Countdown Iran

Washington Post: U.N. Report Says Iran Stockpiling Enriched Uranium

C.I. — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:47:54 +0000

SEPT. 7 – Iran is steadily stockpiling enriched uranium, even in the face of toughened international sanctions, according to a U.N. inspection report that raises new concerns about the ability to monitor parts of the nation’s nuclear program that could be used to make a bomb, according to a report in the Washington Post newspaper.

Iran Begins Further Uranium Processing

C.I. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:21:12 +0000

FEB. 9 – “Brushing aside international calls for stricter sanctions against it, Iran said Tuesday it had begun enriching uranium for use in a medical reactor to a higher level of purity, raising the stakes again in its dispute with the United States and other countries over its nuclear program,” reports the New York Times.

Iran Tells U.N. Agency of Nuclear Enrichment Plans

C.I. — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:46:01 +0000

FEB. 8 – “Officials from the United States, France and Russia called Monday for stronger measures against Tehran after Iran told the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency that it would begin enriching its stockpile of uranium to power a medical reactor in Tehran,” reports the New York Times.

Iran’s President Moves Ahead on Uranium Processing

C.I. — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:00:09 +0000

FEB. 7 – “Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ordered the nation’s atomic energy agency on Sunday to begin producing a special form of uranium that can be used to power a medical reactor in Tehran, but that could also move the country much closer to possessing fuel usable in nuclear weapons,” reports the New York Times.

Israel’s Minister Ya’alon Says Iran Can Still Be Stopped

C.I. — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:19:07 +0000

FEB. 3 – Ynet news reports: “The State of Israel must conduct itself by the notion that ‘the work of righteous will be done by others,’ but should prepare in accordance with the words of our fathers: ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me?’” Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon told Herzliya Conference on Wednesday regarding the options at Israel’s disposal when facing Iran.

In Response to Iran’s Nuclear Program, German Firms Are Slowly Pulling Out

C.I. — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:14:01 +0000

FEB. 3 – “German companies, long Iran’s biggest trading partners in Europe, are finding it increasingly difficult to do business there as the United States, Israel and others campaign for tougher United Nations sanctions in response to the country’s nuclear program,” reports the New York Times.

Iran Unveils New Satellite Capabilities on Eve of Revolution Anniversary

C.I. — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:07:00 +0000

FEB. 3 – “Iran test-fired a new satellite rocket and unveiled a series of what it said were home-grown advances in a space program that has worried Western officials because of possible cross-over applications in the country’s weapons program,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

Iran’s Nuclear Program Gaining Ground: U.S. Review

C.I. — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:34 +0000

FEB. 3 – “Iran is keeping open the option of developing nuclear weapons but it remains unclear whether Tehran has the ‘political will’ to do so, the U.S. director of national intelligence said on Tuesday,” reports Reuters.

Iran Says Ready to Send Enriched Uranium Abroad

C.I. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:58:37 +0000

FEB. 2 – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran was ready to send its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel under a plan the West hopes will stop the material being used for atomic bombs,” reports Reuters.

Italy Says Firmly Against New Iran Energy Deals

C.I. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:55:11 +0000

FEB. 2 – “Italian oil company Eni SpA (ENI.MI) has canceled a development phase of a field in Iran, Italy’s prime minister said on Tuesday, as Rome moves to block new oil and gas investments there,” reports Reuters.

V.P. Biden Launches Outspoken Attack on Iran

C.I. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:50:07 +0000

FEB. 2 – “America’s Vice President Joe Biden launched an outspoken attack on Iran’s hard- line leaders today, claiming they were ‘sowing the seeds of their own destruction,’”reports the Daily Mail.

Disarmament Talks Strained Over Mideast, Russia

C.I. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:45:24 +0000

FEB. 2 – “Tensions over nuclear weapons in the Middle East and over Russia’s tactical arsenal tangled talks Tuesday aimed at pushing for global nuclear disarmament,” reports the Washington Post.

Seven Myths About Iran

C.I. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:41:26 +0000

FEB. 2 – “We have been trying to negotiate [with the Iranians] for five, six years. We’ve tried everything. We have met every Iranian. We have tried to open every possible channel. We’ve had new ideas and the result is this: nothing,” writes Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal.

Israel’s View on Iran: Diplomacy Not the Answer for Wary Nuclear Neighbour

C.I. — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:02:01 +0000

FEB. 1 – “Israel’s government has long tried to raise international concern about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and is likely to welcome the new US deployments in the Gulf if it signals a hardening of policy,” reports The Guardian.

Italian-Iranian Trade Thrives, Supports Tehran’s Nuclear Program

C.I. — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:57:27 +0000

FEB. 1 – “According to the fat trade contracts current with Tehran, Italy would be more accurately described as ‘Iran’s biggest friend’ – at least, in Europe, where the Berlusconi government is also fighting to spare the Islamic Republic further sanctions,” reports Debka File.

NY Times Calls for ‘Tougher’ Iran Sanctions

C.I. — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:18:44 +0000

JAN. 31 – “It is time for President Obama and other leaders to ratchet up the pressure with tougher sanctions,” said the New York Times in an editorial, Saturday.

Politico: Panetta Traveled to Israel

C.I. — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:06:32 +0000

JAN. 31 – Laura Rozen of Politico reports: “Israeli sources say CIA director Leon Panetta traveled to Israel this past week. He met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Mossad chief Meir Dagan, one former Israeli official said. The main subject of conversation was Iran, as well as ‘relations’ in general, the former official said.”

Peres to IAEA Chief: Iran Threat to Entire World

C.I. — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:17:06 +0000

JAN. 30 – “‘Nuclear weapons in the hands of a fanatical regime such as Iran’s pose a threat not only to Israel but to the entire world,’ President Shimon Peres told International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano on Saturday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,” reports YNETnews.

U.S. Speeding Up Missile Defenses in Persian Gulf

C.I. — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:14:20 +0000

JAN. 30 – ” The Obama administration is accelerating the deployment of a series of new defenses against possible Iranian missile attacks in the Persian Gulf, placing special ships off the Iranian coast and antimissile systems in at least four Arab countries, according to administration and military officials,” reports the New York Times.

Obama Aide Says Iran May Lash Out at Israel

C.I. — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:09:51 +0000

JAN. 30 – “President Barack Obama’s national security adviser is citing a heightened risk that Iran will respond to growing pressure over its nuclear program by stoking violence against Israel,” reports the AP.

Senate OKs Sanctions on Iran

C.I. — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:37:42 +0000

JAN. 29 – “The Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would allow President Obama to expand sanctions against Iran to pressure the Islamic republic to drop its nuclear weapons ambitions,” reports CNN.

Document Reveals Scope of EU Trade with Iran

C.I. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:32:55 +0000

JAN. 28 – “Europe boasts of its efforts to foil the Iranian nuclear program, but in reality has been trading with the Islamic Republic in the amount of some €65 billion (roughly $91 billion) in the past three years,” reports YNET news.

Obama: Iran Will Pay a Price for Stalling Nuclear Talks

C.I. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:23:53 +0000

JAN. 28 – “Iran will suffer consequences as a result of its refusal to cooperate with the international community on its nuclear program, U.S. President Barack Obama said during his first State of the Union address late Wednesday night in Washington,” report Haaretz and DPA.

Russia: No Obstacles Over Iran Arms Deals

C.I. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:21:14 +0000

JAN. 28 – Russian official says “No formal bans bar delivery of any weapons to Iran,” reports the Jerusalem Post.

U.S. to Outline New Iran Sanctions

C.I. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:10:31 +0000

JAN. 28 – “The Obama administration will this week introduce a paper to the permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany outlining Iranian individuals and firms to be targeted in a new sanctions regime, said senior officials involved in the diplomacy,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

Is Italy Equipping Iran’s Military?

C.I. — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:25:39 +0000

JAN. 27 – “When it comes to appeasing the Islamic Republic, no other Western nation has stooped lower than Italy,” wrote journalist Giuilo Meotti in the Wall Street Journal on January 14. Now, a spokesman for the Italian goverment, and the President of machine-maker, Seli, responds.

Iran Leader Predicts ‘Destruction’ of Israel

C.I. — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:36:00 +0000

JAN. 27 – “Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is confident Islamic nations will one day watch the destruction of arch-foe Israel, his website Wednesday quoted him as saying,” according to AFP.

Iran Runs Military Nuclear Office, Intel Report Alleges

C.I. — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:29:25 +0000

JAN. 27 – “An intelligence document being studied by diplomats in Israel and Western powers alleges that a secret Iranian office is charged with overseeing military elements of the nation’s nuclear program, Der Spiegel reported yesterday,” according to Global Security Newswire.