After a prolonged tug or war between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Nations, Tehran has finally declined to accept the nuclear deal offered by the U.N to Iran, in lieu of a complete deactivation of all nuclear activities by Iran. The country has clearly stated that, the stockpile of low enriched uranium that Iran possesses will not sent abroad for processing.

The nuclear deal brokered by the United Nations required Iran to export 70% of its enriched low uranium to other nations for processing, thereby significantly reducing the country’s uranium count, that would have eased the concerns of several nations, that Iran could soon acquire a nuclear weapon. If Iran would have agreed to the deal, then the UN would have in turn provided Tehran with fuel rods, that could take care of the nation’s energy requirements, but prove to be extremely difficult to extract weapons grade uranium from.

Along with countries such as the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, the United Nations had envisioned a nuclear weapons free Iran and had its hopes pinned on the nuclear deal. The failure of negotiations have further alleviated the concerns shared by this country, that have propped ever since the the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) disclosed in its report, the site of another possible Iranian nuclear reactor.

The new site called Fordo, has been the venue of intense Iranian activity and experts believe that, Tehran has committed its technician and resources from the Natanz nuclear reactor site to the new one.

Via Associated Press.

Iran could be the ‘savior’ of the Middle East. If it wants to, that is.  The conflict between Sunni and Shia, ‘dating back to the seventh-century dispute over who was meant to be the Prophet Muhammad’s rightful successor, is the most consequential in the Middle East because it is so profound and elemental. But precisely because it is so intractable, it might hold the key to solving another seemingly eternal Middle East conflict, the one between Muslim and Jew.’ Iran just might be in the middle of all this.

The “symbiotic anxiety” shared by Israel and its Sunni Arab adversaries might not be abated as it might be too late to forge a Sunni-Jewish alliance. The reason is hate, a phenomenon that never stopped the ‘formation of pragmatic alliances in the Middle East.’ Making it worse is the new and added Arab enmity for Israel because of last December’s Israeli attacks in Gaza. It might be impossible now ‘for Arab governments to be seen entering even a tacit alliance with Israel.’

Iran has obviously shown to be a guardian of Islamic and, in particular, Palestinian interests. It is an undeniable fact that ‘half of the future state of Palestine is under the control of a Sunni fundamentalist group, Hamas, that is theologically opposed to the Shia dogma, but more than happy to take Iranian money and weapons. Iran can continue encouraging Hamas—as well as the Shia Hezbollah in Lebanon—to subvert any upcoming negotiations.’

David Makovsky, one of the most respected experts on the peace process, and co-author of a new book, Myths, Illusions, and Peace, says, “There is a convergence of interests between the Arabs and Israelis on Iran. As such, this moment is a gift that shouldn’t be wasted. The two sides need to put their differences in perspective to address the common challenge.”

‘The history of Middle East peacemaking is littered with missed opportunities, and the shared challenge of an ascendant Iran might not be enough to induce Arabs and Israelis to make common cause.’

Even if Iran may not want to save the Middle East conflict, it is in the crucial position of owning the possibility of doing so.

Via The Atlantic

United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency or IAEA has stated in its latest report that, the Islamic Republic of Iran constructing an all new secret nuclear reactor at a new site, called Fordo and the facility is expected to be fully functional by the year 2011.

Although IAEA has not released any estimates regarding the potential production capabilities of the new nuclear facility, yet sources close to the international nuclear watchdog have stated that, the new facility at Fordo might be able to produce a ton of enriched uranium annually. This amount of uranium would be more than sufficient to develop a fully functional nuclear warhead.

The stagnant and sloe production of enriched uranium at the Natanz nuclear plant is also causing ripples of worry across the IAEA analysts, as they believe that, the technicians and the resources from the Natanz site are being diverted to the Fordo plant to speed up the construction of the new secret facility. The Iranian authorities had announced its intentions to install a further 8,000 centrifuges at the Natanz site and as per IAEA report, Iran has in fact installed 8,600 centrifuges. Out of the new centrifuges, only 4,000 have been dedicated to the process of enriching uranium.

The Natanz site has so far produced about 1,800 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that is more than enough to produce two nuclear weapons and has been constantly producing about 100 kilograms of enriched uranium. The revelation of the Fordo nuclear plant, which is an underground  fortified nuclear reactor was made by Iran to the IAEA in the month of September this year, amid harsh criticism from the United States and Britain.

Via Associated Press.

The most notorious and feared military institutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Revolutionary Guards have been widely known for their intense and rigid control over the Islamist nation’s internal workings. This elite special forces outfit, that works with the military and has its own say in Iranian politics is believed to be ready to monitor the state run media as well amid the preparations being carried out for the launch of an all new Iranian media outlet,

As per the estimates by analysts, the Revolutionary Guards might the ones in control of the new media agency, known as Atlas, that is slated to surface sometime in the year 2010. The Revolutionary Guards gave so far been a sort of a shadow agency, carrying out its duties and activities from behind the scenes. But with the speculations of the Guards taking control of the media arm of Iran, the balance of power in Iran could be greatly changed.

The iron fist control of the Guards on Atlas, would mean that the organization would have huge influence in the nation’s domestic and international media streaming and further solidifying the speculation, that the hardline clerics are giving more and more leverage to the Revolutionary Guards, as Iran faces of its worst internal unrest. Atlas is expected to be launched early next year and will be broadcasting news reports in English, Arabic and Farsi. So far, Iranian authorities have maintained a strict embargo on the amount of information dispensed by the media and with the launch on internet monitoring station to keep an eye on the online activities of its citizens, the Iranian government is doing all it can to stem the flow of information and depict only what approves of the clerics and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Via Associated Press.

The defense contract between Russia and Iran, that was signed about two years ago, has bounded Russia to deliver the S-300 surface to air missile system to Tehran. However, since the incep0tion of the contract, Moscow hasn’t dispatched any shipments and also hasn’t provided any explanations in regards to to the delay in delivery. The United States and Israel had strongly opposed and criticized the arms deal between the two countries, as the acquisition of the S-300 SAM batteries will greatly bolster Iran’s anti-air capabilities . The concerns were raised amid an increasing threat of a nuclear Iran, as the Islamist state refused to deactivate its nuclear programs.

The current ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran involve Russia and six other nations, who wish to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons via a reactor, that Iran has repeatedly stated is for civilian energy purposes only. The latest diplomatic stern statement for Iran has put Russia in a dilemma, because not only Moscow is a long time ally of Tehran, but it is also an active participant the current nuclear negotiations.

According to Alaeddin Boroujerdi, an Iranian lawmaker who is also the head of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee,

“If they do not fulfill their promise, this will be a negative point in relations between the two countries. It will be harmful to Russia since we have many areas of cooperation with them.”

Via Associated Press.

Russian President, Dmitri A. Medvedev has stated that, Russia might stand with the United Nations and the western governments in imposing sanction on the Islamic Republic of Iran, if the current nuclear deal negotiations are failed. The nuclear deal proposed by the international community to Iran is aimed at reducing the amount of enriched uranium that it currently holds. A non-negotiable condition of the deal is that, Iran ships its stockpile of low enriched uranium to Russia for processing. The countries involved in the negotiations fear that the huge amounts of low enriched uranium that Iran possess can be turned into weapons grade component and will be used by the Islamist nation for creating nuclear weapons.

According to President Medvedev,

“If agreements are reached on the programs linked to uranium enrichment and its use for peaceful purposes in Iran, we will with pleasure take part in these programs. If the Iranian leadership takes a less constructive position, then anything is possible, in theory. We would not want this to end in imposing sanctions under international law, because sanctions, as a rule, are a complex and dangerous path. But if there is no forward movement, no one can rule out this scenario.”

In the past Russia has more or less always taken a stand with Iran as it considers Iran as a vital ally and Moscow has opposed the notion of imposing sanctions on Tehran numerous times. However, since the personal meeting between the Presidents of the United States and Russia in September this year, Mr. Medvedev has been watching the events more closely and recently during as statement, he did signal a shift in Russia’s policy on Iran.

Initially, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had supported the nuclear deal, but with increasing pressures and criticism from the government’s critics, Tehran has once again started top stall the negotiations stating that, some of the clauses are unacceptable and it would like to suggest some alternatives to those vital clauses.

Via New York Times.

The Israeli Navy today announced that, its commando units have intercepted, boarded and seized a cargo vessel, that was loaded with rockets and other arms and ammunition bound for Hizbollah. The interception of the cargo vessel was made in the Mediterranean Sea, based on credible intelligence, that the ship was carrying illegal contraband. The ship was hoisting an Antiguan flag     was boarded near Cyprus and then escorted to the Ashdod harbor in southern Israel.

According to Shaul Mofaz (Former Defense Minister, Israel),

“As of now, what we know is that this was a smuggling attempt to arm Hezbollah with terrorist means against civilians. The intent was to send arms, mainly missiles and launchers, meant to strike civilian targets.”

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has stated that, all protocols were followed and no kind of force was required or used during the operation. The seizing of the vessel and is a part of the ongoing IDF efforts to curb international weapons smuggling. According to Ehud Barak (Defense Minster, Israel),

“The capture of the weapons is an additional success in the unending struggle against the attempts at arms smuggling and armament whose goal is to strengthen terror elements threatening the security of Israel.”

The vessel named, Franco St. Johns had been in the Israeli surveillance net since the time it left its home port and the boarding operations were carried out by the elite Shayetet 13 naval special forces unit. Shayetet 13 is considered to be the equivalent of America’s U.S Navy Seals navy special warfare unit.

Via New York Times.

US intelligence appears to be following closely the increase in Kazakhstan’s nuclear commerce. A new report reveals that ‘Kazakhstan might be looking to do business with other, less responsible regimes, too.’ These other nuclear vendors have a shady record when it comes to weapons proliferation.

Thus far, Kazakhstan has cooperated with the US on key denuclearization issues, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union that paved the way for Kazakhstan’s independence. ‘Nuclear weapons stationed on Kazakh territory were returned to Russia and their delivery systems destroyed.’ The country has also ‘cut a number of nuclear material deals with Russia, China, and other nations.’

However, a new report from the US Director of National Intelligence’s Open Source Center reveals that ‘seemingly contrary to its promotion of a peaceful, nuclear weapon-free Central Asia, Kazakhstan foresees itself connected to the nuclear arena, and actively pursues collaborations with other countries in nuclear-related activities.’

Kazakhstan’s leader, Nursultan Nazarbaev, has articulated that ‘he wants to do more than export raw uranium. He wants to export more profitable fuel assemblies for nuclear reactors.’  It is suspected that Kazakhstan may partner with Iran, a nearby regional power.

The Republic of Kazakhstan is an Asian country which is ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is now considered to be the dominant state in Central Asia. The country is proud of its membership in the UN and NATO. In 2010, Kazakhstan will chair the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Image

Via The Christian Science Monitor

Although suffering a steady and growing censorship, more and more Chinese use the Internet to express their opinion using the great ease to write good articles, and at the same time circumvent government control.

“The Chinese bloggers are the smartest in the world. In addition to writing a good and interesting article, they should think how to evade the government,” said the journalist Wang Xiaofeng, author of the blog Bu Xu Lian Xiang, which receives an average of 40 thousand visits per day.

Also editor of a weekly cultural magazine in Beijing, Wang explains that a major difficulty is moving in so-called “sensitive words” so that they are not identified by the filter control.
Although censorship is strong, the Internet is the preferred means of expression among many Chinese. The network has helped uncover corruption among local authorities and served to organize protests, but the main function is to be a mural for writing articles criticizing or mocking the communist government.

China topped the list of countries with censorship omnipresent on the Internet, according to a series by the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in 2007. The list includes other schemes such as Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, Vietnam, Maldives, North Korea, Syria, Tunisia and Uzbekistan.

Imager credit.

Via: Folha.

In yet another increasing Sunni insurgency related attack, a suicide bombing carried by the insurgents killed 31 people in the south eastern part of Iran. Among the dead, five people have been identified as the top commanders of the infamous Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

The explosion took place at the time of a meeting between the Revolution guard commanders and   the local tribal leaders in the Pishin district, that falls near the Iranian border. The attack was carried out at the entrance to a sports complex, that was the venue of the proposed meeting.

Today’s bomb attack claimed the lives of Gen. Noor Ali Shooshtari, who was the deputy commander of Revolutionary Guards ground forces, along with Pishin district’s chief provincial Guard commander, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh. The others who died in the blast included, tribal leaders of the local areas, along with various other Guard members.

The claim of responsibility for today’s devastating attack has been taken by an insurgent faction, known as Jundallah, or Soldiers of God, who are the believed to from Iran’s Sunni Muslim minority community, trying hard to destabilize the region and the government of Iran. Foe years now, the  Jundallah has been known to carry out highly coordinated terror attacks against the government assets of Iran, and accuses Iran’s Shiite community of dominating the Sunni minority and thus has been engaged in attacks the majority Shiite population, primarily targeting the Revolutionary Guards and mother military and police installations.

Via Associated Press.