Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Iran

Iran Insists It Won't Stop Enrichment

Hosseini at a press conference earlier this year (Fars)

May 31, 2007 -- Iran today again insisted it will not agree to the key demand of Western powers about its controversial nuclear program.

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May 31, 2007

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini says Tehran will not suspend uranium enrichment, a process the West fears could be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran says the program is only for the peaceful production of nuclear power.

Hosseini's remarks come just hours before talks in Madrid today between Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. The standoff already has resulted in UN sanctions against Iran.

Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations -- meeting in Germany on May 30 -- expressed "deep regret" that Iran had continued to expand enrichment activities. They suggested more sanctions could be imposed.

(Reuters, AFP)

The Proliferation Threat

The Arak heavy-water plant in central Iran (Fars)

BENDING THE RULES. Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, told an RFE/RL-Radio Free Asia briefing on January 9 that the West is hamstrung in dealing with Iran and North Korea because of the way it has interpreted the international nonproliferation regime to benefit friendly countries like India and Japan.

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Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (center) looks on as scientists unveil a fuel rod at the Tehran Research Reactor.

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Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More