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Arash

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Dec 3, 2005, 8:32:37 AM12/3/05

AntiWar
December 3, 2005

Iran's transparency

Dr. James Gordon Prather
Nuclear weapons physicist
Nuclear bomb tester at Lawrence Livermore
Technical director of nuclear bomb testings at Sandia
Chief scientist of the U.S. Army
U.S. Navy veteran

The November report
(http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Board/2005/gov2005-87.pdf) of
Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei to the Board of Governors of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) begins by noting that the Board had adopted a resolution
in September in which, inter alia, it "urged" Iran to implement "transparency
measures" that extend "beyond" the formal requirements of the Iranian Safeguards
Agreement (http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/Others/infcirc214.pdf)
and the Additional Protocol.

Iran's Safeguards Agreement – which gave the IAEA the "right and the obligation" to
ensure that safeguards are applied on "all source or special fissionable material" in
all peaceful nuclear activities "for the exclusive purpose of verifying that such
material is not diverted to nuclear weapons" – entered into force in 1974.

Under that agreement, IAEA inspections are routinely limited to those locations
within a facility through which "safeguarded" nuclear material is expected to flow.

Then, in 2002, at the 46th IAEA General Conference, Reza Aghazadeh, president of the
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced
(http://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC46/iran.pdf) that Iran planned to construct
within two decades nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 6000 megawatts (6
gigawatts):

"I take this opportunity to invite all the technologically advanced member
states to participate in my country's ambitious plan for the construction of nuclear
power plants and the associated technologies such as fuel cycle, safety and waste
management techniques".

In the early 1990s, Russia had agreed, inter alia, to complete the nuclear power
plants at Bushehr, whose construction had begun under the Shah
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Reza_Pahlavi), and build a gas-centrifuge
uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz.

Also in the early 1990s, China had agreed, inter alia, to provide Iran two 300 MW
nuclear power plants and a uranium-conversion plant at Isfahan.

But, in 1995, as a result of intense U.S. pressure on Russia and China – and on
European suppliers of auxiliary equipment – Russia canceled the gas-centrifuge
facility contract and China canceled the power plant contract.

In 1997, China also cancelled the uranium-conversion plant contract.

The Russians continued to honor their contract to complete at least one of the 1000
MW (1 GW) power plants at Bushehr.

So, the Irans decided to try to develop or acquire (unbeknownst to the U.S.) elements
of the nuclear fuel-cycle, themselves.

It is important to note that under their existing safeguards agreement, they are –
and were – under "NO" obligation to inform the IAEA about any of those activities
until shortly before they actually involved the chemical or physical transformation
of safeguarded nuclear materials.

In August 2002, the Iranians subjected the uranium-enrichment pilot plant they had
under construction at Natanz to IAEA safeguards. They had already subjected the
uranium-conversion facility at Isfahan.

The IAEA in subsequent inspections has yet to find anything "wrong" at those or other
fuel-cycle related safeguarded facilities.

However, in 2002 and early 2003, the IAEA did find imports of small amounts of
"source or special nuclear materials" and activities involving their physical or
chemical transformation that should have been reported, but weren't.

The most serious Iranian "violation" was the failure to report the importation from
China in 1991 of 0.13 "effective-kilogram" of U235
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-235) to be used for testing of different
processes involved in the then-to-be-supplied Chinese uranium conversion facility.

The facility the Iranians built themselves had been subject to safeguards ever since
construction began, but the Iranians had never reported the test materials – which
they had not yet used – they got from China.

It was the Iranian view – as well as that of South Korea et al. – that only
"significant" quantities (one effective-kilogram) had to be reported.

Then, in December, 2003, Iran signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and announced it
would "cooperate with the Agency in accordance with the Additional Protocol in
advance of its ratification".

Now, after two years of intrusive inspections and reporting on imports of nuclear
material and related equipment that would be required by the Additional Protocol (if
it were in force) and implementation by Iran of some "transparency measures" that
extend beyond the formal requirements of the Iranian Safeguards Agreement and the
Additional Protocol, ElBaradei had this to say:

In order to clarify some of the outstanding issues related to Iran's enrichment
program, Iran's full transparency is indispensable and overdue.

Transparency measures should include the provision of information and
documentation related to the procurement of dual-use equipment, and permitting visits
to relevant military owned workshops and R&D locations associated with the Physics
Research Center and the Lavisan-Shian site.

These should also include interviews on the acquisition of certain dual-use
materials and equipment, and the taking of environmental samples from the above
[non-safeguarded] locations.

* Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy implementing official for
national security-related technical matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy
Research and Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of the
Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army. Dr. Prather also served as
legislative assistant for national security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon,
R-Okla. --ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and member of the Senate
Energy Committee and Appropriations Committee. Dr. Prather had earlier worked as a
nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(http://www.llnl.gov) in California and Sandia National Laboratory
(http://www.sandia.gov) in New Mexico.
http://www.antiwar.com/prather

IAEA and Iran
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIran/index.shtml

Setting the Record Straight about Iran's Nuclear Program
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/a19f89b941a33707

Iranian nuke warheads
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/9d475a1b45c388d5

AIPAC statement on the U.S. administration's policy on Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/0c5663f63d76e5c0?hl=en

IAEA is doing Israel's bidding
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/953912efce75cbd9?hl=en

Without Discrimination
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/e2a592e4c4c6fcf8?hl=en

Neo-Crazies Already Planning Beyond Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/470563f4bdf3cb36?hl=en

Authoritative mis-information on Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/66bbad26c0f03d49

"Stolen Iranian Laptop", GLADIO's new campaign of misinformation
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/f552c361c6d02dfc

New York Times, Nuclear Weapons and Iran:
Stupidity, Laziness or Déjà vu All Over Again?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/f2718b3d938eaed2

Whoops! There she goes again
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/6f573bd90d5e1ee1

Fixing and forging intelligence
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/4c6663c968fd5f6c?hl=en

Clumsy forgeries, Italian style
http://groups.google.ca/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/75bf490e791b0806

Stifling neo-crazy media sycophants
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/8790e709a9a122b4?hl=en

After 2 years of intrusive go-anywhere see-anything ask-anybody inspections!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/a545047699722ca7?hl=en

Nobel's peaceful kick to the groin
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/22f9662d106ce9c4?hl=en

Bolton the Peacemaker
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/de17232f52db3933?hl=en

Saving Face
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/7da8706c13c8a059?hl=en

West does not seek the elimination of nukes, but rather the establishment of nuclear
monopoly
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/502efbdfaa7622f7?hl=en

Unratified additional protocol
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/1b2b77819b38d9e3?hl=en

The high price of hounding Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/7c854d944d6e061d?hl=en

Such a Blot
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/43ee2e2149e17310?hl=en

Weapons of Mass Murder
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/0f3f87b645a72fde?hl=en

Neocrazies Foiled
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/86df9c0e9c38d475?hl=en

Iran knocks Europe out
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/497a81cb3c315c65?hl=en

UN opens a Pandora's Box of "Iran exceptionalism"
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/24bfe5a318d9a222?hl=en

There is Nothing to refer to UN Security Council
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/76824d9387903d4a?hl=en

WMD Postmortem
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/0d02537756cafca8?hl=en

No wonder the West is so mad at Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/83e63797f1a1af3b?hl=en

Bolton in a China Shop
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/9927bb4f65924e34?hl=en

JEW media sycophants & 36% HEU - IRAN told the truth, yet JEW keeps lying
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/f90a6eef507f10a0?hl=en

Past Arguments Don't Square With Current Iran Policy
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/f53d3a05bc5403c1?hl=en

The fuel behind Iran's nuclear drive
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/2fcf81313deb4ae0?hl=en

The U.S. and Iran: Democracy, Terrorism, and Nuclear Weapons
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/0d0dcf76abbaafb1?hl=en

NO Nuclear double standards
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/8e41f4a8a1a3e04c?hl=en

Backlash Builds Against Cheney's 'Guns of August'
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/8286b2b389247d0a?hl=en

An offer Iran MUST refuse
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/743b96400831f8a1?hl=en

Zero Tolerance
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/1641ae424fde5b89?hl=en

Sino-Russian Guarantees?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/bd8f5389ab0e8956?hl=en

More neo-crazy media sycophant LIES about Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/d3fe84a9b64d20bc?hl=en

What The Neo-Crazies Knew
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/6b45fabf57726a03?hl=en

EU vs. Iran - Who's Right?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/cbce70a3093360fb?hl=en

Iran should refer U.S. to Security Council for violating UNSCR-984
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/0d54ef8e41b971bf?hl=en

Castration of NPT - U.S. instantly tore up NPT for India, so why should Iran obey a
torn up agreement!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/2c234f4a148cd298?hl=en

U.S. ripped NPT into pieces; Iran must withdraw from this annulled treaty
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/fbf55e939908b2c2?hl=en

U.S. proliferation rhetoric and reality
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/7d8c268ee51c07be?hl=en

Ambassador Bolton's Agenda
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/1ca916601b7a7bc8?hl=en

Iran's INALIENABLE RIGHT to uranium enrichment
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/245f6081b4e3d019?hl=en

A Palliative for Neo-Crazy Lies
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/1b7968f98173938d?hl=en

Inalienable right without discrimination
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/5012a673328fa044?hl=en

U.S. doesn't want to disarm even though it promised to do so
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/c0b86cad11cb9413?hl=en

UN Referral – Not
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/bddc928154c8c96a?hl=en

What Iranian obligations? What breaches? America's lies, lies, lies...
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/9535c4a90df98471?hl=en

Memo to slimy senators
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/7065ffd57b51a959?hl=en

U.S. promised in 2000, to get rid of it's nukes!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/1e23bafecdac9e82?hl=en

U.S. has violated Iran's NPT rights!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/02f1f48fafcac2b6?hl=en

Iran's diplomatic masterpiece
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/f532352654efee1d?hl=en

Bush to sabotage NPT
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/6386adef83860d3e?hl=en

West's repeated violations of "Article IV & I" against Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/0123ceb12dd47321?hl=en

Israel guns for Iran - Why?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/2c0274540f3957b7?hl=en

U.S. wants definition of NPT 'noncompliance' changed!!!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/2abab5a7b8bce4c5?hl=en

NTP for dummies
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/f317bb918ca244da?hl=en

CNN's Wolf Blitzer & David Albright: Jews global campaign against Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/44fcd2a53218eb52?hl=en

The Real Threat From John Bolton
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/16fb61c3cca32703?hl=en

81-mm smoking rockets
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/fb2c580ba00d79a6?hl=en

U.S. plans to destroy NPT
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/760abaff1d8ac7c2?hl=en

Nuts to Bush
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/de936f823b4dfb11?hl=en

Iran's logic proven correct to the entire World
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/a5798de678dad2a9?hl=en

Sandbagging the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group)
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/238000abe8fe032e?hl=en

What Noncompliance?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/32f537772749ecc2?hl=en

Sandbagging the EU
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/bb437d1ee00ad1e9?hl=en

Bye-Bye, NPT
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/eb8e9f617d0e0867?hl=en

Jew tells Bush to lie about Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/c96849f55f92353e?hl=en

Targeting Non-existent Nukes?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/e25e86754767e3ef?hl=en

Blindly Backing Israel Against Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/ca49370dcc1f41a4?hl=en

Condi Desperate to Stop EU-China-Iran Chain Reaction
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/26e6a24b43339654?hl=en

The Impossible Dream in the State of the Union Address
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/74938ea7958d0764?hl=en

Targeting Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/dbb46af7ff3f0b66?hl=en

Bay of Pigs part 2, CIA-Israeli-MEK
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/b58f2a1d8b2290ff?hl=en

Threatening Iran - despite the evidence
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/ce6e09919da68cbb?hl=en

Virtual Nukes
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/c245e595ad17ae57?hl=en

Iran's having the capability to enrich uranium is not even tantamount to having the
capability to produce the essentially pure uranium-235 required to make a nuke
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/303c3ca53b67c0a7?hl=en

Dangerous Delusions About Iran
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/42c57f2ae0cdb3b0?hl=en

Thwarting the Neo-Crazies
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/66c79d721fd588d4?hl=en

Trashing the IAEA Again
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/f8c610f6cc9e1fda?hl=en

U.S. keeps lying about Iran again & again
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/e9f480b192bd425e?hl=en

Iran's Stealthy Nukes
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/e47cc87d2b268368?hl=en

Uranium-Enrichment Myths Busted
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/f7ebc6f4bed9d13a?hl=en

Iran Plays by the Rules - No Fair!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/25be300601cc8984?hl=en

Nuclear Bait and Switch
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/0a0dc80ca3b8e98f?hl=en

The myth of Iranian nukes
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/bf78503a661673e9?hl=en

North Korea has what Iraq didn't
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/56f613221080276e?hl=en

Iran has absolute right to enrich uranium
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/0a8ac2dc599976ba?hl=en

Iran is in full compliance with NPT & IAEA
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/737b74e86ba897cb?hl=en