Nuclear Iran

[kowalskil]

Nuclear Iran?

I agree with those who think the Iran agreement should be supported, first because nothing better seems to be available, second because I suspect that technological means of supervision (to avoid a global catastrophe), are available in the USA. Here is what I have just posted on that subject, at an Internet forum for physics teachers:

" ... How can one detect the strongly-enriched uranium, placed either inside or outside of a bomb? I am sure that nuclear physicists have been addressing this problem, in the context of inspecting vessels arriving to our ports, or crossing our borders.

One possible approach is to irradiate a suspected object with a source of slow neutrons (for example, a Cf-252 source surrounded by pure graphite or paraffin). The slow neutrons, in turn, would induce fission; fission fragments would be gamma radioactive and gamma rays would be detectable from outside the suspected material. ... " The idea is simple, but it presents some practical difficulties, as always. For example, how can one distinguish gamma rays emitted by fission products in the enriched uranium from the gamma rays emitted by fission products in the Cf-252 source? Will the method work despite the presence of the cosmic background?

Ludwik Kowalski, a retired nuclear physicist (see Wikipedia)

http: //csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/life/intro.html

 

[Mr. H.]

Hey, where the heck have you been?

 

[waltky]

House says no to Iran nuke deal...

US House Votes to Reject Iran Nuclear Deal
September 11, 2015 — The U.S. House of Representatives voted to reject the international deal with Iran to curb its nuclear weapons Friday, after a morning of emotional debate.

Since the Senate held a decisive vote blocking a disapproval measure Thursday, the House vote is largely symbolic. It is intended to send a message to President Barack Obama and his administration, who have pushed hard for the deal in negotiations over the past 18 months. The House held three votes on the Iran deal Thursday and Friday. One vote was a resolution to approve the Iran nuclear deal, which, as expected, failed by a vote of 162-269. One Republican member voted "present," all other Republican members voted against the deal. Twenty five Democrats broke ranks to vote against the deal. During the heated debate on the 14th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, House Speaker John Boehner vowed, "Our fight to stop this bad deal, frankly, is just beginning."

He said the president is seeking to implement the deal against the wishes of Congress and the American people. "Never in our history has something with so many consequences for our national security been rammed through with such little support," he said. "Today is September 11. We cannot let the American people down." In a written statement issued by the White House, Obama maintained that the House vote showed that the more lawmakers studied the deal, the more likely they were to support it. "Now, we must turn to the critical work of implementing and verifying this deal so that Iran cannot pursue a nuclear weapon," he saidl. "In doing so, we’ll write the latest chapter of American leadership in the pursuit of a safer, more hopeful world."

U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and collegues participate in a rally in support of the nuclear deal with Iran on the East Front steps of the US Capitol in Washington, ahead of the House vote

Democratic lawmakers blasted Republicans, saying that not a single Republican supported the Iran deal, though not all Democrats had the same opinion or voted the same way. Democrat Representative Charles Rangel of New York said it pained him that many Republicans would do anything to deny Obama a victory. “I know that if the president of the United States was able to walk on water, there would be people in this chamber who would say, 'See, we told you he could not swim,'" he said. Facing internal dissent over how to proceed, House Republican leaders decided to abandon their original plans to hold a vote on a resolution disapproving the Iran deal. Instead the House Republicans called for the three separate votes to express their strong opposition to the deal, but it is not clear if any of those votes will be taken up by the Senate.

Speaker Boehner would not rule out a potential lawsuit against the Obama administration, alleging the president did not give Congress all the information on the deal at the start of the 60-day review period. That 60-day period expires September 17, and the president is expected to proceed with implementation of the deal. Opponents of the nuclear deal are angry lawmakers have not had a chance to see the side deals between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. On Thursday, Senate Democrats blocked a vote to reject the deal, effectively ending any chance Congress can kill the deal. The White House called the Senate vote "historic" and a victory for global security and diplomacy.

US House Votes to Reject Iran Nuclear Deal

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's good - now we can give Israel the greenlight to blow `em to smithereens...

Iran's supreme leader bans negotiations with the United States
Wed Oct 7, 2015 | Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday banned any further negotiations between Iran and the United States, putting the brakes on moderates hoping to end Iran's isolation after reaching a nuclear deal with world powers in July.

Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, already said last month there would be no more talks with the United States after the nuclear deal, but has not previously declared an outright ban. His statements directly contradict those of moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who says his government is ready to hold talks with the United States on how to resolve the conflict in Syria, where the two countries back opposing sides. "Negotiations with the United States open gates to their economic, cultural, political and security influence. Even during the nuclear negotiations they tried to harm our national interests.," Khamenei was quoted as saying on his website. "Our negotiators were vigilant but the Americans took advantage of a few chances," he said.

Although he supported the last 18 months of negotiations, Khamenei has not publicly endorsed the nuclear agreement with the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia that settled a standoff of more than a decade. The West feared Iran wanted to develop nuclear weapons, suspicions Tehran denies.

The agreement, which curbs Iran's nuclear program in exchange for crippling sanctions being lifted, was welcomed by Iranians who are keen to see their living standards improve and better relations with the rest of the world. It was also a great political victory for Rouhani and his faction in Iran ahead of some key elections next year and as such has deepened the divide in Iran's complex power structure between moderates and hardliners.

"CRITICAL SITUATION"

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Nuclear Iran?

I agree with those who think the Iran agreement should be supported, first because nothing better seems to be available, second because I suspect that technological means of supervision (to avoid a global catastrophe), are available in the USA. Here is what I have just posted on that subject, at an Internet forum for physics teachers:

" ... How can one detect the strongly-enriched uranium, placed either inside or outside of a bomb? I am sure that nuclear physicists have been addressing this problem, in the context of inspecting vessels arriving to our ports, or crossing our borders.

One possible approach is to irradiate a suspected object with a source of slow neutrons (for example, a Cf-252 source surrounded by pure graphite or paraffin). The slow neutrons, in turn, would induce fission; fission fragments would be gamma radioactive and gamma rays would be detectable from outside the suspected material. ... " The idea is simple, but it presents some practical difficulties, as always. For example, how can one distinguish gamma rays emitted by fission products in the enriched uranium from the gamma rays emitted by fission products in the Cf-252 source? Will the method work despite the presence of the cosmic background?

Ludwik Kowalski, a retired nuclear physicist (see Wikipedia)

http: //csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/life/intro.html

Can't help but notice we didn't do dick about Pakistan or DPRK getting nukes. Think the whole opposition to someone, now Iran, getting nuclear weapons is just a lot of political hotair. Been a thing for at least 30 years but no one's done more than sabre-rattle about it.

 

[waltky]

Then why so many centrifuges to enrich uranium to weapons grade???...

Iran had no interest in developing nuclear weapons after all, says IAEA
Tuesday 15th December, 2015 - After more than a decade of accusations, and crippling sanctions that brought the Iranian economy to the brink of collapse, it appears the Islamic Republic was not seeking to develop nuclear weapons after all.

The IAEA Board of Governors on Tuesday said they had determined there had been no work done on Iran's nuclear program that could be considered developing a nuclear explosive device for at least 12 years. It did concede there were feasibility and scientific studies but nothing of a developmental nature. The conclusions published Tuesday fly in the face of repeated assertions by the West, particularly from Israel and the United States, that Iran was engaged in the development of a nuclear weapons programme. Israel is believed to have assassinated a number of Iranian nuclear scientists, and has been charged, alongside the U.S. with engaging in cyber terrorism by letting loose a computer virus in the Iranian nuclear program's computer network, a claim the U.S. has denied.

Israel has long waged a campaign against Iran, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on several occasions over the years claiming the country was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. He famously appeared at the United Nations with a cartoon of a bomb to emphasise his point. Netanyahu, and Israel, have long pressured the United States to launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, and has openly considering launching a strike itself. However, as with Iraq, the U.S. and Israel have been left with embarrassment as little trace of nuclear weapons have been found.

Unsurprisingly, after more than a decade of front page articles, editorials and television exposes by outlets such as Fox News, the mainstream media on Wednesday has largely ignored the revelations coming out of Geneva. "The Agency assesses that a range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device were conducted in Iran prior to the end of 2003 as a coordinated effort, and some activities took place after 2003," Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the IAEA said Tuesday. "The Agency also assesses that these activities did not advance beyond feasibility and scientific studies, and the acquisition of certain relevant technical competences and capabilities." "The Agency has no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009. Nor has the Agency found any credible indications of the diversion of nuclear material in connection with the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme," said Amano.

The report was the IAEA's final step under the Road-map for the clarification of past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran's nuclear programme, concluded between the IAEA and Iran last July. The Road-map set out a process, under the November 2013 Framework for Cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, to enable the IAEA, with the cooperation of Iran, to make an assessment of issues relating to possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme by the end of 2015. "As is the case with all my reports, the assessment is factual, technically sound and balanced," Amano said. "The methodology and information on which my assessments are based have been set out."

MORE

See also:

Critics Decry ‘Whitewash’ as IAEA, Prodded by US, Closes Probe Into Iran’s Military/Nuclear Work
December 15, 2015 | – Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday welcomed a decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s governing board to close a probe into Iran’s past work relevant to building a nuclear bomb, a decision critics denounced as a “whitewash.”

The decision in Vienna – adopted by “consensus” – removes the last major hurdle to the beginning of implementation of the controversial nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “The focus now appropriately moves toward full implementation of the JCPOA and its enhanced verification and transparency regime,” said Kerry in an upbeat statement after adoption of a resolution put forward by the U.S. and its P5+1 negotiating partners – Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) deplored the decision, which it said amounted to “an incomplete accounting of Iran’s past nuclear weapons activity.” “The IAEA is closing this file even after discovering further suspicious evidence and experiencing additional Iranian obstinacy,” it said in a statement. “This decision to whitewash the past represents an inauspicious beginning to the implementation process of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.” AIPAC also warned that the way the issue has been handled “lessens the prospect that Iran will comply with the JCPOA in the future.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) described the IAEA move as “capitulation” to the regime in Tehran. “Iran’s lies and obstruction have paid off,” he said. “This capitulation allows the ayatollah [supreme leader Ali Khamenei] to keep vital nuclear research, materials and technology away from international inspectors while Iran moves closer to tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief.” “Until the Obama administration steps up and starts holding Iran accountable for its dangerous acts, the American people will be increasingly at risk,” Royce said.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Hope they buried it deep enough they can't dig it back up...

Iran dumps Arak nuclear reactor under concrete
Tuesday 12th January, 2016 - In a latest, Iran has removed the core of its plutonium reactor and dumped it under a pile of concrete, anticipating that crippling international economic and financial sanctions will be removed sooner.

This effectively renders the reactor at Arak harmless which was one of the last major sticking points in nuclear negotiations last year between Iran and the six world powers. Under a landmark deal reached in July last year in Vienna, Iran had agreed fulfill its commitments and remove the core of the plutonium reactor in its final steps before the sanctions could lifted. The negotiations were conducted with the so-called P51 - the US, the UK, China, France, Russia, and Germany, and led to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). All six world powers involved in the negotiations have agreed to participate in the redesign and construction of a modernized reactor at Arak.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for American and European Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi said that redesigning process of the Arak heavy-water reactor has already begun, which is in compliance with Tehran's lasting nuclear deal with the six world powers. "One of our undertakings (in the nuclear deal) is to redesign the Arak reactor," Takht Ravanchi, who was a member of Iran's negotiating team in the nuclear talks. "Part of the work is being carried out by Iranian experts and a new reactor is scheduled to be designed and installed (there)," he noted.

The International Atomic Energy Agency must verify that everything was done satisfactorily before the United States and other Western powers lifted economic embargoes that have crippled the economy of the Islamic republic. But that is expected to take days, not weeks. "In a few days, we will see the end of the cruel sanctions against Iran," President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech in southern Iran. "When sanctions end, I will explain to people how great of an accomplishment this is."

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for Iran's atomic energy agency, said in an interview with the Iranian Etemad newspaper published Monday that "Iran has met its commitments under the July nuclear agreement earlier than expected". "Implementation of JCPOA will finish in the next 7 days," he added. The lifting of sanctions will unlock Iran's access to about $100 billion in its own assets that has been frozen in foreign banks. The United States and the United Nations have prepared the legal steps necessary for sanctions relief to take effect.

Iran dumps Arak nuclear reactor under concrete

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - give `em an inch an' dey'll take a mile...

Iran Says It Wants UN Help to Build Nuclear-powered Vessels
December 18, 2016 - Iran is asking the International Atomic Energy Agency for advice and assistance in developing a fleet of nuclear-powered ships, according to reports Sunday on Iranian government websites.

The websites say the request was made during a visit to Tehran by IAEA Director General Yukiyo Amano to monitor Iran's compliance with a landmark agreement curtailing its nuclear weapons in exchange for easing international sanctions. The websites said President Hassan Rouhani told Amano he hoped Iran and the IAEA "can have good technical cooperation on the production of nuclear propellants for maritime transport," AFP reported.

Iran last week announced plans to develop a nuclear propulsion system for ships in apparent retaliation for U.S. Congressional action to authorize the renewal of Iran sanctions if Iran breaks the nuclear agreement. Each side insists its actions do not violate the agreement. But the nuclear propulsion system proposed by Iran could require the enrichment of uranium beyond the limits permitted under the agreement.

Iranian military personnel stand on a submarine during a naval parade on the last day of the Velayat-90 war game in the Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran​

In public remarks Sunday, Amano stressed the importance of full compliance with the terms of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA. "Full implementation by Iran on this commitment is very important for the future of the JCPOA. The IAEA agrees that JCPOA is a net gain from the verification point of view."

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's atomic energy organization, maintained at the same news conference the U.N. nuclear agency must not allow itself to be swayed by any parties. "We have always insisted that the IAEA must act as a neutral authority and not allow the influence of others to be reflected in its reports." The Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Amano as saying Iran has fulfilled its commitments under the JCPOA.

Iran Says It Wants UN Help to Build Nuclear-powered Vessels