Unconfirmed Reports Of A Nuclear Incident In The Iranian City Of Isfahan

Nuclear power: A uranium processing facility at the Isfahan nuclear site is seen here in March 2005. Daily Mail

Iran To Citizens: Flee Isfahan -- Washington Free Beacon

Iranian officials tell citizens to vacate city located near nuke site

Iranian officials have instructed residents of Isfahan to leave the city, renewing concerns that a nearby nuclear site could be leaking radioactive material.

An edict issued Wednesday by Iranian authorities orders Isfahan’s one-and-a-half million people to leave the city “because pollution has now reached emergency levels,” the BBC reported.

However, outside observers suspect that the evacuation order may corroborate previous reports indicating that a uranium enrichment facility near Isfahan had been leaking radioactive material.

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My Comment: It appears that something is happening in the Iranian city of Isfahan. Why is this news important .... Isfahan is the place where Iran`s nuclear program conducts it`s nuclear enrichment process. It is also the place where there have been numerous reports and speculation in the past of sabotage and bomb attacks occurring at the facility. Rumors of nuclear leaks are also nothing new .... just last month Iranian officials were denying reports that there was a leak at the plant, allaying local fears that radiation was being released. Then again .... it could because of air pollution .... apparently a chronic problem in the region.

Until the Iranian government is more forthcoming on what is happening at Isfahan (which I doubt), we will have wait and hear what the locals are saying through social media and to their relatives outside of the country.

Update: Iran's key nuclear sites -- BBC

Iran Will Continue It`s High-Grade Nuclear Enrichment Program

Photo: REUTERS

Iran To Continue High-Grade Uranium Enrichment: Lawmaker -- NZWeek/Xinhuanet

TEHRAN, Dec. 29 — A senior Iranian lawmaker said Saturday that Tehran is determined to continue uranium enrichment to the purity level of 20 percent and considers that as an indispensable right of the Iranian nation, semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Mansour Haqiqatpour, a member of Iranian Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said Iran would never exchange this right for the world powers’ content.

Irrespective of agreement or disagreement of the P5+1 ( including the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany), the Islamic republic will not give up its right to nuclear technology and the production of 20-percent enriched uranium, which is needed for radio-medicine, Haqiqatpour was quoted as saying.

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My Comment: So much for speculation from the New York Times that the Iranians may want a deal.

Update: Not to be undone by the New York Times, The Washington Post is now expressing hope for a deal.

Iran Indicates That They May Open Their Parchin Military Site To U.N. Nuclear Inspectors

Iran Will Open Suspect Military Base If Threats Dropped: Report -- Reuters

Iran would let U.N nuclear inspectors into a military base they suspect was used for atomic weapons-related work, if threats against the Islamic Republic are dropped, a government official was quoted as saying.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes Iran conducted explosives tests with possible nuclear applications at Parchin, a sprawling military base southeast of Tehran, and has repeatedly asked to inspect it.

Western diplomats say Iran has carried out extensive work at Parchin over the past year to cleanse it of any evidence of illicit activities but IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said earlier this month a visit would still be "useful".

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More News On Iranian Reports That They May Open Their Parchin Military Site To U.N. Nuclear Inspectors

Iran may open military site to UN nuclear watchdog -- AP
Iran May Allow IAEA to Visit Base If Threats Against Country End -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iran: Nuclear agency can inspect Parchin if threats of Israeli attacks defused -- Haaretz/DPA
Iran okay with inspections, 'If external threats are defused' -- Times Live

My Comment: I am always skeptical of these reports .... if Iran has nothing to hide it is in their best interest to disclose their program .... but they are not doing that. Hmmmm .... I wonder why.

U.S. Sets March Deadline For Iran To Cooperate With IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano attends a board of governors meeting at the UN headquarters in Vienna, November 29, 2012. Voice of America

U.S. Gives Iran Until March To Cooperate With IAEA -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council.

The comments by U.S. diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington's growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA's inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran - which was first reported to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program by the IAEA's 35-nation board in 2006 and then was hit by U.N. sanctions - rejects suspicions it is on a covert quest for atomic bomb capability.

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More News On Iran's Nuclear Program

IAEA Chief Hopes Tehran Meeting Will Aid Diplomatic Efforts -- Radio Free Europe
U.N. nuclear chief sees no progress on Iran concerns -- Reuters
IAEA Questions Iran's Nuclear Intentions -- Voice of America
UN nuclear chief expresses concern for inspectors -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iran nuclear chief: Uranium enrichment to be stepped up with new centrifuges, reactor -- AP
Iran "will press on with enrichment:" nuclear chief -- Reuters
Iran's nuclear stockpile grows but not yet in "danger zone" -- Reuters
AP Exclusive: Graph suggests Iran working on bomb -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
AP's dangerous Iran hoax demands an accounting and explanation -- Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian
Iran Delay of Reactor to 2014 Gives Talks Time: Diplomats -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Leaked Documents Reveal Iran's Interest In Nuclear Weapons

The undated diagram that was given to the AP by officials of a country critical of Iran's atomic program allegedly calculating the explosive force of a nuclear weapon _ a key step in developing such arms. The diagram shows a bell curve and has variables of time in micro-seconds and power and energy, both in kilotons _ the traditional measurement of the energy output, and hence the destructive power of nuclear weapons. The curve peaks at just above 50 kilotons at around 2 microseconds, reflecting the full force of the weapon being modeled. The Farsi writing at the bottom translates "changes in output and in energy released as a function of time through power pulse" (AP Photo)

Report: Iran Building Powerful Nuclear Device -- Arutz Sheva

Iran is planning to build a nuclear bomb with at least triple the force of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in World War II, diagrams show.

Iran is planning to build a nuclear bomb with at least triple the force of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in World War II, diagrams obtained by the Associated Press indicates. According to AP, the diagrams were first discovered by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scientists after an inspection of an Iranian nuclear facility. The document was published by the AP Tuesday after, the news agency said, it was leaked by officials critical of the way the West has been handling the Iran issue.

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WNU Editor: The Original AP story is here. Some are skeptical of this AP report. More skepticism here.

IAEA: Iran's Nuclear Enrichment Program Is Still Growing

In a still image from video, a group of scientists is seen near the control room area at the Tehran Research Reactor in February. Radio Free Europe

Iran Steps Up Pace And Capacity Of Uranium Enrichment, Says IAEA Report -- The Guardian

Israel's 'red line' could be hit in June, the point when Iranians have enough 20%-enriched uranium to produce a warhead.

Iran has expanded its enrichment capacity and is enriching uranium at a pace that would bring it to what Israel has declared an unacceptable red line in just over seven months, according to a report by the UN nuclear watchdog.

The International Atomic Energy Agency also found that Iranian technicians had removed the fuel rods from the country's only functioning nuclear power station at Bushehr, suggesting the new reactor has serious problems. Iran did not tell IAEA inspectors what those problems were.

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More News On Iran's Nuclear Program

UN Nuclear Agency: Iran Poised to Expand Nuke Work -- ABC News
Iran ready to double uranium enrichment at Fordo - IAEA -- BBC
IAEA: Iran making steady advances on nuclear program -- Christian Science Monitor
UN watchdog says Iran still working toward nuclear weapons -- FOX News
IAEA says key Iran nuclear site fully equipped -- AFP
U.N.: Iran ready to double uranium output -- UPI
Iran ready to double nuclear work in bunker: IAEA -- Reuters
U.N. inspectors report worrisome steps in Iran’s nuclear program -- Washington Post

IAEA: Iran Is Cleaning Up It's Nuclear Test Site

Photo: Herwig Prammer / Reuters

IAEA: Sanitization of Iran's Parchin Site 'Ongoing' -- Jerusalem Post

UN nuclear chief warns clean-up activities at suspected Iranian nuclear site continue, expresses optimism over talks.

The sanitization of Iran's Parchin military facility is "ongoing," AFP cited International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano as saying Sunday.

"Yes, the activities at Parchin are ongoing, but I am not in a position to discuss the details today," the chief of the UN atomic agency said in Baghdad after being asked whether Iran was undertaking to destroy evidence at the suspected nuclear site.

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More News On Iran "Cleaning Up" It's Parchin Nuclear Site

IAEA chief: Iran continuing nuclear cleanup at Parchin -- Haaretz/AP
UN’s nuclear watchdog head says apparent work to dismantle suspected Iran test site ongoing -- Washington Post/AP
IAEA Chief: Clean-Up Ongoing At Iran Site -- Radio Free Europe
IAEA head says Iran dismantling of Parchin site 'ongoing' -- France24
Parchin clean-up drive continuing, says IAEA -- Oman Tribune

Iran's Underground Nuclear Enrichment Plant Is Nearly Finished

Iran Said To Nearly Finish Nuclear Enrichment Plant -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Intelligence officials from several countries say Iran in recent weeks has virtually completed an underground nuclear enrichment plant, racing ahead despite international pressure and heavy economic sanctions in what experts say may be an effort to give it leverage in any negotiations with the United States and its allies.

The installation of the last of nearly 3,000 centrifuges at a site called Fordo, deep under a mountain inside a military base near the holy city of Qum, puts Iran closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon, or come up to the edge, if its leaders ultimately decide to proceed.

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More News On Iran Having Nearly Completed It's Nuclear Enrichment Plant

Iran Underground Nuclear Plant Almost Finished, N.Y. Times Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iran finishing work on nuclear plant -- UPI
Iran filling nuclear bunker with centrifuges: diplomats -- Reuters
Report: Iran's Underground Nuclear Plant Is Nearly Complete -- The Atlantic
National Security Brief: Iran Installs More Centrifuges At Underground Facility -- Think Progress

Iran's Underground Nuclear Enrichment Plant Is Nearly Finished

Iran Said To Nearly Finish Nuclear Enrichment Plant -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Intelligence officials from several countries say Iran in recent weeks has virtually completed an underground nuclear enrichment plant, racing ahead despite international pressure and heavy economic sanctions in what experts say may be an effort to give it leverage in any negotiations with the United States and its allies.

The installation of the last of nearly 3,000 centrifuges at a site called Fordo, deep under a mountain inside a military base near the holy city of Qum, puts Iran closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon, or come up to the edge, if its leaders ultimately decide to proceed.

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More News On Iran Having Nearly Completed It's Nuclear Enrichment Plant

Iran Underground Nuclear Plant Almost Finished, N.Y. Times Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iran finishing work on nuclear plant -- UPI
Iran filling nuclear bunker with centrifuges: diplomats -- Reuters
Report: Iran's Underground Nuclear Plant Is Nearly Complete -- The Atlantic
National Security Brief: Iran Installs More Centrifuges At Underground Facility -- Think Progress

Iran's Underground Nuclear Enrichment Plant Is Nearly Finished

Iran Said To Nearly Finish Nuclear Enrichment Plant -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Intelligence officials from several countries say Iran in recent weeks has virtually completed an underground nuclear enrichment plant, racing ahead despite international pressure and heavy economic sanctions in what experts say may be an effort to give it leverage in any negotiations with the United States and its allies.

The installation of the last of nearly 3,000 centrifuges at a site called Fordo, deep under a mountain inside a military base near the holy city of Qum, puts Iran closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon, or come up to the edge, if its leaders ultimately decide to proceed.

Read more ....

More News On Iran Having Nearly Completed It's Nuclear Enrichment Plant

Iran Underground Nuclear Plant Almost Finished, N.Y. Times Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iran finishing work on nuclear plant -- UPI
Iran filling nuclear bunker with centrifuges: diplomats -- Reuters
Report: Iran's Underground Nuclear Plant Is Nearly Complete -- The Atlantic
National Security Brief: Iran Installs More Centrifuges At Underground Facility -- Think Progress

ISIS Report: Iran Can Priduce Enough Unranium For A Nuclear Warhead In 2 - 4 Months

Study: Iran Could Produce Enough Uranium For Bomb In 2 Months -- Voice of America

A U.S. security institute that advises Washington policy makers says Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb in as little as two months from now, but would need additional time to make the device itself.

In a report issued Monday, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said Iran has the capacity to produce 25 kilograms of highly enriched uranium needed for the core of a nuclear warhead in two to four months. Iran has thousands of centrifuges enriching uranium at its main plant in Natanz and hundreds of other centrifuges operating at its Fordo facility, located under a mountain to shield it from air attacks.

The United States and Israel have refused to rule out military action to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Tehran says its nuclear program is designed only for peaceful uses.

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More News On Iran's Nuclear Program Could Produce Enough Uranium To Assemble A Nuclear Bomb In 2 Months

Iran would need 2-4 months to amass bomb material - think tank -- Reuters
Think tank: path to Iran nuke warhead 2-4 months -- AP
Iran could make the bomb within 10 months: experts -- AFP
Think-tank warns on Iran nuclear capacity -- Financial Times
ISIS: Iran breakout times shortening, but ‘dash’ unlikely next year -- Al-Monitor
Iran could produce nuclear warhead within 2-4 months -- AllVoices

Bombing Iran's Nuclear Sites Offers Little Political Or Military Value

Attack Operations For Iran Weighed -- David Fulghum, Aviation Week & Space Technology

Aerial bombing of Iran's nuclear and missile programs offers little political, deterrent or military value. That judgment encompasses bombing raids by either Israel or the U.S., contend a growing number of U.S. analysts.

There is evidence that patience on the part of the West may provide less-obvious opportunities to delay or halt the programs. But Israel fears that U.S. caution will turn into a containment policy that will enable Tehran to build a nuclear weapon.

“If the Iranians really wanted a store of enriched uranium, they could buy it,” says a longtime U.S. defense specialist with links to the U.S. military's world of clandestine operations. “And they don't have to process it themselves except for the national prestige it would give the country and to keep the international spotlight on Tehran.”

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My Comment:A sobering assessment. Read it all.

Iran’s Top Atomic Energy Official Admits That They Have Lied On Their Nuclear Program

Iran's Head of Atomic Energy Organization Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani Photo: Reuters

Iran’s Top Atomic Official Says Nation Issued False Nuclear Data to Fool Spies -- New York Times

Iran’s top atomic energy official said in an article published Thursday that because of foreign espionage, his government had sometimes provided false information to protect its nuclear program, which Western powers and Israel have called a cloak to develop a nuclear weapons capacity.

The official, Fereydoon Abbasi, a nuclear scientist who is the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, did not specify the nature of the false information. Nor did he specify when it had been presented or to whom.

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My Comment: These comments by Iran's top nuclear official screams for more information .... but I doubt that they are going to provide any intel or info.

Iran Claims Its Nuclear Facilities Could Now Survive An Enemy Attack

A recent photograph of the suspected uranium-enrichment facility near Iran's holy city of Qom (Courtesy Reuters).

Iran Claims Its Nuclear Facilities Could Now Survive Enemy ‘Missile Attacks And Raids’ -- Times of Israel

Tehran’s nuclear chief blames IAEA for explosion last month at Fordo underground enrichment facility, slams Israel’s nuclear arsenal.

VIENNA — Iran’s nuclear chief said Monday that “terrorists and saboteurs” might have infiltrated the International Atomic Energy Agency in an effort to derail his nation’s atomic program. He also said his country’s nuclear facilities could now survive enemy attack.

In an unprecedentedly harsh attack on the integrity of the UN organization and its probe of allegations that Tehran is striving to make nuclear arms, Fereydoun Abbasi spoke of a recent explosion at a particularly sensitive Iranian enrichment facility.

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My Comment: I guess Iran's nuclear chief had to respond to these reports.

Iran Is Speeding Up Work On Nuclear Program

Suspected uranium-enrichment facility near Qom, Iran. DigitalGlobe/Handout/REUTERS

Signs Suggest Iran Is Speeding Up Work On Nuclear Program -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — International nuclear inspectors will soon report that Iran has installed hundreds of new centrifuges in recent months and may also be speeding up production of nuclear fuel while negotiations with the United States and its allies have ground to a near halt, according to diplomats and experts briefed on the findings.

Almost all of the new equipment is being installed in a deep underground site on a military base near Qum that is considered virtually invulnerable to military attack. It would suggest that a boast by senior Iranian leaders late last month — that the country had added upward of 1,000 new machines to its installation despite Western sabotage — may be true.

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My Comment: David Sanger who wrote this post has excellent ties to the intelligence community. He is voicing their concerns ... and yes .... they are very concerned.

Israel And The U.S. Are Not On The Same Page When It Comes To Iran's Nuclear Program

Iran's Fordo facility (Archives)

U.S., Israel At Odds Over Iran Nuke Program Intelligence -- ABC News

The White House expressed confidence Friday that American intelligence will know if Iran escalates its nuclear program in a sprint to build an atomic bomb—a day after Israel's defense minister warned that the allies might not know "in time" to prevent it.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

"We have eyes, we have visibility into the program," press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily briefing. "We feel confident that we would be able to detect a break-out move by Iran towards the acquisition of a nuclear weapon."

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More News On U.S. - Israeli Differences On Iran's Nuclear Program

US Contradicts Israeli Official on Iranian Weapons -- Voice of America
U.S. still believes Iran not on verge of nuclear weapon -- Reuters
US says has 'eyes' inside Iran nuclear program -- YNet News
Israeli leaders want to attack Iran before US election, says media report -- Irish Times
Iran's atomic project getting harder to foresee: Barak -- Reuters
Obama gets new U.S. NIE: Iran making surprising progress toward nuclear capability -- Haaretz

My Comment: The Iranians must be amused with this public display of disagreement.

Hezbollah MP: Iran’s Nuclear Program Designed To ‘Finish Off’ Israel

Iran’s Nuclear Program Designed To ‘Finish Off’ Israel, Hezbollah MP Says -- Times of Israel

The entire equation in the Middle East will change, Walid Sakariya tells al-Manar TV

Hezbollah MP Walid Sakariya told Lebanese television this week that the nuclear weapon Iran is allegedly developing is intended to annihilate Israel.

In a segment recorded and translated by MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute), Sakariya, also a retired general, told his interviewer on Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV Tuesday that should Iran acquire a nuclear weapon it would serve Syrian as well as Iranian interests, namely the eradication of the Jewish state.

“This nuclear weapon is intended to create a balance of terror with Israel, to finish off the Zionist enterprise, and to end all Israeli aggression against the Arab nation,” Sakariya said.

“The entire equation in the Middle East will change,” he asserted.

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My Comment: A very blunt stand from this Hezbollah MP .... but it would not surprise me if there are millions of Muslims who are supporting the message that he is spreading right now.

New Intelligence Assesment Reveals Iran Closer To Attaining Nuclear Weapons Than Previously Thought

New Intelligence Reveals Iran Closer To Attaining Nuclear Weapon Than Previously Thought -- Haaretz

Western diplomat who asked not to be named says U.S, Britain, France, Germany and Israel agree on that assessment.

New intelligence information obtained by Israel and four Western countries indicates that Iran has made greater progress on developing nuclear weapons than the West had previously realized, according to Western diplomats and Israeli officials who are closely involved in efforts to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

A Western diplomat who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss intelligence information said the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Israel agree on that assessment.

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My Comment: When I read reports like this one, one cannot help but feel that there are some who are pushing for a military option to be implemented sooner rather than later. But even if this assessment is correct, there is no political will in Washington or in Europe to stop Iran right now.

Is A Nuclear-Armed Iran Imminent?

The Iranian nuclear scientist who defected to the United States is thought to have worked on the Iran nuclear program at this suspected uranium-enrichment facility near Qom, Iran. DigitalGlobe/Handout/REUTERS

No Imminent Threat Of A Nuclear-Armed Iran, Experts Say -- L.A. Times

Israeli and U.S. politicians lately have been bandying about the prospect of an airstrike on Iranian nuclear facilities, stirring fear that another destabilizing clash could be provoked in a region already rife with civil war in Syria and other religious and political tensions.

But nonproliferation experts and Middle East analysts are skeptical of Israeli claims that the Tehran regime is so close to building a nuclear weapon that time is running out for a peaceful resolution of the decades-long standoff.

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My Comment: I have always been of the opinion that what Iran really wants are the facilities on hand to make enriched nuclear material necessary for a nuclear weapon .... not necessarily a complete nuclear weapons program that results in having a stockpile of nuclear weapons in some bunker. And while this is a position that the Iranian regime feels comfortable standing by .... everyone else has a problem in seeing the distinction .... and they are right.

Is a nuclear-armed Iran imminent .... for the moment probably not. But a time is fast approaching when Iran will be in a position in which if they choose to be a nuclear armed state .... the process can be done very quickly because they have the facilities and nuclear material available and on hand to do it.