Israel Matzav

Iran: 'It's not about money'

I would love to get Israeli President Shimon Peres' reaction to this. Why Peres? Because more than any other Israeli politician, Slimy Shimon is convinced that if only we would give the 'Palestinians' 'economic opportunity,' they would abandon terrorism and leave us alone to be a 'normal country' without the need for so much security. Iran may be led by the Mad Mullahs, but in turning down Western economic incentives in return for stopping nuclear development, they are doing what any of the Arab countries would do: telling the West that they can't be bought at any price. They hate the Jews and that hatred has no price tag.

Iran rejected recent European overtures to halt its uranium enrichment program in return for incentives, saying it will continue to expand, not halt, its nuclear program, the government spokesman told reporters Saturday.

...

"Iran does not trade its rights in return for incentives," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters. "The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn't need incentives from Europe to obtain its rights."

Though the UN Security Council imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran last month for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, the foreign ministers of the US, Russia, China, Britain and France, along with Germany, also pledged to enhance a 2006 package of political, security and economic incentives to Iran in return for a halt on uranium enrichment.

But Iran has refused, dismissing a third round of sanctions imposed March 3 as "worthless" and "based on political motivations."

Elham, however, said Iran will still talk to Europe about its nuclear program.

"Iran has always stated that the door to dialogue and interaction with the outside world, European or non-European is open," he told reporters, while making it clear that the six nations can't replace the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency in dealing with Iran's nuclear rights and obligations.

"Dialogue doesn't mean creating new institutions to replace legal bodies. We do not accept replacing the IAEA [with some countries which themselves possess nuclear weapons]," he said.

And if any of you still think that Iran is kidding about developing nukes, consider this.

Diplomats in Vienna told The Associated Press Thursday that Iran has assembled hundreds of advanced machines reflecting a possible intention to speed up uranium enrichment.

One diplomat said more than 300 of the centrifuges have been linked up in two separate units in Iran's underground enrichment plant and a third was being assembled. He said the machines apparently were more advanced than the thousands already running underground.

The location is significant, since the aboveground site at Natanz is for experimental work and the underground facility is the working enrichment plant.

Elham said the government hoped to offer "good news" to the nation on Iran's "achievements" on April 8, declared as the National Day of Nuclear Technology.

It refers to April 8, 2006 when Iran for the first time enriched uranium at Natanz.

There was a rumor going around here last week that Israel is going to attack Iran tomorrow (the first day of the Jewish month of Nissan, which is a very significant day in Jewish history; among other things, it was the first day the Tabernacle was put up in the desert). Considering the source (my high school-age daughters), I find it hard to believe, but anything is possible.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:48 PM