"U.S. officials said Thursday that an Iranian offer to allow the country's nuclear experts to meet with American and other scientists was not enough to ease concerns about that country's nuclear program.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the proposal in an interview with Washington Post and Newsweek journalists on Wednesday, calling it a confidence-building measure.
But a State Department official said further measures were needed to provide assurances that Iran was not trying to produce nuclear weapons. Iran insists it is simply trying to generate energy.
"I don't think just talking to scientists opens up their nuclear program," said the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to be more candid.
The official added that there was "a real sense of urgency" in the U.S. government about Iran's nuclear program.
"We really hope they come armed with some serious proposals on Oct. 1," he said, referring to a scheduled meeting between a senior Iranian diplomat and counterparts from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. It will be the first formal U.S.-Iranian meeting since President Obama took office.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the administration had not received any offer from Iran to provide access to its nuclear experts. He said he did not want to prejudge how the U.S. government would respond.
"There are no details on this. I think we'd have a lot of questions about it," he said. "
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Outwitted again!! Damnation!! How do these Iranians do it? They have sent their little creep of a president to New York to speak among all the other Kennedy Assasination theorists and then they wheel out an offer of a "deceptive" chance to talk to their atomic scientists. To top that they offer to buy uranium from us. How demonic! They know we want to sell! Sell! Sell!
We will probably find a way to thwart this plot. pl
Adolf Ahmedinejad even had the temerity to echo the Obama offer of an outstretched hand of friendship. Netanyahoo’s “uncivilized barbarians” sure are learning quick!
Notice how Obama and the ‘other’ U.N. Security Council members made no mention of the Israeli nuclear arsenal which is the real threat to Europe, Asia, and Africa. as Israel has the delivery capability for their nuke warheads and idiots who have access to the launch buttons.
Israel is the threat, not Iran.
Maybe those crazy Iranians really just want to generate electricity. I’ve asked before what proof we have that it is anything more. And I don’t mean proof provided by another small country in the middle East. Is this just more payback for 1979?
Sir,
I really like this post. Your sense of humor is outstanding.
But wouldn’t talking to Iran’s nuclear scientists be a basic requirement of inspection?
I forget which one of Saddam’s ministers said during the build-up to war that “The Americans will invade us no matter what we do”. The Iranians are not even players in their own (attempted) destruction since anything short of complete surrender of their own sovereignty will result in an American attack. The American response will be “We gave them every chance to do exactly what Israel, oops, we, wanted and they said no”.
I always felt the one card they had worth playing was to allow inspectors as a prelude to regional nuclear disarmament, i.e. inspectors to Israel, too. But that’s just fantasy on my part. The United States will attack Iran and we’ll have forever war.
I don’t like him so much, either, but when it comes to certain things Ahmedinijad is more of a man, and a Muslim, than the ‘good Muslim’ munafiqun preferred by the West.
Just as politics were played for keeps [keeping your head] in the time of Elizabeth the First, the Iranians play politics in a different arena than US! Remember the old Chinese water torture was very effective–drip by drip. The Iranians should never be viewed as Occidental but as Oriental (now not PC term to use of course.)
“…speaking on condition of anonymity to be more candid.”
Yes of course, to be more candid. The American public neither needs nor wants to know who in the State department is pushing for war.
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From page 2 of the linked article,
Ahmadinejad: “…at the end of the day, some NATO states happen to be our enemies.”
Now that’s candid.
we’re often too clever by half. so, yet again i’m inclined to agree…we’ll put our best people on it and probably find a way.
If they buy the uranium, they will pay with euros.
Should one be neutral like Switzerland or neutral like Zaharoff?
Even more clever that you thought.
1. As current news reports say Iran has announced a new enrichment site to the IAEA.
2. Under the NPT obligations Iran signed it has to announce nuclear facilities to the IAEA only 6 month before introducing nuclear material to such a facility. The alleged new “secrecy” is thereby a non issue as the facility is not yet in use and was announced to the IAEA on Monday.
3. The NYT says the new site is a small for only 3,000 centrifuges. Such a site does NOT make sense to be used as a secondary for the big 50,000 centrifuges (planned end state) site in Natanz.
4. Ahmedinejad asked yesterday for U.S. supply for the Tehran research reactor which was launched with U.S. help in 1968. That 5 MW reactor has undisputed medical and scientific use. It runs with medium enriched Uranium – i.e. 18-20% enrichment – and is under IAEA control.
5. Iran can not make, without some serious re-engineering, such fuel in Natanz.
6. An extra 3,000 centrifuge site makes perfect sense to medium-enrich especially for the Tehran research reactor.
7. Now Iran can say: “Either you will sell us fuel for the research reactor or we, unfortunately, will have to make that fuel ourselves at the new site.”
Really clever people …
Best step for the U.S. – agree to provide fuel for the research reactor and use the talks on this as a starting point.
Best
A question to Pat:
NYT:
That obviously says that Iran has penetrated “western” intelligence.
Which agency was penetrated and Will there be a followup?
All
And we did. pl
Damnation! You made me laugh into my coffee.
On “that obviously says that Iran has penetrated “western” intelligence:” Is it possible (however remotely) that we were sharing with the IAEA this soon?
I suspect not, but wanted to at least consider it.
All:
Nuclear issue is ancilary.
Unless and until the Cold War between the United States and the islamic Republic of Iran ends no progress will be made anywhere on the bi-lateral and multi-lateral issues.
Mr. Ahmadinejad has stated that “we are willing to help”. Thus the burden really is on Mr. Obama.
“Israel is the threat, not Iran.”
J.,
Goddangit. Obviously the MSM are too blind to see! Can’t remember how often you’ve mentioned this, pal.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!”
— Upton Sinclair, from I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked (1935)
That is EXACTLY correct, the nuclear issue is ancillary.
Only such a subject as strategically consequential could compell discussion on what is at the heart of the matter – US/Iranian relations. Tehran knows how to get DC’s attention. It is the culmination of years of planning.
Is this scene of The Shahnameh by Soltan Mohammad called Rostum delivers the Div King to Kay Kavus?
The Russians may have not invented Chess like the Persicos b/ they learned how to play a good game!
from Reuters via the friday lunch club blog
“Sanctioning Iranian natural gas would mean that “Nabucco will come to a dead end,” he said. European Union countries and Turkey signed a transit deal earlier this year for the Nabucco gas pipeline, aimed at cutting Europe’s energy dependence on Russia by supplying gas from the Caspian Sea and Middle East. No concrete supply deals have yet been signed for Nabucco, which plans to pump 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe by 2014.”
Southstream? Remember Medvedev’s previous job-GazProm. Hell Yea, Russia would vote to impose natural gas sanctions