Gareth Porter

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s comments on the nuclear talks Monday provided an unusual glimpse of diplomatic maneuvering by the U.S.-led coalition of five nuclear powers and Germany on the issue of enrichment capability to be allowed in a comprehensive agreement. But his remarks also suggested that Iran was responding with its own diplomatic maneuver … Continue reading “Khamenei Remarks Show Both Sides Maneuver on Enrichment”

With only a few weeks remaining before the Jul. 20 deadline, the Barack Obama administration issued a warning to Iran that it must accept deep cuts in the number of its centrifuges in order to demonstrate that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. U.S. officials have argued that such cuts are necessary to … Continue reading “US Demand for Deep Centrifuge Cut Is a Diplomatic Ploy”

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should now close its investigation of the issue of Iran’s development of high explosives detonators the IAEA has said may have been part of a covert nuclear weapons program. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano has thus far refused … Continue reading “Iran’s Atomic Chief Decries IAEA Failure to Close Detonator Probe”

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has revealed for the first time that Iran has made a detailed proposal to the P5+1 group of states aimed at ensuring that no stockpile of low-enriched uranium would be available for “breakout” through enrichment to weapons grade levels. In an exclusive interview with IPS, Zarif described an … Continue reading “Zarif Reveals Iran’s Proposal for Ensuring Against ‘Breakout’”

In the stalemated talks between the six powers and Iran over the future of the latter’s nuclear program, the central issue is not so much the technical aspects of the problem but the history of the Middle Eastern country’s relations with foreign suppliers – and especially with the Russians. The Barack Obama administration has dismissed … Continue reading “Russian Manipulation of Reactor Fuel Belies US Iran Argument”

As diplomats began drafting a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program and Western sanctions in Vienna Tuesday, US officials were poised to demand a drastic cut in Iran’s enrichment capabilities that is widely expected to deadlock the negotiations. Iran is almost certain to reject the basic concept that it should reduce the number of … Continue reading “US ‘Political’ Breakout Demand Could Derail Iran Nuclear Talks”

The head of the U.N. team that investigated the Aug. 21, 2013 Sarin attack in the Damascus suburbs, Ake Sellstrom, is doubtful about the number of victims of the attack reported immediately after the event. Sellstrom has suggested that many people who claimed to have been seriously affected by Sarin merely imagined that they had … Continue reading “UN Probe Chief Doubtful on Syria Sarin Exposure Claims”

When U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Carmen M. Ortiz unsealed the indictment of a Chinese citizen in the UK for violating the embargo against Iran, she made what appeared to be a new US accusation of an Iran nuclear weapons program. The press release on the indictment announced that between in November 2005 and 2012, Sihai … Continue reading “The Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program That Wasn’t”

The Barack Obama administration appears to have rejected a deal-breaking demand by Israel for an Iranian confession to having had a covert nuclear weapons program as a condition for completing the comprehensive nuclear agreement. Pro-Israeli commentators have openly criticized the Obama administration for failing to explicitly demand that Iran confess to charges by the International … Continue reading “US Rejected Israeli Demand for Iran Nuclear Confession”

The Barack Obama administration has demanded that Iran resolve “past and present concerns” about the “possible military dimensions” of its nuclear program as a condition for signing a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Tehran. Administration officials have suggested that Iran must satisfy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding the allegations in the agency’s report that … Continue reading “Resolving Nuclear Arms Claims Hinges on Iran’s Demand for Documents”