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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Tehran's Atomic Plans Irreversible, Top Diplomat Tells Rice
2006-05-31
Tehran, 31 May (AKI) - Shortly after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced on Wednesday that her country is ready to join multilateral talks with Iran on its nuclear program once the country "fully and verifiably" stops enriching uranium, a top Iranian diplomat announced that Tehran's atomic plans are irreversible.

"The United States, Europe and the international community must resign themselves and accept that the nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic, starting with uranium enrichment, are irreversible," said Mohammad Saiidi, the deputy chief of Iran's delegation to the Vienna-based UN atomic watchdog. "We will not take part in any negotiation which has as a precondition the suspension of uranium enrichment, not even a temporary one," said the Iranian representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Thanks, we were worried you might have taken us up on it. Silly me.
Rice's offer comes on the eve of a crucial meeting of UN Security Council members plus Germany on Thursday. Britain, France and Germany have drafted a package of incentives and penalties aimed at convincing Iran to give up its nuclear programme, which world powers fear is aimed at building nuclear weapons. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany are scheduled to discuss the negotiating plan of the three European countries on Thursday in Vienna before presenting it to Tehran.

Iran and the US have only had limited contact with Iranian officials since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Rice told a press conference on Wednesday that "to underscore our commitment to a diplomatic solution and to enhance prospects for success, as soon as Iran fully and verifiably suspends its enrichment and reprocessing activities, the United States will come to the table."
Posted by:Steve

#13  Iran's officios and MadMoud has said or inferred that Iran will not accept limited uranium enrichment, and what levels it MAY/MIGHT ACCEPT is sufficient over time to develop low-grade nuke weapons or so-called "dirty nukes". In reality, the diplomats aretalking only about delaying by likely a few years only Iran's dev of nuke weapons, NOT PREVENTING IRAN FROM HAVING ANY OR ADVANCED NUKE WEAPONS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2006-05-31 21:16  

#12  
Easy solution. Partition into a gazillion fiefdoms.

Nukes require large organizations, water plants do not.
Posted by: Master of Obvious   2006-05-31 19:07  

#11  If Iran is left a single piece, it would have to be utterly destroyed to keep it from reconstituting its nuclear weapons programs. However, once partitioned, it would no longer have such a capability.

The Iranians, I think, are starting to realize this, as just today they announced unconventional training, which by all appearances intends to keep this from happening.

However, it is very hard for a minority, in this case Persians, to keep control over a renegade province strongly dominated by a hostile majority when they hostile minority has the strong backing, i.e. forces on the ground, of a major military power.

And once pushed out of the provinces back into Persia, any concentrations of Iranian military or Revolutionary Guard would be sliced and diced.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2006-05-31 17:39  

#10  A noble wish but unlikely. The Europeans seem by and large to be nearly as reality-challenged as Teheran.
Posted by: lotp   2006-05-31 17:23  

#9  It might even rock the European world view, which appears to be that the US is root of all evil in the modern world.
When he's right, he's really right.
Posted by: 6   2006-05-31 16:58  

#8  The work at the French built Osiraq facility in Iraq was also said to be ..... "irreversible."
Posted by: Besoeker   2006-05-31 16:53  

#7  "Iran and the US have only had limited contact with Iranian officials..."
Ain't that the truth.
Posted by: Darrell   2006-05-31 16:47  

#6  Forgot one thing - earlier in the interview he emphasized that Iran should view the Rice offer their last chance for a cooperative solution. He implied clearly that everything after this point would be punitive.
Posted by: Chang Ominesing2659   2006-05-31 16:47  

#5  You should be watching John Bolton being interviewed on Fox by Cavuto.

He said that when Bush says Iran having nuclear weapons is "unacceptable" that means it is unacceptable. Believe it.

Then reiterated Bush statedly flatly that no options are off the table. And then reiterated that Bush is a man of his word - so what he says should be believed and taken at face value.

It could not have been any clearer.
Posted by: Chang Ominesing2659   2006-05-31 16:44  

#4  I don't really see much of a problem here. If Iran does anything to us, we can always turn Iran into a parking lot. I think it would be amusing to see Europe ringed by nuclear states, as the Arab world follows Iran's footsteps. It should be fun to see the European states agree to take in tens of millions of Muslim immigrants and pay out tens of billions of euros in aid annually in response to pressure from the new nuclear powers. It might even rock the European world view, which appears to be that the US is root of all evil in the modern world.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2006-05-31 16:43  

#3  If only Hitler had been so clear.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-05-31 16:34  

#2  I dunno. I bet several well placed bombs would do wonders for the reversal of their plans.
Posted by: DarthVader   2006-05-31 16:34  

#1  "Tehran's atomic plans are irreversible"

By Tehran, maybe - but not necessarily by us....

IfyouknowwhatImean
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2006-05-31 16:26  

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