(Ynet News) Ron Ben-Yishai - At Geneva, Iran proposed that within 3-6 months it will stop or significantly reduce its activities related to uranium enrichment and allow tight international supervision. Iran is demanding that the world powers officially recognize its right to enrich uranium and declare that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes. These two demands expose the "strategic landmine" in Iran's proposal. The demand to recognize Iran's right to enrich uranium is meant to allow it to retain the capabilities it has accumulated thus far, so that in the future it will be able to restart the development of nuclear weapons within 8 to 10 weeks. Iran is in possession of at least seven tons of low-level uranium and some 180 kilograms of medium-level uranium, which is enough to build 5-6 nuclear warheads. The demand that the world powers grant Iran's nuclear program full legal legitimacy means that, should Iran resume its military nuclear activity in the future, the world powers or the Security Council will have difficulties imposing new sanctions on Iran or enforcing the ones that have been lifted. Iran has no intention of relinquishing the military capabilities it has obtained. Tehran merely plans to temporarily suspend its nuclear activity until it will be able to resume its race toward a bomb in a more comfortable international environment.
2013-10-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive