Iran’s leaders have worked to pursue nuclear energy technology since the 1950s, spurred by the launch of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace program. It made steady progress, with Western help, through the early 1970s. But concern over Iranian intentions followed by the upheaval of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 effectively ended outside [...]

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The private front companies, hidden on the outskirts of Teheran, are designed to operate undetected by the United Nations nuclear inspection teams. Concerns that nuclear weapon production will continue despite Iran’s proclamations of peaceful use only have circulated among Western experts.
One of the front companies will be located in Amir Abad, western Tehran, intelligence sources [...]

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Nervous Arab states fear a war in the Gulf but a nuclear-armed Iran is an even greater concern.
Iranian retaliation against oilfields, refineries and desalination plants in the Gulf, especially in eastern Saudi Arabia, is an obvious worry. Tehran has gone on the record as threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz, the choke point for [...]

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An attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be far more extensive than the 1980 raid. Some of the would-be targets for the Israeli Air Force (IAF) are hardened with concrete coverings and underground rooms. Dozens of planes would have to dodge radar and antiaircraft missile batteries to deliver multiple payloads of penetrating warheads—bought from the [...]

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Iran believed to test missiles for attack on U.S.
Graham warned in 2005 that Iran was not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, but was already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America’s technical infrastructure with the aim of neutralizing the world’s lone superpower.
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Analysts see a host of reasons to keep away from full-scale violence. Shlomo Ben-Ami, former Israeli foreign minister, and Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, write in the Christian Science Monitor that bombing runs alone won’t destroy “any potential clandestine facilities in Iran nor Iran’s knowledge of the enrichment process.” Mohamad ElBaradei, [...]

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A Global Approach to Iranian Nuclear Ambitions
Over the last few years, the United States has lost considerable influence and trust in the Middle East and other regions, undermining the expectations and power of US leadership in the eyes of the world. Today, Iraq remains mired in political discord combined with a tenuous security situation. At [...]

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Yellowcakes (also called urania) are uranium concentrates obtained from leach solutions. They represent an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. Yellowcake concentrates are prepared by various extraction and refining methods, depending on the types of ores. Typically yellowcakes are obtained through the milling and chemical processing of uranium ore forming a coarse powder [...]

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Iran has resumed work on constructing highly sophisticated equipment that nuclear experts say is primarily used for building atomic weapons, according to the latest intelligence reports received by Western diplomats.
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Pentagon chiefs fear that Israeli plans for an attack on Iran’s nuclear programme will fail to destroy the facilities because neither the CIA nor Mossad knows where every base is located.
American commanders worry that Israel will feel compelled to act within the next 12 months with no guarantee that they can do more than slow [...]

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An inside look at the Russian leader’s autocratic regime and his turn away from the West
In 1999, Russian President Boris Yeltsin named Vladimir Putin, an all-but-unknown former KGB officer, as his successor. Putin imposed a discipline on Russia that had been absent since the Soviet Union’s collapse, and he ushered in the beginnings of prosperity [...]

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Abdul Qadir Khan, who is considered to be the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program, said on Friday that the country’s former military regime was aware of the transfer of nuclear technology to North Korea.
AQ Khan told media on Friday that the Pakistani army, which was headed by President Pervez Musharraf then, was aware of the [...]

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The consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran are obvious. Its leaders are theologically motivated and believe Israel should be wiped off the map. It is the chief global sponsor of terrorism through groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Middle East experts believe a nuclear-armed Iran would soon be followed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and [...]

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Destruction of its nuclear cooling tower was important but largely symbolic.
North Korea’s destruction last week of the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear facility was a spectacular piece of geopolitical theater. But as the concrete crumbled, did Pyongyang’s ability to produce plutonium really crumble as well?
The tower’s fall largely was symbolic, say experts. In addition, [...]

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Obama’s feel-good approach puts nuclear deterrent at risk
More worrisome, Mr. Obama has called for de-alerting all of our 450 Minuteman III missiles - taking their warheads off and putting them in storage. This would effectively eliminate this critically important leg of our nuclear Triad. It would make it useless in a crisis, as it would [...]

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The US still has dozens of nuclear war heads stationed throughout Europe, including an estimated 20 in Germany. Yet, hardly anyone thinks this makes sense any more — apart from those at Germany’s Defense Ministry. By Cordula Meyer and Alexander Szandar more…

Russian Bear Roars: Why Is Moscow Risking a New Cold War?
Doubts about Security: German [...]

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Isaac Ben-Israel, a former Israeli Air Force general and now member of the ruling Kadima party, spoke with SPIEGEL about the limits of sanctions in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program. He says Israel is prepared to mount a military strike against the mullah regime if diplomacy fails. more…

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A former head of Mossad has warned that Israel has 12 months in which to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme or risk coming under nuclear attack itself. He also hinted that Israel might have to act sooner if Barack Obama wins the US presidential election.
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Iran ready to strike at Israel’s nuclear heart
Times Online, UK - [...]

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Those are the 40-plus countries with the scientists, engineers and infrastructure for building bombs — and in at least one other case, that of South Africa, a history of having done so.
About a dozen are nuclear “rollback” states, ranging from Sweden and Switzerland, which seriously researched the weapon option in the 1950s and 1960s and [...]

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According to Gen. Michael Moseley, who was recently dismissed from his position as U.S. Secretary of the Air Force, “there is almost zero chance we will fight a nation state” in the 21st century.
While senior American flag officers acknowledge the increasing unlikelihood of great power war in the 21st century, a handful of U.S. think [...]

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Officials from a German government party and the opposition demand that Germany should be freed from some 20 or so remaining U.S. nuclear warheads stored in military bases in the country.
The discussion was launched after an internal U.S. Air Force report found security and safety standards at most nuclear weapons storage sites in Europe fall [...]

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