Sunday, August 16, 2009

IAEA Should Ban Attacks on Nuclear Facilities


Iran Daily
http://www.iran-daily.com/1388/3472/html/

Iran has proposed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ban military attacks on nuclear installations. According to Fars News Agency, the proposal was made on Wednesday through a letter sent to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano.

“In that letter, Iran formally requested that the proposal be presented at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) general conference in September,“ Iran’s ambassador to IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh, said.

“The protection of such installations is of great importance.“
Soltaniyeh pointed out that in September 1990, the IAEA General Conference passed a resolution, proposed by Iran, entitled “Prohibition of All Armed Attacks Against Nuclear Installations Devoted to Peaceful Purposes Whether Under Construction or in Operation.“

The Iranian envoy pointed out that it is necessary to protect such facilities, as the number of nuclear installations has increased since then.

“It is undoubtedly a matter of concern for all countries,“ he said.
“The proposal will surely be supported by other countries and will pave the way for discussing and approving a resolution in this regard at the IAEA General Conference scheduled for September 14,“ Soltaniyeh concluded.

Contradictory Remarks
An Israeli defense official believes Tel Aviv must rush to carry out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities even without US approval, a report says.
A senior defense official said Tel Aviv believed a military strike could “significantly delay“ what it claims to be an Iranian nuclear weapons program, Presstv quoted the Israeli daily Maariv as saying on Wednesday, without revealing the official’s name.

The official added that Israel could carry out such an attack without US approval but time was running out for it to be effective.

“The Iranians are creating fortifications and camouflage to defend against a strike from the air,“ said the official.

“The military option is real and at the disposal of Israel’s leaders, but time is working against them.“

However, in contradictory remarks, the official also said that there was “no point“ in a strike in the near term, before US President Barack Obama’s proposed talks with Iran begin and before officials in Washington “despair of the effectiveness of talks“.

Israel, the Middle East’s sole nuclear-armed regime, continues to repeat allegations against Tehran, despite the lack of evidence to prove that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

This is while Iran’s nuclear sites, which are power generation facilities, remain under the strict supervision of IAEA’s inspectors.

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