Bush Levels Dubious Iran Nuclear Arms Charge

Photo courtesy AFP.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Aug 07, 2007
US President George W. Bush charged Monday that Iran has openly declared that it seeks nuclear weapons -- an inaccurate accusation at a time of sharp tensions between Washington and Tehran. "It's up to Iran to prove to the world that they're a stabilizing force as opposed to a destabilizing force. After all, this is a government that has proclaimed its desire to build a nuclear weapon," he said during a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

But Iran has repeatedly said that its nuclear program, which is widely believed in the West to be cover for an effort to develop atomic weapons, is for civilian purposes.

Asked to provide examples of Tehran openly declaring that it seeks atomic weapons, White House officials contacted by AFP said that Bush was referring to Iran's defiance of international calls to freeze sensitive nuclear work.

They explained that he was referring to Tehran's uranium enrichment -- a process that can yield nuclear bomb material -- and resulting worries by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"After keeping their nuclear program secret for a decade, the Iranian government has refused the offers of the international community to provide nuclear energy and continues to flout the inspectors of the IAEA," said national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

"Unfortunately, their intentions seem clear," Johndroe said.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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NUKEWARS

Fission And Fusion As Iran Fronts UN Nuclear Watchdog

Moscow (RIA Novosti) Aug 06, 2007
A group of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in Iran to visit a heavy-water reactor being built near Arak, in the center of the country. This time, the Iranians are ready to give the IAEA exhaustive answers to questions about their experiments with plutonium and their uranium-enrichment program. This is a real breakthrough in Tehran's long-running dispute with the nuclear watchdog. In the middle of July, Iran suddenly announced its readiness to resume contacts with the IAEA. Foreign Ministry spokesman Muhammad Ali Hosseini explained: "Our dialogue with the West on this problem has become more realistic and rational."

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