An Iranian news agency announced Sunday that Iran would begin construction on two nuclear reactors beginning in March. The report added that an Iranian parliamentarian confirmed that one of the reactors would be funded by Russia, at a cost of $1 billion, Army Radio said.
And if that wasn’t bad enough look what else a veto member of the UN Security council has put on the Iranian table:
Moscow is selling more than $1 billion worth of missiles and other defensive systems to Teheran, according to Russian media reports. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin did not comment on any specifics of weapons deals, saying in a statement on Saturday only that they were "exclusively defensive weapons."
"All contracts concluded in the military-technical cooperation area fully comply with our international commitments, including in the sphere of nonproliferation, and are in full compliance with Russian law," he said, according to the statement. The qualifications did not appease Israel. "Whether you call it defensive or offensive, it just encourages the regime in Iran to continue with its dangerous polices," said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's spokesman, Ra'anan Gissin.
Kamynin's statement appeared to be timed to head off the expected heated reaction from the United States following reports in Russian media Friday that Russian and Iranian officials had signed contracts in November that would send up to 30 Tor-M1 missile systems to Iran over the next two years. Interfax said the Tor-M1 system could identify up to 48 targets and fire at two targets simultaneously at a height of up to 20,000 feet (6,100 meters).
On Saturday, an influential Iranian official downplayed the deal, telling the official Islamic Republic News Agency that Iran has been trading arms with many countries and would continue to do so. "Iran's and Russia's military cooperation is not a complicated issue," said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. "It existed before, and there was no ban on it." "We do not see any necessity to answer any question in this regard," Larijani said.
Also Saturday, Iran's constitutional watchdog approved a bill that would block international inspections of its atomic facilities if it is referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, according to state-run television
From where I sit it appears that even if the IAEA does refer the Iranians to the UN Security council for possible sanctions; there is no way that cash starved Russia will not put their permanent veto to any potential UN action against Iran.
No doubt this is the underlying rational for the rumour that the US is actively seeking allies for potential action against Iranian interests outside of the UN. Taken from the Jerusalem Post:
The US is preparing for the possibility that it will have to deal with Iran's nuclear program without the assistance of the UN Security Council. In the past weeks the administration has been working with European and Japanese allies on a "menu" of sanctions that could be imposed on Iran even if the issue is not referred to the UN Security Council. According to well-placed sources in Washington, the sanctions being discussed are focused on trade issues, since almost half of Iran's trade is with Europe and Japan.
The talks on multilateral non-UN sanctions are intended to ensure that the pressure on Iran will not expire even if the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decides in its March 2006 meeting not to refer Iran to the Security Council. The US itself already has Iran under a regime of sanctions deriving from the Iran-Libya Sanction Act, and congress is expected to take on in the next few months proposals of a new sanction bill that will limit even more the possibility of foreign companies to conduct business with Iran. American ties with Iran are also restricted because Iran is on the US list of countries sponsoring terror.
The US administration is focusing on the next three months, before the IAEA meeting, in establishing a stable majority that will be in favor of referring Iran to the Security Council. The focus is on Russia, that is still trying to broker a deal with the Iranians, but diplomatic effort is also directed at China, India and South Africa. American officials told their Israeli counterparts recently that the US would take the Iran issue to the UN only if it is sure that the case is "veto proof," meaning that it has assurances from the permanent members in the Security Council not to use their veto power to bloc a resolution against Iran.
I think that one myth that many of us in the West should put to bed is the belief in the omnipotence of the Israel military to act effectively against the Iranians. Far too often we in the West go about our affairs believing that the Israelis’ will not let matters slide too far down the nuclear Armageddon path and therefore we can be absolved of any responsibility to act.
The truth is that there is very little the Israelis can do. Israel is a small country with few allies and almost no friends. Israel is still engaged in low level attacks on both is northern and southern borders. Nor do I believe that the Israelis have the manpower and equipment necessary to launch an effective pre-emptive strike to effectively neutralize the Iranian nuclear program. Iran in 2005 is not Iraq 1981. The Iranians have taken the Iraqi lesson to heart and spread out far and wide its own nuclear facilities. Furthermore, the known sensitive areas are nestled into the heart of civilian areas and buried deep beneath the ground. We are fast approaching the nuclear point of no return with the Iranians. It’s time to shit or get off the pot.
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