U.N.: Iran on Path to Build Atomic Weapon

BERLIN (AP) — The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog has warned that Iran is one of several countries on the path to possessing the ingredients for making a nuclear weapon, according to a German newspaper report Friday. Israel says the Islamic Republic could have enough nuclear material to make its first bomb within a year. The U.S. estimates Tehran is at least two years away from that stage. But some analysts have suggested Iran may be closer. David Albright — whose Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security tracks suspect secret proliferators — said Tehran could reach weapons capacity in as little as six months through uranium enrichment. A recent IAEA report says Tehran has increased the number of centrifuges used to process uranium to nearly 4,000, from 3,000 just a few months ago.

Iran’s Nuclear Plans Proceed With Russian Assistance

Iran announced on Monday that it has launched a domestic production line for a mid-size submarine that will be able to fire missiles and torpedoes, state TV reported. Iranian officials noted the "Ghaem" submarine was part of the regime's huge investments in attaining self-sufficiency and equipping its armed forces with modern weapons. The report claimed two other submarines have already been delivered to the Iranian Navy, to serve alongside two submarines acquired from Russia. Meanwhile on Sunday, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that the regime has started planning its second nuclear power plant in Darkhovin, in the southwest of the country. The deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Saeedi, was quoted as saying that specialists have chosen the location for the 360-megawatt, light-water nuclear facility where it will use resources from the area. Tehran hopes to activate by year's end its first nuclear power facility in southern Bushehr, a plant built with Russian assistance.

Iran

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's official news agency says the country is preparing to build more nuclear power plants. Iran has previously announced plans to build six more nuclear power plants by 2021. The country is building its first nuclear power plant in the southern port of Bushehr with the help of Russia. It is expected to go on line later this year.

• JJ Commentary: Ezekiel 38 prophesies an end-time alliance between Russia and Persia (Iran)

Iran Next Hotspot

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has imposed new sanctions against Iran in protest of its nuclear program. Current EU president France said EU nations would show restraint in giving public loans that help companies trading with Iran and would carefully watch financial groups doing business with Iranian banks, especially the Saderat bank. EU countries will also inspect airplanes and ships traveling to and from Iran, notably Iran Air Cargo and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line, to check that they are not carrying contraband to the country.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) has warned millions of radio listeners that the United States is heading into an illegal attack on Iran, stating his amazement at members of Congress who have openly voiced support for a criminal nuclear strike. “If we do (attack) it is going to be a disaster,” the congressman told the Alex Jones radio show. “I was astounded to see on one of the networks the other day that the debate was not are we going to attack, but are we going to attack before or after the election?” Paul continued. The Jerusalem Prayer Team also states that contacts in the governments in both Washington and Jerusalem confirm that nuclear war with Iran could be just weeks away.

Nuclear Iran

Iran is heading towards a major breakthrough in its nuclear weapons capability, Israel's deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz warned Friday. "Iran is continuing to advance toward a military nuclear capability and is heading towards a major breakthrough," the Iranian-born Mofaz told a think tank after talks in Washington with US officials. "For us such a situation that Iran will have a nuclear power is an existential threat and from the state of Israel point of view, it is unacceptable," Mofaz told the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Our estimation is that already by (2009) Iran will reach enrichment capability and as soon as 2010 will have option to reach (uranium production) at military levels," he said in broken English. He charged that Iran was playing for time in talks aimed at halting uranium enrichment with the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain -- the permanent UN Security Council members -- and Germany, the so-called P5-plus-1. "One thing is clear is Iranians are continuing their policy of buying time and so far they are succeeding," he said.

Iranian Tensions Mount

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the U.S. or Israel, Iranian state television reported Thursday. The weapons have "special capabilities" and included missiles launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said. Among the missiles Iran said it tested Wednesday was a new version of the Shahab-3, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iran's missile test on Wednesday proves "there is a real threat," but he downplayed the possibility of war in connection with that nation's nuclear ambitions.

Iran

Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Several American officials said the Israeli exercise appeared to be an effort to develop the military’s capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli officials declined to discuss the details of the exercise. A spokesman for the Israeli military would say only that the country’s air force “regularly trains for various missions in order to confront and meet the challenges posed by the threats facing Israel.” But the scope of the Israeli exercise virtually guaranteed that it would be noticed by American and other foreign intelligence agencies. One Israeli goal, the Pentagon official said, was to practice flight tactics, aerial refueling and all other details of a possible strike against Iran’s nuclear installations and its long-range conventional missiles. A second, the official said, was to send a clear message to the United States and other countries that Israel was prepared to act militarily if diplomatic efforts to stop Iran from producing bomb-grade uranium continued to falter.

Iran

The European Union on Saturday presented Iran with a modified package of incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment program, but an Iran government spokesman said the country would reject the offer if it requires a halt to sensitive nuclear work. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana presented Iran with the package on behalf of the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Russia and China, describing it as generous and comprehensive. But Iran's government spokesman, Gholam Hossein Elham, said Iran won't accept the offer if it asks Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran Next Hotspot

KRANJ, Slovenia — President Bush, pushing for a tougher international stance against Iran's nuclear ambitions, came together with his European partners on Tuesday to embrace financial sanctions beyond those the United Nations already has undertaken to pressure Tehran. Bush had a long list of trans-Atlantic issues on his plate at his final U.S.-European Union summit, held in the scenic countryside amid majestic mountain ranges. None more pressing than Iran. The president wants to get Britain, Germany and France to agree on a package of new penalties and incentives aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. And he wants the next package of U.N. sanctions to be tougher than the last. According to the summit declaration obtained by The Associated Press, Bush and the EU leaders were poised to threaten Iran with further financial sanctions unless it verifiably suspends its nuclear enrichment. The statement said Iran must fully disclose any nuclear weapons work and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s watchdog group, to verify that any such work has ceased.

• JJ Commentary: Iran will not cease its nuclear ambitions over “new penalties and incentives.” Ultimately, Israel and/or the U.S. will destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities and touch off another Middle East conflagration that will lead to the peace pact “with many” prophesied by Daniel and the emergence of the anti-Christ

Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

PARIS (NYT) — The International Atomic Energy Agency, in an unusually blunt and detailed report, said Monday that Iran’s suspected research into the development of nuclear weapons remained “a matter of serious concern” and that Iran continued to owe the agency “substantial explanations.” The nine-page report accused the Iranians of a willful lack of cooperation, particularly in answering allegations that its nuclear program may be intended more for military use than for energy generation. Part of the agency’s case hinges on 18 documents listed in the report and presented to Iran that, according to Western intelligence agencies, indicate the Iranians have ventured into explosives, uranium processing and a missile warhead design — activities that could be associated with constructing nuclear weapons.

The Iranian Conundrum

As Barack Obama and John McCain thrash it out over how they would deal with Iran, voices from inside Iran are weighing in with an unusual message: If the United States strikes hard and fast, we will support you. Emissaries from inside Iran have been meeting with Iranian exiles in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere in recent weeks to deliver this provocative message, which they claim comes from pro-U.S. dissidents at the upper-most levels of the regime. “U.S. airstrikes must be powerful and sustained enough to break the myth of the regime’s absolute power and reveal the weakness of the leadership,” a former official who traveled outside of Iran recently said.

“The conventional wisdom is that limited strikes will allow the regime to rally the people around the flag,” says Mohebat Ahdiyyih, an Iran media analyst at the office of the director of National Intelligence. “However, if the U.S. launches a major strike that goes after the leadership in Iran, that’s different,” he told Newsmax. “Most Iranians hate the regime. People would be very happy to see a major strike that took out the leadership.” Mr. Ahdiyyih and other Iran analysts speaking at an American Enterprise Institute conference on Monday painted a picture of a bitterly-divided regime in Tehran that is “unstable” and fighting for its survival. “The situation is so bad that former president Mohammad Khatami has said that the hard-liners [close to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] are worse than al-Qaida,” Ahdiyyih said.