Category: Iran
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Data Is Lacking on Iran's Arms, U.S. Panel Says
It looks like US intelligence on Iran is not up to scratch: A commission due to report to President Bush this month will describe American intelligence on Iran as inadequate to allow firm judgments about Iran’s weapons programs, according to people who have been briefed on the panel’s work. The report comes as intelligence agencies…
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Watersheds
Michael Ledeen’s recent article in National Review came up in conversation with some people on Friday night. I found the article through a Roger Simon’s blog, who believes this is something the blogosphere should get behind. Ledeen’s suggestion: The great political battlefield in the Middle East is, as it has been all along, Iran, the…
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Iran 'will stick to nuclear plan'
Things are getting very serious with Iran, sooner than I expected. It looks like the Iranians may be throwing down the gauntlet to Bush and Sharon. I do like the double speak from Khatami: “We give our guarantee that we will not produce nuclear weapons because we’re against them and do not believe they are…
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Attacking Iran 'not on US agenda'
Perhaps the diplomatic tool that Rice is talking are the same ones used before the invasion of Iraq. On the question of an attack:”The question is simply not on the agenda at this point in time.” Rumours of US special forces in Iran may well be true – and rumour also has it that SAS…
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Preparing for war with Iran
Steve Clemons mentions a piece about the probing of Iran’s missile defences. The flights, which have been going on for weeks, are being launched from sites in Afghanistan and Iraq and are part of Bush administration attempts collect badly needed intelligence on Iran’s possible nuclear weapons development sites, these sources said, speaking on condition of…
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Mossad warning over nuclear Iran
It looks like Israel is getting pretty pissed off. “This problem should be of concern to the whole world and not just Israel.” Mr Peres, widely regarded as the father of Israel’s secretive nuclear deterrent, dampened suggestions that Israel was planning pre-emptive strikes against Iran, as hinted by Mr Cheney. “The party that will decide…
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U.S.-European discord over Iran is deepening
Word has it that the Europeans and Americans are falling out again, this time over Iran. Despite a renewed American effort to repair relations with Europe, a disagreement between the Bush administration and European leaders over how best to persuade Iran to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program has deepened in recent weeks, diplomats on…
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Will Iran Be Next?
James Fallows in the Atlantic asks the question posed on here not so long ago – will Iran be next in line? A subscription is required for this lengthy piece…
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Iran tensions
Events in Iran will come to the fore this week, but already some big news from the country. The IAEA will meet tomorrow to discuss the situation in Iran. It is reported that Iran has announced it plans to start processing 37 tons of uranium yellowcake, Western intelligence officials have estimated that amount of the…
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Jack Straw on Iran
Just came across this interview from July, with the UK Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. He makes some curious points. Well Israel, India and Pakistan are not signatories to the Non Proliferation Treaty. We want and very powerfully committed to a nuclear free Middle East but that has to happen in order. We now have a…