IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAME……
A SOURCE OF CONFLICT WITH THE UNITED STATES

BY: GHULAM ABBAS

President George Bush has declared that he and the international community “will not tolerate construction of nuclear weapon” by Iran. Iran is being pressed to sign the NPT protocol allowing surprising UN inspections of its nuclear facilities, by the United States and other parties, who suspect it is secretly developing nuclear weapons. Tehran flatly denies that “no date has been fixed. The Islamic republic will decide in accordance with its national interest. “This is not something we can bargain about” Iran’s spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh said.
The nuclear installation outside Deh-Zire a village near the city of Natanz, used to be Iran’s best-kept secret. “Begin in 2001 Muhammad El-Baradei and other inspectors saw components for 1,000 more centrifuges; the plant is little more than a cluster of nondescript sheds on a mountainside 200 miles south of Tehran….1.” One European diplomat says that, from distance the facility resembles “a chicken farm surrounded with a lot of fences.” According to Wastern intelligence agencies and Iranian dissidents, however what’s being produced inside is not eggs but enriched uranium.
Yet when officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Natanz last February, what they saw, says one Tehran-based diplomat, was pretty surprising. We had no idea they were so technologically advanced. One building on the side housed 160 functioning centrifuges-bulky, conceret-mixersize machine that revolve to separate heavy, relatively unstable uranium isotopes from lighter ones when the element is in gaseous from. IAEA chief Muhammad El-Baradei and other inspectors saw components for 1,000 more centrifuges. That is a lot of potential processing technology for a country that has one nuclear plant. More troubling the inspectors observed that some Natanz facilities are being constructed deep under ground safe from the threat of aerial attack.” Much of the installation is being built defensively,” says a European diplomat in Tehran.”
“That obviously gives us cause for concern that this is not a purely a civilian program.” “Iran’s first nuclear reactor, at Bushehr, is being built by Russia’s Ministry of Atomic Energy, Russia has contracted to provide the fuel and take away the spent rods which can be used to make HEU. In addition to Natanz, two other sites have raised red flags. One is the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility. The other has been spotted out side Arake”….2.
“A report of the U.S says that Tehran had also imported 1.8 tons of nuclear material from China in 1991 and processed some of it to manufacture uranium metal…3.” For The enriched uranium offshoot Iran needs to obtain thousands of tons of uranium or which it has to semi process into powdered form called yellowcake then it needs to refine this and convert into a uranium hexafluoride gas which requires a separate chemical plant itself. Because enriched uranium can be used to manufacture the fissile material for a nuclear weapon of mass destruction, all of these techniques are safeguarded by an international treaty, so all these procedure are not easy for Iran but on the other hand the U.S and some European countries see Pakistan, North Korea, India, China and Russia doubtfully that these countries may help Iran in making nuclear weapon.
THE U.S CONCERN WITH THE NUCLEAR PROGRAMME
“The U.S Ambassador to the IAEA said that Washington will push for “a strong resolution,” on Iran’s suspect nuclear programmed at the Vienna meeting, on 8th September. The US goal is to pass a strong resolution that will support the IAEA’s efforts to get to the bottom of Iran’s nuclear programme,” the US ambassador to the IAEA, Kenneth Brill, said. He says that Washington and its allies on the IAEA’s 35 member board of governors would push for a resolution calling it in non-compliance with the treaty.”…4
Such a resolution could send the matter to him UN Security Council, which could in turn impose tough sanctions on the Islamic republic. Washington alleges Iran is violating the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and secretly trying to acquire nuclear weapons.
US after the Islamic Revolution of Iran has lost its hand over Iran and the Irani people (Shia Population) consider the US the threat and enemy of there homeland. The Supreme Revolutionary Leader Ayatollah Imam Khomeini had declared the US (Sheitan-i-Buzruk) Big Satan. In the country the dominant Mullahs are totally against the US. So the US seeks way to destabilize or change the regime and to install US sponsored government using successfully the claim of nuclear weapons and presence of Alquaida members in the country, US also want to repeat the experience of the occupation of Iraq. But the questions that will Iran people accept the US?
Certainly not, so the conflict will go on.
IAEA SETS Iran Oct 31 Deadline over N-Plan
“The IAEA in its meeting on September 12, 2003 at Vienna declared that set Iran an Oct 31 deadline to prove it had no secret atomic weapons programmed, prompting Tehran to threaten a “deep review,” of its cooperation with the agency. “Following intense US pressure for action against Iran the 35 nation passed a resolution setting a deadline. Iran’s delegation stormed out of the closed door meeting in protest accusing Washington of having new invasion plans after Iraq”..5
The toughly worded resolution gives Iran one last chance to prove it has been complying with the Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty. We will have no choice but to have deep reviewed of our existing level and extent of engagement with the agency vis-à-vis this resolution,” said the Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Vienna Ali Akbar Salehi.
US ambassador Kenneth Brill warned that any decision by Iran to suspend the IAEA inspection process would be interpreted as an admission that they were perusing atomic weapon. Salehi also said that Iran “is a fervent subscriber to the NPT, a loyal party to it and staunch promoter of the Meddle East as a nuclear free zone.
WHAT INDEPENDENT SCRUTINY WILL THERE BE?
Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which is over seen by the United Nation watchdog the IAEA. That means Iran’s nuclear facilities have to be declared and can be monitored by IAEA inspectors as well as remote equipment such as cameras. However; it could follow North Korea’s decision in January to withdraw from the treaty. Key states like India, Pakistan, and Israel have not joined the treaty.
THE LAST POINT
Iran as being a member of the IAEA has to sign the additional protocol of the treaty to build its image and to prevent itself from the American invasion and before the conflict toke deep rooted. Iran should also try to improve relations with the US which is not considerable for 24 years and should change the status queue with the passage of time. It needs to see more the national and regional interest rather than to remain in the past.

PREPARED BY: GHULAM ABBAS
CLASS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION
AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT
B.A(H)3RD YEAR, 2003
Sources:
1. News week 2003
2. News week 2003
3. B.B.C Website
4. The Daily Dawn
5. The Daily Dawn September 13, 2003

All content (C) Department of International Relations, Karachi University

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