On June 16, 1945, America detonated the first atomic bomb, starting the atomic age and the biggest arms race in the world.

Although the first attempts to make atomic bomb initiated in Nazi Germany they weren’t successful until the US president Franklin D. Roosevelt in cooperation with the British government authorized the “Manhattan Project” in order to research about production of atomic bomb.

A group of top scientists of the time worked for the project with the distinguished physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer being the head of the group. They succeeded to make the first atomic bomb in the US which was detonated in what is now called Trinity in New Mexico.

Perhaps at first it was believed that the US would not use that lethal weapon against the mankind but soon people of two big cities in Japan fell victim to America’s atomic bombs.

On August 6, 1945, a bomber in US Air Force 509th Bomb Squadron called Enola Gay- which is now kept in a museum in Washington- left a US base in the south of Pacific Ocean and detonated an atomic bomb named “Little Boy” over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The direct and the indirect death toll caused by this bombardment are estimated to exceed 140,000.

This however was not the end as three days after Hiroshima bombing, another atomic bomb, called the “Fat Man” killed 73,000 and injured 74,000 people in Nagasaki, Japan, not including those who later were found to be the victims of the bombing. Of course there was another bomb made in the Manhattan Project which was never used.

Oppenheimer regretted his participation in the Manhattan project after a while and began to speak against nuclear arms, and thus was removed from the project. His regret was of no use though.

The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949, with the help of Oppenheimer’s friend, Klaus Fuchs. To keep its superiority in the arms race, the US began the research for making hydrogen bombs and could successfully detonate it in November, 1952.

No country has so far used nuclear arms for military purposes except for the US. There is however concerns over some countries possessing nuclear arms, especially as some of them have refused to sign the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT).

“[Until September 9, 2009] there are over 20,000 nuclear weapons around the world. Many of them are still on hair-trigger alert, threatening our own survival,” said Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in the Annual DPI/NGO Conference. 18,500 of these bombs were made by the US and Russia.

All five permanent members of the UN Security Council –America, France, Russia, China, and Britain- have atomic bombs and have been recognized as nuclear powers in the NPT. The NPT recognizes the countries that owned or detonated nuclear bombs or arms before January 1, 1967 on the condition that they would gradually be disarmed and destroy all their atomic bombs.

But the nuclear powers not only did not move toward nuclear disarmament- that was demanded by Article VI of the NPT, but also in some cases defended some countries who illegally possessed nuclear arms and in some other cases rejected the right to have peaceful nuclear energy for some other countries.

This contradiction in world nuclear powers actions has put many obstacles in the ways of a group of other countries who want to have peaceful nuclear energy, depriving them even of the rights that they legally have under the NPT.

The Article IV of the NPT recognizes “the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in conformity with articles I and II of this Treaty,” and demands all the member “to facilitate, and have the right to participate in, the fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is responsible for supervising over the implementation and observation of the NPT and Additional Protocol but it is too influenced by the nuclear powers that so far have fallen short of this responsibility.

For example Iran says it is after producing and using peaceful nuclear energy and there has been no evidence that proves otherwise. The members of Security Council however neither have helped Iran in this regards nor have recognized the country’s right to Uranium enrichment although it is considered as a basic right under the NPT. But when it comes to Israel, some of the nuclear powers who object to Iran’s peaceful nuclear program consider possession of nuclear bombs as the regime’s right not caring about the fact that it is not a member of the NPT. What’s more important is that the IAEA can’t do anything about it; it either keeps silent or sides with the Western powers.

Israel that has not declared itself a nuclear state is the biggest nuclear power outside the NPT. It acquired its first primitive nuclear bomb in late 1960s and now it is estimated that the regime has over half a ton of Plutonium and unknown amounts of enriched Uranium needed for making nuclear bombs. The amount of Plutonium kept by Israel is more that the amount the five nuclear powers possess altogether. Experts believe Israel has nearly 200 atomic bombs.

India, Pakistan, and North Korea also own atomic bombs. So far 188 countries have signed the NPT but India, Pakistan, and Israel has refused to sign the treaty. North Korea also left the treaty after violating it.

It seems that this dual approach towards a significant and sensitive issue like the right of the nations in accessing nuclear energy would only result in discredit of the NPT and the IAEA which can make the future of the world insecure. 

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The meeting is a follow up to last round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 (consisting of US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany) held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on April 5-6.

According to a source close to the Iranian negotiating team, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili is accompanied by his deputy Ali Bagheri.

“Even though it took a long time [since Almaty-II talks] but we are waiting to receive P5+1 answers to Iran’s proposal,” said Jalili after he arrived in Istanbul.

Answering to question regard possible effect of Iran’s presidential election on nuclear talks, Jalili said: “Nuclear issue is a national one and all parties have consensus on this. So the presidential election has will not affect [the talks].”

 After tonight’s meeting, two sides will likely issue a joint statement and Dr. Jalili, a candidate of Iran’s June 14 presidential election will hold a press conference in the Iranian consulate on Thursday.

“We are ready to listen to the results of Mrs. Ashton’s meeting with foreign ministers of the P5+1,” said the source speaking on condition of anonymity.

Catherine Ashton who represents the P5+1 said in the end of Almaty-II talks that the group delegation will go back to capitals to evaluate the process and later she will be in touch with Dr. Jalili in order to see how to go forward.

Ashton likely to get information about the Iran’s upcoming presidential election from Jalili, who may be the next Iranian president as he announced his candidacy for the upcoming Iranian presidential election.

Iran also started a new round of negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna on Wednesday.

The ongoing talks are the 10th round of the negotiations between Iran and the IAEA over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program since early 2012.

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Manouchehr Mottaki, who served as Iran’s Foreign Minister from 2005 to 2010, and has now announced his candidacy for the Presidential elections in June, told Iran’s Supreme Leader in the last months of his service that “We are ready to reach an agreement with the P5+1.”

“[In this scenario] we also should make the West accept our rights and allow them to announce that they convinced Iran to accept their demands,” Mottaki said as he explained his plan to Ayatollah Khamenei.

The plan, apparently, proposed to accept of some of the P5+1 demands as a face-saving step for the western side.

Speaking in a conference of “Union of Islamic Societies of Independent Students” in Tehran, Mottaki said on Friday that he suggested Iran should declare the Supreme Leader’s Nuclear Fatwa (religious edict, declaring that the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons are all prohibited in Islam), and increase cooperation with the IAEA, despite all of their sabotages.

“The Supreme leader accepted my plan, [then] we discussed it with President Ahmadinejad and [following his order] a 4- member team was formed,” he said. “but unfortunately I was dismissed after a few months,” Mottaki said.

On 13 December 2010, Mottaki was dismissed as foreign minister – while on an official tour of Africa – by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

President Ahmadinejad appointed the country’s then top nuclear official, Ali Akbar Salehi, to replace Mr Mottaki.

“We were [running] in a marathon, we had to manage sanctions and perform our policies simultaneously,” He said about his serving period as Iran’s Foreign Minister.

“On the nuclear issue since 2005 we have arrived at a new battle, we reached self-sufficiency in uranium enrichment and consequently are facing fresh pressures from the West,” Mottaki asserted saying “…for the one who has the upper hand, retreating will make him the loser.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council formulates the country’s nuclear policy. The nuclear policies formulated by the council would become effective if they are confirmed by the Supreme Leader. The Secretary of the council, Saeed Jalili acts as the chief nuclear negotiator of Iran.

Latest round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group held April 5^th and 6^th in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

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Ali Larijani, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament accused the IAEA of making obstacles for Iran and the P5+1 (P5+1 is the name given to the six countries – U.S, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany- negotiating with Iran) talks to reach an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Some statements of the IAEA and other parties regarding recent talks in Almaty not only didn’t helped, but some also interrupted the way to success.

He reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is only peaceful and that Iran will adequately cooperate with the IAEA in the framework of the NPT. Then he accused the west of abusing “Iran’s gentle stance.”

“Don’t make Iran re-think its cooperation,” Larijani warned the West.

Iran recently has strongly criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for mishandling the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program and allowing its negotiations with Tehran to be “remote controlled”.

“the source of this problem is not Iran; [it] is the way the secretariat is submitting to this sort of remote-controlled negotiation which does not work,” Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA  Ali Asghar Soltanieh told reporters after a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday.

Soltanieh’s remarks targeted IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, whom the envoy blamed for leaving the IAEA’s negotiating team without “the full authority to negotiate and decide.”

Larijani speaking at the beginning of the Sunday session of the Majlis, criticized the US’ attitude towards the Almaty talks and said, “the Majlis observes the US, the P 5+1 and the IAEA carefully and thinks of the next round of talks as a test for considering other options.”

“Iran won’t allow The US to buy time for another misadventure,” He added.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei has also reiterated the next round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 is a test for the West’s honesty.

Iran and the IAEA wrapped up their latest round of talks on the Iranian nuclear energy program in Tehran on February 13. And then the Almaty talks with the P5+1 followed.

After the talks, Soltanieh, who headed the Iranian negotiating team, said Tehran and the agency had resolved some differences and reached an agreement on certain issues.

the United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Iran categorically rejects the allegation.

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On February 27^th after 2 days of negotiations, Iran and P5+1 agreed to hold talks on March 18^th in Istanbul with experts from the two parties to attend and discuss technical issues of the offers made during Almaty talks; they also agreed that senior political directors will meet again in Almaty, Kazakhstan to resume talks.

European Union foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton refused to talk about the details of the P5+1 proposal as the offer is being reviewed by Iranians and experts.

However some American media quoted a senior American diplomat whose name remained unknown as having said that the 6 powers proposal to Iran include curbing 20% uranium enrichment, restraining activities at Fordow nuclear site located somewhere close to the city of Qom in exchange for some sanction relief particularly on Iran’s petrochemical exports.

The P5+1 “has not asked for the shutting down of Fordow plant,” Saeed Jalili, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council who leads the country’s team of negotiators with the P5+1, told journalists after the two-day talks ended.

‘”Fordow is a legal and fully recognized plan for the IAEA and operates under its supervision. IAEA studies its activities and it works completely based on the agency’s rules and there is no justification for the closure of the plant,” he added.

Iranian experts who have reviewed the Almaty offer in Tehran say: ‘P5+1 has proposed the six months suspension of enrichment activities in Fordow plant in exchange for suspension of sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical exports and gold trading.’

Iran has mentioned recognition of the country’s “right for enrichment” as a signatory of the NPT, Iran’s main demand from the P5+1 in order to resume talks but had described the degree of the enrichment as “according to needs” and “negotiable” .

Although Jalili called the six powers’ proposal in Almaty “an effort to get closer to Iran’s standpoints” and “positive”, he urged that “we have a long way to reach.”

Catherine Ashton said: “The offer addresses international concerns on the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme, but is also responsive to Iranian ideas.”

Almaty talks received a great deal of attention in Iran and most Iranian media described it a “victory for Iran” and “West’s withdrawal from its previous stands”

Kazem Sediqi, Speaker of Friday Prayer of 1 March defined Almaty talks as demonstrating Iran’s “stable and consistent stance”.

He stated that “Iran’s degree of enrichment is not any other country’s affair and the Iranian nation will benefit from their basic rights as per their needs and are not scared of any power.”

The long-term suspension of uranium enrichment in 2004 and while the reformist government of Iran was in power had always received serious criticism from the country’s Supreme Leader and “suspension of enrichment” has turned into a redline whose acceptance equals surrender and admitting defeat.

“The administration of [Khatami] due to lack of authority-based reasoning and initiatives, had surrendered to west’s demands and IAEA’s and this lead the agency to issue 6 different resolutions against our country at the time,” said Ali Baqeri.

Nonetheless Iran’s team of negotiators and state senior officials have recurrently insisted that the 20% enrichment is only aimed at fulfilling medical needs of Tehran’s nuclear reactor and through developing other means of accomplishing such fulfillment, this degree of uranium enrichment can be halted. Thus Iran would continue its enrichment activities with a 5% degree afterwards.

It should be reminded that Iran has not accepted Almaty offers yet and has merely called it a positive step; as it has been stated in the Iranian statement on Almaty talks, “We consider these talks a positive step which could be completed by taking a positive and constructive approach and taking reciprocal steps. “

Therefore the expert talks to be held on March 18^th in Istanbul bear great significance. The two teams are to discuss the details of the presented proposals in order to make it clear what steps each team would take.

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Iranian legislators have issued a statement in defense of the nation’s full nuclear rights ahead of the next round of talks between Iran and the IAEA.

In the statement issued on Sunday, 252 legislators urged the Iranian negotiators to defend the nuclear rights of the Iranian nation in entirety, making it clear that the country’s nuclear train would never stop.

The legislators demanded that any agreement should be based on the rights and interests of the nation. They also called on China and Russia as two of the permanent members of the Security Council to defend Iran’s position and not to follow irrational demands and ambitions of the US and its allies.

“We as the representatives of the Iranian nation suggest that the US and its Western allies accept today’s nuclear realities of Iran and change their confrontation policy to interaction policy and know that Iran’s nuclear train that is moving in a peaceful framework will never stop,” the statement said.

Negotiators from Iran and the West are going to start the new round of nuclear talks on February 26, in Almaty Kazakhstan. Iran has made it clear that it will not retreat from its previous position and expects form the other side to make rational decisions.

Despite the massive propaganda by the west against Iran’s nuclear program, the international support for Iran’s legitimate right is growing rapidly. Not only independent governments in the world, including the majority of NAM member states, have expressed their support for Iran’s nuclear rights, people and non-governmental groups also have shown solidarity with the Iranian nation regarding their defense of the nuclear right.

One example is the International Action Center (IAC) that is trying to inform its international audience about the West’s hostile policies towards Iran and wants them to take action and show support for the country. The IAC has recently put up a statement on its website in support of Iran’s nuclear rights. The statement is signed by people of different countries around the world.

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Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), recently published satellite imagery of Parchin, claiming Iran is trying to destroy evidence of past nuclear tests.

Parchin is a military site in the suburbs of Tehran. Some western countries claimed that nuclear tests of some sort were done at this site in 2000.

Twice in 2005, Iran gave permission to the IAEA in to inspect this site. Not one of those inspections or visitations uncovered any violations or evidence of any type of nuclear testing or activity.

Since 2012, Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have been dialoging about ways to resolve the conflict revolving around possible military dimensions (PMD).

The last talk between Iran and the IAEA over the PMD took place on February 13, 2013. In that meeting, the IAEA requested permission to investigate the Parchine facility. The talk failed and the request was denied as Iran demanded that the US and IAEA resolve the ambiguities by putting forth all of their questions and demands at once and not one at a time. This way a modality would be agreed upon.

Iran is also to meet the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States, plus Germany— in Almaty, Kazakhstan on February 26 as the next round of nuclear talks starts.

Iran and the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany — have held several rounds of multifaceted talks mainly focused on Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran argues that as a signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The post IAEA Report: Soil Displacement in Parchin was Due to Constructing its New Road first appeared on .

Iranian Atomic Energy Agency unveiled two new achievements of the Iranian Nuclear Energy technology with Dr. Saeed Jalili, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council attending the event, ahead of Almaty Talks.

Iranian Atomic Energy Agency declared 16 new power plants are designated be constructed in sites along the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea after careful studies of population, topography, seismology, meteorology, hydrology, access roads, transmission lines, land use, ecology and passive defense issues. The new power plants are intended to generate electricity in accordance with the international standards and criterion. The organization also said that Iran has discovered more uranium deposits which further improves the country’s position among those of the world possessing nuclear technology.

Jalili remarked that defending Iran’s right to develop nuclear power is to defend the Iranian nation’s all rights and privileges. He added Iran will not commit to fewer rights and more obligations.  

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator urged the western team of negotiators to abandon their previous mistakes and to enter talks with a “rightful offer” in order to secure the Iranian nation’s trust.  He said “Defending our right to develop nuclear energy is to defend our right for development, having our own choice, livelihood and an outstanding society.”

He further added: “Today, defending Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy is the frontline of defending the Iranian nations’ rights.”

Jalili will meet P5+1 in Almaty, Kazakhstan on February 26, 27 to defend Iran’s Right to develop nuclear power.

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