(New York Post) Benny Avni - Iran's been busy in the weeks between the November signing of the nuclear deal in Geneva and Sunday's signing. Tehran continued to grow its nuclear program, reportedly introducing a new generation of centrifuges to its facilities in Natanz and Fordow, and vigorously building its Arak heavy-water facility. It added 1,000 pounds to its stockpiles of uranium enriched to 5%, and 66 pounds to its 20% stock, getting it close to breakout capacity. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors were turned away when they sought to visit the Parchin military base, where the IAEA indicates that Iranians are experimenting with ways to weaponize nukes. And while the U.S. claims it can undo the rollback of Iran sanctions at any time: Next month, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is to visit Tehran to ink a trade pact worth up to $50 billion a year, which would give Turkey access to Iran's oil and open a major regional market for Iranian goods. Iran is also negotiating an oil-for-goods deal with Russia, worth $1.5 billion a month. Meanwhile, Tehran insists that the November deal affirms its Allah-given right to enrich uranium, while top Iranian figures emphasize that they'll never halt their nuclear program.
2014-01-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive