Hey Iran, we’re on to you now. Did you really think you could get one past our eagle-eyed “Western analysts”?Analysis - Iran's nuclear steps deepen Western suspicions
Wed Jul 6, 2011
By Fredrik DahlVIENNA (Reuters) - Expanding uranium enrichment, a new atomic energy chief said to have military expertise, missile tests -- Western analysts see fresh signs that Iran may be seeking to develop the means to build nuclear warheads. Iran's determination to press ahead with a nuclear programme it says is for purely peaceful purposes suggests that tougher Western sanctions are so far failing to force the Islamic state to back down in the long-running dispute over its atomic aims.
...But even if Tehran decided to make such weapons it could still be years away from having nuclear-armed missiles, possibly giving diplomacy more opportunities to resolve a row which has the potential to spark a Middle East conflict.
...[However,] Britain last week said Iran had carried out covert tests of a missile that could carry a nuclear warhead, an allegation which Tehran swiftly denied.
During a military exercise last week, Iran test-fired 14 missiles on one day alone, including some it says are capable of hitting its arch foe Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East.
...Tehran says its missiles cannot carry nuclear payloads and insists it is enriching uranium for electricity production and medical purposes. Making atomic bombs would be a "strategic mistake" and would also not be allowed under Islam, it adds.
But in a defiant move that further fuelled Western unease about its intentions, Iran announced last month it would shift its production of higher-grade uranium to an underground bunker and triple output capacity.
...A nuclear scientist, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani was named head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation in February, after he was wounded in a 2010 bomb attack which Tehran blamed on Israel... The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a U.S.-based think tank, said Abbasi-Davani's extensive scientific background was "more suited to researching nuclear weapons" than building nuclear power reactors.
Not to worry, folks. With our current administration's approach of treating warfare as law enforcement, all we have to do is prepare for a radioactive crime scene.
Jeez what are these nitwits yammering about? You don't need a missile to detonate a nuclear weapon. They seem to work just fine at ground level or at the top of a skyscraper or radio tower. With a blast radius measured in "only" miles if set off at ground level, all these maniacs have to do to compensate for loss of effective kill radius is set a series of them off in relative proximity to each other. Even one going off in the heart of a city or at a particularly vulnerable spot is going to be devastating. Besides, maximum tactical/strategic advantage is hardly a prime directive for the Iranians like exists as the main driver in strategic planning of the super powers using nukes as a deterrent or strike capability. Fusion weapons are quite a way's off for the Iranians,(you need a fusion weapon to make a fusion/hydrogen device work).
ReplyDeleteIt takes hundreds if not thousands of fission weapons to destroy a country the size of the US. One set off in a van on Pennsylvania Ave or Wall Street has a unique strategic value all its own. look what happened to this country with 3 mid sized passenger jets flown into 3 buildings with a death toll of 3000+.
Missiles?