Article published in Amauta with permission from the author

(Image: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: hoder, allybeag)

by Ray McGovern

Here we go again.  A report issued Thursday by the new Director General of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano, has injected new adrenalin into those arguing that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon.

The usual suspects are hyping—and distorting—thin-gruel language in the report to “prove” that Iran is hard at work on a nuclear weapon.  The New York Times’ David E. Sanger and William J. Broad, for example, highlighted a sentence about “alleged activities related to nuclear explosives,” which Amano says he wants to discuss with Iran.

Amano’s report said:

“Addressing these issues is important for clarifying the Agency’s concerns about these activities and those described above, which seem to have continued beyond 2004.” Read the full story

Source: Newsweek

Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei (Markus Schreiber / AP)

An Interview With Mohamed El Baradei

by Jerry Guo
December 11, 2009

Before he stepped down last month, Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), had to deal with some of the world’s toughest regimes, including Syria, Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

El Baradei met with Newsweek’s Jerry Guo last week to discuss the ongoing struggles over Iran’s enrichment program and his legacy. Excerpts:

Jerry Guo: Some say that you were not as harsh on Iran as you could have been.

El Baradai: People should understand we don’t have an army or God’s authority. I cannot barge into Iranian facilities or factories. Look at the Security Council: they adopted three resolutions (against Iran) that weren’t implemented. Read the full story

UN nuclear watchdog censured Iran on Friday demanding that Tehran immediately freeze construction of its nuclear facility. (Image: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Ennor / Flickr)

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

by Margaret Talev and Nancy A. Youssef
November 27, 2009

Washington – The United Nations nuclear agency blasted Iran in a resolution Friday for obstructing investigations into its suspected nuclear-weapons program and demanded that the Islamic Republic stop enriching uranium at a once-secret facility.

In response, the Obama administration suggested that world powers might be moving closer to imposing international sanctions on Iran. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called a 25-3 vote on the resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency “overwhelming” and said it “demonstrates the resolve and unity of the international community with regard to Iran’s nuclear program.” Read the full story

by Glenn Greenwald
September 26, 2009

Anonymous Obama officials yesterday dictated to Helene Cooper and Mark Mazzetti of The New York Times their version of the dramatic and exciting behind-the-scenes events that led to the administration’s announcement this week about Iran’s nuclear facility — a late-night strategy session; secret consultation with allies; high-level diplomatic wrangling; the White House’s decision to “outflank the Iranians.”  Cooper and Mazzetti faithfully wrote down everything they were told and produced this breathless front-page article (though, to their credit, they noted the motive of their anonymous sources:  “all of whom want the story known to help support their case against Iran”).  Perhaps the most meaningful paragraphs came at the very end:

The Chinese, one administration official said, were more skeptical, and said they wanted to look at the intelligence, and to see what international inspectors said when they investigated.

The lessons of the Iraq war still lingered.

“They don’t want to buy a pig in a poke,” the senior administration official said. Read the full story

The U.S., Iran, and Nuclear Terror

by Anthony DiMaggio
September 26, 2009

Iran’s admission that it is enriching uranium at a second nuclear site was greeted with alarm in the halls of Washington and in American newsrooms on Friday.  Obama has long warned about the “existential threat” that Iran poses to the U.S. and its allies.  Concern over a nuclear Iran is understandable for those who are committed to the abolition of nuclear weapons, and for those who worry about the danger that nuclear proliferation poses for human survival.  It should be noted, however, that the Obama administration does not share those concerns.  U.S. officials have always been preoccupied with how to prohibit enemy states from developing these weapons, while ensuring maximum U.S. and allied maneuverability in keeping such weapons, and even in using them when deemed necessary. Read the full story

por Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, 25 sep (IPS) – Al acusar a Irán de construir una central nuclear subterránea para enriquecer uranio en secreto, Estados Unidos, Gran Bretaña y Francia elevaron la tensión pocos días antes de una reunión programada entre representantes de esos países, Alemania, China y Rusia.

La denuncia pública fue formulada por el presidente estadounidense Barack Obama este viernes, en una conferencia de prensa no programada en ocasión de la cumbre del Grupo de los 20 (G-20) en Pittsburg, Estados Unidos. Read the full story

Ahmadinjed rejected US criticism as a political game in the run-up to nuclear talks in October (AFP)

Ahmadineyad rechaza crítica de EE.UU. como juego político

por Al Jazeera y agencias
26 de septiembre, 2009

El presidente de Irán ha negado que su gobierno haya violado las reglas del Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica (OIEA) después de revelar la existencia de una nueva instalación de enriquecimiento de uranio al organismo de control de la ONU.

Hablando en Teherán el sábado, Mahmud Ahmadineyad dijo que de hecho su país había informado al OIEA todo un año antes del plazo fijado por el Tratado de No Proliferación (TNP). Read the full story

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arriving at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran on Saturday, after returning from the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York. (Atta Kenare/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

by David E. Sanger and William J. Broad
September 26, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to tell Iran this week that it must open a newly revealed nuclear enrichment site to international inspectors “within weeks,” according to senior administration officials. The administration will also tell Tehran that inspectors must have full access to the key personnel who put together the clandestine plant and to the documents surrounding its construction, the officials said Saturday.

The demands, following the revelation Friday of the secret facility at a military base near the holy city of Qum, set the stage for the next chapter of a diplomatic drama that has toughened the West’s posture and heightened tensions with Iran. The first direct negotiations between the United States and Iran in 30 years are scheduled to open in Geneva on Thursday. Read the full story