By DemocracyRules
MOSCOW - Russia's foreign minister on Friday warned against the use of force on Iran, saying there is no proof it is trying to build nuclear weapons.
Lavrov said Russia had asked both the United States and Israel to provide factual information to back their claims that Iran was working to build atomic weapons. "So far we have seen none, and the same conclusion was made by the International Atomic Energy Agency," he said.
"It's absolutely not right to speak matter-of-factly that Iran continues building nuclear weapons," Lavrov added.
The IAEA suggested in a report to the U.N. Security Council last month that Iran was stonewalling investigators and possibly withholding information crucial to determining whether it conducted research on nuclear weapons.
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My comment:
The IAEA report was supposed to be kept secret from the public, but it’s contents have already been leaked to journalists. Here are some of the things in the report:
"Specifically, the IAEA report noted that Iran is building structures that fit the description of a nuclear test site. Iran has performed work designing a missile re-entry vehicle. It has conducted studies toward building a uranium conversion facility that would convert uranium yellowcake to UF4, or Green Salt - a process vital for producing uranium metal for weapons cores [gun-type uranium bombs].
Iran made advances toward adapting its Shihab-3 ballistic missiles to detonate some 650 meters above their targets - a capacity only relevant for nuclear warheads [airburst weapons]. It has developed and tested exploding bridgewire detonators "that could be applicable to an implosion-type nuclear device." [plutonium bombs]
The IAEA report also warned that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards-owned company Kimia Maadan has been actively involved in the nuclear program, as have several other firms run by the Iranian military. These firms include the Physics Research Center, the Institute of Applied Physics, the Educational Research Institute and the Defense Industries Organization" [not exactly civilian nuclear power agencies].
At a minimum, it moves the international conversation about Iran's nuclear program from the question of whether Iran is building nuclear bombs to when Iran will acquire nuclear bombs." – Caroline Glick
Any questions Mr. Lavrov? If so, address them as comments on Gina Cobb, and I will answer them, there is a lot more I will share....
Pro Patria
Mr. Lavrov is blocking sanctions against Iran because the US is messing in Russia's backyard - Georgia. Standard diplomatic trade-offs.
Posted by: Russia Cruises | August 02, 2008 at 10:04 AM