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RANSAC Nuclear News, June 6, 2003 Compiled By: Billy Magnuson A. Plutonium Production Reactors Shutdown
 A. Plutonium Production Reactors Shutdown 1. Last Russian Weapons Grade Plutonium Reactors to Shut Down The Department of Energy has awarded contracts to two U.S. firms to begin shutting down the last three weapons grade plutonium production reactors in the Russian Federation. The contracts, worth a total of $466 million, will go to Washington Group International for work on two reactors in Seversk, and to Raytheon Technical Services for work on one reactor in Zheleznogorsk, the Energy Department (DOE) said. The contractors will implement the shutdown programs for both sites. The reactors provide heat and electricity to surrounding communities in Siberia but also make enough plutonium to produce approximately one nuclear weapon every day and a half, according to a DOE statement. The facilities will be replaced with coal fired equipment that produces heat and electricity. At a ceremony in Vienna in March 2003, Secretary Abraham and Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Alexander Rumyantsev signed an agreement that would reduce the threat from weapons of mass destruction by stopping plutonium production at the three Russian plutonium reactors. At a press conference with Russian Ambassador Yuri Ushakov May 27 in Washington, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham called the awarding of the contracts "another significant step in our countries' cooperative work on a critical nuclear nonproliferation program." The secretary said that Ambassador Ushakov will visit DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California early this month. The three plutonium production reactors will continue to operate until the fossil-replacement plants are completed. These reactors have deficiencies in the areas of design, equipment, and materials, and are considered to be among the highest risk reactors in the world. To ensure reactor safety, high priority safety upgrades are being "expeditiously pursued, the Energy Department said. The DOE's Pacific Northwest National Lab will be responsible for necessary nuclear safety upgrades at both sites, but these upgrades will not extend the life of the reactor facilities. Return to Menu B. Russia-Iran 1. Ministries: No Need for New Iran Deal The Nuclear Power and Foreign ministries teamed up Thursday to declare that Russia will supply nuclear fuel to Iran even if it refuses to agree to international inspections at short notice. This contradicts the claim made Wednesday by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said President Vladimir Putin had assured him that Russia would deliver no nuclear fuel until Tehran signed an additional protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which would subject Iranian nuclear sites to short-notice inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Kremlin has not confirmed Blair's claim. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told a briefing on Thursday that Moscow will only freeze construction of the $1 billion nuclear power plant in Bushehr if Iran refuses to agree to return all spent nuclear fuel from the plant to Russia. This was echoed by the Nuclear Power Ministry, which controls the general contractor in the construction of Bushehr. The issue of whether Iran signs the protocol "does worry us," Nuclear Power Ministry spokesman Nikolai Shinkaryov said Thursday by telephone. "However, this is not required," he said, adding that what is required is that Iran sign an agreement to return all spent fuel from Bushehr. The plant had been expected to come on line in 2004, but this week the ministry pushed it back to 2005. Shinkaryov said Iran is not stalling with the spent fuel agreement. On the contrary, it is the Russian side that is sorting out the "technicalities" as the draft goes from one government agency to another for amendments and authorization, he said. A final draft should be ready for the government's approval in a month, he said. Iran's ambassador to Russia, Gholamreza Shafei, said Thursday that an agreement on repatriating the spent fuel had already been drafted and Tehran was ready to sign. "We are only waiting until Russia settles some ecological aspects," he said at a news conference. While reiterating Iran's readiness to return the fuel, Shafei said the agreement will be signed as a result of Russia giving in to U.S. pressure. "I believe the fact of such a request [from Russia] was a product of pressure," he said. "Initially there was anxiety on the American side." However, Iran has no plans to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty protocol, the ambassador said. By signing the protocol, Iran, which is a signatory to the treaty, would only be assuming obligations since it would be unlikely to be rewarded by broader cooperation from other countries in developing its own nuclear technology, he said. "The meat and bones must come together," the Iranian diplomat said. Yakovenko, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Russia is "actively pushing" Iran to sign the protocol, but refusal to do so will not derail the two countries' nuclear cooperation. "The protocol is an agreement that is signed on a voluntary basis" and Russia believes that not just Iran but all countries developing nuclear power plants should sign it, he said. The ministries' stance appeared to contradict the spirit if not the letter of Putin's statements at the G-8 summit in Evian earlier this week. Speaking at a Tuesday briefing, Putin said Russia will continue to build the Bushehr plant, but will "continue to insist that all Iranian programs in the nuclear sphere be placed under the control of this [IAEA] organization. Shafei said Thursday that Iran was willing to accept IAEA oversight of its nuclear program, even though it refused to sign the protocol. At the G-8 summit, the U.S. delegation fruitlessly sought a strong condemnation of Iran's alleged efforts to secretly develop a nuclear-weapons program. Inspectors from the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, have visited the Iranian facilities that Washington alleges may be harboring a nuclear weapons program, but found no violations, Nuclear Power Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said Wednesday. To follow up claims by an Iranian opposition group that Iran has 200 centrifuges capable of enriching uranium at a site in Natanz, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei personally spearheaded an inspection of the site, but no violations were found, Rumyantsev said. IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky could not be reached for comment Thursday. ElBaradei is set to present a report on Iran's nuclear program to the IAEA board at its Vienna headquarters on June 16-17. Shafei said Iran has its own deposits of radioactive elements and is building facilities for their enrichment, but so far no nuclear fuel has been produced. "Our efforts to produce nuclear fuel are at the beginning stage. I am sure that for the next 10 years we will buy nuclear fuel from Russia," he said. Ivan Safranchuk of the Center for Defense Information characterized Russia's position on Iran's nuclear program as "eclectic at best," with the industrial lobby pushing for unhindered cooperation even though it is not in Moscow's interest to have another nuclear-armed state in the Caspian region. Brenda Shaffer, research director of the Caspian Studies Program at Harvard University, agreed, noting "the often contradictory nature" of statements made by senior Russian officials on cooperation with Iran. This indicates that "Moscow is currently rethinking its policy on its cooperation with Iran," Shaffer wrote in an e-mail response to questions. Return to Menu 2. Moscow to keep helping Tehran Moscow vowed yesterday to continue its nuclear assistance to Iran even if Tehran rejects the tougher international inspections demanded by the United States, as a senior foreign policy adviser to President Vladimir Putin brushed aside U.S. criticisms of the Russian program. "We genuinely do not understand what the Americans want from us," said Dmitry Rogozin, the influential chairman of the Russian State Duma's committee on international affairs, in an interview yesterday at the start of a visit to Washington. Arguing that Russia would be a primary target if Iran did acquire nuclear weapons, Mr. Rogozin said, "We are not so insane as to set up a time bomb under our own chairs." Contradicting assertions made Wednesday by senior Bush administration officials and by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told reporters in Moscow yesterday that Mr. Putin had not pledged to halt nuclear fuel shipments to Iran until the government there agreed to a stricter monitoring program of the United Nations. Mr. Yakovenko said Russia will require Iran to sign a bilateral accord to return all spent nuclear fuel � which could be used to produce the plutonium for nuclear bombs � from the joint program to Russia. But Moscow has no plans to terminate its $800 million contract to build a light-water reactor at the southern Iranian port city of Bushehr, he said, despite sharp U.S. criticisms. Iran's Islamic Republic New Agency reported this week that Gholamreza Aqazadeh, chief of the country's nuclear programs, planned to travel to Moscow next month to nail down contracts for the completion of the Bushehr plant. U.S. officials see the Bushehr project as part of an Iranian effort to acquire weapons of mass destruction. The Bush administration has been seeking international support to force Tehran to agree to tougher inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. watchdog group. "The conclusion is inescapable that Iran is pursuing its 'civil' nuclear energy program not for peaceful and economic purposes but as a front for developing the capability to produce nuclear materials for nuclear weapons," John R. Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said at a House hearing this week. Mr. Rogozin, in Washington for meetings with senior administration officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill, insisted there were airtight controls of Russia's nuclear contracts with Iran. He said companies in Europe, which he did not name, were far more culpable in delivering equipment and technical aid to help Iran's weapons programs. The lawmaker said many in Russia remained skeptical of U.S. arguments for the recent war against Iraq, and the failure to discover large stocks of weapons of mass destruction there only fed Russian doubts about Iran. "Your CIA said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We never thought so in Russia, and so far nothing has been found," he said. "Now, the CIA makes the same claim for Iran. How on earth can we give them our trust one more time when they just made such a mistake?" he asked. Mr. Rogozin said he did not expect any long-term damage to U.S.-Russian relations, despite the sharp differences over the Iraq campaign. "My message is that we didn't disagree with your goals in the recent crisis, but we do have some real disagreements with some of your methods," he said. "I think we can always argue about individual issues, but we should not make mistakes in our relationship that are irreversible." Return to Menu 3. Russia insists it will send nuclear fuel to Iran Russia, contradicting British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said on Thursday it would supply Iran with fuel for a nuclear reactor whether or not Tehran signed an additional inspection agreement with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. But foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said supplies for the unfinished reactor depended on securing a separate bilateral deal with Iran to send spent fuel back to Russia for reprocessing. He suggested uncertainty could have arisen from confusion over the two documents. Yakovenko said Iran's reluctance to sign the so-called additional protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), providing for short-notice inspections of nuclear facilities, was not of itself a bar to Russia sending fuel to Iran. "Not signing this protocol will not be an obstacle for cooperation with Iran. Why? Because the IAEA has no objections against Iran on this," Yakovenko told Reuters. But he said agreement on spent fuel was vital. "Until we get guarantees that we will get our fuel back, we will not export anything," he said. "People have got confused, because there are two protocols and some people have interpreted this in a different way." An official of the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said the Iran-Russia agreement on the return of spent fuel was based on a former Soviet policy of always taking back spent nuclear fuel provided to Soviet satellite states, such as Bulgaria. The policy was designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons or the diversion of weapons-grade material across the communist world and the IAEA believes the policy was effective. Blair told Britain's parliament on Wednesday he had received assurances from Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit of industrialised countries that Moscow would provide no fuel for Iran's plant until the IAEA protocol was signed. Putin told reporters at the summit that Russia would pursue plans to help build the plant at Bushehr. He made no mention of any suspension of equipment or supplies. But he also said the Bushehr plant had to meet all requirements of the IAEA, which will present a report on the Iranian nuclear programme later this month. U.S. officials question why oil- and gas-rich Iran is interested in building Bushehr and accuse Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Washington has repeatedly asked Moscow to stop helping build the station. The issue of spent fuel is important as arms-grade plutonium, a main ingredient in a nuclear device, can be extracted from reprocessed spent fuel. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov said in an interview in Friday'e edition of daily Vremya Novostei that there was no proof Iran was developing nuclear weapons. "I stress here that the IAEA has so far not noted any violations of the non-proliferation treaty by Iran," he said. "There are specific technical issues here. But we will discuss them not on the orders of the Americans but because they are of concern to us," Mamedov added. Iran's ambassador to Russia, Gholamreza Shafei, said on Thursday the bilateral deal on repatriating spent fuel had already been drafted and Tehran was ready to sign. "It would appear what Blair meant was the addition to the main contract between Iran and Russia," he told reporters, referring to a 10-year contract signed in 1995. In London, a spokesman for Blair said the prime minister stood by what he had told parliament. Construction of the reactor is to be completed later this year, with the plant due to come on stream next year. Russia has yet to send any fuel to Iran. Return to Menu 4. Teheran is ready to sign the INF return supplemental to intergovernmental agreement with Russia (excerpted) Teheran is ready to sign a supplemental arrangement to the intergovernmental agreement with Russia which ensures the return of irradiated nuclear fuel to Russia. This was reported by RIA Novosti as said by Iranian Ambassador to Russia Gulamreza Shafei on June 5 during a press-conference in Moscow. �The Iranian side is ready to sign this document at any moment�, he stressed, however, according to the Ambassador, �the Russian side had certain difficulties with the signing due to a number of legal and environmental aspects�. The text of protocol is already agreed upon and �Iran is ready to accommodate Russia�s concerns, though the initial text of contract on fuel supplies for Bushehr nuclear plant did not contain an INF return requirement�, Shafei said. According to the contract, after Bushehr plant construction is completed Iran is to use the Russian-made fuel for a decade, said the Iranian diplomat adding that Iran has uranium deposits of its own; still it does not develop them so far. He also noted that Iran plans to build up the installed capacity of its nuclear units up to 6,000 MW. The Iranian side is ready to �further cooperate with Russia to construct nuclear power plants� after Bushehr is constructed, the Ambassador noted. [�] Return to Menu 5. Confounding US and Britain, Russia says nuclear link with Iran still on Russia said it would supply nuclear fuel to Iran even if it failed to allow stricter UN inspections in a move defying international concerns. Moscow's latest comments put further strain on its relations with the West over Iran -- identified as a member of an "axis of evil" by Washington -- just as the two sides' positions seemed to converge over the simmering dispute. "Of course," a top Russian foreign ministry spokesman retorted when asked whether Russia would supply Iran with nuclear fuel for its first reactor even if Tehran failed to sign a new UN protocol allowing broader inspections of its weapons program. Those two words laid to waste British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement Wednesday that Putin had at the recent G8 summit committed Russia not to sell nuclear fuel to Iran until it agreed to stricter international controls. US media also reported that Moscow had given such assurances to Washington twice -- once during a recent visit here by US Secretary of State Colin Powell and the second time at the G8 talks. Moscow contests US accusations that oil-rich Iran is using its atomic sites to develop nuclear weapons and is continuing to help build Iran's first nuclear power station at Bushehr. But Putin recently said the positions of Russia and the West on Iran were "closer than they seem" and agreed that the international community must focus on Tehran's military ambitions. The Russian foreign ministry spokesman also stressed that Moscow still wanted to see Iran agree to stricter control by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "As for the additional protocols with the IAEA, Russia has actively worked on the development of these protocols and believes that their signature will significantly help in non-proliferation issues," Yakovenko said. The media and other observers here have struggled to comprehend the apparent volte-face in Russia's position. Some suggested that Blair and other leaders simply did not understand which protocol on Iran Putin was talking about. Moscow must still seal its own separate protocol with Tehran guaranteeing that all spent fuel from Bushehr is returned to Russia. Some suggested that Putin could have been talking about this specific agreement at the G8 and not the broader UN cooperation protocol. Others said that Moscow may now simply be furious that the West has leaked information that Putin disclosed in private and which had not been previously reported in Russia. "If this agreement was confidential, and British diplomats leaked it out to their media, then Russia can feel that its hands are not longer tied" in its relations with Iran, said Anton Khlopkov, an Iran expert at the PIR Center military research institute. Russia's announcement Thursday also complicates an upcoming visit here by Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom of Israel -- a country that views Iran as one of its greatest security threats. Shalom told the Izvestia daily ahead of his three-day visit which starts Monday that Iran could develop weapons of mass destruction within three years. "This greatly concerns Israel and, I think, should concern Russia as well," Shalom said. Other observers here however tend to believe that Putin has indeed agreed to go slow on Iran even if the precise details of how this will be accomplish still remain unclear. Always full of vivid speculation, some in the Russian media suggested that Russia and the United States have reached a Tehran-for-Baghdad tradeoff: Moscow would halt its Iranian projects and win Iraqi oil ones in return. The Kommersant business daily reported that the first team of Russian oil bigwigs arrived Wednesday in Baghdad for the first time since the Iraq war, which Moscow had vehemently opposed. Kommersant said that even though Putin's latest comments about Iran seemed vague at times, "it is apparent that the United States clearly understands Moscow's true position. "They have opened the road to Baghdad to our oilmen," Kommersant concluded. Return to Menu 6. Confusion on Russian nuclear deal with Iran Conflicting statements on Wednesday over Russia's intentions to sell nuclear fuel to Iran cast doubt on the efficacy of US efforts to block the Islamic republic's suspected nuclear weapons programme. Tony Blair, UK prime minister, told parliament that President Vladimir Putin had given assurances at last weekend's Group of Eight summit in Evian that Russia would not supply Iran with nuclear fuel until it signed up to a more rigorous UN inspections regime allowing access to all facilities. In Washington, John Bolton, US undersecretary for arms control, seized on Mr Blair's remarks as evidence that Russia shared US concerns. "It is not too late to halt and reverse Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons," Mr Bolton told the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations. "The United States is using all diplomatic tools to this end." But Alexander Rumyantsev, Russia's atomic energy minister, said in Moscow that deliveries of uranium to Iran's Bushehr power plant would begin by next year, regardless of whether Tehran complied with US calls for increased inspections. Mr Rumyantsev said he expected to sign a final contract within two months, which would formalise Iran's obligation to return all spent nuclear fuel to Russia for reprocessing and storage. The contract is estimated to be worth $1bn. Igor Ivanov, Russia's foreign minister, also stressed in Madrid there should be no linkage between the supply of fuel to Bushehr and Iran's signature of what is known as the additional protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, Moscow was pushing for Tehran to comply, he added. Mr Bolton revealed that the State Department was reviewing "every known transfer" to Iran of items that had the potential to make a "material contribution" to Iran's missile and weapons of mass destruction programme. He recalled that last month the US had imposed tough sanctions on Norinco, a major state-owned Chinese corporation, for allegedly helping Iran develop missiles. Mr Rumyantsev said Iran had expressed a willingness to sign the protocol if its demands were met, including the lifting of US sanctions. He said talks were under way between his ministry and the EU on restrictions that would otherwise limit Russia's ability to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from power plants it built in former Soviet states that will join the EU. Return to Menu 7. IAEA Welcomes Iran�s Willingness to Sign Nuclear Fuel Return Agreement with Russia Senior officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) welcome Iran's willingness to sign an additional accord with Russia on the return of spent nuclear fuel in exchange for fresh uranium fuel rods, a highly placed IAEA Secretariat official told RIA Novosti in Vienna after Iranian ambassador to Russia Gholamreza Shafee issued his statement that "the text of the document has already been agreed by both sides." IAEA officials reckon that representatives of the Agency, which is an important international organization facilitating the development of civilian uses of nuclear power and monitoring safety at nuclear facilities and which enjoys the confidence of Moscow, should attend the signing of the agreement. The IAEA believes that the possible signing of the agreement between Russia and Iran could be "the first step toward Iran signing the additional protocol to the agreement between the IAEA and Iran, which would open up possibilities of Agency experts' inspections in that state." This would result in "world opinion knowing the true state of affairs in Tehran's atomic industry and the answer to the main question of whether Iran is engaged in developing its own nuclear programs to make an atomic bomb," the IAEA reckons. Return to Menu 8. Russian Contractors in Iran Say Bushehr Construction Continues... Viktor Kozlov, general director of Atomstroieksport, the main contractor for the construction of Iran's nuclear-power plant in Bushehr, has said that the company has received no instructions from the Atomic Energy Ministry to halt work on the project, polit.ru reported on 4 June. Meanwhile, Aleksei Shavrov, the deputy director of United Machine Building Works, the company responsible for construction of the plant's nuclear reactor, said the Atomic Energy Ministry told him that the work in Bushehr should not be dependent on Iran acceding to the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, under which signatories would make their nuclear facilities available for unannounced IAEA inspections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 and 3 June 2003). An unidentified spokesman for the Atomic Energy Ministry told strana.ru on 3 June that his agency has no information confirming Western reports that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, but supports the idea of strengthening IAEA control over Iran's nuclear program. VY Return to Menu 9. Tehran Poised to Sign Additional Agreement with Russia on Return of Nuclear Fuel Tehran is ready to sign an additional agreement with Russia on the return of nuclear fuel, Iran's ambassador to Moscow Ghoulamreza Shafei told journalists on Thursday. According to him, the text of the document has already been agreed on by the two sides. The Iranian side is prepared to ink the document at any moment," the ambassador stressed. But, he claimed, "the Russian side encountered certain difficulties in signing this agreement, due to some administrative and ecological considerations." Upon the completion of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran intends for a period of ten years to use Russian nuclear fuel, the diplomat went on to say. According to him, Iran has uranium deposits, but they are not being developed yet. The Iranian side had from the outset contemplated using Russian nuclear fuel at the nuclear unit in Bushehr, he indicated. Replying to the question put to him by RIA Novosti, the Iranian ambassador emphasised that Iran "has a firm intention of bringing up its energy potential to 6,000 MW, to be generated by nuclear power stations". He pointed out that even with the nuclear plant in Bushehr completed Iran would be ready "to cooperate with Russia further, in the field of building nuclear power stations". Alexander Yakovenko, an official Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a news conference in RIA Novosti on Thursday that Russia would not supply nuclear fuel to Bushehr until after a protocol on the return of spent fuel is signed. He confirmed that there is agreement under which Russia will supply fuel for the nuclear power plant in Bushehr and recover spent nuclear fuel. According to him, it is when the protocol on the return of the fuel, guaranteeing its export back to Russia, is signed will deliveries be made. "Without that Russia will not supply fuel," he emphasised. Return to Menu 10. Putin Grows Wary of Iranian Nuke Program While insisting that Iran�s nuclear program has to come under stricter control from the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow would continue building a nuclear power plant in the Islamic Republic�s Persian Gulf town of Bushehr, international press agencies reported. But, while defending the plans for the plant, which are vociferously reviled by Washington, Putin was nonetheless adding his voice to the remaining members of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, or G-8, who this weekend held a summit in Evian, France, and issued a statement describing weapons of mass destruction as the �preeminent threat� to international security. The statement included language calling for stricter IAEA-led controls on the nuclear programs emerging in Iran and North Korea, press agencies reported. Iran, in particular, is confirmed by the IAEA to have a uranium enrichment site and a heavy water facility � which is necessary for the production of plutonium. Iran has also started mining its own uranium, which gives it a practically indigenous capability to produce nuclear fuel or weapons. All of this has raised international fears that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons. Two more as-yet-unconfirmed uranium enrichment sites in Iran were alleged to exist by the National Council for the Resistance of Iran � an umbrella group for Iranian opposition organizations � said the group�s spokesman Ali Savafi last week. Savafi said the group would reveal evidence proving the existence of these sites in coming days. International Pressure on Iran The international community has been steadily applying pressure on Iran to submit to tougher control by the IAEA. Even Russia, Iran�s biggest cheerleader in the area of nuclear power development has lately � to the embarrassment of Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Alexander Rumyantsev � backtracked on its repeated statements that Iran has no nuclear weapons capability. But at a news conference in Tehran on Tuesday, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, repeated Iran�s position on the issue of its nuclear program, the BBC reported. Asefi said Iran would not sign any new protocols until international sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic are lifted and Iran is given the technology for peaceful atomic energy it says it should be allowed under the 1973 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT, of which it is a signatory. The new protocol that is at issue for Iran and the G-8 is the IAEA�s so-called �Additional Protocol,� which allows for more intrusive inspections on much shorter notice. Iran has resisted this � even though the protocol has 31 other signatory nations, including Canada. The protocol initiative was suggested following the IAEA�s February visit to the Iranian city of Natanz, where investigators examined several hundred hexafluoride gas uranium enrichment centrifuges, and the equipment to build as many as 5000 more � enough to produce at least two nuclear bombs a year. G-8 leaders insisted at the summit that the IAEA protocol would give Iran the opportunity to prove that its program is indeed peaceful. On June 16 and 17, Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA�s chief, will deliver a report on the status of Iran�s nuclear program to the IAEA�s board of directors � after which point, depending on the analysis of the February inspection�s findings, international pressure on Tehran may mount. Putin Contemplating an Ultimatum to Iran? Although Putin�s statement at the Evian Summit was expected to reveal a confluence of opinion with the United States on the issue of Iran�s nuclear program � which Tehran and, until recently, Moscow, have insisted is for peaceful purposes � it was a remarkably softened version of what he purportedly said earlier, according to a BBC report on Monday. In that broadcast, Putin was quoted by an unnamed British official as telling other G-8 leaders that Russia would halt �all nuclear exports� to Iran until Tehran agreed to a stricter IAEA inspection regime. But such a plan would be complicated to implement, given that the first shipments of Russian uranium fuel have already arrived at Bushehr. Neither the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the British Foreign Office would comment on this BBC report Tuesday, and the Iranian foreign and nuclear ministries had heard nothing of Putin�s reported ultimatum, spokesmen for these government organizations told Bellona Web. Counter-Offensive from Asefi While speaking in Tehran on Tuesday, Asefi went on the counter-offensive, challenging the Americans to join in and help build Iran�s nuclear power stations, if they really are so concerned about Iranian intentions. That idea had already been suggested by Russia�s nuclear minister Rumyantsev earlier this month. But the offer was shot down immediately by American officials. They said no country should be helping Iran in this field, according to the BBC. Putin, however, steadfastly refused to abandon the $800m, 1000-megawatt Bushehr light water reactor that Russia has been constructing since 1986. It was initially expected to come online later this year, but in an apparent concession to the United States, the Russian atomic ministry announced that it would open in 2005. The U.S. insists this site is a covert funnel for Iran to obtain more sensitive nuclear information � a claim both Moscow and Tehran deny. The new opening date for Bushehr could be construed as an effort to give the IAEA more time to inspect Iran�s other nuclear installations. Alexander Yakovenko, spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, said conflicts about Iran�s nuclear program must be solved on an international level, according to a transcript of a briefing he gave in Moscow earlier this week. �This is a major challenge confronting the international community in view of a likely upsurge of terrorism following the recent developments in Iraq. At the same time, we believe that this problem is to be dealt with on a fully legitimate basis without assigning the arbitrary �rogue state� status to any individual countries,� said Yakovenko. Yakovenko added that any attempts to oppose weapons of mass destruction proliferation by force or by a threat of force would only provoke acceleration of nuclear arms race and further regionalization of the problem. �Such is our position on this issue and we are going to stand by it when discussing problems relating to Iran and North Korea,� he said. Iran�s Other Facilities According to the IAEA, Washington and international groups, Bushehr may be the least of current worries about Iran � compared to the other two known nuclear facilities that could present a far greater non-proliferation risk. The Natanz facility, as confirmed by the IAEA inspection, has cement walls at least a meter thick, and is built partially underground in an apparent effort to thwart a military attack. Another site near Arak, which was also visited by the IAEA, will produce heavy water, which would be instrumental in the production of plutonium. The initial allegations that these sites existed emerged in December last year from the same National Council for the Resistance of Iran � which includes as one of its members an organization known as the People�s Mujahedin, a group listed as a terrorist group in both the European Union and the United States. The United States, however, recently signed a cease-fire with members of the group operating in Iraq, the U.S. State Department said. Last week, based on information supplied by the People�s Muhajedin, the National Council for the Resistance accused Tehran of having two more uranium enrichment sites that it has not declared to the IAEA, essentially making them secret installations. �Positive� U.S. Spin A senior U.S. administration official, who requested his name not be mentioned, attributed Putin�s change of stance over the Iran issue to �a meeting of the minds� between the Russian president and his American counterpart George Bush. �Some of it undoubtedly has to do with what the IAEA found when they went into Iran, where they found [�] a more developed nuclear capability than anybody had seen heretofore [�] And it�s getting people�s attention,� he said. The official noted that the U.S. and Russia had been having �fruitful� conversations on Iran�s nuclear capabilities for about two years now. �I think what the Russians want is not to be disadvantaged themselves, in terms of civilian cooperation,� this official said. He added that if Iran were to allow closer inspections so that the world would be �clear� about Tehran�s intentions, the international heat would be turned down about Iran�s possible weapons program. Return to Menu 11. Russia to Supply Nuclear Fuel to Iran Only on Condition of Return of Depleted Fuel Shipments of Russian nuclear fuel to Iran are only possible if an agreement is signed on the return of depleted nuclear fuel to Russia under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a leading specialist of the Russian Nuclear Energy Ministry has said. Now the agreement is in preparation and the need to supply nuclear fuel to Iran will only emerge in 2004, after the first power unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant (north of the Iranian Persian Gulf shore) is over. "Before 2004 Iran has enough time to sign the agreement and joint the additional protocol giving the IAEA greater rights for control over the nuclear facilities within the nuclear non-proliferation treaty," said the ministerial specialist. He also said that the IAEA board of governors will hold a sitting on June 12 through 16 to consider the Iranian nuclear program. Simultaneously, the ministerial spokesman said Russia has no information to confirm the Western media reports on Iran's work on the creation of nuclear weapons. Return to Menu 12. Putin Suspends Sale of Nuclear Material to Iran (excerpted) Vladimir Puttin, Russia's President, suspended the sale of all nuclear material to Iran yesterday in a move calculated to cheer George Bush and allow the world's eight most powerful nations to present a united front against the spread of nuclear weapons. The move means Iran has lost its main supply of nuclear material. The country's nuclear programme, which the Tehran government claims is for purely peaceful purposes, is largely run by Russian experts using material left over from the Cold War. Mr Putin's announcement cleared the way for the G8 summit in Evian to issue a public warning to Iran and North Korea, the two countries President Bush bracketed together with Iraq as the "axis of evil". North Korea, unlike Iran, admits having a nuclear weapons programme. One delighted British official said: "It is now the international consensus that the issue of weapons of mass destruction did not disappear with Saddam Hussein." The British delegation was also anxious to allay fears that this meant war with either of the two "rogue states". They said the world leaders had agreed that "not all proliferation challenges require the same remedies". The communiqu� was welcome relief for Tony Blair, whose six-day foreign tour was bedevilled by questions about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He needs to convince opinion at home that the risk that terrorists could obtain weapons of mass destruction from a rogue state is a serious threat to the West. Iran has been told it must immediately open its nuclear programme to "comprehensive examination" by the International Atomic Energy Agency, to allay international concern that it is secretly manufacturing nuclear weapons. [�] Return to Menu 13. Putin's vow would tie Iran's nuclear fuel to inspections Russia has promised the Bush administration that it will not provide the nuclear fuel Iran needs to activate a new power plant unless Iran allows inspections to assure that the fuel is not used for weapons, a senior State Department official said Tuesday. The official, who asked not to be named, said the pledge was first conveyed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Secretary of State Colin Powell in Moscow last month. It was repeated when Putin met President Bush and other world leaders at a summit this week in France. The Russian pledge would be a victory for the Bush administration's campaign to make it harder for Iran to become a nuclear power. "It's a move in the right direction," says Michael Eisenstadt, a Middle East expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "It will slow down this particular route" to weapons. Iran is one of 188 nations that signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. It has denied any intention to make bombs. Even so, some experts predict the country could produce weapons in as little as two years. The Russians are building Iran's first commercial power-generating nuclear reactor at Bushehr and have promised to provide uranium for the installation, due to be completed next year. The reactor will produce plutonium as a byproduct that could be reprocessed to make bomb fuel. Iran has acknowledged that it is building a uranium enrichment plant that could be used to make fuel for the reactor and, potentially, material for weapons. Putin told the summit of industrialized nations in Evian-les-Bains on Tuesday that Russia will not stop nuclear cooperation with Iran. But he said Russia will insist that Iran's nuclear programs remain under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The agency, the United Nations' nuclear inspection organization, will discuss Iran's nuclear program at a meeting June 16 in Vienna. Mark Gwozdecky, a spokesman for the agency, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the IAEA is urging Iran to sign an additional protocol permitting greater access to suspect facilities. Now, he said, inspectors must give warning before visiting Iranian sites, which include small research reactors and other facilities. Gwozdecky would not predict what action the IAEA might take on Iran. He said options range from doing nothing to declaring Iran in non-compliance with its pledges and referring the matter to the U.N. Security Council. The Bush administration is pushing for the latter. In Evian-les-Bains, leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia issued a statement Tuesday demanding that North Korea stop any nuclear arms programs and that Iran accept tighter controls on its nuclear program. But the host of the summit, French President Jacques Chirac, said it was "extremely audacious" to consider their statement a signal that Iran could be the target of a pre-emptive strike similar to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. "There was never any question of using force against anyone in any area," Chirac said. Return to Menu C. Russian Nuclear Forces 1. Kokoshin: Russia must Complement its Nuclear Deterrence Policy with "Systems of Pre-Nuclear Deterrence" Russia must complement its nuclear deterrence policy with "systems of pre-nuclear deterrence", believes State Duma deputy Andrei Kokoshin, chairman of the United Russia party's National Security Commission. According to Kokoshin, "the system of pre-nuclear deterrence" could be based on high-precision weapons with common equipment. "Russia has a very good potential of high-precision weapons with common equipment which can destroy a broad class of missiles, if necessary," he said Wednesday at a RIA Novosti press conference. According to him, Russia has a space navigation system determining the efficiency of the use of high-precision weapons and many other components which are of a higher quality than their American counterparts. Kokoshin believes Russia must retain its nuclear triad, that is ground, air and naval forces. "Each component has weak points, but as a whole they yield a very powerful strategic effect and increase the incertitude of a nuclear strike," he said. Return to Menu D. Russia-US 1. Nuclear Factor Comes Back Into International Relations The nuclear factor is coming back into international relations, deputy of the State Duma of Russia Andrei Kokoshin said at a press conference in RIA Novosti. According to him, "now, unlike in the 1990s, the strengthening of the nuclear factor compared is being observed". The deputy explained that this was linked to the participation of new subjects in the nuclear deterrence system. He pointed out that, in particular, tension between India and Pakistan breeds potential danger. Relations between the USA and the so-called rogue countries also pose a threat to international nuclear stability. "In Washington there are people who seriously raise the question of pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons against the countries allegedly supporting terrorism, as well as against the nuclear power installations at which, as they presume, nuclear weapons may be developed," the deputy noted. He also pointed out that a "chain reaction" is now possible in a number of critical points of the system of international relations - if one of the states of a region gets nuclear arms its neighbours will right away try to do the same. This concerns, in particular, the Middle East, as well as the Korean Peninsula. In this connection Kokoshin recalled that Japan which is very much concerned with the nuclear programmes of North Korea "is technologically capable of developing nuclear weapons within several weeks." The deputy holds the view that in such a situation the role of the nuclear powers which are permanent members of the UN Security Council, first of all Russia and the USA, in settling the emerging issues by diplomatic means is extremely important. Return to Menu E. Official Statements 1. Statement by Alexander Yakovenko, the Official Spokesman of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regarding Decisions by Houses of US Congress on Assistance to Russia in Elimination of Weapons Moscow has received with satisfaction news of the approval by both Houses of the US Congress of the full amount of funds - 450 million dollars - asked by the US administration for rendering assistance to Russia and the CIS under Pentagon auspices (the Nunn-Lugar program) in the financial year 2004. The Russian side has positively noted the fact that the Senate and the House of Representatives in their versions of the defense spending bill for one more year - until September 30, 2004 - gave the US president the right to authorize financing for the construction of a chemical weapons destruction facility (CWDF) in Shchuchye. We welcome these important decisions reflecting the expansion of genuinely partner relations between our two countries, directed to a joint fight against common threats, including on the basis of the historic accords of the Group of Eight leaders with regard to the Global Partnership (GP) Against the Spread of WMDs. The ongoing and predictable financing by the US of disarmament and nonproliferation projects in Russia, undoubtedly, can become an important contribution to the implementation of the GP Action Plan, just adopted at the Group of Eight summit in Evian. At the same time we could not but take note of the fact that the American side continues the policy of setting forth additional unjustified conditions pertaining to the expansion of its assistance to the Russian projects. Particularly disquieting is the fact that the list of these conditions is not decreasing, but on the contrary increasing. Here is but one example: in 2004 there is to be "suspended" an amount of 100 million dollars for the financing of the CWDF in Shchuchye until Russia or some "third" country allocates for this project 50 million dollars, even though previously the American side had more than once favorably noted the considerable buildup of the financial participation of Russia in dealing with GP problems, in the first place in the destruction of Russia's stockpiles of chemical weapons. The American decisions are creating some additional difficulties for us, as what is involved here are not only the plans for the construction of the facility in Shchuchye, but also our cooperation with other G8 countries to which we have offered individual projects. The US is essentially inducing partners to work only on the project in Shchuchye, leaving without adequate financing the other important projects in this field. We have repeatedly voiced concern over the unrhythmical development of Russian-American cooperation in the destruction of chemical weapons, pointing to the counter-productiveness of political linkages. We would like to hope that a pragmatic approach will prevail in Washington towards the solution of such chronic problems of Cold War vintage problems creating obstacles to full-format Russian-American cooperation in questions of nonproliferation and the elimination of weapons subject to reduction. Return to Menu 2. Comment by the Russian MFA Information and Press Department Regarding a Russian Media Question Concerning the Groundless Accusations by US Under Secretary of State John Bolton Against Russia of Connivance at Supplies of WMD Technologies to Iran Question: Please comment on the statements made by US Under Secretary of State John Bolton with accusations against Russia of connivance at WMD technology supplies to Iran. Answer: In the course of the Russian-US summit in St. Petersburg, and at the G8 summit meeting in Evian the leaders of the world's leading countries reaffirmed their common position in favor of joint energetic efforts to counter one of the major challenges of our times - the spread of weapons of mass destruction. In this connection it has caused bewilderment in Moscow, the new portion of unsubstantiated statements which US Under Secretary of State John Bolton issued, practically accusing Russia of connivance at WMD technology supplies to Iran. The question arises: Does this high-ranking official express his personal, as always "extravagant," opinion or does he simply sound the position of the circles in Washington who dislike the strategic course reaffirmed by the Russian and US presidents towards partnership and cooperation, including on priority issues of disarmament and strategic stability? Return to Menu 3. Russian President Vladimir Putin Remarks at Press Conference Following Group of Eight Heads of State and Government Meeting, Evian, France, June 3, 2003 (excerpted) Good afternoon, esteemed ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to share with you the results of the work and, of course, the first thing that I must say is to express words of gratefulness to the Summit Chairman, the President of France Mr. Chirac for the hospitality and for the facilities provided for its work. The meeting in Evian has again shown that the G8 members are united by long-term strategic interests, and this enabled us to discuss any, including disputable, issues and in the end arrive at mutually acceptable decisions. A new and highly fruitful decision in the summit's practice was the debate in an extended composition. For many of our partners this was the first contact with the G8, and we welcome the start of such a broad dialogue. From the concrete summit results I can, first of all, note the following: the Evian meeting on the whole will help strengthen the international antiterrorist coalition, for we understand that the success of the struggle against terror hinges directly on our unity and on the effectiveness of our combined efforts. Set up by a decision of the summit, the G8 group on antiterrorist actions is designed to become a serious instrument; its activities will be closely linked with the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the United Nations Security Council, the main coordinator for the efforts of the world community in this field. I must say that Russia is disposed to actively participate in the work of the new body, and it is only logical that the main focus on our part will be on the CIS space and the zone of operation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Further, the G8 has adopted a serious decision in the field of the regime of nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This is particularly relevant in the light of attempts by terrorist organizations to gain access to weapons of mass destruction. Neither should it be forgotten that the nonproliferation regimes play a key role in the maintenance of regional stability. The main efforts should be directed to the strengthening of the legal regimes and mechanisms for their implementation. We have also analyzed and examined how the Global Partnership initiative against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction is being implemented. Russia is making a substantial contribution to the advancement of this program. In the next ten years we plan to allocate and spend at least two billion dollars for these purposes. A special mechanism has been set up in our country for the coordination of Global Partnership work under the leadership of the Chairman of the Government of Russia, and the necessary international legal base has also been formed. I mean the Agreement on the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR), and a number of bilateral agreements. We welcome the statement of our partners on the possibility of allocating funds for the projects envisaged by the accords reached in Kananaskis. We feel that these statements should be backed by practical actions, in the first place - the speediest elaboration of projects in priority areas of the Global Partnership, the liquidation of chemical weapons and disposition of obsolete and decommissioned nuclear submarines. Russia for the first time took part in the preparation of the entire package of financial and economic documents of the meeting, and I regard this as one more proof of its organic integration into world structures, into the world economy. [�] Question (France Presse): What can you say about the situation with the Iranian nuclear program? Answer: I consider that the problem of nonproliferation is one of the chief problems of the 21st century, and one of the most acute problems, for the solution of which all civilized countries ought to join forces. As to Iran, we cooperate with Iran. It is our neighbor, and we will cooperate with it in the future. We are categorically against the pulling out of problems which would be used for unfair competition, including in the Iranian market. But at the same time we feel that the IAEA, among others, should play a decisive role in nonproliferation. We will insist that all the Iranian programs in the nuclear field are placed under the control of this organization. And we will build our cooperation with all countries based on how open they are and to what extent they are in a position to place their programs under IAEA control. Return to Menu F. Links of Interest 1. The Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR) Return to Menu 2. 'We will not ignore the proliferation implications of Iran's advanced nuclear program', G8 Summit, Evian, June 1-3, 2003 Return to Menu 3. Statement by the Honorable Fred C. Ikl� before the Committee on International Relations Return to Menu 4. Testimony of George Perkovich, Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace before the Committee on International Relations Return to Menu 5. Testimony of John R. Bolton, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, U.S. Department of State before the Committee on International Relations Return to Menu 6. Terrorist CBRN: Materials and Effects Return to Menu DISCLAIMER: Nuclear News is presented for informational purposes only. Views presented in any given article are those of the individual author or source and not of RANSAC. RANSAC takes no responsibility for the technical accuracy of information contained in any article presented in Nuclear News. RANSAC's Nuclear News is compiled two to three times weekly. To be automatically removed from our mailing list, click on the following link: Remove Me From The List If you have questions/comments/concerns, please reply to news@216.119.87.134 |
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