On Two Fronts, One Nuclear, Iran Is Defiant
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN and NAZILA FATHI
New York Times
TEHRAN, Iran, Sept. 2 — Iran’s leaders issued dual, defiant statements on Sunday, with the president announcing that the nation had 3,000 active centrifuges to enrich uranium and the top ayatollah appointing a new Islamic Revolutionary Guards commander who once advocated military force against students.
The pairing of the messages, just days after the United Nations’ top nuclear official said Iran was striking conciliatory poses, appeared intended to reaffirm the country’s refusal to back down to pressure from the United States over its nuclear program and its role in Iraq, political analysts in Iran said. And it came as the Bush administration was celebrating progress in its talks with North Korea to shut down that country’s nuclear programs.
Indeed, the timing and tone of Iran’s declarations may be more politically significant than their content, particularly in the case of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s announcement that Iran had finally reached its stated goal of developing 3,000 centrifuges.
Many technical experts have expressed skepticism over Iran’s periodic claims of enrichment breakthroughs, saying the assertions often turn out to be exaggerated.
That seemed to be the case again on Sunday, though nuclear experts said that even if Mr. Ahmadinejad was overreaching, it would be only a matter of time before the boast became true. The most recent report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, released Thursday, said Iran had 1,968 centrifuges enriching uranium at its main Natanz plant, 328 in testing, and 328 in assembly — for a total of 2,624. The report noted that the assessment was accurate as of Aug. 19, or two weeks ago.
(Continued here.)
New York Times
TEHRAN, Iran, Sept. 2 — Iran’s leaders issued dual, defiant statements on Sunday, with the president announcing that the nation had 3,000 active centrifuges to enrich uranium and the top ayatollah appointing a new Islamic Revolutionary Guards commander who once advocated military force against students.
The pairing of the messages, just days after the United Nations’ top nuclear official said Iran was striking conciliatory poses, appeared intended to reaffirm the country’s refusal to back down to pressure from the United States over its nuclear program and its role in Iraq, political analysts in Iran said. And it came as the Bush administration was celebrating progress in its talks with North Korea to shut down that country’s nuclear programs.
Indeed, the timing and tone of Iran’s declarations may be more politically significant than their content, particularly in the case of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s announcement that Iran had finally reached its stated goal of developing 3,000 centrifuges.
Many technical experts have expressed skepticism over Iran’s periodic claims of enrichment breakthroughs, saying the assertions often turn out to be exaggerated.
That seemed to be the case again on Sunday, though nuclear experts said that even if Mr. Ahmadinejad was overreaching, it would be only a matter of time before the boast became true. The most recent report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, released Thursday, said Iran had 1,968 centrifuges enriching uranium at its main Natanz plant, 328 in testing, and 328 in assembly — for a total of 2,624. The report noted that the assessment was accurate as of Aug. 19, or two weeks ago.
(Continued here.)
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2 Comments:
Gamesmanship.
The headline of 3,000 active centrifuges is a direct taunt by Ahmadinejad to Bush. But the more intriguing question is why did Ayatollah Ali Khamenei replace the leadership in the Revolutionary Guard? Isn’t the Ayatollah the real power in the country … and making a change in key personnel must mean something.
And speaking of Gamesmanship … how about that Bush visit to Iraq. While al Maliki is discussing dates link for Ahmadinejad to come and visit Iraq, Bush sneaks in the backdoor for an impromptu visit … and calls al Maliki to Al-Asad Air Base link . When al-Maliki went to Iran, Bush expressed displeasure and now that Ahmadinejad wants to come to Iraq, Bush shows up … the difference, one is a formally announced state visit and the other is hidden in secrecy. The security for Ahmadinejad would be significant but the plans are being openly discussed in the newspapers … Bush is acting like the uninvited guest that just shows up. Read the Gulf News story above which describes how angry the US is over this proposed visit.
The only question about Bush’s trip is how many times will the Republicans use it as proof that things are improving if an American President can visit An Anbar providence. The answer of how many times in immaterial as his visit is just a stunt.
The score in this Gamemanship event : Ahmadinejad 2 and Bush 0.
FOLLOW-UP : The question of change in leadership of the Iran Revolutionary Guard is addressed in Farideh Farhi blog entry that the “Ayatollah Khamenei simply does not like anyone serving at any position for more than 10 years” which may seem like good policy (i.e. Iran’s version of term limits.)
He concludes his entry by reminding us that the new leader was involved in the takeover of the US Embassy and that “ The appointment of Aziz Jafari seems to be yet another signal that the Iranian leadership takes the American threat seriously enough to prepare for the kind of fight it feels it might have to fight but undoubtedly prefers not to.
The obvious question then is, If the Iran’s do not want this fight, why does Bush/Cheney want it ?
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