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Arash

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Aug 8, 2005, 1:00:51 PM8/8/05

AntiWar
August 8, 2005

The EU vs. Iran: Who's Right?

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

While making courtesy calls, John Bolton, our newly appointed ambassador to the United
Nations, reportedly "raised possible Security Council action on Iran's announcement that
it plans to resume enriching uranium, said one diplomat, speaking on condition of
anonymity".

Wow!

Here we go again.

President Bush accuses an Islamic state of pursuing an illicit nuclear weapons program.

Bush then refers the issue to the UN Security Council and demands "action".

The International Atomic Energy Agency conducts an exhaustive search and finds no
indication of a nuclear weapons program.

The Security Council refuses to authorize a preemptive attack against the nuclear weapons
program the IAEA says doesn't exist.

Bush launches a preemptive attack anyway, claiming that reliance by the United States "on
further diplomatic and other peaceful means alone" will not "adequately protect the
national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq".

Or Iran.

But wait a minute.

Iran hasn't announced any plans to resume enriching uranium.

Iran hasn't even finished manufacturing the several thousand gas centrifuges it hopes to
eventually employ in a uranium enrichment pilot plant.

What Iran did was inform the IAEA
(http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/2004/infcirc637.pdf) that it had
"decided to resume the uranium conversion activities" at the facility in Isfahan and
request that the IAEA "be prepared for the implementation of the safeguards-related
activities in a timely manner prior to the resumption of the UCF activities".

Here is what State Department acting spokesman Tom Casey told reporters the same day:

"It is critical to us that Iran maintain its suspension [on all enrichment-related
activities, including uranium conversion], that it maintain its adherence to the Paris
Agreement (http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/2004/infcirc637.pdf), and
that it not take any steps that would be in violation of that. Obviously, as we said
yesterday, if they were to break that agreement, then the next steps would, to our way of
thinking, be a referral from the IAEA board to the Security Council".

If Iran "breaks that agreement" – to which neither the U.S. nor the IAEA is a party – we
intend to get the Board of Governors of the IAEA to refer the "breaking" to the Security
Council for "possible action"?

Now, the IAEA statute does provide for the Board to refer an egregious breach of an IAEA
Safeguards Agreement to the Security Council for possible action. But Iran is in full
compliance with its full-scope safeguards agreement.

And the EU-Iran Paris Agreement was merely to begin negotiations on a mutually acceptable
agreement that "will provide objective guarantees" to the EU above and beyond the existing
full-scope IAEA safeguards agreement, that "Iran's nuclear program is exclusively for
peaceful purposes" and that the EU "will equally provide firm guarantees" to Iran "on
nuclear, technological, and economic cooperation and firm commitments on security issues".

On March 23, 2005, Iran offered a package of "objective guarantees" that included a
voluntary "confinement" of Iran's nuclear programs, to include:

1. Forgoing the reprocessing of spent fuel and the production of plutonium;
2. A ceiling on enrichment at reactor fuel level;
3. Limiting the extent of the enrichment program to that required for Iran's power
reactors;
4. The immediate conversion of all enriched uranium to fuel rods to preclude even the
technical possibility of further enrichment;
5. An incremental and phased approach to implementation of the uranium-enrichment program,
beginning with the least sensitive aspects – such as uranium conversion.

The Iranians also proposed that there be an unprecedented "continuous on-site presence of
IAEA inspectors at the conversion and enrichment facilities".

Now, as a consequence of the EU failure to respond in a timely manner to the Iranian
offer, the Iranians have announced they will resume uranium conversion.

Well, that announcement did finally elicit an EU response, which included an offer of an
"assured supply of fuel over the coming years". But in return, the EU would require Iran
to make "a binding commitment not to pursue fuel cycle activities other than the
construction and operation of light water power and research reactors".

"The EU proposals are unacceptable", Iranian negotiator Hossein Moussavian said,
describing them as a "clear violation" of the Paris Agreement.

Will the IAEA Board refer the resumption of uranium conversion to the Security Council for
possible action?

Not likely.

You see, the Board itself has already explicitly recognized that the Iranian suspension
was "not a legally binding obligation".

Furthermore the Iranians are right.

"The Board of Governors has no factual or legal ground, nor any statutory power, to make
or enforce such a demand, or impose ramifications as a consequence of it".

Dr. Prather's past radio interviews:

August 2, 2005
http://www.charlesgoyette.com/archive/media/2005-08-02-Charles-01.mp3
July 23, 2005
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather5.mp3
May 7, 2005
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather4.mp3
May 4, 2005
http://www.charlesgoyette.com/archive/media/2005-05-04-Charles-01.mp3
April 9, 2005
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather3.mp3
February 16, 2005 (Part 1)
http://www.charlesgoyette.com/archive/media/2005-02-16-Charles-04.mp3
February 16, 2005 (Part 2)
http://www.charlesgoyette.com/archive/media/2005-02-16-Charles-05.mp3
February 5, 2005
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather2.mp3
December 4, 2004
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather.mp3

* 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

Iran should refer U.S. to Security Council for violating UNSCR-984
http://groups.google.ca/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.ca/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/2c234f4a148cd298?hl=en

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

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

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

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

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

Inalienable right without discrimination
http://groups.google.ca/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.ca/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/c0b86cad11cb9413?hl=en

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Virtual Nukes
http://groups.google.ca/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.ca/group/soc.culture.iranian/msg/303c3ca53b67c0a7?hl=en

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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