium and its enrichment as nuclear fuel is Iran's right," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. "If we see that the Europeans are not fulfilling their promises, then it is natural that we cannot remain committed to this issue either." Khatami also urged the EU and the IAEA to act in a way that will reassure Iran.
Iran's press, meanwhile, kept up a veritable barrage of criticism about the Iran-EU agreement. On Wednesday, the hardline Jomhuri-yi Islami, for example, said the officials treat Iranian people as if they are "simple-minded" and the Europeans believe this, too. Even the moderate Mardom Salari said that same day that the agreement returns Iran to "square one". The reformist Aftab-i Yazd said on Tuesday that the deal might be the best that Iran can secure, but in a factional jibe it called on the negotiators to explain Iran's weakened position in the negotiating process.
"Nobody could claim that America has increased its power in the past two or three years, and has thus, in coordination with Europe, increased pressures on Iran," Aftab-i Yazd added. "So it is we who are weaker, and we must think of the reasons why."
Note: US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday that he had seen intelligence indicating that Iran "had been actively working on delivery systems" capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. Powell said there is no evidence to suggest that Iran has developed the technology to make a nuclear weapon, but suggested that the government is working to adapt missiles for nuclear warheads. A senior official for the exiled National Council for Resistance in Iran said on Tuesday that a bomb diagram - along with an unspecified amount of weapons-grade uranium - was provided to Iran by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced former head of Pakistani's nuclear development, which was tied to both Iran and Libya.
crabbyolbastard about Colin Powell's latest announcement about a country having possible WMD's to use against the United States... I found the following article:(of course, I keep getting flashbacks from Team America... "you're bweakin' mah bawws Hahnz Brix!") Thank again to the COB. ::winks::
So, the EU currency, the euro, is beating out the dollar... AND they're actually negotiating with foreign powers and getting stuff done. Huh. ::scratches head:: I wonder what we're doing wrong? Then again, why do people around the world think that owning nuclear weapons makes you more powerful? Oh, wait... it kinda does make another nation sit up and listen when you can kill a huge amount of people.
::sighs::
Iran trading 'a pearl for a bonbon'
By Bill Samii
Iran will voluntarily "continue and extend its suspension [of its uranium-enrichment] program to include all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities", according to its agreement on Sunday with the European Union's "Big Three" - France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Negotiation officials in Europe and Iran have welcomed the deal because it forestalls Iran's being referred to the UN Security Council and facing sanctions. On the other hand, representatives of Iran's top official, conservative legislators, and the press have objected to the deal.
The Iran-EU agreement notes that the suspension is "a voluntary confidence-building measure and not a legal obligation". Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Hassan Rohani stressed this point on Monday, Mehr News Agency reported. Rohani also noted that the agreement does not mention a permanent suspension of uranium enrichment. Nevertheless, according to the Iranian News Agency (IRNA), Rohani said that on November 22, next Monday, Iran will suspend its uranium-conversion activities, including the making and assembling of centrifuge components. He was adamant that Iran still wants to master the entire fuel cycle.
On Tuesday, Rohani had to appear at the legislature to explain the deal with the EU at a closed-door session. Afterward, he told reporters that the Iran-EU agreement is just a preliminary document that will determine future activities and it does not need parliamentary approval, the IRNA reported. "Once long-term agreements are finalized, they will have to be ratified by the parliament," Rohani said. He added that the actual suspension of enrichment-related activities will last only as long as the negotiations, but if they break down or reach a dead end, Iran will no longer be committed to the suspension.
Apparently, Rohani's explanation did not satisfy the parliamentarians, and he had to return for another closed-door session the following day, the Iranian Labor News Agency reported. Of greater relevance is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's opinion of the agreement with the Europeans, because he has the final say in all matters of policy. Khamenei's representative at the SNSC, Ali Larijani, dismissed the agreement for making concessions in exchange for nothing tangible, Fars News Agency reported. Larijani said Iran effectively exchanged a "pearl" for a "bonbon". Larijani went on to say that although he respected the Iranian diplomats who interacted with the Europeans, he had reservations about the negotiations themselves.
Uranium enrichment should not be halted without securing economic concessions, he said. The European promise of assistance in gaining World Trade Organization (WTO) membership, furthermore, is a one-time deal, whereas suspending uranium enrichment is a continuous commitment, according to Larijani.
Hussein Shariatmadari, the supreme leader's representative at the Kayhan Institute, also came out against the agreement. In an editorial in the Sunday issue of Kayhan, he wrote that the Iranian negotiators were "swindled". Shariatmadari wrote that in accordance with the September 2004 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors resolution, the negotiators have agreed to fully stop enrichment activities. Doing this, he continued, is a "retreat" from Iran's previously announced "red line".
In an attempt to calm the dispute over the wisdom of the agreement with the Europeans, SNSC official Hussein Musavian said on Wednesday that the supreme leader has been supervising Iranian nuclear affairs from the outset, IRNA reported. Musavian added that his colleague, Rohani, is just a coordinator.
President Mohammed Khatami also tried to pour oil on the troubled waters. "Production of uranium and its enrichment as nuclear fuel is Iran's right," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. "If we see that the Europeans are not fulfilling their promises, then it is natural that we cannot remain committed to this issue either." Khatami also urged the EU and the IAEA to act in a way that will reassure Iran.
Iran's press, meanwhile, kept up a veritable barrage of criticism about the Iran-EU agreement. On Wednesday, the hardline Jomhuri-yi Islami, for example, said the officials treat Iranian people as if they are "simple-minded" and the Europeans believe this, too. Even the moderate Mardom Salari said that same day that the agreement returns Iran to "square one". The reformist Aftab-i Yazd said on Tuesday that the deal might be the best that Iran can secure, but in a factional jibe it called on the negotiators to explain Iran's weakened position in the negotiating process.
"Nobody could claim that America has increased its power in the past two or three years, and has thus, in coordination with Europe, increased pressures on Iran," Aftab-i Yazd added. "So it is we who are weaker, and we must think of the reasons why."
Note: US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday that he had seen intelligence indicating that Iran "had been actively working on delivery systems" capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. Powell said there is no evidence to suggest that Iran has developed the technology to make a nuclear weapon, but suggested that the government is working to adapt missiles for nuclear warheads. A senior official for the exiled National Council for Resistance in Iran said on Tuesday that a bomb diagram - along with an unspecified amount of weapons-grade uranium - was provided to Iran by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced former head of Pakistani's nuclear development, which was tied to both Iran and Libya.
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Date: 2004-11-18 08:45 pm (UTC)