. "c4tgetolod by user Leif.Nepstad Taken from \"Yesterday, the International Atomic Energy Association released its latest report on Iran\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nuclear activities, and the news was not good. Basically, it said Iran has continued its uranium enrichment program in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution. But amid all the gloom, there were a few encouraging facts buried in the IAEA report. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t intend to discount the severity of the Iranian situation or how difficult it will be to stop Iran\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nuclear program \u00E2\u0080\u0093 rather, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d like to provide some context for the debate on how to proceed."@en . . . . . . . . "c4tgetolod by user Leif.Nepstad Taken from \"Yesterday, the International Atomic Energy Association released its latest report on Iran\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nuclear activities, and the news was not good. Basically, it said Iran has continued its uranium enrichment program in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution. But amid all the gloom, there were a few encouraging facts buried in the IAEA report. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t intend to discount the severity of the Iranian situation or how difficult it will be to stop Iran\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nuclear program \u00E2\u0080\u0093 rather, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d like to provide some context for the debate on how to proceed. First, Iran has only enriched uranium up to 4.2% U-235, just about the level required to fuel a proliferation-resistant light-water reactor. This is still far below the threshold required to make nuclear weapons (20% U-235 is the minimum required to make a weapon, but most use about 90%). Unfortunately, just because Iran hasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t enriched further doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mean they can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t; the report says nothing about possible technical problems. Second, the IAEA\u00E2\u0080\u0099s inventory of nuclear material at the Natanz pilot plant is \u00E2\u0080\u009Cconsistent with\u00E2\u0080\u009D the inventory supplied by the Iranians themselves. This gives some assurance that nuclear material is not being diverted to secret facilities. However, the main (underground) enrichment facility is not mentioned. Third, while Iran has \u00E2\u0080\u009Cdeclined to agree at this stage\u00E2\u0080\u009D to the use of remote monitoring, in the interim it has allowed \u00E2\u0080\u009Cfrequent inspector access\u00E2\u0080\u009D to the main underground enrichment plant at Natanz \u00E2\u0080\u0093 the IAEA has eyes there, occasionally at least. This agreement will satisfy the IAEA only until the number of centrifuges reaches 500. Fourth, there seem to be only about 500 fully installed centrifuges at Natanz \u00E2\u0080\u0093 if all of them were running at full speed it would take about six years to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb. However, Iran claims it has roughly 350 more \u00E2\u0080\u009Cin final stages of installation;\u00E2\u0080\u009D this seems to be happening sooner than many experts expected. Fifth, the IAEA has found no indications that spent fuel is being reprocessed for plutonium, at any of Iran\u00E2\u0080\u0099s declared nuclear facilities. However, construction continues at Iran\u00E2\u0080\u0099s planned heavy-water reactor, which could produce fuel for nuclear weapons. These are some pretty dim glimmers of hope, but they do indicate that some time remains before Iran will even have enough material to build a nuclear weapon. Given some hints that sanctions and financial pressure might be starting to work, who knows -- there might even be enough time to reach some sort of agreement.\" This is the second article I've read about Iran and their limited uranium enrichment programs and I believe they are not currently developing nuclear weapons. I am, however, rightfully concerned that Iran is likely funding the Sunni militants in Iraq and we should certainly step up talks to put an end to that. __NOEDITSECTION__ From The Opinion Wiki, a Wikia wiki. From The Opinion Wiki, a Wikia wiki."@en . "Hope for peace with Iran?"@en . .