US seems to rule out 'timeout' between Iran, West

[maddezmom]

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The United States appeared to rule out on Monday a proposal by the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency aimed at helping the West and Iran avert a rush to war over Tehran's nuclear program.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, has proposed a "timeout" in the confrontation between Tehran and the U.N. Security Council under which Iranian nuclear work and U.N. sanctions on Tehran would be simultaneously suspended.

But acting U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said a Dec. 23 council resolution specified that the sanctions could be suspended only after Iran fully and verifiably suspended its nuclear enrichment and reprocessing activities.

"So that is very clear, and it is not subject to reinterpretation," Wolff told reporters.
~snip~

The Dec. 23 resolution was meant to punish Iran for its failure to suspend uranium enrichment, a process which can be used to make fuel for power plants or material for bombs. It was given 60 days from that time to halt the work.


more: http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29207560.htm

[wakeme2008]

1. Bush has a little problem, the UN resolution did not include MILITARY FORCE

Just some banking sanctions...

[daleo]

4. For Bush, that will be enough

Wait for it - "banking sanctions are the moral equivalent of war".

[Ghost Dog]

2. Russia's alternative approach:

http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11197615&PageNum=0

TEHRAN, January 29 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia respects the Iranian lawful right to the atomic energy program, Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov said in Tehran on Sunday. “Remaining questions about previous programs between the Islamic Republic and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must be resolved,” he said.

“We think that the recent initiative by the IAEA director general of a certain timeout, which would suspend the Iranian uranium enrichment program, on one hand, and suspend the validity of UN Security Council resolution 1737, on the other hand, deserves serious attention,” Ivanov said.

“Russia has always supported political settlement of problems related to the Iranian nuclear program,” he said. “The Iranian nuclear problem cannot be resolved by force. We should concentrate on the political settlement.”

Russia is holding dialog with Tehran for removing obstacles and resuming negotiations on the Iranian nuclear problem, Ivanov said. As a member of the international sextet , Russia has made a tangible contribution to the drafting of constructive proposals to our Iranian colleagues,” he said in reply to an Itar-Tass question. “We think this is a good foundation for negotiations and call for creating respective conditions. We are holding consultations, in particularly, in Tehran, for lifting obstacles on the way of these negotiations. Anyway, we think that tensions around the region, including the Iranian nuclear program, are so high that all sides must abstain from actions and statements that might become an add-on factor,” Ivanov said.

...

Moscow and Tehran “have many common interests and spheres for the development of trade and economic cooperation,” he told the Sunday press conference. “We welcome Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad support to comprehensive cooperation with Russia on a higher level.”

/...

[Megahurtz]

3. Why is it Okay for the U.S.

to possess Nuclear Shit, and not anybody else? :shrug:

[Nevernever]

5. I keep wondering:

If the West's reservations regrding Iran centre around their enriching of uranium, and Iran's claims of a peaceful goal for their nuclear program are true, could Iran and Canada then enter into an agreement for the construction of CANDU natural uranium reactors? This could either defuse the issue completely, or if Iran refuses a deal, give the US further justification in its march to war...

Perhaps this is an oversimplification, but I keep wondering why this has not been proposed. It seems like a no-brainer - especially for an opportunistic kiss-ass like Stephen Harper, who may be on the verge of losing the next non-confidence motion in the Canadian House of Commons...It gets him ffurther up Bush's ass if he plays it right, too...

[kikiek]

6. The war drums are getting louder. CBS used John Alterman

from the Center for Strategic and International Studies as an expert about Iran and their motives. I am pissed that CBS puts people from these think tanks on as experts but fails to reveal their connections to the administration. They have quite the board of trustees including Armitage and Kissinger and Sam Nunn (who sits on Chevrons board). Also CEO of Exxon is on this one. http://www.csis.org/about/trustees/ This confirmed to me that they plan on hitting Iran no matter what. The propaganda is picking up speed.