ianstone
05-18-2010, 10:24 AM
U.S. outmanoeuvered as Iran signs nuclear deal with Turkey and Brazil
By Mail Foreign Service (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Mail+Foreign+Service)
Last updated at 9:32 AM on 18th May 2010
[/URL]
Iran has signed a nuclear fuel swap deal with Turkey and Brazil in a major diplomatic coup that threatens to derail U.S. efforts to strengthen sanctions against Tehran.
Under the deal, Iran will ship 1,200kg of low-enriched uranium to Turkey, where it will be stored.
In exchange, Iran will receive, within one year, higher-enriched fuel rods to be used in a U.S.-built medical research reactor.
The deal was announced after talks between Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/18/article-1279272-099E62F7000005DC-746_468x605.jpg It's a deal: Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate after signing an agreement to ship Iran's low enriched uranium to Turkey to exchange with nuclear fuel for a Tehran reactor
It appeared to be another attempt to stave off UN sanctions, as the Obama administration and other Western powers gave the pact a guarded welcome.
The White House warned that the deal still allowed Iran to keep enriching uranium toward the pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
Robert Gibbs, White House spokesman, said: 'Given Iran's repeated failure to live up to its own commitments, and the need to address fundamental issues related to Iran's nuclear program, the United States and international community continue to have serious concerns.'
Still, by involving Turkey and Brazil, Iran ramped up the pressure on Washington over additional U.N. sanctions.
The deal moves these two influential Security Council members closer to Tehran and presents the U.S. and its Western allies with a bloc of developing nations that back Iran's right to pursue a nuclear program.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/18/article-1279272-099E8743000005DC-843_468x286.jpg Smile for the camera: Ahmadinejad takes picture of the Brazilian president after signing a nuclear swap deal that forces aside Washington
In announcing the accord, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Tehran has the right to 'a full nuclear fuel cycle, including enrichment activities for peaceful purposes' and condemned any new sanctions against Iran.
Both countries are important for Washington - Brazil is South America's largest nation and has a dominant role on the continent, while Turkey, a key NATO ally and a traditional regional U.S. mainstay, has moved to develop an increasingly independent voice.
While they have no Security Council veto, both are skeptical of the U.S.-led drive for a fourth set of Security Council sanctions to punish Tehran's refusal to stop its enrichment activities.
And the Iranian maneuver could weaken growing resolve by Russia and China - which do have veto power - to support new sanctions.
Moscow and Beijing were responsible for watering down the language of previous anti-Iran sanctions but appeared to swing behind the U.S., Britain and France recently.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/18/article-1279272-09A02E70000005DC-430_233x423.jpg Playing along: U.S. president Barack Obama, pictured yesterday with his own basketball top. He was pushing for the same deal with Iran back in October
Iran's pact with Turkey and Brazil pact mirrors a swap proposed last October in which Iran would have shipped the same amount of low-enriched uranium to Russia in exchange for higher-enriched material for its research reactor.
That deal fell apart over Tehran's insistence that the swap take place on Iranian soil.
On its face, the latest plan seems a significant concession, with Iran agreeing to ship its material to be stored in Turkey and wait up to a year for higher-enriched uranium from France and Russia.
However, Iran is believed to have much more nuclear material stockpiled now.
In October, swapping 1,200kg would have left Iran with less than the 1,000kg of material needed to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb.
Since then, Iran has continued to churn out low-enriched material and started enriching uranium to an even higher level - from 3.5 per cent to near 20 per cent.
While Tehran insists it has no nuclear arms ambitions, it could produce weapons grade uranium much more quickly from the 20 per cent level.
In March, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran's stockpile stood at around 2,100kg. It has likely grown to an estimated 2,300kg - more than twice the amount needed to produce enough material for a bomb, according to David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, which has tracked Iran for signs of covert proliferation.
From the West's point of view, that destroys much of the incentive for an agreement - and Iran's decision to continue its program to enrich to near 20 per cent poses an even greater hurdle.
But Western nations have insisted that pressure on sanctions will not wane.
Britain said it's position on Iran remained 'unchanged'.
A spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said: 'Iran has an obligation to reassure the international community, and until it does so, we will continue to work with our international partners on a sanctions resolution in the United Nations Security Council.'
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero agreed, saying the world was awaiting 'credible answers from Iran' on its nuclear agenda.
For his part, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev cautiously welcomed the agreement but said it may fail to fully satisfy the international community. He alluded to Iran's intention to continue its higher-enrichment activities as a cause for concern.
Even as the agreement was announced, Iran said it would continue to enrich uranium to higher levels.
'Of course, enrichment of uranium to 20 per cent will continue inside Iran,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.
That stance is bound to feed international suspicions about a nuclear program Tehran has long insisted is peaceful since the original rationale for enriching to 20 per cent was that foreign countries were refusing to provide the fuel rods needed for Iran's research reactor.
'There is no apparent civilian use for this material,' the British Foreign Office said, adding that the decision to continue higher enrichment 'underlines Iran's disregard for efforts to engage it in serious negotiation'.
If Iran does not receive the fuel rods within a year, Turkey will be required to 'quickly and unconditionally' return the uranium to Iran, according to a joint declaration by the three nations. Iran feared that under the initial UN deal, if a swap fell through, its uranium stock could be seized permanently.
View all
America should keep it's ugly nose out of other country's affairs.
They are not happy unless they are warmongering.
- Tony, Essex, 18/5/2010 12:00
Click to rate [URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#"] (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#) Rating 5
Report abuse (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/reportAbuseInComment.html?articleId=1279272&commentId=23963402)
Out-manoeuvered, my foot. What literal translation. Anyone can sign agreements but as we all know, most are non-binding and not adhered to. Let's see where Iran goes with this first before making sweeping statements that have no basis.
- Lucee, Phuket, 18/5/2010 12:12
Click to rate (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#) Rating (0)
Report abuse (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/reportAbuseInComment.html?articleId=1279272&commentId=23963552)
Once again, it should be noted that these events are a few more steps on the path to World War III. Of course, it can all be avoided if the U.S. will simply agree to stop threatening Iran, something it has steadfastly refused to do. Unfortunately, like any good mafia don, the U.S. puts great value on "credibility", which means that they can never tolerate disobedience, even if it means ending the planet's only experiment with higher intelligence.
- Mike Bonner, Ottawa, Canada, 18/5/2010 14:26
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#comments#ixzz0oI2DKIqc (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#comments#ixzz0oI2DKIqc)
Irans poison Dwarf,"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad", Hits home run ?
Or is Iran, just, a blow hard, Gob shite Country run by powerful cleriks with more power than we realise?
By Mail Foreign Service (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Mail+Foreign+Service)
Last updated at 9:32 AM on 18th May 2010
[/URL]
Iran has signed a nuclear fuel swap deal with Turkey and Brazil in a major diplomatic coup that threatens to derail U.S. efforts to strengthen sanctions against Tehran.
Under the deal, Iran will ship 1,200kg of low-enriched uranium to Turkey, where it will be stored.
In exchange, Iran will receive, within one year, higher-enriched fuel rods to be used in a U.S.-built medical research reactor.
The deal was announced after talks between Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/18/article-1279272-099E62F7000005DC-746_468x605.jpg It's a deal: Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate after signing an agreement to ship Iran's low enriched uranium to Turkey to exchange with nuclear fuel for a Tehran reactor
It appeared to be another attempt to stave off UN sanctions, as the Obama administration and other Western powers gave the pact a guarded welcome.
The White House warned that the deal still allowed Iran to keep enriching uranium toward the pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
Robert Gibbs, White House spokesman, said: 'Given Iran's repeated failure to live up to its own commitments, and the need to address fundamental issues related to Iran's nuclear program, the United States and international community continue to have serious concerns.'
Still, by involving Turkey and Brazil, Iran ramped up the pressure on Washington over additional U.N. sanctions.
The deal moves these two influential Security Council members closer to Tehran and presents the U.S. and its Western allies with a bloc of developing nations that back Iran's right to pursue a nuclear program.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/18/article-1279272-099E8743000005DC-843_468x286.jpg Smile for the camera: Ahmadinejad takes picture of the Brazilian president after signing a nuclear swap deal that forces aside Washington
In announcing the accord, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Tehran has the right to 'a full nuclear fuel cycle, including enrichment activities for peaceful purposes' and condemned any new sanctions against Iran.
Both countries are important for Washington - Brazil is South America's largest nation and has a dominant role on the continent, while Turkey, a key NATO ally and a traditional regional U.S. mainstay, has moved to develop an increasingly independent voice.
While they have no Security Council veto, both are skeptical of the U.S.-led drive for a fourth set of Security Council sanctions to punish Tehran's refusal to stop its enrichment activities.
And the Iranian maneuver could weaken growing resolve by Russia and China - which do have veto power - to support new sanctions.
Moscow and Beijing were responsible for watering down the language of previous anti-Iran sanctions but appeared to swing behind the U.S., Britain and France recently.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/18/article-1279272-09A02E70000005DC-430_233x423.jpg Playing along: U.S. president Barack Obama, pictured yesterday with his own basketball top. He was pushing for the same deal with Iran back in October
Iran's pact with Turkey and Brazil pact mirrors a swap proposed last October in which Iran would have shipped the same amount of low-enriched uranium to Russia in exchange for higher-enriched material for its research reactor.
That deal fell apart over Tehran's insistence that the swap take place on Iranian soil.
On its face, the latest plan seems a significant concession, with Iran agreeing to ship its material to be stored in Turkey and wait up to a year for higher-enriched uranium from France and Russia.
However, Iran is believed to have much more nuclear material stockpiled now.
In October, swapping 1,200kg would have left Iran with less than the 1,000kg of material needed to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb.
Since then, Iran has continued to churn out low-enriched material and started enriching uranium to an even higher level - from 3.5 per cent to near 20 per cent.
While Tehran insists it has no nuclear arms ambitions, it could produce weapons grade uranium much more quickly from the 20 per cent level.
In March, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran's stockpile stood at around 2,100kg. It has likely grown to an estimated 2,300kg - more than twice the amount needed to produce enough material for a bomb, according to David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, which has tracked Iran for signs of covert proliferation.
From the West's point of view, that destroys much of the incentive for an agreement - and Iran's decision to continue its program to enrich to near 20 per cent poses an even greater hurdle.
But Western nations have insisted that pressure on sanctions will not wane.
Britain said it's position on Iran remained 'unchanged'.
A spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said: 'Iran has an obligation to reassure the international community, and until it does so, we will continue to work with our international partners on a sanctions resolution in the United Nations Security Council.'
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero agreed, saying the world was awaiting 'credible answers from Iran' on its nuclear agenda.
For his part, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev cautiously welcomed the agreement but said it may fail to fully satisfy the international community. He alluded to Iran's intention to continue its higher-enrichment activities as a cause for concern.
Even as the agreement was announced, Iran said it would continue to enrich uranium to higher levels.
'Of course, enrichment of uranium to 20 per cent will continue inside Iran,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.
That stance is bound to feed international suspicions about a nuclear program Tehran has long insisted is peaceful since the original rationale for enriching to 20 per cent was that foreign countries were refusing to provide the fuel rods needed for Iran's research reactor.
'There is no apparent civilian use for this material,' the British Foreign Office said, adding that the decision to continue higher enrichment 'underlines Iran's disregard for efforts to engage it in serious negotiation'.
If Iran does not receive the fuel rods within a year, Turkey will be required to 'quickly and unconditionally' return the uranium to Iran, according to a joint declaration by the three nations. Iran feared that under the initial UN deal, if a swap fell through, its uranium stock could be seized permanently.
View all
America should keep it's ugly nose out of other country's affairs.
They are not happy unless they are warmongering.
- Tony, Essex, 18/5/2010 12:00
Click to rate [URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#"] (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#) Rating 5
Report abuse (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/reportAbuseInComment.html?articleId=1279272&commentId=23963402)
Out-manoeuvered, my foot. What literal translation. Anyone can sign agreements but as we all know, most are non-binding and not adhered to. Let's see where Iran goes with this first before making sweeping statements that have no basis.
- Lucee, Phuket, 18/5/2010 12:12
Click to rate (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#) Rating (0)
Report abuse (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/reportAbuseInComment.html?articleId=1279272&commentId=23963552)
Once again, it should be noted that these events are a few more steps on the path to World War III. Of course, it can all be avoided if the U.S. will simply agree to stop threatening Iran, something it has steadfastly refused to do. Unfortunately, like any good mafia don, the U.S. puts great value on "credibility", which means that they can never tolerate disobedience, even if it means ending the planet's only experiment with higher intelligence.
- Mike Bonner, Ottawa, Canada, 18/5/2010 14:26
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#comments#ixzz0oI2DKIqc (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279272/U-S-outmaneuvered-Iran-signs-nuclear-deal-Turkey-Brazil.html#comments#ixzz0oI2DKIqc)
Irans poison Dwarf,"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad", Hits home run ?
Or is Iran, just, a blow hard, Gob shite Country run by powerful cleriks with more power than we realise?