Iran's economic troubles are expected to limit its missile and uranium enrichment progress, at least temporarily eliminating the need to consider attacks on Iranian sites that could support nuclear weapons development, Israeli President Shimon Peres said Tuesday (see GSN, Dec. 10).
Iran has vociferously denied seeking highly enriched uranium to use in a nuclear bomb, a suspicion long shared by Israel and Western nations. The enrichment process can produce nuclear power plant fuel but also the key nuclear weapon ingredient.
"Iran's leadership will also have to get up tomorrow morning and give food to their children. What will they give them? Enriched uranium?" Peres said, blaming Iran's financial difficulties on the country's isolation and plummeting international oil demand.
"The United States, Europe and China must cooperate to lower the price of oil in order to curtail Iran's [nuclear] frenzy, which did not stem from the West's conciliatory efforts but rather from its divisiveness," Peres added. "Had the West presented a united front against Iran, it would not have been able to develop its nuclear program to such an extent."
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported Monday that Iran this year boosted its Shahab 3 ballistic missile arsenal from 30 weapons to more than 100 (Mohammed Mar'I, Arab News, Dec. 10).
French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday voiced strong criticism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other top Iranian officials, Agence France-Presse reported.
"We cannot solve this [nuclear] crisis without talking to Iranian leaders," Sarkozy said, adding that "I know perfectly well that the Iranian president does not represent Iran, much less the Iranian people."
"The Iranian people are one of the greatest people of the world, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, cultured and open, but they have the misfortune to be represented today by some of their leaders."
The remarks received a strong rebuke from Tehran, which demanded an appearance yesterday by French Ambassador Bernard Poletti to hear its grievances.
"France's extremist and tactless attitude will have undesirable consequences on relations between the two countries," Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari said, according to Iranian state media (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Dec. 11).
Elsewhere, the United Nations yesterday announced how many nations have reported on their compliance with three U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions targeting Iranian nuclear efforts.
The body has received 90 reports on the first resolution, passed in 2006 to ban nations from selling Iran "items, materials, equipment, goods and technology that could contribute to the country’s enrichment-related, reprocessing or heavy-water-related activities, or to the development of nuclear-weapon delivery systems," according to a press release.
Seventy-seven countries have submitted implementation reports for a 2007 resolution that prohibits weapons sales to Iran and mandates additional asset freezes targeting the country's holdings around the world.
Sixty-three nations have reported on their compliance with the third resolution, which was passed this year and urges governments to “exercise vigilance" in conducting business with specific Iranian banks and other entities. The measure also mandates inspections of suspicious cargo being delivered to Iran as well as additional asset freezes and bans on travel affecting officials linked to Tehran's nuclear and missile efforts (U.N. release, Dec. 10).
In Baghdad, Iraqi officials have urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to engage Iran in direct diplomacy aimed at improving Tehran's relations with neighboring states, Reuters reported.
"The time has come for a new, serious, and calm policy with an open-minded vision," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said (Khalid al-Ansary, Reuters, Dec. 11).
Iranian state media reported Tuesday that Tehran has detained members of an alleged spy network that involved personnel from its nuclear sector, CNN reported.
Those arrested were caught sending information about Iran's nuclear program to outside powers, said the report, which did not specify the number of people arrested or what countries were involved (CNN, Dec. 10).