Iran, North Korea to Dominate Nuclear Non-Proliferation Talks

U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation
Thomas Countryman talks to the media in this file photo,
at the government building in Skopje, Macedonia, February 2011.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — Controversial nuclear programs being pursued by Iran and North Korea are expected to dominate the agenda of global nuclear talks that have begun at the United Nations in Geneva. Over the next two weeks, representatives of 190 nations that are members of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT] will meet to prepare for the 2015 NPT Review Conference.

These preparatory talks are taking place in a charged atmosphere. The NPT aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. But the rogue actions of Iran and North Korea are setting many member states on edge.

The head of the U.S. delegation says the increasingly bellicose rhetoric of North Korea and Iran's continued defiance of its obligations under the NPT are major challenges.

Thomas Countryman, who is U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation, said North Korea has exploded a third nuclear device, and Iran has long deceived the International Atomic Energy Agency and international community regarding its nuclear enrichment program.

“The actions of Iran and North Korea should concern every member of this conference. It is clear that if Iran succeeds in the project of constructing nuclear weapons then it is not only the Helsinki meeting that becomes irrelevant, but it is in fact the entire credibility of this treaty. The possession of such weapons by Iran constitutes a threat to the entire region,” said Countryman.

A proposed international conference to establish a nuclear free zone was supposed to take place in Helsinki last December, but failed to materialize. Iran said it would attend such a conference. But Israel, which neither denies nor confirms that it possesses nuclear weapons, indicated it would not attend.

Israel has not joined the NPT. Iran, which is a member, said it is not in breach of the treaty. It says it is enriching uranium as part of a peaceful nuclear energy program, which is allowed under the treaty.  It says it is not interested in acquiring nuclear weapons.

The United States, Israel, the European Union and other allies are suspicious of this claim, however, and fear Teheran is intent on building an atomic bomb.

Countryman warns that if Iran develops nuclear weapons, this will open the way for more proliferation of such weapons than has ever been seen.

"If you consider that Iran’s rhetoric prior to its first nuclear explosion is just as warlike as North Korea’s rhetoric after three nuclear explosions, you ought to be concerned about where continued non-adherence by Iran will bring the region and bring the world,” he said.

North Korea became a party to the NPT in 1985 and announced it was withdrawing from the treaty in 2003. Countryman said North Korea began acquiring nuclear weapons technologies while still a member of the treaty. The case of North Korea, he said, clearly shows the treaty can be abused by states that say they have withdrawn.
Countryman said there must be consequences for such action. He said he expects this issue to be discussed during the 2015 Review Conference and hopes this will be one of the areas where the treaty can be strengthened.
Theo VOA

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Posted in: IRAN,Korea,nuclear

US warns Iran over threat to block oil route

Admiral Habibollah Sayari says Iran could easily close the Strait of Hormuz

The US Navy has said it will not tolerate disruption to a vital oil-trade route, following an Iranian threat to close it.

Iran warned it would shut the Strait of Hormuz if the West imposed more sanctions over its nuclear programme.
The US and its allies believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon - a charge Tehran denies.
Reacting to Iran's warning, a US Fifth Fleet spokeswoman said it was "always ready to counter malevolent actions".
The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf - and the oil-producing states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - to the Indian Ocean. About 40% of the world's tanker-borne oil passes through it.
The US maintains a naval presence in the Gulf, largely to ensure the transport of oil remains open.
The strait "is not only important for security and stability in the region, but also is an economic lifeline for countries in the Gulf, including Iran", Pentagon spokesman George Little said.
"Raising the temperature on tensions in the Gulf is unhelpful", he said, but added that he was unaware of any hostile action directed against US vessels.
US Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Rebecca Rebarich told the BBC the navy would be ready to act if required: "The US Navy is a flexible, multi-capable force committed to regional security and stability, always ready to counter malevolent actions to ensure freedom of navigation."
Closure 'easy' Western nations recently imposed new sanctions against Tehran following a UN report that said Iran had carried out tests related to "development of a nuclear device".
Further measures being considered to target Iran's oil and financial sectors have brought a furious response from Tehran.

Strait of Hormuz

• Narrow strip of water separating Oman and Iran
• 34 miles (54km) across at shortest point
• Used by a third of the world's tanker traffic
• Approximately 15.5m barrels of oil and 2m barrels of oil products pass through each day
• Most oil destined for Asia, US and western Europe
• 50% of China's oil passes through strait

Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned that "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz" if sanctions are widened and Iran's navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayari said that closing the strait would be "easy".

"The enemies will only drop their plots when we put them back in their place," Mr Rahimi was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the official news agency Irna.
Adm Sayari later told Iran's Press TV that closing the Strait of Hormuz would be "really easy" for Iran's armed forces "or, as Iranians say, easier than drinking a glass of water".
"But right now, we don't need to shut it as we have the Sea of Oman under control, and we can control the transit," he added.
Iran's threats to close the strait have not flustered markets and oil prices actually fell after a senior Saudi oil official said that Gulf Arab nations were ready to offset any loss of Iranian crude.
'Non-compliance' Earlier, US State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said the Iranian threats were simply "another attempt... to distract attention from the real issue, which is their continued non-compliance with their international nuclear obligations".
Iran's navy has been staging wargames in international waters to the east of the strait.
Adm Sayari said the manoeuvres were designed to show Gulf neighbours the power of Iran's military over the zone.
Washington and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran's nuclear facilities if sanctions and diplomacy fail.
Iran has vowed to respond by attacking Israeli and US interests in the region.
An embargo on Iranian oil exports has been considered before but dismissed as it could also drive up global oil prices and harm Western economies, particularly in Europe.
It is believed the new measures could cut Tehran off from global energy markets without raising the price of fuel.

Source BBC

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Posted in: IRAN,Politics,USA

Iran Says It Will Not Return US Drone

A member of Iran's revolutionary guard points at what Iran says is the U.S. RQ-170 unmanned spy plane, as he speaks with Admiral Hajizadeh (R), a revolutionary guard commander, at an unknown location in Iran, in this undated picture received December 8, 2011.

 

Iran has rejected a U.S. request to return a drone that Tehran says it brought down near the Afghan border earlier this month.

Iranian Defense Minister, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, said Tuesday that the aircraft is Iran's property.

Facts About US Drone Captured by Iran

The RQ-170 was built by Lockheed Martin and operated by the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force describes the RQ-170 as a "low, observable unmanned aircraft system" that can provide reconnaissance and surveillance. The drone is designed to evade enemy radar during surveillance flights. News reports say the US has used this type of drone in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Defense analysts say the "RQ" designation indicates the drone is unarmed.

Also, state-run media quote Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying the surveillance aircraft is a security violation and the U.S. should apologize for the incident.

"The United States of America needs to know that what it has done in violation of Iranian air space is a measure that can endanger global security and peace. The responsibilities and implications of this need to be accepted," said Mehmanparast.

President Barack Obama said the U.S. had asked for the drone back and would "see how the Iranians respond."  But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that given Iran's past behavior, "we do not expect them to comply."

Obama, in a session with reporters Monday, refused to comment on what he termed "intelligence matters that are classified."  But news reports say the aircraft with advanced stealth technology either strayed into Iranian airspace from Afghanistan or was spying on Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian says the drone was brought down by a cyber-attack just inside its eastern border. Officials say military experts are in the final stages of extracting data from the aircraft.

Iran says the aircraft is an RQ-170 Sentinel drone, designed to evade enemy radar during surveillance flights.

In a separate development, the U.S. has announced it is imposing sanctions on two Iranian military leaders for alleged human rights abuses.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced the restrictions, Tuesday, targeting joint chiefs of staff chairman, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, and Revolutionary Guard Deputy Commander Abollah Araqi. The sanctions ban U.S. business relations with the two officials and will also freeze any assets they have under U.S. jurisdiction.
Source: voanews.com

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Posted in: IRAN,Middle East,Politics,USA

US asks Iran to return captured drone

President Barack Obama has said the US government has requested that Tehran return the surveillance drone captured by Iran's military earlier this month.

Mr Obama said he would not comment on classified intelligence matters, but confirmed: "We have asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond."
Iranian TV broadcast pictures of the intact RQ-170 Sentinel last week.
Tehran said the aircraft was brought down using electronic warfare; Washington insisted it malfunctioned.

Iranian TV showed the unmanned "stealth" aircraft apparently undamaged

Earlier on Monday, Iranian state TV reported that military experts were in the final stages of recovering data from the drone.
A member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, Parviz Sorouri, said the information they extracted would be used to "file a lawsuit against the United States over the invasion" by the aircraft.
'Provocations'
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted that she did not think it likely that the drone would be returned.
"We are very clearly making known our concerns. We submitted a formal request for the return of our lost equipment, as we would in any situation. Given Iran's behaviour to date, we do not expect them to reply," she said.
She said that despite numerous "provocations" from Iran, the US would continue to pursue a "diplomatic approach".
The Revolutionary Guards, whose officers were filmed inspecting the drone on Thursday, said it crossed Iran's eastern border with Afghanistan and travelled 250km (155 miles) inside its airspace, before being brought down in a cyber attack.
However, US officials have said that intelligence assessments indicated that Iran neither shot down the aircraft nor used electronic warfare or cyber-technology to force it from the sky. They blamed a malfunction.
They are, however, concerned that Iran or its allies may be able to determine the chemical composition of the drone's radar-deflecting paint, or copy its engine, control systems, and sophisticated cameras and sensors, which allow it to monitor the ground from high altitude.
The Iranian government has sent a letter of protest to the United Nations, accusing the US of "provocative and secret actions" violating international law, and warning against any "repetition of such actions".
A former US official has said the Pentagon was using the drone to keep watch on Iran's controversial nuclear programme. Western powers believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, which it denies.
Source: bbc.co.uk

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Posted in: IRAN,Politics,USA