NEWS: Diplomats: Iran Is Readying Nuke Processes

Iran may be using a window in time to produce uranium hexafluoride before it has to stop on Monday. The stop date is part of a multinational agreement to cease uranium enrichment activities. The gas is produced at a plant in the city of Isfahan. The diplomat that provided the information describe the quantity being produced was "it's not little"



Iran seems bent on making a bomb. This mad rush to produce gas seems to point in that direction. The deal with the European countries gives them a reactor to produce energy. They have claimed all along that their nuclear program is for energy production and that they have no interest in atomic weapons. If this is the case why the mad rush to produce as much uranium hexafluoride as possible?

An article from October has said they had already converted a few tons of Uranium, which was less than experts said would be needed to create a single nuclear weapon.

The article also says that Uranium gas can be enriched for nuclear weapons or nuclear energy.
The yahoo article above makes it seem that enrichment was a sure sign of weapons production, which it is not.

MSNBC
Uranium hexafluoride gas is the material that, in the next stage, is fed into centrifuges used to enrich uranium. Uranium enriched to a low level is used to produce nuclear fuel to generate electricity and enriched further can be used to manufacture atomic bombs.

[edit on 19-11-2004 by AceOfBase]

Well, what else would they need so much uranium hexafloride for? They are getting a light water reactor and the fuel to use in it. What possible need would they have for so much gas?

Originally posted by FredT
Well, what else would they need so much uranium hexafloride for? They are getting a light water reactor and the fuel to use in it. What possible need would they have for so much gas?

I'm no expert, but I read that Uranium can be enriched to proper bomb-making material through a low-cost and low-tech means of utilizing this very type of gas.

Anyone who ever believed the 'peaceful application' of Iran's nuclear program has to be kidding themselves. In this world, autonomy = nuclear armament or being essentially controlled by one of the 'big boy' states with nuclear arms.

Well, let's see... we have a religious fundamentalist government sitting on the largest nuclear arsenal on the globe, committing horrendous acts of agression under international law, and now we whine about Iran.

Mmmmm. Let's get our priorities right people.

cbreath....go spend some time in Iran, or take a time-machine back to when the Taliban governed Afghanistan for a taste of a "religious fundamentalist government"

You get my vote for the most ridiculous post of the day.

Originally posted by cbreath
Well, let's see... we have a religious fundamentalist government sitting on the largest nuclear arsenal on the globe, committing horrendous acts of agression under international law, and now we whine about Iran.

Mmmmm. Let's get our priorities right people.

I agree with you our president is a dangerous person right now on his God given state of rightousness against the evil doers in the middle east.

Iran's use of uranium through the process of enrichment for fuel while they sit on the most accessible and largest supply of oil in the World makes about as much sense as Hugh Heffner going to a drug store to purchase a copy of Hustler so he can see pictures of naked women............

Me thinks that nuke weapons are the prize that Iran wants to carry as a big stick in the World court of opinion...........their opinion!!!

Only a fool would think less.............to hell with the UN and sanctions.......get intelligence and spy satellites to watch this crazed government like a hawk and when the time comes..........let them have it!

Originally posted by futuretense
Iran's use of uranium through the process of enrichment for fuel while they sit on the most accessible and largest supply of oil in the World makes about as much sense as Hugh Heffner going to a drug store to purchase a copy of Hustler so he can see pictures of naked women............

Didn't Iran have that oil in the 1970s when the US was negotiating with Iran on the sale of nuclear power plants?


April 22 1975 memo US - Iran nuclear cooperation

April 20 1976 memo Negotiation of a nuclear agreement with Iran

It does make sense for them to conserve their oil to make it last.
According to the EIA, non-Opec oil reserves will last for 26 years and Opec reserves will last for 88 years at current levels. EIA

As oil usage is increasing, those reserves may get depleted at an even faster rate.

all good points.........but if nuke energy was the ticket why aren't we building any more here in the US?

Originally posted by futuretense
all good points.........but if nuke energy was the ticket why aren't we building any more here in the US?

Because of the "not in my backyard" mentality. I think many people want it... someplace else.

I don't think the US has built a commercil nuclear reactor since 1975.

3-mile island in 1979, and the easing of the so-called energy crisis shelved construction plans for any additional plants.

Originally posted by futuretense
Only a fool would think less.............to hell with the UN and sanctions.......get intelligence and spy satellites to watch this crazed government like a hawk and when the time comes..........let them have it!

I think the major question left is who will strike them first?
Isreal? US using new Iraq bases?
Perhaps US using some Iraqi technology, making it almost effectively untraceable, as Iraq weapons could be anywhere in the world.
Might as well be the US, since no matter who does it, the US will probably take the blame.

......I think 99 percent of the world is convinced the purpose of irans "peacefull" nuclear program is to get the bomb.

Also the majority of the world thinks that Bush is like a guy with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth telling other people not to smoke. But who needs friends when you got the biggest army and God on your side?

Considering the iraq aftermath still ongoing mess, I doubt, even while seemingly disregarding deficits and american politics severly influenced by Tel Aviv demands, Bush can pull it off, financially/logistically/politically to invade iran at this time, no I think Bush rather gives permission to the Israelis for airstrikes should irans nuclear program reach "critical mass"

Teheran will probaly try to keep low profile maybe suspend the program for for a little while and would I guess resort to higly dipersed small and attempted hidden centrifuge facillities....




[edit on 19-11-2004 by Countermeasures]

[edit on 19-11-2004 by Countermeasures]

Well, let's see... we have a religious fundamentalist government sitting on the largest nuclear arsenal on the globe, committing horrendous acts of agression under international law, and now we whine about Iran.

Mmmmm. Let's get our priorities right people.

United States: 14,766
Russian Federation: 27,000

they were the levels from 2002, I guess they would be at similar levels now, which leaves Russia with almost double the amount of warheads as america, so um no America does not have the largerst nuclear arsenal in the world

Originally posted by taibunsuu
I'm no expert, but I read that Uranium can be enriched to proper bomb-making material through a low-cost and low-tech means of utilizing this very type of gas.

Sorry Tai, I left my [rhetorical] question tags off. The ONLY reason to make Uranium Hexafloride is to centerfuge it to make enriched uranium for bombs.