Iran begins N-activity underground

[Filmmaker]

TEHRAN: Iran has begun uranium enrichment at a new underground site well protected from possible airstrikes, a leading hardline newspaper reported on Sunday in another show of defiance against Western pressure to rein in Tehran's nuclear program.

Another newspaper quoted Revolutionary Guard deputy commander Ali Ashraf Nouri as saying that Tehran's leadership has decided to order the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil route, if the country's petroleum exports are blocked.

"The supreme authorities ... have insisted that if enemies block the export of our oil, we won't allow a drop of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz," he said. Iranian politicians have issued similar threats in the past, but this is the strongest statement yet by a top commander.

The latest statements are certain to fuel tensions with the US and its allies, which are trying to turn up pressure on Iran with new sanctions to punish it over its disputed nuclear program. The West suspects Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons, but Iran denies this.

Kayhan daily, which is close to Iran's ruling clerics, said Tehran has begun injecting uranium gas into sophisticated centrifuges at the Fordo facility near Qom. "Kayhan received reports on Saturday that show Iran has begun uranium enrichment at the Fordo facility amid heightened foreign enemy threats," the paper said in a front-page report. Kayhan's manager is a representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , who has the final word on all important matters of state.

Built next to a military complex, Fordo was long kept secret and was only acknowledged by Iran after it was identified by Western intelligence agencies in September 2009. Buried under 300 feet of rock, the facility is a hardened tunnel and is protected by air defence missile batteries and the Revolutionary Guard. The site is located about 32 kilometers north of Qom.

"The Fordo facility, like Natanz, has been designed and built underground. The enemy doesn't have the ability to damage it," the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted nuclear chief Abbasi as saying on Sunday.



'Iran begins N-activity underground' - The Times of India

---------- Post added at 08:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 AM ----------

Good for Iran, they have every right to develop nuclear weapons

 

[FriendOfPakistan]

They have been at it since 1980's... and still not a single nuke in sight ?

 

[Devil Soul]

Iran to enrich uranium at underground lab (AP)

9 January 2012
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has begun uranium enrichment at a new underground site built to withstand possible airstrikes, a leading hard-line newspaper reported in another show of defiance against Western pressure to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.

The operations at the bunker-like facility south of Tehran, reported Sunday by the Kayhan daily newspaper, are small in comparison to Iran’s main enrichment site. But the centrifuges at the underground labs are considered more efficient and are shielded from aerial surveillance and protected against airstrikes by up to 300 feet (90 meters) of mountain rock.

Uranium enrichment is at the core of the international standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. and its allies fear Iran could use its enrichment facilities to develop high-grade nuclear material for warheads.

Iran — which claims it only seeks nuclear reactors for energy and research — has sharply increased its threats and military posturing against stronger pressures, including U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s Central Bank in attempts to complicate its ability to sell oil.

A senior commander of the Revolutionary Guard force was quoted as saying Tehran’s leadership has decided to order the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil route, if the country’s petroleum exports are blocked. Revolutionary Guard ground forces also staged war games in eastern Iran in an apparent display of resolve against U.S. forces just over the border in Afghanistan.

Iranian officials have issued similar threats, but this is the strongest statement yet by a top commander in the security establishment.

“The supreme authorities ... have insisted that if enemies block the export of our oil, we won’t allow a drop of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the strategy of the Islamic Republic in countering such threats,” Revolutionary Guard deputy commander Ali Ashraf Nouri was quoted as saying by another newspaper, the Khorasan daily.

The latest statements are certain to ramp up tensions with the U.S. and its allies, which are trying to increase pressure on Iran to punish it for its disputed nuclear program.

For the moment, however, U.S. officials are seeking stronger diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran rather than increasing threats of military action. A number of experts say Iran is unlikely to close the strait because that could hurt Iran as much as the West.

In an interview broadcast Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Iran is laying the groundwork for making nuclear weapons someday, but is not yet building a bomb. Panetta reiterated U.S. concerns about a unilateral strike by Israel against Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying the action could trigger Iranian retaliation against U.S. forces in the region.

“We have common cause here” with Israel, he said. “And the better approach is for us to work together.”

Panetta’s remarks on CBS’ “Face the Nation” reflect the Obama administration’s long-held view that Iran is not yet committed to building a nuclear arsenal, only to create the industrial and scientific capacity to allow one if its leaders to decide to take that final step.

The Kayhan newspaper, which is close to Iran’s ruling clerics, said Tehran has begun injecting uranium gas into sophisticated centrifuges at the Fordo facility near the holy city of Qom.

“Kayhan received reports yesterday that show Iran has begun uranium enrichment at the Fordo facility amid heightened foreign enemy threats,” the newspaper said in a front-page report. Kayhan’s manager is a representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word on all important matters of state.

Iran’s nuclear chief, Fereidoun Abbasi, said Saturday that his country will “soon” begin enrichment at Fordo. It was impossible to immediately reconcile the two reports.

Iran has a major uranium enrichment facility in Natanz in central Iran, where nearly 8,000 centrifuges are operating. Tehran began enrichment at Natanz in 2006.

Nouri said Iran’s leadership has made a strategic decision to close the Strait of Hormuz should its exports be blocked. One-sixth of the world’s oil flows to market through the strait, which is jointly controlled by Iran and Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

President Barack Obama approved new sanctions against Iran a week ago, targeting the central bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad. The U.S. has delayed implementing the sanctions for at least six months, worried about sending the price of oil higher at a time when the global economy is struggling. But the new sanctions nevertheless prompted a series of threats from Iranian officials about closing the Strait of Hormuz.

The newspaper paraphrased Nouri as saying that a 10-day naval drill that ended Jan. 3 was preparation for such a closure. The Guard, which is Iran’s most powerful military force and which has its own naval arm, has planned more sea maneuvers for February.

Khamenei “determined a new strategy for the armed forces, by which any threat from enemies will be responded to with threats,” Nouri said.

The U.S. and Israel have said that all options remain open, including military action, should Iran continue with its enrichment program.

Late Sunday, Iran’s intelligence minister said several people have been arrested on suspicion of spying for the U.S. and plotting to disrupt Iran’s parliamentary elections this year. He gave no further details.

Tehran says it needs the nuclear program to produce fuel for future reactors and medical radioisotopes needed for cancer patients.

The country has been enriching uranium to less than 5 percent for years, but it began to further enrich part of its uranium stockpile to nearly 20 percent as of February 2010, saying it needs the higher grade material to produce fuel for a Tehran reactor that makes medical radioisotopes for cancer patients. Weapons-grade uranium is usually about 90 percent enriched.

Iran says the higher enrichment activities — to nearly 20 percent — will be carried out at Fordo. These operations are of particular concern to the West because uranium at 20 percent enrichment can be converted much more quickly for use in a nuclear warhead than uranium enriched to only 3.5 percent.

Built next to a military complex, Fordo was long kept secret and was only acknowledged by Iran after it was identified by Western intelligence agencies in September 2009.

The facility is a hardened tunnel and is protected by air defense missile batteries and the Revolutionary Guard. The site is located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Qom, the religious nerve center of Iran’s ruling system.

“The Fordo facility, like Natanz, has been designed and built underground. The enemy doesn’t have the ability to damage it,” the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted nuclear chief Abbasi as saying Sunday.

 

[T-Rex]

Israel is about to shut down its nuclear reactor at Dimona or perhaps it already has. Iran should prepare itself for a possible strike. Iran should practice civil defence drills. Iranian forces should not waste time to enter Afghanistan and encircle the US forces before they have the time to escape, in case of an american strike. Captured yankees in chains would be a good bargaining tool.

 

[nomi007]

can iran have ability to fight against isreali jets?

 

[T-Rex]

can iran have ability to fight against isreali jets?

If Iran has anything like the S-300 yes it can, but doesn't need to. It will be a better option for Iran to join hands with the Taliban against the US forces in Afghanistan. If Iran supplies adequate weapons to the Taliban they will certainly finish the job for Iran.

 

[PERSIAN GOD KING]

They have been at it since 1980's... and still not a single nuke in sight ?

The key word you used is "in sight", why would they show their nuked?

 

[IranZamin]

good news
...

 

[Al Bhatti]

Self delete

 

[yyetttt]

The key word you used is "in sight", why would they show their nuked?

Why would Iran show their flying carpet also?

 

[Zarvan]

Iran has begun enriching uranium at a heavily fortified underground site, the UN's nuclear watchdog has confirmed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said medium-level enrichment had begun at the Fordo plant, in northern Iran.

Tehran has said it plans to carry out uranium enrichment there for purely peaceful purposes. The West argues Iran is building a nuclear weapons capacity.

The US said the Fordo work was a "further escalation" in the row. The UK and France also condemned the project.

The existence of the facility near Qom, in the north of the country, only came to light after it was identified by Western intelligence agencies in September 2009.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
All nuclear material in the (Fordo) facility remains under the agency's containment and surveillance”
End Quote
Gill Tudor

IAEA spkeswoman

'CIA spy' sentenced to death
Tehran said it began the project in 2007, but the IAEA believes design work started in 2006.

BBC Iran correspondent James Reynolds says the facility has attracted plenty of attention and suspicion.

It is underground, heavily fortified and protected by the armed forces - making it a very difficult target for air strikes.

The US and Israel have refused to rule out attacks on Iranian facilities.

On Monday, a spokeswoman for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Gill Tudor, said the agency could "confirm that Iran has started the production of uranium enriched up to 20%".

She added that "all nuclear material in the facility remains under the agency's containment and surveillance".

Iran insists enriched uranium is needed to make isotopes to treat cancers. But analysts say 20% enrichment is an important step towards making uranium weapons-grade.

In Washington, state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said such a level of enrichment was "a further escalation" of the Iranians' "ongoing violations with regard to their nuclear obligations", and suggested "a different kind of a nuclear programme".

Continue reading the main story
Analysis

James Reynolds

BBC Iran correspondent

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iran's new facility began in secret. The state may have preferred to keep it that way. But in September 2009 the US, France and the UK publicly revealed its existence - a fact that was subsequently confirmed by Iran.

Since then, the new plant has attracted plenty of both attention and suspicion. It has been built underground and it is heavily fortified. In particular, Iran appears to want to guard against potential air strikes. Military experts suggest that the facility may be able to survive attack from all but the most powerful bombs.

Iranian officials suggest that the new plant is an important step forward for the country's nuclear programme. But it is not yet clear how productive the facility will be. Iran says it hopes to carry out what's known as medium-level uranium enrichment at the plant - uranium enriched to 20%.

Western analysts warn that medium-level enrichment is an important step towards enriching uranium to weapons-grade. But Iran stresses that its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful.
In Paris, a statement by the foreign ministry said the Iranian move "leaves us with no other choice but to reinforce international sanctions and to adopt, with our European partners and all willing countries, measures of an intensity and severity without precedent".

British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the "provocative act which further undermines Iran's claims that its programme is entirely civilian in nature".

Atomic bomb joke

Earlier on Monday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted Iran would not bow to pressure from the West.

"The Islamic establishment... knows firmly what it is doing and has chosen its path and will stay the course," he said in a speech broadcast on state television.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - who is currently on a visit to Venezuela - received a strong backing from President Hugo Chavez.

"They present us as aggressors," the Venezuelan leader said, referring to US government officials. "Iran hasn't invaded anyone. Who has dropped thousands and thousands of bombs... including atomic bombs?"

The Iranian and Venezuelan presidents also joked about having an atomic bomb at their disposal.

"That hill will open up and a big atomic bomb will come out," Mr Chavez said, laughing.

"The imperialist spokesmen say... Ahmadinejad and I are going into the Miraflores (presidential palace) basement now to set our sights on Washington and launch cannons and missiles... It's laughable."

Tensions have been high since the US imposed new sanctions on Iran's central bank and the European Union said it would place an embargo on Iran's oil exports.

EU foreign ministers are due to meet to approve the embargo later this month.


Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez lavished each other with praise Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz - a key route from the Gulf through which 20% of the world's traded oil passes.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta warned on Sunday that such a move would cross a "red line" and "we would take action and reopen the strait".

Adding to the strains, a court in Tehran on Monday sentenced to death an Iranian-American man accused of being a CIA spy.

Amir Mirzai Hekmati, 28, a former US marine, had been show on state television in December allegedly confessing to being part of a plot to infiltrate Iran's intelligence services for the CIA.

Our correspondent says Iran's judicial and political systems place huge emphasis on the importance of confessions, which are viewed with concern by human rights groups.

Mr Hekmati's family, who live in Arizona, say the charges against him are fabricated and that he was in Iran to visit his grandmothers. The US has demanded his release.

 

[Sasquatch]

Yup no way to Stop Iran's Nuclear Program. even with all the sanctions and pressure.

 

[saiyan0321]

israel still has not claimed its nuclear country iran might have just made nuclear missiles that its showing such aggression against usa more than usual