Obama in Iran inspection demand

Spencer Collins · #1 (**permalink**) 10-01-2009, 04:58 PM

Quote:

US President Barack Obama says Iran must give UN inspectors "unfettered access" to its second uranium enrichment facility within two weeks.

Speaking after multi-party talks with Iran in Geneva, Mr Obama said the US' patience was "not unlimited".

"Iran must take concrete steps to build confidence that its nuclear programme will serve peaceful purposes," he said.

Tehran revealed last week that it was developing an enrichment site near the city of Qom.

Earlier, several hours of talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, ended with an agreement to continue dialogue.

Tehran insists it has the right to develop nuclear energy, but the revelation of the second enrichment facility raised fears among Western governments that it was trying to develop nuclear weapons.

'Constructive beginning'

Thursday's talks in Geneva were the first between the six world powers and Iran since July 2008, which ended in deadlock.

Afterwards, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, told reporters that parties had "agreed to intensify dialogue in the coming weeks" and hold further discussions before the end of the month.

He said Iran had told them that it planned to "co-operate fully and immediately" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the new enrichment facility, and would invite inspectors "soon, we expect in the next couple of weeks".

Mr Solana also said it had been agreed in principle that some low-enriched uranium (LEU) produced in Iran would be sent to a third country for further enrichment and fabrication into fuel for the Tehran research reactor, which produces isotopes for medical applications.

The EU envoy noted the significance of the full participation of the United States, particularly the rare bilateral talks between Undersecretary of State William Burns and Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, during lunch.

At a news conference in Washington later on Thursday, President Obama said the Iranian government had heard a clear and unified message from the international community in Geneva.

"Iran must demonstrate through concrete steps that it will live up to its responsibilities with regard to its nuclear programme," he said.

"In pursuit of that goal, today's meeting was a constructive beginning. But, it must be followed with constructive action by the Iranian government."

Mr Obama said Tehran had to demonstrate its commitment to transparency by granting IAEA inspectors unfettered access to the facility near Qom within two weeks, and then build confidence in the West that its nuclear programme is peaceful.

"We expect to see swift action. We're committed to serious and meaningful engagement, but we're not interested in talking for the sake of talking," he warned.

Iran says the enrichment plant at Qom is not operational yet

"If Iran does not take steps in the near future to live up to its obligations then the United States will not continue to negotiate indefinitely and we are prepared to move towards increased pressure," he added. "Our patience is not unlimited."

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Obama in Iran inspection demand

Time will tell....

hussein · #2 (**permalink**) 10-01-2009, 08:49 PM

From the sounds of the article, it seems Obama is subtly threatening Iran - "comply with our demands very soon for unfettered access, or we will take matters into our own hands," an approach Jimmy Carter seems to disagree with:

Quote:

Don't threaten Iran, Carter says

President Carter says the U.S. should take a diplomatic approach toward Iran.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)-- The United States and other nations should take a diplomatic approach toward Iran in negotiations over that nation's nuclear program, President Carter said Thursday.

Iran's nuclear chief and representatives from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as Germany, started talks Thursday in Switzerland over a recently revealed nuclear facility in Iran.

Tehran says it is developing its nuclear program for energy purposes, but many nations think Iran wants to make nuclear weapons and will be able to do so in the near future.

The existence of the second uranium enrichment facility prompted President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France to publicly chide the Islamic republic and threaten further sanctions last week at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A deliberate approach will work best with Tehran, Carter said.

"I hope and pray that Iran will be induced to permit international inspectors to come in and observe their entire nuclear program, because what they're doing so far is completely legal under the nonproliferation treaty," Carter said in an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley.

"They have a right to purify uranium and plutonium to use for nuclear power," Carter said. "If Iran is on the borderline, the constant threats that we or the Israelis are going to attack Iran is the best thing to force them to say, 'Let's defend ourselves.' I don't think Iran has made up their mind what to do, and I think the best thing we can do is engage them and stop making these idle threats."

Iran said Tuesday it will allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect the new facility, but it did not offer a timetable for the visits.

Carter's comments came on his 85th birthday and on the day the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, reopened after a $10 million redesign. The museum, which opened in 1986, was closed for five months for the renovation.

Carter also commented Thursday on remarks he made in mid-September, when he said he thought much of the extreme animosity toward Obama was caused by racism.

In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams last month, Carter said, "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he's a black man, he's African American."

Carter went on to add that racism "has bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people -- not just in the South, but around the country -- that African Americans are not qualified to lead this country."

Obama said afterward he did not believe racism is behind most of the attacks on him.

On Thursday, Carter said he was only speaking about a "fringe element."

"I said those that had a personal attack on President Obama as a person, that was tinged with racism," Carter said. "But I recognize that people that disagree with him on health care or the environment, that the vast majority of those are not tinged with racism."

Carter, who was president from 1977-1981, said the renovated museum is "a continuum of what you do before, during and after a presidency."

He noted that many of the problems he dealt with while in office still exist today.

"I've identified about 30 things of importance that I had to address when I was president that are still on the desk of the Oval Office and President Obama has to address, notably the Mideast and Iran and energy and a comprehensive health plan and many, many others," he said.

Billo_Really · #3 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 05:16 AM

Iran is in full compliance with all it's regulatory obligations.

Quote:

Iran is fully in compliance with all international agreements, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines and reporting regulations. The IAEA is the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency.

Furthermore, they don't have the facilities to produce nukes.

Quote:

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty guarantees all nations the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. According to IAEA reports, Iran is enriching uranium to less than 5 percent. At this level of purity, the uranium is useful for peaceful nuclear-based electricity generation but is well below the 90-percent U-235 needed for nuclear weapons. Iran possesses no facility with that capacity. (International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA))

And as far as this new site, they are required to notify the IAEA 6 months in advance for any new site being built.

Quote:

Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh, told Press TV on Sept. 27 that IAEA safeguard agreements call for nations to inform it of the existence of a new enrichment plant at least six months or 180 days before the introduction of nuclear materials into the facility. Iran notified the IAEA on Sept. 21, which is 18 months in advance.

And that's just what they've done.

They're simply living up to their part of the agreements.

cnredd · #4 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 05:32 AM

Here's what the article in the original post SAYS...

Quote:

US President Barack Obama says Iran must give UN inspectors "unfettered access" to its second uranium enrichment facility within two weeks.

Sounds like Obama actually grew a pair...

But that's not the case...

That "two week" statement?...Not so much...

State Dept.: Iran inspection deadline not 'hard-and-fast'

Quote:

A State Department spokesman on Friday signaled that the president's mandate that Iran has two weeks to permit inspections of its recently unveiled uranium refinement plant was not "written in stone."

"I don't think that there's a hard-and-fast deadline," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said during Friday's press briefing, after a reporter asked what the consequences of Iran's inaction might be.

So when Obama said "two weeks" what he REALLY meant was "two weeks, but we're wishy-washy on that"...

Rush L · #5 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 09:50 PM

All statements from Barak Obama have expiration dates on them.

Billo_Really · #6 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rush L

All statements from Barak Obama have expiration dates on them.

It's more like coarse correction.

Spencer Collins · #7 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rush L

All statements from Barak Obama have expiration dates on them.

With one exception..."we can do it in November"..

cellularsociety · #8 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 05:28 AM

It worked.

Iran is due to handover some 3 quarters of its uranium for conversion into fuel rods.

This will drastically increase the amount of time it would take Iran to make a nuke.

Mark

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