Iran`s Khamenei issues fatwa against production and proliferation of nukes - most concrete answer and proof yet from the Iranian regime on nuke program

Fatwa against nuclear weapons political milestone

by Dr. Ismail Salami
Press TV
Thu Apr 19, 2012

The fatwa issued by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei forbidding the production, proliferation and use of nuclear bombs is to be considered a political milestone in Iranian history and one which can salvage the Islamic nation from the spate of external threats and plots.

Iranian soldier wearing gas mask during Iran-Iraq war, photo credit: PressTV

Fatwa is a religious decree issued by a Muslim leader against a specific issue and it is incumbent upon all Muslims to abide by it. However, in this particular case, the issuance of the fatwa has not only religious but political force as well as the leader in the Islamic Republic is the prime decision-maker.

The recent P5+1 talks, which the US officials hailed as “a step forward” and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton described as “constructive and useful”, were held in an ambience filled with optimism this fatwa inspired. Although the ten-hour talks between Iran and the six world powers apparently bore no tangible fruits, the two sides ended the talks with an air of sanguinity in a feel-good atmosphere. Further to that, the two sides seemed resolute to put an end to the long-standing dispute so stubbornly dragged on for years by the West.

Some Iranian officials have expressed hope and optimism the next round of talks slated to be held in Baghdad on May 23 will come to fruition.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday, “We are optimistic about the future of negotiations and want the other sides to put their words into action.”

The western pessimistic glasses have cast a dark haze over Iran’s nuclear energy program, making long-standing efforts to inculcate that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapons program.

Be it as it may, there is no point in believing that Iran is seeking to produce nuclear weapons as there is no evidence whatsoever pointing to this notion. Besides, modern history has proved that Iran has never been an aggressor; rather it has become a victim of aggression. During the Iran-Iraq war in 1983, the Iraqis used mustard gas, and in March 1984, they used tabun, a nerve agent used for the first time in war. The corrupt regime of Saddam Hussein continued to use chemical weapons until the end of war in August 1988 in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol on the use of chemical weapons. They also used the nerve agent sarin.

In March 1986, the then UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar formally announced that Iraq had used chemical weapons against Iran on the strength of the report of four chemical warfare experts sent to Iran in February and March 1986 by the UN. The report concluded that "Iraqi forces have used chemical warfare against Iranian forces"; the weapons used included both mustard gas and nerve gas. The report further stated that "the use of chemical weapons appear[ed] to be more extensive [in 1981] than in 1984." However, the regime of Saddam Hussein made pointlessly egregious efforts to deny the report; yet, the influx of badly wounded chemical victims from Iran to Europe for receiving medical treatment was not something the Iraqi regime could easily deny.

In 1984 Iraq became the first country to use a nerve agent on the battlefield. Around 5,500 Iranians died as a result of the nerve agent between March 1984 and March 1985. Tabun kills within minutes. Also, over 16,000 Iranians were killed by the toxic blister agent mustard gas between August 1983 and February 1986.

In spite of all these inhumane atrocities perpetrated by a US-backed coup regime, the Islamic Republic never did the same to retaliate.

Painful as it is, the US government threw all its intelligence, financial and military support behind a regime it knew thrived on evil and havoc. In 1982, the US government started supplying the regime with dual-use vehicles such as heavy trucks, armored ambulances as well as materials for producing chemical weapons.

The then US President Ronald Reagan announced that the US "could not afford to allow Iraq to lose the war to Iran", and that it “would do whatever was necessary to prevent Iraq from losing the war with Iran.” Then CIA Director William Casey personally spearheaded the effort “to ensure that Iraq had sufficient military weapons, ammunition and vehicles to avoid losing the Iran-Iraq war. Pursuant to the secret NSDD, the United States actively supported the Iraqi war effort by supplying the Iraqis with billions of dollars of credits, by providing US military intelligence and advice to the Iraqis, and by closely monitoring third country arms sales to Iraq to make sure that Iraq had the military weaponry required. The United States also provided strategic operational advice to the Iraqis to better use their assets in combat. For example, in 1986, President Reagan sent a secret message to Saddam Hussein telling him that Iraq should step up its air war and bombing of Iran. This message was delivered by Vice President George H. W. Bush who communicated it to Egyptian President Mubarak, who in turn passed the message to Saddam Hussein. Similar strategic operational military advice was passed to Saddam Hussein through various meetings with European and Middle Eastern heads of state” (quoted from the sworn court declaration of former NSC official Howard Teicher, dated 1/31/95, regarding 'Iraqgate).

Under the encouragement and direction of the US government, how many bombs fell on the Iranian cities while people were sleeping? How many youths lost their lives in a war that dragged on for eight years? How many women were widowed? How many children were orphaned? Is there no remission to this political insanity?

The US government is morally and financially indebted to Iran. What seems to be the right course of action to be taken by the US government is that Washington should make it clearly known to Iran that it entertains good intentions about the Iranian nation and that it is resolute to compensate for the agony and havoc it has wrought upon Iran. In other words, it is Washington which should take first steps to dispel ambiguities as to its intentions.

There seems to be little hope the upcoming talks will bear splendid fruits unless the US dismounts its mule of obstinacy, puts an end to its animosity towards the Islamic Republic, forsakes its morbid cynicism and acknowledges that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

The fatwa of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution can well serve as a beacon of light for Washington in order to find its way out of darkness and ignorance.

IS/MA

Iran wins 'recognition' of right to nuclear energy none other than...Germany

Germany throws weight behind Iran’s nuclear energy program
Press TV
Mon Apr 9, 2012 5:20AM GMT

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, credit:PressTV

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has underlined Iran's right to develop its nuclear energy program as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

According to a commentary by the top German diplomat in the Sunday paper Bild am Sonntag, Westerwelle stressed "Iran's right to have nuclear energy for civilian use.”

He also made reference to his country's ongoing efforts for a diplomatic solution to the Western dispute over Iran’s nuclear issue.

The German foreign minister also called for the creation of a Middle East free from nuclear arms.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear program. Washington and Tel Aviv have time and again threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike against its civilian nuclear facilities.

Iran argues that as a signatory to the NPT and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

MP/GHN/HJL

U.S. does a double-take: Obama messages Khamenei he is willing to accept civilian nuclear program in Iran provided no nuclear bombs be developed

'Obama signaled to Khamenei that U.S. could accept civilian nuclear program in Iran'
Washington Post's David Ignatius says U.S. president passed a message to Iran, through Turkish PM Erdogan, that he could agree to a civilian nuclear program if Tehran proved it was not building a nuclear bomb.

By Barak Ravid
Haaretz
March 6, 2012
U.S. President Barack Obama has recently passed a message to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Washington Post reported on Friday, which signaled that the United States would agree to an Iranian civilian nuclear program if they proved they were not developing a nuclear bomb.

According to David Ignatius, the Washington Post's senior columnist specializing in intelligence matters, Obama passed Khamenei the message through Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Tehran this week.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) shakes hands 

with Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan after a 

bilateral meeting in Seoul March 25, 2012.

Photo by: Reuters

Obama reportedly signaled Khamenei that the U.S. would be prepared to accept a civilian nuclear program in Iran, should the Iranian leader take steps that would support his public declarations in February, in which he said that Iran "would never develop nuclear weapons." The U.S., Obama also wrote, would also expect Iranian leaders to prove that Tehran does not have a military nuclear program.

Obama met with Erdogan at the nuclear summit in South Korea for two hours and asked him to pass on the message to Khamenei. Obama told Erdogan that the Iranians must understand that time is running out on a solution for the Tehran nuclear problem and that they must take advantage of the negotiations that will begin with the six world powers on April 13.

According to Ignatius, Obama did not give details as to whether Iran would be allowed to continue enriching uranium on its soil while developing its civilian nuclear program.

Erdogan told Obama that he will transfer the message, and the U.S. administration believes that he did so during the meeting he held with Khamenei in Tehran this week.

Since Obama entered the White House, an alliance was formed between him and Erdogan. The Turkish prime minister is the Muslim leader that is most closely associated with the U.S. president.

Negotiations between Iran and the six world powers are due to begin on April 13, but a location has yet been scheduled.


Related:
Exclusive: What were the six points Obama sent Khamenei through Erdogan?

Report: Israel's Mossad scales back covert operations in Iran (Haaretz)

According to a Time Magazine report, operations reduced in areas such as high-profile missions, including assassinations and detonations at Iranian missile bases, and spy recruitment inside Iran nuclear program.

Haaretz
March 31, 2012 05:21

A Time Magazine report revealed on Friday that Israeli intelligence services have scaled back their covert operations inside Iran.

Iranian workers stand in front of the Bushehr nuclear 

power plant, about 1,200 km (746 miles) south of 

Tehran, in this October 26, 2010 file picture.

Photo by: Reuters

According to senior security officials who spoke to the magazine, operations have been reduced in areas such as high-profile missions, including assassinations and detonations at Iranian missile bases, as well as in recruiting spies inside the Iranian nuclear program, and efforts to gather on-the-ground intelligence.

The report further states that according to one official, the reductions have caused “increasing dissatisfaction” inside the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency. Another official credits the reduced activities to the reluctance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who the official says is worried about the outcome of the operations being discovered.

According to Time Magazine, Iranian intelligence already cracked a cell trained and equipped by the Mossad. Western intelligence confirmed that the detailed confession of Majid Jamali Fashid over the January 2010 assassination by motorcycle bomb of nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohmmadi was genuine, and blamed a third country for exposing the cell.

The magazine also states that a new U.S. reluctance to turn a blind eye to said assassinations may be a thing of the past. After the killing of nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan in January, the United States “categorically” denied involvement in the death and issued a condemnation.

Scaling back covert operations against Iran carries costs, Time Magazine said, especially as Iran hurries to disperse its centrifuges into facilities deep underground. In one intelligence finding, an Israeli official says Iran itself estimates that sabotage to date has set back its centrifuge program by two full years. The computer virus known as Stuxnet is only the best known of a series of efforts to slow the Iranian program.

That effort involves a variety of governments besides Israel, involving equipment made to purposely malfunction after being tampered with before it physically entered Iran, says the report. The setbacks have prompted Iran to announce it would manufacture all components of its nuclear program itself – something outside experts are highly skeptical Tehran has the ability to actually do.


Related:
Report: Iran Attack Postponed Until Spring 2013

Blix: US, Israel source most of IAEA allegations (Press TV)

Press TV
Sun Mar 25, 2012 1:23PM GMT

Former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Hans Blix (file photo) 

A former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency has challenged a report delivered by the IAEA in November on Iran’s nuclear activities, pinpointing that the agency receives unverified intelligence, mostly from the US and Israel.

In an exclusive interview with Qatar-based news network, Al Jazeera, on Saturday, Hans Blix stated that the IAEA received information from a variety of sources, mostly from the United States and Israel.

“My view is that they must assess it very carefully and critically because otherwise they can be pulled by their noose,” he asserted.

“I remember from inspections in 2002 and 2003 that there was a famous document that allegedly to be a contract between Iraq and Niger for the import of yellow cake of uranium oxide quoted by [former US] President [George W.] Bush in his State of the Union message. The IAEA had it for one day and concluded that it was a forgery. [Former IAEA head, Mohamed] ElBaradei then announced it was not authentic. That shows how careful you have to be,” Blix stated.

The UN nuclear agency’s current Director General Yukiya Amano issued a report on November 8, accusing Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran dismissed the report as “unbalanced, unprofessional, and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure mostly by the United States.”

Tehran argues that, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence of diversion in the country's nuclear activities.

Regarding the Western hype over Iran’s Parchin military site, Blix said, “They (the inspectors) have been there several times,” adding, “Parchin is a military site with thousands of buildings. Any country would be reluctant to let international inspectors go anywhere near their military sites.”

“In a way the Iranians have been more open [about their nuclear activities] than most other countries would be,” he added.

Blix also questioned the Israeli warnings of Iran’s bid to build a nuclear bomb, saying according to Tel Aviv, Tehran should have had a nuclear bomb a long time ago.

“If you ask the Israelis, it (the Iranian nuclear bomb) is just around the corner all the time, but they have said that for years, so I think one ought to be a bit cautious about it,” he said.

The former IAEA chief further criticized Tel Aviv’s rhetoric regarding a potential bid to launch a strike on Iran.

"When I hear [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu saying it’s not a question of days or weeks, but also not years, I think that sounds like a terrible threat," he said.

Israel, always vociferous in its accusations against Iran’s nuclear energy program, is itself widely known to possess between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads. Tel Aviv, however, refuses to allow its nuclear facilities to come under international regulatory inspections and rejects all the regulatory international nuclear agreements.

Blix also called on the Western powers to alter their “menacing” and “threatening” attitude toward Iran so that the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear energy program might be resolved.

“Very frequently I think the western world has been unwise in the way they treat Iran. They say that Iran must behave itself as it were a minor they were talking to” Blix said, adding that they should not expect Tehran to "kneel" before them as this is “a hopeless way” of arriving at an agreement.

Blix further called on the Western states to support Iran’s bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and assist the Islamic Republic’s civilian nuclear program.

The former IAEA chief also condemned the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, describing such acts as “terrible” and “counterproductive” as they “blur the border between civilians and combatants.”

MP/HN/HMV/IS

Israeli attack on Iran would have a "devastating effect" on Israel itself (CBS 60 Minutes interview)

Ex-Israeli spymaster: Iranian response to an Israeli attack would be devastating
Meir Dagan, who formerly headed the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, says military action against Iran will not stop Iran from attaining the bomb.
Haaretz
Published: March 12, 2012

Ex-Mossad chief Meir Dagan, photo by

Nir Keidar, Haaretz

Former head of the Mossad, Meir Dagan says that an Israeli attack on Iran would lead to a missile attack on Israel that would have a “devastating impact” on the ability of Israeli’s to continue its daily life, in an interview that aired on Sunday on CBS’s 60 Minutes.

According to Dagan, an attack will start a regional war. Adding: “And wars, you know how they start. You never know how you are ending it.”

“I think that Israel will be in a very serious situation for quite a time,” Dagan told 60 Minutes’s Lesley Stahl, when asked about a possible Israeli response to an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

Dagan also expressed skepticism over the effectiveness of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program to deny Iran nuclear weapons. Unlike what has been reported in the past, according to Dagan there aren’t four Iranian nuclear sites but “dozens.”

Dagan said that no military attack could halt the Iranian nuclear project; rather an attack could only serve to delay it.

In his first interview to an American media outlet Dagan said he did not believe now is the time to attack Iran’s nuclear program.



Dagan said the regime in Iran is a rational one. When asked whether Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rational, Dagan responded that he was.

“Not exactly our rational, but I think he is rational,” Dagan said. Adding that though their rationality was different from the Western way of thinking, “they are considering all the implications of their actions…They will have to pay dearly…and I think the Iranians at this point in time are…very careful on the project,” says Dagan. “They are not running…”

Dagan believes that instead of military action the West should concentrate on instigating regime change in Iran. “It’s our duty to help anyone who likes to present an open opposition against their regime in Iran,” says Dagan.

When asked by 60 Minutes whether Israel had supported the youth groups that held protests across Iran after the last round of Iranian elections, Dagan refused to answer.

Dagan said he trusted the U.S. and President Barack Obama’s resolve to stop the Iranian nuclear program. President Obama said “the military option is on the table and he is not going to let Iran become a nuclear state and from my experience, I usually trust the president of the U.S,” he says.

“The issue of Iran armed with a nuclear capability is not an Israeli problem; it’s an international problem.”

During the interview Stahl suggested that it seemed he was advocating Israel wait and have the U.S. attack Iran’s nuclear sites. Dagan replied: “If I prefer that someone will do it, I always prefer that Americans will do it,” he says.

Consensus of American Intelligence community says Iran not seeking nukes but IAEA reports Iran significantly enriching uranium, so...whose right or is it dis-information?

U.S. does not believe Iran is trying to build nuclear bomb
By Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times
February 23, 2012, 6:11 p.m.

Despite the recent US and Israeli hype created around Iran’s nuclear program, a report by American intelligence agencies indicates that Tehran is not seeking to build nuclear weapons.

The most recent report on Iran’s nuclear program “represents the consensus of 16 US intelligence agencies,” the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

The “highly classified” intelligence assessment was reportedly circulated among US policymakers early last year.

The US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report published in December 2007 also confirmed with “high confidence” the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.

The Los Angeles Times article notes that:

    "A highly classified U.S. intelligence assessment circulated to policymakers early last year   

    largely affirms that view, originally made in 2007. Both reports, known as national intelligence 

    estimates, conclude that Tehran halted efforts to develop and build a nuclear warhead in  
    2003.

    The most recent report, which represents the consensus of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies,  

    indicates that Iran is pursuing research that could put it in a position to build a weapon, but 
    that it has not sought to do so.

    Although Iran continues to enrich uranium at low levels, U.S. officials say they have not seen  

    evidence that has caused them to significantly revise that judgment. Senior U.S. officials say 

    Israel does not dispute the basic intelligence or analysis."


(click here to read the full article)

But it was reported by the IAEA on Fri., Feb 24, 2012 that:

"Iran has sharply stepped up its controversial uranium enrichment drive, the United Nations’ nuclear agency said on Friday in a report that will further inflame Israeli fears that the Islamic Republic is pushing ahead with an atomic weapons program, as Russia accused the West of seeking “regime change” in Iran.

...“The Agency continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program,” the Vienna-based U.N. body said in a quarterly report about Iran issued to its member states, according to Reuters.

...The confidential IAEA report said Iran has, since late last year, tripled output of uranium refined to a level that brings it significantly closer to potential bomb material, an official familiar with the agency’s probe said."

Related Articles and sources:
New IAEA Report Hypes Fear on Iran’s Nuclear Program
U.S. does not believe Iran is trying to build nuclear bomb
Iran: IAEA report proves 'peaceful nature' of nuclear program
IAEA says Iran expands nuke work; Russia says West seeks ‘regime change’ in Tehran

Watch RT`s CrossTalk: Iranoia

Uploaded by RussiaToday on Feb 22, 2012
http://youtu.be/t-jDXu8N0BU

The international community has numerously voiced its support for nuclear proliferation, especially when dealing with a regional power like Iran. However, some countries go further than that. Prominent scholars and officials voice the possibility of war with Iran, and in some cases even promote it. Is this a rational approach? How justified would this war be if there is still no evidence that Iran has nuclear weapons in its arsenal? And who is being more rational, Western powers or Iran, when it comes to their geopolitical interests? CrossTalking with Patrick Clawson, Gawdat Bahgat and Gilbert Doctorow.

CT on FB: http://www.facebook.com/crosstalkrulez

RT News

[Video property and courtesy of RT News Channel please give proper credit and citation] 

Copyright Disclaimer [Rubaiat`s Blog]:

The use of incidental copyrighted material is covered under 'Fair Use' (Copyright Act, 1976) Title 17 U.S.C Section 107, with particular emphasis on such use for educational and non-profit purposes. Under Sec. 107 of the Copyright Act (1976), allowance is made for 'Fair Use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair Use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of Fair Use (Moe, AllSeeingEye). If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'Fair Use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act-

In Aug 2008, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose, California, ruled that copyright holders cannot order a deletion of an online file without determining whether that posting reflected "fair use" of the copyrighted material.
[View the blog`s full Fair Use Copyright Disclaimer at the end of the homepage]

BREAKING: U.S. General Dempsey - 'Iran not after nukes'

If the U.S. Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff says Iran is not after nukes, what more conclusive proof do you need? It just proves that the war mongers and neocons who love war and conflict (and hugely profit from it) along with Israel are the main pushers for this conflict. And who pays the price, our loyal soldiers and ordinary citizens.

US Gen. Dempsey: Iran rational actor, not after nukes
Press TV
February 20, 2012

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, Credit: PressTV

A top US military official has described Iran as a rational actor in the international arena, stating that the Islamic Republic is not after producing nuclear weapons.

Speaking in a nationally televised interview with the CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” show on Sunday, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said, “We are of the opinion that Iran is a rational actor.”

Dempsey pointed out that US officials aren't convinced Iran has decided to build atomic armaments.

“We also know, or we believe we know that Iran has not decided to make a nuclear weapon,” General Dempsey said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the top US general also described any Israeli attack on Iran as “destabilizing.”

“It’s not prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran,” General Dempsey said, adding that the US government is confident the Israelis “understand our concerns.”

The remarks come as Israeli officials have ramped up their war rhetoric over the past few weeks, threatening Iran with military strikes in case the US-led Western sanctions against the country fail to force Tehran to halt its civilian nuclear program.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on February 9 that, “Israel has a large selection of ways, when the world of international sanctions fails to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program.”

There is growing worry in Israel, however, about the grave consequences of any Israeli attack against the Iranian nation.

“The whole region will go up in flames. Thousands of rockets will fall on Israel. In the initial days, hundreds of them will fall on Tel Aviv. Then we'll be in a war that goes on for months. The economy will crash. Tel Aviv will become a frontier town,” reported leading Israeli daily Ha’aretz on February 11, quoting a senior opposition member of the regime.

Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, Israel and some of their European allies that Iran's nuclear program may include a military aspect, Iran insists on its civilian nature, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production.

This is while the Israeli regime is widely known to possess between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads. Furthermore, Tel Aviv refuses to allow its nuclear facilities to come under international regulatory inspectors and rejects any international nuclear regulatory agreements.

MP/ MB/HJL