Think tank: P 5+1 secretly allowed Iran to evade nuke restrictions to allow sanctions to be lifted
The group's president David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector, said that, "the exemptions or loopholes are happening in secret, and it appears that they favor Iran."
Among the exemptions were two that allowed Iran to exceed the deal's limits on how much low-enriched uranium (LEU) it can keep in its nuclear facilities, the report said. LEU can be purified into highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium.
The exemptions, the report said, were approved by the joint commission the deal created to oversee implementation of the accord. The commission is comprised of the United States and its negotiating partners -- called the P5+1 -- and Iran.
One senior "knowledgeable" official was cited by the report as saying that if the joint commission had not acted to create these exemptions, some of Iran’s nuclear facilities would not have been in compliance with the deal by Jan. 16, the deadline for the beginning of the lifting of sanctions.
The U.S. administration has said that the world powers that negotiated the accord -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- made no secret arrangements.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the joint commission and its role were "not secret." He did not address the report's assertions of exemptions.The report says that Congress was notified of the exemptions... after they went into effect. But two key Senators - Republican Bob Corker and Democrat Robert Menendez deny being briefed on the exemptions.
But it gets worse. You see, not only was Iran exempted from the requirement to reduce its LEU... but no one even knows by how much.
As part of the concessions that allowed Iran to exceed uranium limits, the joint commission agreed to exempt unknown quantities of 3.5 percent LEU contained in liquid, solid and sludge wastes stored at Iranian nuclear facilities, according to the report. The agreement restricts Iran to stockpiling only 300 kg of 3.5 percent LEU.
The commission approved a second exemption for an unknown quantity of near 20 percent LEU in "lab contaminant" that was determined to be unrecoverable, the report said. The nuclear agreement requires Iran to fabricate all such LEU into research reactor fuel.
And there's more:
If the total amount of excess LEU Iran possesses is unknown, it is impossible to know how much weapons-grade uranium it could yield, experts said.
The draft report said the joint commission also agreed to allow Iran to keep operating 19 radiation containment chambers larger than the accord set. These so-called "hot cells" are used for handling radioactive material but can be "misused for secret, mostly small-scale plutonium separation efforts," said the report. Plutonium is another nuclear weapons fuel.
The deal allowed Iran to meet a 130-tonne limit on heavy water produced at its Arak facility by selling its excess stock on the open market. But with no buyer available, the joint commission helped Tehran meet the sanctions relief deadline by allowing it to send 50 tonnes of the material -- which can be used in nuclear weapons production -- to Oman, where it was stored under Iranian control, the report said.
The shipment to Oman of the heavy water that can be used in nuclear weapons production has already been reported. Albright's report made the new assertion that the joint committee had approved this concession.Wow....
You can bet that now that it's more than a year and a half later, Hillary Clinton's response will be 'what difference does it make now?' But it still does make a difference. Clinton supports the deal. Trump says he will 'renegotiate' it. Okay, I will grant that renegotiating the deal after all that money is out the door only has a chance of solving the nuclear weapons problem, and not the terror money problem. But at some point, actions have to have consequences.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Bob Corker, Hillary Clinton, Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat, John Kerry, Robert Menendez, uranium enrichment
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:26 AM
4 Comments:
That photo should include a giggling Valerie Jarrett. She's always been the one driving ChoomDaddy's Iran policy.
I still maintain that Iran has been, in practical terms, a nuclear state since mid 2012, Obama knew they were and agreed to a quiet detente with them to cover it up so he wouldn't lose the election. In exchange the fake deal gave them almost everything demanded. And things have so insanely awry for the west at this point that regardless of who wins on election day the Iranians will feel they can announce all these facts in early next year. If Hillary wins it won't matter to Iran because she won't do anything. If Trump wins it will be to create deterrence.
OT: Arafat grave / Austin Rabbi
Dear Community,
As many of you have learned through news coverage and social media this week, a particular item in the draft itinerary for the congregation's trip to Israel next summer has drawn some criticism and generated an egregious online campaign against Rabbi Blumofe. Here is a link to an article that appeared in the New York Jewish Week. Another article is set to appear in the Times of Israel. Additional articles will likely be published as well.
First and foremost, the CAA Board of Directors unanimously stands behind Rabbi Blumofe and his lifetime of work in supporting Israel and the Jewish community, and in guiding us through both the joyous and difficult times in our lives. We are deeply grateful for our dynamic partnership and our long-standing ties with Rabbi Blumofe.
Some of you contacted Rabbi Blumofe or board members directly with your reactions to the draft itinerary, both positive and negative. We thank you for your honest and respectful feedback. The Board of Directors listened to the criticism and discussed the issue with Rabbi Blumofe over the past month.
Because the draft itinerary was publicly circulated, there are now security risks for trip participants and the itinerary has been withdrawn. A revised itinerary will be created with input from CAA's leaders and some additional community members. There will be a meeting at 10 a.m. Sunday, September 18, at the synagogue for those interested in signing up for the trip in June. For security reasons, the detailed itinerary will be shared only with those who commit to the trip.
We are a community that supports meaningful dialogue and mutual respect. Our differences are what make us strong. As a Jewish community and as supporters of Israel, we seek to live up to the name "Israel" and wrestle with issues.
Our name is also Agudas Achim, a congregation of brothers and sisters. Like most families, we do not agree on everything, but the atmosphere we create in our tent is a direct result of our decisions and our interactions.
The Board of Directors encourages our community members to continue to engage in respectful dialogue and to reach out to us and to the rabbis directly when you have questions, concerns, or praise.
Once again, we stand united with and fully support Rabbi Blumofe in all his efforts as the spiritual leader of Congregation Agudas Achim.
L'Shalom
Board of Directors, Congregation Agudas Achim, Austin, TX
Trudy: I think you're right, but suspect Iran's "nuclear power" status came about several years earlier.
(Working in early-morning coffee-shortage, so don't hold me to the dates.)
There are known to be so many Nork scientists working in Iran, they have their own private resort on the Caspian Sea. During the middle of 2000s, the Norks set off a nuke test which used plutonium. Iran is known to have been working on implosion.
When the Fordow site was brought on-line in the early 2000s, the earlier site at Natanz became "legacy". Its centrifuges are the ones the IRGC has shut down - as they were going to do anyway.
I believe Iran has crude, bulky, ship-carried weapons which could be sailed into Haifa harbor. What it may not have at this point is one small enough to fit on a rocket.
Also what it doesn't have, at this point, is a reason to bomb Israel. Why should it, when ChoomDaddy is giving the Regime everything in its wildest dreams?
Bombing Israel will be to incur an IDF nuclear response, which will bring chaos upon Iran's Shi'a and therefore bring the Twelfth Imam's return sooner. There's no need for that chaos at present.
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