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Politicians as Usual: Gore Dean and the Greens
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Weekend
Edition
December 13 / 14, 2003
Chronology of a Pretext
in Progress
The
Saga of Iran's Alleged WMD
By SASAN FAYAZMANESH
In an article that I wrote for CounterPunch
in early July 2003, I discussed the events leading to the
June 19 report on Iran's nuclear activities prepared by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The report, as I pointed out, was
not the damning account that the holy alliance, US-Israel (USrael),
expected to see. A damning report would have given USrael the
justification to either report Iran to the UN Security Council
for violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or
bomb certain nuclear facilities in Iran with impunity.
In either case, USrael would have achieved
victory. In the first case, the UN potentially could have imposed
economic sanctions against Iran, similar to those imposed on
Iraq in the early 1990s. This would have wrecked the Iranian
economy and, in the estimate of USrael, helped to overthrow the
current Iranian government in favor of a USrael-friendly regime.
Or, it would have led to a scenario similar to the one in Iraq,
where after years of sanctions an attack would have been waged
against a defenseless country for not destroying its nonexistent
weapons of mass destruction. In the case of a surgical strike,
similar to what Israel did in Iraq in 1981, USrael would destroy
Iranian nuclear facilities, including its power plant in Bushehr.
This, according to the USraeli calculation, would maintain the
monopoly of USrael as a nuclear power. Moreover, such an attack
would terrorize the Iranians and show the impotence of their
government. This scenario, too, USrael hopes, would lead to the
overthrow of the present government in Iran and the installment
of a colonial regime friendly to USrael.
To follow the saga of USrael's attempt
to use Iran's alleged WMD to overthrow the Iranian government,
I will chronicle below a sample of news reports that have appeared
since July, 2003, on Associate Press (AP), United
Press International (UPI), Reuters, Agence
France Presse (AFP), and some newspapers. The sample
needs no commentary, since it clearly shows that the aim of USrael
is to use the excuse of WMD to achieve results similar to those
achieved in Iraq.
Chronicle
AP (July 2, 2003)-JERUSALEM- Israeli officials urged the United States and
Europe on Monday to pressure Iran to stop its alleged nuclear
weapons programs after Tehran inaugurated a missile capable of
hitting Israel. . . Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told European
Union foreign ministers in Brussels that Iran's nuclear program
was threatening world stability and warned the new missile could
also reach Europe. "The EU should take a key role in the
last efforts to prevent them from having this ability,"
he said.
The Washington Post (August 13)- A grim warning from Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to President Bush that Iran is much
closer to producing nuclear weapons than U.S. intelligence believes
has triggered concern here that Israel is seriously considering
a preemptive strike against Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor. Sharon
dramatized his forecast by bringing Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, a
three-star army officer who serves as his military secretary,
to a meeting with Bush in the Oval Office two weeks ago. . .
Galant showered a worried-looking Bush with photographs and
charts from a thick dossier on Iran's covert program.
The Jerusalem Post (August 19)-TEHERAN
- Iran, building its first nuclear
reactor and planning a second, said Israel would "pay dearly"
if it attacks the nuclear installations, as it did an Iraqi facility
in 1981. Hamid Reza Asefi, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, told
reporters Monday that he hopes Israel, which has warned against
Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program, will not resort to such
an "adventure." "At any rate, the Zionist regime
proved to be adventurous in the past and doesn't abide by any
principles. In case it will commit such a mistake, it will pay
dearly," he said.
Reuters (August 22)-WASHINGTON- The United States, convinced
Iran is deceiving the world about its nuclear ambitions, has
launched a campaign to bring the issue before the U.N. Security
Council, including a top official's trip next week to Moscow.
Undersecretary of State John Bolton, the Bush administration's
senior non-proliferation official, will urge Russia and other
countries to lay the Iranian nuclear issues at the feet of the
international community's premier body, U.S. officials told Reuters
on Friday.
AP (September 9)-JERUSALEM- Israel has hinted at possible military action
to stop what it calls a nightmare scenario - nuclear weapons
in the hands of Iran - but for now is waiting for U.S. diplomatic
pressure and closer international scrutiny to do the job. . .
Israel estimates Iran is just two to three years from having
nuclear weapons. . . If diplomacy fails, Israel, which is about
600 miles to the west of Iran, has made clear a military operation
is feasible. . . Israeli security officials said Iran's nuclear
program is a focus of the army's five-year strategic plan, and
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered the Mossad spy service
to keep a close eye on the developments in Tehran. . . "Any
Iranian regime knows of course that Israel has the capability,
the wherewithal, to deal with a military threat," said Zalman
Shoval, an aide to Sharon. "Hopefully, a military threat
can be avoided, nipped in the bud ... before it begins and this
is where the United States comes in." Israel has never confirmed
being a nuclear power, but it is widely believed to have nuclear
weapons.
AP (September 12)-VIENNA- After days of intense lobbying by the United
States, diplomats appeared likely to set an October deadline
for Iran to prove it is not trying to make nuclear weapons. Ahead
of Friday's meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's
board of governors, Iran warned it would not accept any deadline
that carries the possibility of future U.N. Security Council
involvement. But diplomats said that by late Thursday, more than
20 members of the 35-nation board had indicated they would vote
in favor of the resolution, with an unknown number likely to
abstain.
AFP (September 13)-TEHRAN- Iran has angrily hit back at the UN nuclear
watchdog for imposing an October 31 deadline on the Islamic republic
to prove it is not secretly developing atomic weapons, dismissing
the resolution as "political." Amid warnings that future
cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
could be in doubt, Tehran's ambassador to the body, Ali Akbar
Salehi told the official news agency IRNA that "Iran cannot
take part in a political process." . . State television
said in a commentary that the resolution was "political",
and "directed by the United States and the Zionist regime
(Israel)."
AP (September 17)-WASHINGTON- Iran's nuclear program is a threat to the Middle
East as well as the United States, a State Department official
told U.S. and Israeli lawmakers Wednesday. Paula DeSutter, assistant
secretary of state for verification and compliance, told the
U.S.-Israel Joint Parliamentary Committee that Iran is likely
to develop missiles capable of reaching the United States or
Western Europe. DeSutter's comments were echoed by the four U.S.
lawmakers and four Israeli Knesset members on the panel. Israeli
lawmaker Yuval Steinitz warned that Iran's nuclear program could
reach the "point of no return" by next year. "Time
is running out," he said.
Reuters (September 19)- BRUSSELS/VIENNA- Britain, Germany and France defied the United
States last month by offering Iran the prospect of sharing technology
if it stops its disputed nuclear fuel enrichment program and
accepts tougher U.N. inspections. Western diplomats told Reuters
a joint letter by the big three European foreign ministers, the
content of which has not previously been disclosed, was delivered
to Tehran in early August despite intense lobbying by Washington.
It highlighted a gulf between the administration of President
Bush and even its closest European ally, Britain, on whether
to engage or isolate the Islamic republic.
AFP (September 24)- JERUSALEM- Israel's military chief of staff issued a warning
over the danger represented by non-conventional weapons of "an
irresponsible" state such as Iran. "The fact that a
country like Iran, an enemy (of Israel) and which is particularly
irresponsible, has equipped itself with non-conventional weapons
is worrying," General Moshe Yaalon told military radio.
"The combination in this case of a non-conventional regime
with non-conventional weapons is a concern," Yaalon said
in an interview to mark the Jewish new year. "At the moment
there is ongoing international diplomatic activity to deal with
this threat and it would be good if it succeeds. But if that
is not the case we would consider our options," the general
added. Israel has come to regard Iran as its chief military threat
since the downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.
Reuters (September 25)-WASHINGTON- President Bush said on Thursday that Iran faces
"universal condemnation" if it keeps pursuing a nuclear
weapons program. Bush told reporters Iran's alleged pursuit of
a nuclear weapon will be on the agenda for his talks on Friday
and Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Camp David.
"It is very important for the world to come together to
make it very clear to Iran that there will be universal condemnation
if they continue with a nuclear weapons program," Bush said.
Reuters (October 9)-LONDON- A senior U.S. official predicted on Thursday
Iran will seek to "throw sand" in the world's eyes
to prevent a showdown over an October 31 deadline for Tehran
to dispel international suspicion of its nuclear ambitions. "I
think what will happen prior to October 31st is the Iranians
will cooperate a little bit and the issue will be, 'Did they
cooperate enough?"' U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton
told reporters in London, speaking about the deadline set by
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "They will
try and throw sand in our eyes and use a modest level of cooperation
to hide some level of obfuscation and lack of cooperation, to
conceal as much as they can, to delay, to fight for time, and
to avoid having the issue referred to the (U.N.) Security Council,"
he added. Bolton predicted that if unchecked, Iran could have
nuclear weapons capability "toward the end of the decade,"
though some people theorize it could be much sooner, he said.
AFP (October 12)-JERUSALEM- Newspapers were gripped by US and German press
reports of Israel's nuclear capabilities and that spy agency
Mossad has drawn up preemptive plans to attack six nuclear sites
in archfoe Iran. The Yediot Aharonot, Maariv and Haaretz dailies
splashed on a Los Angeles Times report that modified US-made
cruise missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads on submarines,
allowing Israel to launch atomic weapons from land, air or sea.
The three newspapers also carried reports in Monday's edition
of the Germany Der Spiegel magazine that a special Mossad unit
received orders two months ago to prepare plans for strikes on
half-a-dozen targets in Iran suspected of being used to prepare
nuclear weapons. Complete destruction of the targets by F-16
fighter bombers was deemed achievable by Mossad, it said, citing
Israeli security officials.
Reuters (October 15)-VIENNA- The U.N. nuclear watchdog asked to look at military
sites in Iran as part of its investigation to determine if Iran
has a secret atomic weapons program as the United States alleges,
diplomats said Wednesday. Diplomats also said it was very likely
that the U.N. agency's governing board would choose to report
Iran to the U.N. Security Council in November, though it would
almost certainly not press for any kind of sanctions yet.
AP (October 16)-WASHINGTON- Acting through a prominent conservative with friends
at the Pentagon, a central figure in the Iran-Contra scandal
has passed allegations to the Bush administration that enriched
uranium was smuggled from Iraq into Iran five years ago and some
may remain hidden in Iraq. The intermediary, Michael Ledeen,
said the CIA failed to aggressively check out the allegations
because of its long-held distrust of Manucher Ghorbanifar, the
middleman in the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages deals of the Reagan
years. The CIA agrees it is skeptical of information from Ghorbanifar,
saying he has "proven to be a fabricator."
AP (October 22)-TEHRAN- With the European Union now in his corner, Iran's
president on Wednesday described the showdowns over the country's
nuclear ambitions as a diplomatic "boxing match" with
the United States. . . Iran is claiming victory in the latest
round. A promise to expand the bounds of nuclear inspections
and suspend uranium enrichment-made Tuesday after talks with
foreign ministers from Germany, France and Britain-is expected
to secure Iran's immediate goal: keeping allegations of a secret
atomic weapons program from reaching the U.N. Security Council.
But Iran also displayed its ability to work the diplomatic seams
as part of a broader strategy to isolate Washington on the nuclear
issues, experts said. Iran-facing an Oct. 31 deadline to prove
its nuclear program is peaceful-reached out to EU heavyweights
that favor dialogue with the Islamic rulers. The tougher line
favored by Washington suddenly appeared stalled.
AFP (October 23)-VIENNA- Iran delivered a report to the UN nuclear watchdog
to allay international concern about its nuclear program, just
a week ahead of a deadline to prove it is not secretly developing
atomic weapons. . . The keenly-awaited handover of the report
comes two days after three EU foreign ministers visited Tehran
to persuade the Islamic republic to come clean on its nuclear
program and allow tougher inspections of nuclear sites. The report
"fully discloses all our past peaceful activities in the
nuclear field," said Iranian ambassador to the International
Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, who handed over the documents
to IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.
AFP (October 31)-VIENNA- The UN nuclear watchdog described Iran's declaration
on its atomic program as comprehensive but cautioned that the
jury is still out on its accuracy, as a crunch deadline falls
Friday for the Islamic Republic to prove it is not secretly making
the bomb. . . International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed
ElBaradei said in Canada Thursday that the report Iran filed
October 23, a week ahead of an IAEA deadline Friday for Iran
to prove it is not making nuclear weapons, "looks comprehensive.".
. He stressed however that IAEA (International Atomic Energy
Agency) inspectors were " in Iran now, verifying that declaration."
AP (November 2)-MOSCOW- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived Sunday in
Moscow, where he is expected to talk with President Vladimir
Putin over Israel's concerns over Iran's nuclear program and
a Russian-backed U.N. resolution on a Mideast peace plan. Iran
has pledged to open its nuclear program to unfettered inspections
and to suspend uranium enrichment. But Israeli officials fear
Iran is continuing to covertly acquire nuclear arms know-how,
at least some of it from countries of the former Soviet Union,
possibly including Russia. The head of Israeli military intelligence
told a parliamentary committee last week that, if unchecked,
Iran would have a self-sufficient nuclear weapons capability
by next summer.
AP (November 10)-VIENNA- A confidential United Nations nuclear agency
report has found "no evidence" to back U.S. claims
that Iran tried to make atomic arms, but it cannot rule out the
possibility because of past cover-ups by Tehran, diplomats told
The Associated Press on Monday. . . Citing the report by the
head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency,
the diplomats said the 29-page document faults Iran for not telling
the truth in the past about its nuclear programs.
AFP (November 12)-WASHINGTON)- Visiting Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz
said Wednesday he raised the Jewish state's concerns over Iran's
nuclear program with US officials. Mofaz, speaking after meeting
with Secretary of State Colin Powell, reiterated comments he
made in an address earlier in the day in which he warned that
Iran would reach a "point of no return" in its nuclear
program within a year unless there were concerted efforts to
stop it. . . "Concentrated efforts are needed to delay,
to stop or to prevent the Iranian nuclear program," he said
in the speech, according to a transcript of the event. . . "I
hope that you understand what I said," Mofaz told reporters
at the State Department. . . An Israeli official said earlier
that Mofaz had raised also the matter with US Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday.
Reuters (November 13)-VIENNA- The United States has accused the U.N. nuclear
watchdog of downplaying what it says is clear proof Iran is working
on an atomic bomb, in a dispute over the word "evidence"
reminiscent of the run-up to the war on Iraq. . . The International
Atomic Energy Agency's confidential report obtained by Reuters
concluded there was no evidence yet that Iran's nuclear program
was for anything but peaceful purposes. In the first U.S. reaction,
Undersecretary of State John Bolton said on Wednesday this was
"impossible to believe." . . On Thursday, the IAEA
stuck to its guns. "We stand by the report, but it's classified
and will be considered at next week's (IAEA) board meeting,"
said spokesman Mark Gwozdecky.
AFP (November 13)WASHINGTON- The United States fueled a growing transatlantic
rift over Iran as it dismissed as "impossible to believe"
a report from the UN's nuclear watchdog that said there was no
evidence Iran is pursuing atomic weapons. . . John Bolton, Washington's
top diplomat for arms control, said the International Atomic
Energy Agency's conclusion flew in the face of established facts.
However, he stopped short of directly criticizing IAEA director
general Mohammed ElBaradei who authored the report. . . "After
extensive documentation of Iran's denials and deceptions over
an 18-year period and a long litany of serious violations of
Iran's commitments to the IAEA, the report nonetheless concluded
that 'no evidence' had been found of an Iranian nuclear weapons
program," Bolton said.
AFP (November 17)-JERUSALEM- Iran's nuclear program poses the biggest threat
to Israel's existence since the country's creation more than
five decades ago, the chief of the Mossad overseas intelligence
agency warned MPs. In a rare appearance before the Knesset's
foreign affairs and defence committee, Meir Dagan said Iran was
now close to the "point of no return" in developing
nuclear arms. The program was "the biggest threat to Israel's
existence since its creation" in 1948, he was quoted as
saying Monday. The dire warning comes just three days before
the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), is to decide whether to haul the Islamic
republic before the UN Security Council for hiding sensitive
aspects of its nuclear program.
AFP (November 19)-VIENNA- Israel urged leading European members of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday to take
a tougher stand against Iran's uranium enrichment program. Speaking
on the eve of a crucial meeting at the agency's Vienna headquarters,
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said "a robust European
stand is needed" because "Iran has violated its commitments"
under IAEA rules. Britain, France and Germany are expected to
resist a call from the United States at an IAEA board meeting
scheduled Thursday to cite Iran for non-compliance with the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
AFP (November 19)-ROME- Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called
on EU president Italy to pressure Iran for guarantees about its
nuclear program in talks here Wednesday with Italy's Foreign
Minister Franco Frattini. "The prime minister has asked
Europe to intervene to ensure transparency in Iran's nuclear
program and we told him that we are waiting concrete signs from
Iran," Frattini told reporters after the meeting in Rome
which lasted more than an hour. The European Union has taken
a notably softer line on Iran's nuclear program than the United
States, Israel's closest ally, which insists Teheran is seeking
nuclear weapons in violation of international agreements.
AFP (November 20)- WASHINGTON- The United States confirmed Thursday its desire
to take up Iran's nuclear program before the UN Security Council,
which could place sanctions on the Islamic republic. The State
Department said Washington expected the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), meeting Thursday and Friday in Vienna,
to move in that direction.
AFP
(November 21)-VIENNA- Iran has brazenly and systematically violated
its nuclear non-proliferation obligations, the US ambassador
to the UN atomic watchdog charged. "Iran's breaches of its
obligations have been brazen and systematic and far from merely
'technical' ones," Ken Brill told a board of governors meeting
of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. .
. The United States accuses Iran of secretly trying to develop
nuclear weapons and wants the IAEA's 35-nation board to ask the
UN Security Council to address the claims, a move that opens
the door to possible sanctions.
AFP (November 21)-VIENNA- Europe's big
three--Britain, France and Germany--were toughening a resolution
for a Friday meeting of the UN atomic watchdog in order to reach
agreement with the hard-line United States on warning Iran about
hidden nuclear activities, diplomats said. In intense, sometimes
acrimonious, closed-door negotiations at the Vienna headquarters
of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the "Euro
3" went through two revisions Thursday to move closer to
the US position. They went from talking merely about Iranian
"failures" to comply to saying the IAEA "strongly
deplores Iran's past breaches" of international nuclear
safeguards agreements, according to a text shown to reporters.
AP (November 21)-VIENNA- The United States accused Iran of trying to
make nuclear arms, in harsh comments Friday at a U.N. atomic
agency meeting that reflected the split between Washington and
key European nations over how far to go in censuring Tehran for
past activities. Unable to bridge that rift, delegates at a board
of governors' meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency
decided to adjourn until next week in hopes of finding a compromise.
AFP (November 22)-WASHINGTON- EU and US leaders sought to bridge a transatlantic
divide, this time on tackling Iran's nuclear program, Deputy
Secretary of State Richard Armitage said. "There's movement
on all sides as we fashion the appropriate response," he
told PBS television. . . Armitage said the transatlantic allies
were not at loggerheads. . . "We're still continuing these
discussions," he told the public broadcaster, according
to a transcript provided by the State Department. . . The number-two
US diplomat did not bring up the State Department's earlier goal
of taking the matter before the UN Security Council, which could
decide whether to impose sanctions. On Friday, the State Department
backed off.
AFP (November 23)-JERUSALEM- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is personally
supervising efforts to stop arch enemy Iran from acquiring a
nuclear arsenal, Israeli army radio said on Sunday. Israel's
hardline premier has also instructed the foreign ministry to
lobby other countries to act to stop Iran's nuclear activities,
the radio said. . . Mossad, Israels's overseas intelligence service,
which is directly answerably to Sharon, has been put in charge
of "all other aspects" of efforts to foil the Islamic
republic's alleged covert nuclear programme, it added. . . Israel
and the United States accuse Tehran of trying to develop nuclear
weapons, a charge Iran fiercely denies. . . The plan of action
was drawn up during a special meeting Sharon convened with Foreign
Minister Sylvan Shalom, Defence Minister Shaoul Mofaz and Mossad
agents, the radio said.
AFP (November 25)-TEHRAN- Iran on Tuesday slammed Israel's
campaign to convince the world that the Islamic republic is intent
on acquiring a nuclear weapon. "The falsification of the
facts and negative propaganda about Iran's civilian nuclear activities
are totally motivated by the hostility of the Zionist regime,"
foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi told the student
news agency ISNA. "The Zionist regime is seeking, via political
tactics and false statements, to disturb the atmosphere of the
board of governors' meeting," he said, referring to a session
Wednesday of the 35-member board of the Vienna-based International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's nuclear activities.
AFP (November 25)-VIENNA- The United States yielded to Europe's big threeBritain,
Germany and Francein a compromise UN draft resolution that
condemns Iran's nuclear program but stops short of taking the
issue to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, diplomats
said. "This is a resolution we can live with," a Western
diplomat said of the text for the UN nuclear watchdog that balances
the US call to condemn Iran for almost two decades of covert
nuclear activities with the European demand that Iran be rewarded
for cooperating with the watchdog since October. . . After five
days of intense discussions with US diplomats, the three main
EU countries known as the Euro 3 filed the draft late Monday
with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the
diplomats said.
AFP (November 27)-TEHRAN- Iran has gleefully welcomed a UN nuclear watchdog's
resolution on its atomic program as a victory over arch-foe Washington,
ignoring warnings that international pressure on Tehran may have
only just begun. . . "The United States did not achieve
a single one of its objectives concerning Iran's nuclear activities,"
said Hassan Rowhani, who as secretary of Iran's Supreme National
Security Council handles the country's nuclear affairs. . . Foreign
ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said: "What has taken
place these past few days is the failure of unilateral policies
... and a victory for cooperation, politics and dialogue."
AFP (November 27)-VIENNA- The UN atomic watchdog has given
Iran breathing space over its contested nuclear program but the
United States is lying in wait for revelations of hidden activities
that will clear the way to tougher action, analysts said.
Conclusion
The above chronicle of news items clearly
shows the pattern of behavior of USrael and its true intensions:
To use the nonexistent Iranian atomic weapons program to overthrow
yet another government in the Middle East and to make the region
safe for the USraeli colonial rule. Thanks to the vigilance of
the Europeans-a majority of whom considers USrael to be the "biggest
threat to world peace" (AFP-Nov 3, 2003)-the plan
to start another war in the Middle East was foiled for the time
being. Yet, the saga is not over. USrael is "lying in wait,"
not for "revelations of hidden activities," as the
"analysts" believe, but for an excuse to carry out
a sinister plan.
Sasan Fayazmanesh is Associate Professor of Economics
at California State University in Fresno. He can be reached at:
sasanf@csufresno.edu
Weekend
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