Monday, May 17, 2010

Iran's Phony Enrichment Deal Smoke Screen

The Iranian regime announced a seeming concession today in its nuclear standoff in a deal midwifed by Turkey and Brazil.

In reality, it's no concession whatsoever.

Iran announced in principle that it is willing to send some of its uranium to Turkey to be enriched to 20% (which is the threshold for weapons grade, despite what the al-Reuters article linked to says).
However, the Iranians still plan to continue enrichment on their own.

"There is no relation between the swap deal and our enrichment activities," Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told Reuters.

The spectacle of an increasingly Islamist Turkey getting involved is a warning signal to the West. The Turks will gain additional nuclear technology which is worrisome enough on its own. And the Erdogan government, frankly is not one that can be trusted by the West when it comes to Iran.

Not only that, but since Iran has been able to play for time successfully, the amount of uranium they're proposing to send to Turkey constitutes only a small part of their uranium stockpile:

"Iran has had time to enrich a substantial amount of new LEU in the six to nine months which have passed since the first round of potential LEU-for-20 percent-enriched-fuel proposal was tabled, making the 1,200 kg of LEU constitute a less comprehensive part of its total LEU stockpile," said analyst Gala Riani of IHS Global Insight.


This entire charade is simply designed to give Russia, China and anyone else so inclined to wiggle out of supporting any sanction whatever...even the watered down useless ones likely to come out of the UN.

please donate...it helps me write more gooder!

No comments: