(Telegraph-UK) Con Coughlin - Precisely why Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, is so obsessed with developing nuclear power has never been adequately explained. Many of the facilities the Iranians have built so far, such as the massive underground enrichment facility at Natanz, are not suitable for the nuclear power plant that is currently being built by Russian technicians at Bushehr. If the enriched uranium being produced at Natanz is unsuitable for the country's domestic nuclear program, what else might it be used for? It is this and other glaring discrepancies about Iran's nuclear program that have led the West to conclude that Iran's nuclear intentions are far from peaceful, and that the regime is secretly working to construct an atom bomb. The team of IAEA inspectors that was allowed to visit the Qom facility concluded that the facility has no obvious civilian or commercial use, prompting the suspicion that it has been built as part of a clandestine military program. If Iran acquires a nuclear weapons capability, many of the major Arab states will try to follow suit. Saudi Arabia is believed to have reached an understanding with Pakistan to acquire its nuclear know-how.
2009-12-02 09:13:56Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive