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What is Iran doing and why is the world worried?

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ZILLA THA GOODFELLA:
BEFORE WE GET INTO THE ARTICLE, IRAN NEEDS ITS RESPECT AND IT IS THAT TIME, SO IT'S ON. I KNOW THE PEOPLE OF IRAN ARE AGAINST THIS NEW PRESIDENT, TRUST ME, THE NEW GENERATION HAS A WESTERN INFLUENCED MIND-STATE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT. BUT THEY ARE NOT AGAINST HIS DECISION TO STAND AGAINST GETTING PIMPED BY AMERICA. WHY SHOULD THE PERSIANS GET FUCKED IN THE ASS WHILE ALL THE COUNTRIES AROUND THEM HAVE NUCLEAR POWER? WHEN A COUNTRY HAS 10% OF THE WORLD'S OIL, THEY BETTER RECIEVE SOME KIND OF RESPECT. PERSIAN POWER, AND FUC ZIONISM TOO!!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-17-iran-QA_x.htm?csp=N009

WASHINGTON — Iran's recent decision to enrich uranium despite years of intensive diplomatic efforts by the United States and its European allies to stop it is pushing the world toward what could become a nuclear crisis.

Iran, which sits atop 10% of the world's oil and its second largest natural gas reserves, claims it's pursuing enrichment for peaceful atomic energy. But the conventional fear is the Islamic republic is using that as a cover for a nuclear weapons program the same way Pakistan, India and North Korea did.

President Bush has called Iran a "grave threat," using the same language he did before invading Iraq in 2003, when he called now deposed dictator Saddam Hussein "a grave threat."

So far, Bush has sought a diplomatic solution for Iran, although he has said military force is an option. But tangling with Iran and its 66 million people and army of 350,000 soldiers would require far more force than was used in Iraq, its much smaller and less populous neighbor.

Here are some questions and answers that explore why Iran wants to enrich uranium and why some Western and Arab countries are so adamantly opposed:

Question: What evidence is there that Iran is working toward a bomb?

Answer: The greatest point of concern is Iran's uranium enrichment program. The same technology used to make low-grade enriched uranium for energy can be used to produce highly enriched bomb-grade material.

Nuclear experts call these countries with enrichment capability "virtual" nuclear powers, and they represent one of the most serious threats to regional and global security today.

Uranium enrichment is also worrisome because it's much easier to make a nuclear weapon from uranium than plutonium.

Q: What are the principal dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran?

A: Israel considers a nuclear Iran a threat to its existence, but the rest of the Middle East also has cause for concern.

If Iran develops nuclear capability — for energy or weapons — it could trigger an arms race across the region by Sunni Arab nations that also feel threatened by Shiite Persian Iran.

Persians and Arabs have fought bitterly over the centuries. More than 1 million people died in the Iran-Iraq war, a Persian-Arab conflict. Shiites and Sunnis are now killing each other for control of Iraq.

A nuclear Iran could push Sunni Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to reconsider developing uranium enrichment capabilities. Both nations have started and given up nuclear weapons research.

A nuclear Iran also could choke off oil exports through the critically important Strait of Hormuz leading out of the Persian Gulf.

Iran is believed to have used the North Korean Nodong missile — capable of carrying a nuclear payload — as a model to develop its Shahab missiles, which can strike Israel and much of Europe.

Q: Is Iran breaking any international laws or treaties by pursuing uranium enrichment?

A: Iran signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which permits development of peaceful uranium enrichment programs so long as they're fully transparent. Iran kept its nuclear program secret for almost 18 years before dissidents exposed it in 2002.

Q: Why might Iran want a nuclear weapon?

A: The speculation is that it could give Iran international respect, a hedge against perceived American and Arab hostility, and a bargaining chip to remove some U.S. economic sanctions.

War with Israel is also a possibility, although a remote one, according to many analysts. Iranian officials have talked about one nuclear bomb destroying tiny Israel while hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has talked about wiping Israel off the map of the Middle East.

But Israel is believed to have submarine-based nuclear weapons capable of responding if Tel Aviv is hit by a first strike.

Q: If Iran sought to make a nuclear weapon, how long would it take?

A: That's uncertain. Iran still has yet to enrich uranium in large quantities.

The Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Science and International Security predicts Iran would need a year to get its enrichment equipment working properly and then 18 months or so to make bomb-grade material and other weapon components. Factoring in inevitable setbacks and complications, the institute calculates Iran could have its first bomb by 2009.

Q: What's the status of diplomatic efforts to stop Iran's enrichment program?

A: The United States is trying to bring Iran before the five-member United Nations Security Council, potentially for a vote on economic sanctions. Each member of the panel has veto power over any measures that come before it. So far, three Security Council members — China, Russia and France — have voiced reluctance to endorse sanctions against Iran just yet.

Q: What role does oil play in the diplomatic struggle?

A: It's a factor. China, which imports 13% of its oil from Iran, could be a spoiler if it decides sanctions could hurt its energy supply and it opts for a veto. So far, China's International Atomic Energy Agency representative has been abstaining from votes on formal declarations about Iran's enrichment activities.

Q: Are there any feasible military options?

A: Yes, but they likely would require extensive bombing and result in huge civilian casualties. Iran has spread its nuclear program out over more than a dozen major facilities, some 75 feet or more underground. Many are near cities.

J @ M @ L:
I don't know why everybody is tripping talking about trying to maintain a balance of power when their goal is the exact opposite of what they claim.... and...


--- Quote from: ZILLA THE GOODFELLA on January 23, 2006, 04:00:17 PM ---AND FUC ZIONISM TOO!!

--- End quote ---

str8 up

Sikotic™:
Iran is just talkin' some gangsta shit. There's nothing to be threatened by. Like Zilla said, they just don't wanna play ball with the west & refuse to be bullied.

TraceOneInfinite:
Rod, although your post was decent, you really shouldn't disrespect the leadership in Iran like you do.  I doubt you would be strong enough to stand up against America's pressure if you were in leadership there.  You'd probably cave under the pressure and be a sell-out.  You'd cut some backdoor deal, hook all your homeboys up, and become a "house negro". 

What American's need to understand is that it's not Iran that is anti-US, but rather it is America that is anti-Iran, and Iran is only trying to defend themselves.  It is Iran that is potentially under-siege, not America.  America doesn't like Iran's leadership, simply because they are saying that they have a right to defend themselves and that they have a right to develop their country with their own interests at heart.

J Bananas:
yeah i'm sure they love us over there

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