Eye on Iran: UN's Nuclear Probe of Iran Falters

Join UANI           Top Stories AP: "A once-promising U.N. attempt to probe suspicions that Tehran worked on atomic arms is faltering - and with it, hopes that Iran and six world powers can meet their July target date for an overarching nuclear deal... The U.N's International Atomic Energy Agency is no nearer to closing the books on persistent allegations that Iran worked on nuclear arms in the past. While the IAEA's probe is formally separate from the talks, the U.S. and its allies insist that Tehran must provide satisfactory explanations to the U.N. agency as part of any overall deal. Back in November, Tehran agreed to go into deeper explanations of its work on detonators that have a variety of uses, including sparking a nuclear explosion. That has not happened. Three diplomats told The Associated Press Monday that in a recent formal response, Iran continues to insist that there is no nuclear link to the detonators. Tehran says they were developed only to set off conventional military blasts, and later for civilian uses... The IAEA first approached Iran about the detonators six years ago. When told of their latest response, Olli Heinonen, who headed the agency's Iran investigation until 2010, said it was 'pretty much how they explained it in 2008.'" http://t.uani.com/QEmSEn Reuters: "A confidential new report by a U.N. panel highlights Iran's methods of evading sanctions - from concealing titanium tubes inside steel pipes to using its petrochemical industry as a cover to obtain items for a heavy-water nuclear reactor. The latest report by the U.N. Panel of Experts, which monitors compliance with the Security Council's sanctions regime on Iran, said Tehran's attempts to illicitly procure materials for its disputed nuclear and missile programs may have slowed down as it pursues talks on a long-term deal with world powers. But the experts' report, which reached the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee days ahead of a new round of Vienna talks between Iran and six world powers, said an alternative explanation could be that Tehran had merely learned how to outsmart security and intelligence services in acquiring sensitive components and materials... Hamid Babaei, spokesman for Iran's UN mission, said: 'Iran's procurement for its peaceful nuclear activities are not illicit; all Iran has done so far is in compliance with its NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) rights and obligations ... The irony is whatever Iran does in good faith still tends to be seen with suspicion rather than normal behavior of an NPT member.' One example of concealment given by the panel's report was a set of titanium tubes hidden inside a shipment of stainless steel pipes manufactured in and shipped from China. The pipes were ordered by Ocean Lotka International Shipping and Forwarding Co. on Valiasr St. in Tehran." http://t.uani.com/1nJ4Gp5 NYT: "As Iran and six world powers meet this week in Vienna to begin drafting language to resolve their nuclear standoff, negotiators say they are finally confronting a crucial sticking point to a permanent agreement - the size and shape of the nuclear fuel production capability that Iran will be permitted to retain. It is a subject that, at least in public, the Obama administration steps around, acutely aware that Israel and members of Congress who are highly suspicious of the negotiations will say that Iran must be kept years from being able to develop a weapon, and that opponents of the deal in Tehran will argue that no restraints at all should be imposed. Both the Iranians and the Western powers have said their talks so far have been productive, with little of the drama, the ultimatums and the entrenched positions that have marked previous efforts. But until now, there has been no formal discussion of how much nuclear infrastructure the United States and its allies would demand that Iran dismantle in return for the gradual easing of sanctions. 'This is the sticker-shock conversation, and we haven't had it yet,' one senior administration official said." http://t.uani.com/1mlMuSW         Nuclear Program & Negotiations Al-Monitor: "With talks between Iran and the UN Security Council scheduled to resume this week, Iranian leaders have reiterated their key positions and voiced their concerns. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran must not rely solely on negotiations to resolve its sanctions issues, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said that Iran's only red line is the production of an atomic weapon and President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran would not give up any of the scientific accomplishments made in its nuclear program because the West has not stuck to its commitments in previous agreements... 'All of the commitments the West had to us - from America to Germany to France - none of them were carried out,' said Rouhani, in a reference to the agreements the West made with the government of Mohammad Reza Shah before the revolution. 'Neither was America ready, based on its own commitments, to give Tehran reactor fuel. Neither was Germany ready to continue its work at Bushehr. Nor was France ready to act on its commitments in the fields of the joint [plans]. They were not even ready to hand over the [uranium hexafluoride], which belonged to us.' Larijani said at an open session of parliament on May 12, 'The red line for the quality of our nuclear technology based on the fatwa of the supreme leader is the production of a weapon and nothing else.' Larijani said that US officials have lately made 'political gestures' about the numbers of Iran's centrifuges or the limits to Arak's heavy-water reactor." http://t.uani.com/1jWzMZQ Reuters: "Signs that a U.N. watchdog investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Iran is making little progress could further complicate broader diplomatic efforts to end the decade-old nuclear dispute that resume in Vienna this week. The International Atomic Energy Agency indicated after a three-hour meeting with Iran on Monday that more work was needed to fully implement a series of nuclear transparency measures by Tehran by a Thursday deadline. Iran says it has already done so. The IAEA also made clear that no agreement had yet been reached with Iran on what issues to tackle in the next phase of a cooperation pact aimed at allaying fears that the country may have been seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability. The outcome is likely to disappoint Western diplomats, who want Iran to move much faster in addressing the IAEA's questions about alleged activities in the past that could be relevant for any bid to build a nuclear missile. Iran denies any such work. 'Everybody is fairly frustrated at the lack of progress,' said one Western envoy familiar with the Iran nuclear file... Iran has offered to work with the IAEA in clarifying what the U.N. agency calls the possible military dimensions (PMD) of the country's nuclear program. But diplomats and experts say it would be difficult for Iran to admit to any past activity contradicting its denials of accusations of a bomb agenda. 'Iran has real problems in addressing the PMD issues,' said the Western diplomat, who is not from one of the six major powers negotiating with Iran - the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia." http://t.uani.com/1nJbQdd Reuters: "Iran must agree to 'verifiable action' to satisfy U.S. concerns about its nuclear program or else there will be no final deal, President Barack Obama's top national security aide said on Monday on the eve of a new round of talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna. Addressing an Israeli Independence Day celebration in Washington, U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice sought to reassure a pro-Israel audience that Washington would take a tough line with Tehran, despite Israeli worries that the Obama administration is giving up too much in the negotiations... 'We all have a responsibility to give diplomacy a chance to succeed. But America won't be satisfied by mere words. We will only be satisfied by verifiable action from Iran,' Rice said to light applause from an audience that included Israeli diplomats and American supporters of the Jewish state. 'Put simply, if we are not satisfied, there will be no deal,' Rice, who visited Israel last week, said, promising continued consultations with Israeli officials." http://t.uani.com/1spufvK WSJ: "Several core elements of agreement between Iran and the West have emerged in recent weeks, heightening optimism that a comprehensive deal can be reached by the July 20 deadline, according to U.S., Iranian and European officials involved in the diplomacy. Still significant differences remain that could scuttle a deal or force negotiators to extend talks, officials said.  'People are less pessimistic than they have been in the past-certainly,' one European official said. 'There are certain areas where some kind of consensus' is emerging. 'But in certain areas, there is still a huge gulf.'" http://t.uani.com/RC7CbW LAT: "The negotiations over Iran's nuclear program that resume here this week could, if successful, give a huge boost to the governments in Washington and Tehran. But if they collapse, there could be damaging political blowback for leaders in the two capitals. That's why President Obama and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, even while publicly supporting the talks, have each tried to shield themselves from the potential fallout from the failure of their most important diplomatic initiative. Khamenei, while authorizing President Hassan Rouhani to seek a deal, has also distanced himself from the effort by laying out tough demands and making clear to the public that it's up to his subordinate to try to get a good deal. Obama, meanwhile, has talked down the odds of a successful negotiation, and said he's preparing to move on to alternative approaches for limiting Iran's controversial nuclear program if the Tehran regime and six major world powers cannot negotiate a solution." http://t.uani.com/1jcvwGX Sanctions Relief Al-Monitor: "Over the past few weeks, Russia has taken steps to develop its trade and economic ties with Tehran, which plunged to a record low of $1.59 billion last year. In 2013, according to Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak, this amounted to a reduction of 31.5%, a consequence of the unilateral US and EU sanctions imposed in mid-2012, which forced companies such as Lukoil and Gazprom Neft to leave the Iranian market." http://t.uani.com/SX8jh5 Regional Destabilization AFP: "Evidence suggests Iran has played a key role in supporting war-torn Sudan's weapons production and that Tehran has also been Khartoum's second-biggest supplier of arms, a study said Monday. Some of those imported arms, along with others from China, have reached rebel groups in Sudan as well as South Sudan, said the Small Arms Survey report based on more than two years of investigation. It said that there is 'emerging evidence that Iran has played a significant role in supporting Sudan's weapons manufacturing sector'. Khartoum's army spokesman, Sawarmi Khaled Saad, told AFP that many countries, not only Iran, cooperate with Sudan. There is 'nothing peculiar' in Sudan's relations with Iran, Ibrahim Ghandour, the top assistant to President Omar al-Bashir, has said. 'We are not in a military alliance.'" http://t.uani.com/QElLEA Military Matters Free Beacon: "The Iranian military says that it has fully reverse engineered a downed U.S. drone and armed it with missiles 'to attack the U.S. warships in any possible battle.' The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made the announcement on Sunday as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei toured an IRGC military compound to view the new drones, according to reports in Iran's state-run media. Iran also revealed over the weekend the existence of new ballistic missiles and an air defense system that can reportedly destroy multiple targets at once. The unveiling of the new drone has been met with particular fanfare by the IRGC, which announced more than two years ago that it had successfully downed an RQ-170 drone built by Lockheed Martin." http://t.uani.com/1nJeSOk Cyber Warfare Reuters: "Iranian hackers have become increasingly aggressive and sophisticated, moving from disrupting and defacing U.S. websites to engaging in cyber espionage, security experts say. According to Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity company FireEye Inc, a group called the Ajax Security Team has become the first Iranian hacking group known to use custom-built malicious software to launch espionage campaigns. Ajax is behind an ongoing series of attacks on U.S. defense companies and has also targeted Iranians who are trying to circumvent Tehran's Internet censorship efforts, FireEye said in a report to be published on Tuesday. Many security experts have said that Iran is behind a series of denial-of-service attacks that have disrupted the online banking operations of major U.S. banks over the past few years. 'I've grown to fear a nation state that would never go toe-to-toe with us in conventional combat that now suddenly finds they can arrest our attention with cyber attacks,' Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and the National Security Agency, told the Reuters Cybersecurity Summit on Monday." http://t.uani.com/1lswvkT Human Rights WSJ: "Summer is approaching in Iran and with it comes the seasonal public battle between the regime and women over Hejab-the mandatory covering of hair and body. Here is how it goes: for a few weeks at the beginning of warm weather season-when sandals and capri pants and colorful linen tunics replace drab winter coats and boots-Iran's morality police raid the streets punishing women for daring to show their painted toes, bare ankles and streaks of highlight. Sometimes the women are fined. Sometimes they are given a verbal notice and often they are detained for several hours. This scenario has been going on for 35 years, as long as the Islamic Republic has existed and imposed Hejab on women. It is a losing battle, for the regime not the women. Iranian women have suddenly found a new platform to fight back: a new Facebook page dedicated to publishing photos of Iranian women without Hejab, flaunting their hair in public. Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian Women, the name of the Facebook page, has gained over 100,000 members since it was first created a week ago. On average it's gaining about 20,000 members per day, most of them from inside Iran." http://t.uani.com/1oLjLq4 IHR: "Nine prisoners were hanged in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahwaz today, reported the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in Khuzestan province (Southwestern Iran). All the prisoners were convicted of possession and trafficking of drugs, said the report." http://t.uani.com/1nE0CJa Foreign Affairs Reuters: "Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran urged Pakistan on Monday to avoid 'wicked' U.S. influence and build stronger ties with Tehran, blaming Washington for rising sectarian violence in the Iranian-Pakistani border region that has strained relations. Speaking to visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Khamenei accused the United States and 'some other governments' of plotting a rift between the Muslim neighbors. 'We do have information on certain movements along our long borders, with some trying to create insecurity, and we cannot believe these are unprovoked and accidental,' Khamenei said in comments carried by Iranian media. 'America, whose wickedness is known to all, is among the governments trying to make distance between Iran and Pakistan. Besides America, there are other governments at work too.'" http://t.uani.com/1sIKINx Opinion & Analysis Bret Stephens in WSJ: "John Kerry began the year trying to bring representatives of the Assad regime together with rebel leaders in Geneva to end the civil war in Syria. It was bound to fail. It failed. Strike one. Next, the secretary of state worked tirelessly to create a framework agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, with a view to settling their differences once and for all. It was bound to fail. It failed. Strike two. This week, U.S. negotiators and their counterparts from the P5+1-the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany-will meet in Vienna with Iranian negotiators to work out the details of a final nuclear agreement. You know where this is going. There's been a buzz about these negotiations, with Western diplomats extolling the unfussy way their Iranian counterparts have approached the talks. Positions are said to be converging; technical solutions on subjects like the plutonium reactor in Arak are being discussed. Last month Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif said there was '50 to 60 percent agreement.' All this is supposed to bode well for a deal to be concluded by the July deadline. If the Iranians are wise, they'll take whatever is on the table and give Mr. Kerry the diplomatic win he so desperately wants. Time is on Tehran's side. It can sweeten the terms of the agreement later on-including the further lifting of sanctions-through the usual two-step of provocation and negotiation. The only thing Iran has to fear is an Israeli military strike. For that to happen, Jerusalem needs (or believes it needs) conditions that are both militarily and diplomatically permissive. By agreeing to a deal, the Iranians further restrict Israel's options without permanently restricting their own. But Iran is not wise. It is merely cunning. And fanatical. Also greedy, thanks to a long history of being deceitful and obstreperous and still getting its way without having to pay a serious price. So it will allow this round of negotiations to fail and bargain instead for an extension of the current interim agreement. It will get the extension and then play for time again. There will never be a final deal. Why am I so confident? Listen to the man with the last word first: 'They expect us to limit our missile program while they constantly threaten Iran with military action,' Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Sunday. 'So this is a stupid, idiotic expectation. The Revolutionary Guards should definitely carry out their program and not be satisfied with the present level. They should mass produce.' ... Also a sign of non-seriousness was last month's call by Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, to add an additional 30,000 centrifuges to Iran's existing 19,000. 'So far we have produced seven to eight tons of enriched uranium,' he said. But he wants Iran to produce 30 tons, ostensibly to fuel the civilian nuclear plant at Bushehr. And that's 30 tons a year. A single ton of civilian-grade uranium suffices, with further enrichment, for a single atomic bomb. Still not getting the drift? 'Iran will not retreat one step in the field of nuclear technology,' said one prominent Iranian over the weekend. 'We have nothing to put on the table and offer to them but transparency. That's it. Our nuclear technology is not up for negotiation.' That's Iranian President Hasan Rouhani speaking. For good measure, he added that Iran would go back to producing 20% enriched uranium-which is close to weapon-grade-'whenever necessary.' And he's the moderate. Even the Obama administration cannot accept a deal that allows Iran to expand its centrifuge capabilities or enrich uranium to 20%." http://t.uani.com/1sILQAC Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.