Iran Continues To Develop Nuclear Weapons (Dan 8)

 


US: Iran may still be developing tech for nuclear arms

Pentagon assessment comes amid ongoing talks between world powers and Tehran aimed at curbing country’s atomic program

By ADIV STERMAN June 4, 2015, 9:38 am 6

As recently as last week, the US Department of Defense assessed that Iran was still developing technologies that can be used in order to produce nuclear weapons, despite the fact that the Islamic Republic has been engaged in negotiations with world powers aimed at curbing its atomic program, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Quoting an unclassified summary from a Pentagon document on Iran’s military capabilities, the report said that Tehran has been conducting research that “could be applicable to nuclear weapons,” but has nevertheless “fulfilled its obligations” to the P5+1 world powers and “paused progress” in parts of its nuclear program.

The summary was part of a report that will include other classified details regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The Pentagon report was submitted to congressional defense committees last week.

According to Bloomberg, the report further stated that aside from the alarming activity possibly linked to its nuclear program, Iran’s “covert activities [in the region] appear to be continuing unabated,” and the Islamic Republic still aims to spread its influence across the Middle East, “particularly in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Yemen.”

The Pentagon went on to assess that Iran’s military doctrine was primarily defensive, “designed to deter an attack, survive an initial strike, and retaliate against an aggressor [and] force a diplomatic solution to hostilities.” The report noted, however, that the “ongoing civil war in Syria and the instability in Iraq have tested, but not fundamentally altered, this posture.”

Ahead of a self-imposed June 30 nuclear deal deadline, US and Iranian diplomats met over the weekend in what US officials described as the most substantive negotiating round since world powers and Iran clinched a framework pact in April. The sides are trying to narrow differences over how quickly to ease economic penalties against Tehran and how significantly the Iranians must open up military facilities to international inspections.

Tehran denies claims by the West and its allies, including Israel, that it is seeking nuclear weapons, and insists that it is pursuing atomic energy purely for peaceful purposes.

On Sunday, Reuters reported that the global powers taking part in the negotiations with Iran had established a mechanism of “snapping back” sanctions against Tehran in the event the Islamic Republic violates the nuclear deal. An anonymous Iranian official told Reuters there were several suggestions on the table with regard to sanctions, warning that Tehran reserves the right to resume its activities if the world powers “do not fulfill their obligations.”

The “snap back” mechanism was not explained in detail in the report, though Western officials said it would not involve a UN Security Council resolution. The US and European states want sanctions to be automatic, while Russia and China do not.

The timeline for sanctions relief has been one of the key sticking points in talks over a final agreement.

While the negotiating countries have until June 30 to reach a final, comprehensive agreement, some countries have suggested there might be a deadline extension.

Israel has warned that the deal in its current form is insufficient and may still enable Iran to to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear project will be used for peaceful purposes only.

AFP, AP, and Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.