Ahmadinejad sees nuclear energy in Iran by 2009

TEHRAN — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said Wednesday that his country would produce nuclear energy by next year and condemned Israel as a “filthy entity” that would soon collapse.He spoke as the United Nations Security Council considered imposing new sanctions on Iran because of its refusal to halt uranium enrichment activities. “We have been promised that we will have nuclear power this time next year in our power grid,” the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying in a speech in Bushehr, the southern city where Iran is building its first nuclear power plant.

A senior official speaking in Tehran gave reporters more precise information and said the Bushehr plant was expected to be operational in October. The official, Ahmad Fayazbakhsh, managing director of the Production and Development of Nuclear Energy Company, said the date for the plant’s electricity to join the national power grid would be announced after the commissioning, the official IRNA news agency reported. Russia is helping Iran to build the plant and made the eighth and final delivery of its nuclear fuel this week. However, the leader of the Russian company building the plant, the state-run Atomstroyexport, has said the plant will not be operational until the end of 2008, Reuters reported.

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This story is significant because it shows how Iran's nuclear eligilibity is growing daily.

Iran Limiting Execution in Public

The head of Iran's judiciary has issued an order that no executions be carried out in public without his permission. Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi also banned the publication of photographs or films of executions.

Correspondents say it appears Ayatollah Shahrudi wants to lower the profile of executions as Iran has been widely criticised by Western countries and international organisations.

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This is important because it shows that even though most Americans think that Iranians are inhumane, but this proves that they are trying to limit the executions in public. Hopefully, this will allow some tensions to decrease.

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Iran might reduce economic ties with France

Two Iranian parliamentary committees discussed reducing economic ties with France on Monday in reprisal for President Nicolas Sarkozy's "unfriendly" policies in Iran's nuclear standoff.

We discussed moving towards reducing economic ties with France especially in the auto industry," the head of the national security and foreign affairs committee, Alaeddin Borujerdi, said.

Since Sarkozy's election, France has considerably toughened its position towards Iran and has called for the Security Council to impose a third set of sanctions to punish Iran for its failure to heed ultimatums to suspend uranium enrichment.
In September, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that France's new tougher position could hit economic relations.
French cars have a prominent presence in Iran's closely protected auto market, and models such as the Peugeot 405 and 206 have been manufactured under licence by Iran Khodro, Iran's largest car manufacturer.

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This could affect many people in the society of Iran because of the relationship with France. Even though it is just cars, soon Iran could pull from France in other major provisions or even pull away all together.

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U.S. moves to keep F-14 parts from Iran

President Bush signed legislation Monday prohibiting the Pentagon from selling leftover F-14 fighter jet parts, a move prompted by security gaps in the military's surplus auction.
Those gaps made the surplus auction a prime place for Iran to shop for the spares it desperately needs for its Tomcat fleet.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., proposed the ban after The Associated Press reported last year that buyers for Iran, China and other countries exploited weaknesses in Pentagon surplus-sale security to obtain sensitive military equipment including parts for F-14s and other aircraft and for missile components.
Iran is the only country still trying to fly Tomcats, another name for F-14s. The U.S. Navy retired its F-14s in 2006.

Bush made the Tomcat sales ban law by signing a $696 billion military spending bill that included it. He didn't comment on the F-14 provision.

Iran bought Tomcats with U.S. permission in the 1970s when the two countries were allies. The governments were so friendly at that point that U.S. Navy pilots helped deliver the jets.
The hostage crisis that followed the 1979 overthrow of the shah led the U.S. to break off diplomatic relations. Bush has called Iran part of an "axis of evil."

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This story is important because it shows President Bush's fear towards Iran getting the parts to the fighter plans.

Iran question UN

Manouchehr Mottaki has urged major world powers to exercise restraint over a new UN resolution aimed at tightening sanctions against Iran. The Iranian foreign minister said the timing of the request that the UN Security Council consider a new draft resolution was "strange".

It would have been more logical, he said, to wait for the new report on Iran's nuclear activities due soon from the International Atomic Energy Agency - the UN's nuclear watchdog - before taking action

Mr Mottaki refused to be drawn on what Iran would do if tighter UN sanctions were imposed.
But in the meantime, he said, he was urging Security Council members to show patience.

He countered that Iran would was prepared to talk to any party about its controversial nuclear programme but not if there were preconditions.


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The article describes the position that the UN is putting pressure on Iran. They are trying to use their power to pressure other countries into restraining Iran.

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