Eye on Iran: Iran Fails to Address Nuclear Bomb Concerns: IAEA

Join UANI           Top Stories Reuters: "Iran has failed to address concerns about suspected atomic bomb research by an agreed deadline, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday, a setback to hopes for an end to an international stand-off over Tehran's atomic activity. The lack of movement in an inquiry by the International Atomic Energy Agency will disappoint the West and could further complicate efforts by six world powers to negotiate a resolution to the decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear ambitions. An IAEA report obtained by Reuters showed that little substantive headway had so far been made in the U.N. agency's long-running investigation into what it calls the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program. The Islamic Republic has implemented just three of five nuclear transparency steps that it was supposed to by Aug. 25 under a confidence-building deal it reached with the IAEA in November, according to the quarterly report. Crucially, it has not provided information on the two issues that are part of the IAEA's investigation: alleged experiments on explosives that could be used for an atomic device, and studies related to calculating nuclear explosive yields... The IAEA had also observed via satellite imagery 'ongoing construction activity' at Iran's Parchin military base, the report said. Western officials believe Iran once conducted explosive tests there of relevance in developing a nuclear weapon and has sought to 'cleanse' it of evidence since then. Iran has long denied U.N. nuclear inspectors access to the base." http://t.uani.com/YpY7AD Al-Monitor: "In a meeting with the Assembly of Experts, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the world is entering a 'new order' as the West's influence wanes and that officials in the Islamic Republic need to be aware of the changes and prepare to play a role in the new context. After World War II, Western countries took over the management of the world, especially in countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, said Ayatollah Khamenei. They did this by promoting a specific type of cultural values and using military and political might. Khamenei said that both of these types of power have been challenged and are now uncertain. Ayatollah Khamenei said that this 'order was in the process of change,' and 'When the world is changing, when global order is changing and a new order is being formed, naturally we have a more important duty.'" http://t.uani.com/1ueJpbh HuffPost: "Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said that Iran 'is a bigger problem than ISIS.' In an interview with NPR that was released on Saturday, Kissinger explained that because Iran has a stronger footing in the Middle East, it has a greater opportunity to create an empire. 'The borders of the settlement of 1919-'20 are essentially collapsing,' he said. 'That gives Iran a very powerful level from a strategic point of view. I consider Iran a bigger problem than ISIS. ISIS is a group of adventurers with a very aggressive ideology. But they have to conquer more and more territory before they can became a strategic, permanent reality. I think a conflict with ISIS - important as it is - is more manageable than a confrontation with Iran.'" http://t.uani.com/1nFQueZ   Nuclear Program & Negotiations AFP: "Iran said Saturday it never agreed to a deadline to provide answers on its controversial nuclear programme, after the UN atomic watchdog accused Tehran of failing to deliver on time. 'Iran had warned the International Atomic Energy Agency that because of the complexity of the issues, implementing all five points by August 25 was not possible,' said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, quoted by state news agency IRNA. 'The IAEA was aware of this,' he said. 'We do not have any commitment on a date... But we have always said we will try to deliver all the clarifications as soon as possible.'" http://t.uani.com/Zeu2nv AP: "Iranian authorities have arrested a Ukrainian national suspected of sabotage at the country's sole nuclear power plant, an Iranian newspaper reported on Sunday. The report in the Hamshahri daily said the 'Ukrainian expert' was affiliated with a Russian contractor that works in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, which went online in 2011 with Russian aid. The report did not elaborate on the timing or nature of the alleged sabotage." http://t.uani.com/1qHccTb Iraq Crisis AFP: "Iran accused the United States Sunday of not taking the threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria seriously, and charged that US aid had previously helped the jihadists. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif levelled the accusations despite an expanding US air campaign in Iraq since August 8 that provided key support in relieving a jihadist siege of a Shiite Turkmen town north of Baghdad late last month... 'There is still no serious understanding about the threat and they (the United States) have as yet taken no serious action,' Zarif was quoted as saying by Iran's Mehr news agency. 'They have helped (IS) in Syria in different ways,' he added, alluding to support that the United States has provided to some rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces." http://t.uani.com/1oj6IuH AFP: "The United States and Iran have denied plans for any military coordination in the fight against Islamic State militants operating in Iraq and Syria. 'We are not going to coordinate military action or share intelligence with Iran and have no plans to do so,' State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Friday, reacting to reports that Tehran had approved such an arrangement... The BBC reported, citing unnamed sources in Tehran, that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had approved cooperation with the US in the fight against the Islamic State. In a brief statement on Iranian state media, foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham denied the report." http://t.uani.com/1lQVYZ3 Human Rights Daily Telegraph: "A 25-year-old British-Iranian woman is being held in solitary confinement after being arrested during a women's rights protest in Tehran, according to campaigners. Ghonche Ghavami was detained outside the city's Azadi Stadium after she and fellow campaigners tried to enter the men-only arena to watch an Iran-Italy volleyball match. The protesters - who all wore white headscarves in defiance of the rules demanding dark coloured hijabs - had tried to get through heavy security but were arrested, said activists. She was reportedly then released on bail, but after returning a week later to collect her belongings Ms Ghavami was arrested and put into solitary confinement in Iran's notorious Evin political prison. Campaigners say she has now been held for two months, with 41 days in an isolation cell. There has been no explanation from the authorities, who have also raided her home." http://t.uani.com/1lQTKcc RFE/RL: "A friend of the Imam asks him, 'Would you like to drink vodka or tequila?' Outraged at the indignity, the pious Imam slaps the man in the face. 'What's wrong with homemade aragh sagi?' he asks. This knee-slapper, which mocks Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's fierce rejection of alcohol and his promotion of domestic production (aragh sagi is a home-distilled liqueur), is among hundreds of 'Imam' jokes making the rounds via text messages and social media in Iran. And while the anecdotes may seem harmless enough, Iranian conservatives say they are an insult to the founder of the Islamic republic. On September 3, Iranian police chief Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam warned that action would be taken against those insulting Khomeini. 'The fact that our streets are open and there is freedom in our country doesn't mean that drivers can drive at the speed they want in the streets,' he was quoted as saying by the hard-line Tasnim news agency. 'These insulting acts are considered a crime.' Ahmadi Moghadam flatly added that those who fail to respect 'the limits of freedom' and violate the country's laws will be dealt with." http://t.uani.com/1tEBzZC Domestic Politics Reuters: "Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has successfully undergone prostate surgery, Iranian state television said on Monday in a rare public report on the state of his health. Khamenei, 75, told state television ahead of the surgery that 'There is no reason to worry. Of course this does not mean that I don't need people's prayers.' State television said later the operation was successful. 'The operation took place without anaesthetic at a state hospital. The leader will stay at the hospital for a few days to recover like all other identical cases,' said the head of Khamenei's medical team Alireza Marandi." http://t.uani.com/1nFMGug FT: "Iran has eight state-run and 19 'privately owned' banks - although these are frequently subject to interference from the state, with their shares bought by entities affiliated to power centres, which then influence banking policies and exploit funds - all of which have invested heavily in the ownership and management of commercial entities outside the banking sector. The fat profits the sector has made from its commercial investments is thought to be why many power centres, such as the Revolutionary Guards, have established their own banks. The centrist government of President Hassan Rouhani decreed last month that banks' investments in the non-banking sector cannot exceed more than 40 per cent of their capital, and has given the banks three years to sell the buildings, land and stocks belonging to their affiliated companies and meet the new requirement." http://t.uani.com/ZetDSc Foreign Affairs RFE/RL: "President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has called on Iran to use 'logic and wisdom' when dealing with Yemen. Hadi told a meeting with local political and public figures on September 6 that Iran 'has to deal with the people, not with a certain faction, group or sect.' Shi'ite-dominated Iran has been accused of backing Huthi rebels, who have been fighting fierce battles for years in Yemen with government troops and loyalist tribes." http://t.uani.com/1oj4Xh9 AFP: "Iran's main cultural centre in the Sudanese capital was padlocked on Sunday, an AFP correspondent reported, and officials said the decision was final. The Iranian flag still flew above the building on one of Khartoum's main roads across from the airport. But an AFP reporter found the gate padlocked and no sign of anybody inside. Tehran last week denied the centre and others had been shut on orders by Khartoum, despite generally close relations between the two countries. A Sudanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that the centres would close their doors by Sunday. Sudan's foreign ministry told the centres to stop work and ordered their Iranian staff to leave the country." http://t.uani.com/1oYfy0e Reuters: "An Iranian official said on Saturday that an airliner carrying Americans from Afghanistan to Dubai had been forced to land in Iran because the crew had supplied 'false information'. The chartered Fly Dubai plane, carrying about 100 Americans from the U.S. airbase at Bagram, Afghanistan, landed in Dubai early on Saturday morning after being diverted to Bandar Abbas, just across the Strait of Hormuz. 'The crew used false information so the authorities became suspicious ... Because the information provided was incorrect, we asked the airplane to land so we could gather more information,' said Jassem Jaderi, governor of Hormozgan province in southern Iran, according to the official Mehr News Agency. A U.S. State Department official said the plane had failed to update its flight plan after leaving Bagram several hours late for Dubai, on a route that took it over Iran." http://t.uani.com/1we2BFg Opinion & Analysis David Albright, Paulina Izewicz, Andrea Stricker & Serena Kelleher-Vergantini in ISIS: "On September 5, 2014 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its report on the implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement in Iran and the status of Iran's compliance with the United Nation Security Council resolutions. Key Findings: 1) Several key issues in the safeguards report indicate ongoing efforts by Iran to delay cooperation on resolving the outstanding issues over possible military dimensions (PMD) of its nuclear program; particularly its statement that the issues are 'mere allegations and do not merit consideration;' 2) Iran did not meet the implementation deadline for the third step of a set of measures under the IAEA/Iran Framework for Cooperation, implementing one prior to and two after the deadline, and has not yet proposed a fourth set of measures as requested by the IAEA; 3) Iran is continuing to undertake modification activities at the Parchin military site, which complicate future verification efforts by the IAEA if it is ever granted a visit; 4) Iran is not enriching uranium in a recently developed IR-8 centrifuge at the Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant. An IR-8 casing is installed there but it does not contain a rotor assembly and thus cannot operate. Iran claims this centrifuge has significantly higher enrichment output than previous models; 5) Iran has not produced uranium hexafluoride enriched above 5 percent and its entire stock enriched up to 20 percent has been either downblended or fed into the conversion process producing an oxide form. However, Iran possesses a significant quantity of near 20 percent LEU oxide which can be reconverted back to hexafluoride form; 6) As of the end of the last reporting period, Iran had put only a small fraction of the near 20 percent LEU oxide into fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor. As of August, only about 15 percent of the near 20 percent LEU oxide has been made into fuel assemblies for the TRR. 7) On August 17, 2014, Iran informed the IAEA that it would blend down into natural uranium about 4,118 kilograms of uranium hexafluoride enriched up to 2 percent; 8) Iran so far has fed 1,505 kg of UF6 enriched up to 5 percent U-235 into the conversion process for the production of UO2 at the Enriched UO2 Powder Plant (EUPP)." http://t.uani.com/1qHdSw9  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.