Is it Time for Iran to Withdraw from the IAEA?

[T-Rex]

Iran to review IAEA cooperation after new sanctions
AFP
Yesterday

The sanctions announced Monday aim to tighten the noose on Iran's financial sector, making it more difficult for the country to be paid for its oil. - AFP photo

TEHRAN: Iranian lawmakers were Tuesday to review cooperation with the UN atomic energy watchdog, the day after the United States and allies slapped new sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

The meeting of parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission was to follow a regular weekly briefing of foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast expected to address the fresh sanctions.

The United States, Britain and Canada on Monday announced they were taking moves to further isolate Iran’s central bank and other financial institutions in order to add pressure on Tehran on its atomic activities.

France said it, too, was “in favour of new unprecedented sanctions.”The coordinated, unilateral sanctions were being imposed on the basis of a November 8 report by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency that said there was “credible” evidence Iran appeared to be pursuing nuclear weapons research.

Iran has slammed the report as “baseless” and accused IAEA chief Yukiya Amano of pro-US bias. It has reiterated that its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful, civilian uses.

While some Iranian lawmakers have called for cooperation with the IAEA to be cut, and Iran boycotted an IAEA forum Monday focused on creating a nuclear weapons-free Middle East, officials have said Iran would maintain its obligations under the agency.

Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday his country would even cooperate “further” with the UN atomic energy agency if it “balances its approach” to the Islamic republic.

Trade and commerce minister, Mehdi Ghazanfari, admitted Monday ahead of the new sanctions — which had been signalled days ahead in the US press — that Iran would “suffer” under the measures.

But he asserted that Iran would survive by becoming more self-reliant, and by doing business with other countries.

Ghazanfari also said countries shying away from Iran because of the sanctions would be hurt by losing access to Iran’s oil and gas exports.

“It is they (who face) not having enough energy (supplies). Because if they do not come here and invest, then they should think of alternatives,” he said.

“If they do not invest in our oil projects, they will lose a good market for contracts as well as the market for installing equipment. Companies making this equipment would be shut down,” he said.

Iran’s economy, worth an estimated $480 billion according to the International Monetary Fund, is highly dependent on oil sales, which make up around 70 percent of government revenues.

The sanctions announced Monday aim to tighten the noose on Iran’s financial sector, making it more difficult for the country to be paid for its oil.

They stopped short, however, of hitting the central bank with more draconian measures, which Western officials and analysts feared could cause a spike in oil prices, worsening the global economic malaise and providing Iran with a revenue windfall.

 

[TARIQ BN ZIYAAD]

yes iran withdraw from IAEA

TARIQ

 

[JayAtl]

notice how he almost never posts links ... I'm presuming he got this off associated press

Yes and Iran should also withdraw from any "civilized" undertakings.. heh

It should also consider getting out HUMAN rights agreements, out of Bio logical weapons treaty, out of women rights agenda, out of Geneva Convention... how many more “civilized” undertakings can we name to make Iran renounce?

 

[T-Rex]

notice how he almost never posts links ... I'm presuming he got this off associated press

Yes and Iran should also withdraw from any "civilized" undertakings.. heh

It should also consider getting out HUMAN rights agreements, out of Bio logical weapons treaty, out of women rights agenda, out of Geneva Convention... how many more “civilized” undertakings can we name to make Iran renounce?

You sound like it's a crime to withdraw from the IAEA. If it is part of being 'civilized' why is it that india has not signed the f****** treaty ? BTW the source of my post is AFP, it is mentioned at at top.

 

[T90TankGuy]

You sound like it's a crime to withdraw from the IAEA. If it is part of being 'civilized' why is it that india has not signed the f****** treaty ? BTW the source of my post is AFP, it is mentioned at at top.

than i am sure you will have no problem in future posting a link for the article mate.

 

[T-Rex]

than i am sure you will have no problem in future posting a link for the article mate.

But you've not answered my question?

 

[T90TankGuy]

But you've not answered my question?

what treaty are you referring too mate? there are so many . but if you are talking about the NPT , the answer is simple . it does not suit us . but still we have kept the dialogue open with the IAEA all these years . we face no sanctions . . the one country who refused and stood out was Australia , who refused to give us uranium . guess what ? they willing to sell it to us too.

we live in a global society . you cant say i will not talk to others as they do not share my view point . you need to convince them about your POV .

 

[T-Rex]

what treaty are you referring too mate? there are so many . but if you are talking about the NPT , the answer is simple . it does not suit us . but still we have kept the dialogue open with the IAEA all these years . we face no sanctions . . the one country who refused and stood out was Australia , who refused to give us uranium . guess what ? they willing to sell it to us too.

we live in a global society . you cant say i will not talk to others as they do not share my view point . you need to convince them about your POV .

What if the Iranians discover that the NPT no longer 'suits' Iran? Why should withdrawing from the NPT be considered as uncivilized act by you?

 

[IranZamin]

what treaty are you referring too mate? there are so many . but if you are talking about the NPT , the answer is simple . it does not suit us . but still we have kept the dialogue open with the IAEA all these years . we face no sanctions . . the one country who refused and stood out was Australia , who refused to give us uranium . guess what ? they willing to sell it to us too.

we live in a global society . you cant say i will not talk to others as they do not share my view point . you need to convince them about your POV .

Iran says it has right to produce nuclear energy without any preconditions. US doesnt want that.
It is our right even to produce nuclear weapon. This is no ones business

---------- Post added at 08:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------

 

[T-Rex]

Iran says it has right to produce nuclear energy without any preconditions. US doesnt want that.
It is our right even to produce nuclear weapon. This is no ones business

---------- Post added at 08:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------

I don't understand why Iran has not yet withdrawn from the NPT.

 

[Tshering22]

You sound like it's a crime to withdraw from the IAEA. If it is part of being 'civilized' why is it that india has not signed the f****** treaty ? BTW the source of my post is AFP, it is mentioned at at top.

Why don't you point that out from US perspective? He's a Indian-origin AMERICAN and hence thinks from US perspective. Don't bring us into the game. The treaty was formed against us in 70s when NSG was established. So we don't agree with it. I am not against Iran but the signed the treaty and ratified it in order to get nuclear fuel for energy in first place. If they withdraw now, it would only raise more suspicion over the nuclear weapons manufacturing, that the Iranian regime claims otherwise.

---------- Post added at 09:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------

I don't understand why Iran has not yet withdrawn from the NPT.

Simply because there are bound to be some advantages that is making them stay. Surely not all the conditions of IAEA will be shown to commoners like us. There's bound to be some benefit Iran is getting as a signatory which is why it continues to remain. What it might be, that we can only guess.

 

[IranZamin]

I don't understand why Iran has not yet withdrawn from the NPT.

Because the Parliament has decided so

An Iranian lawmaker says Majlis (parliament) has reached the conclusion that Tehran should remain a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
PressTV - 'Iran will remain signatory to NPT'

 

[justanobserver]

It is our right even to produce nuclear weapon. This is no ones business

PressTV - 'Iran will remain signatory to NPT'

Isn't this a contradiction ? Being a signatory of NPT means that the nation would give up/not produce nuclear weapons

 

[anon45]

Iran says it has right to produce nuclear energy without any preconditions. US doesnt want that.
It is our right even to produce nuclear weapon. This is no ones business

---------- Post added at 08:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------

No it isn't, just as observer said. Being party to the treaty Iran does NOT have the right to pursue nuclear weapons research. This was something Iran knowingly and willingly signed in order to have access to the technology for peaceful nuclear energy. Unless Iran's word is worthless, it is duty bound to not pursue nuclear weapons research, and if not doing so, should have no problem with physical verification. This is how we got from a world of 60,000 nukes to less than 30,000, abrogating that can potentially put all that work in vain. An international law with no will to enforce is simply a piece of paper, and I don't see how anyone, India, Israel, Turkey, could trust Iran's intentions if they have shown their word is worthless.



As it is this won't end if Iran simply withdraws. The benefits it has most likely gotten from its dual use equipment provided under the NPT will make a mockery of the NPT if it does.

 

[longbrained]

What if the Iranians discover that the NPT no longer 'suits' Iran? Why should withdrawing from the NPT be considered as uncivilized act by you?

Yes, they can pull out. NPT is a voluntary treaty and any member can withdraw from it as stipulated by article 10 of the treaty giving the right to any member nation to withdraw from the NPT. That is what North Korea did infact. Iran also reserves the nation specially arguing that Iran has not been given its rights under NPT. For example NPT says that any member nation has the right to all nuclear technologies and all states with nuclear technology are obliged to provide it with the technology and as well as raw materials. This has not happened in the case of Iran. For the past 40 years Iran has been an owner in Eurodiff enrichment plant of France enriching Uranium for European reactors but has not received a single gram of its produce. So Iran can leave whenever they see fit. The question is political will and how to handle the huge media propaganda that will follow.

If you remember even when Pakistan and India did their nuclear tests despite both countries never having signed NPT, they were put under sanctions despite the fact that they had no obligation whatsoever towards not building nukes or proliferation. But non the less media propaganda was there.