Iran closer to nuclear bomb, émigré opposition says
Reuters, October 26, 2007
BRUSSELS, Oct 26 (Reuters)
- Iran may be closer to developing nuclear weapons than
three to eight years believed by the U.N. nuclear watchdog,
the country's émigré opposition said on Friday.
And changing Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani,
showed the country no longer needed to play for time in
negotiations to push ahead with its nuclear programme, the
National Council of Resistance of Iran said.
The group was the first to report in 2002 the existence in
Iran of uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and heavy
water plant at Arak, facilities the West suspects could be
used for the production of the atomic bomb.
Tehran insists its activities are peaceful.
"According to our intelligence, the Iranian regime is closer
to having a bomb than what Mr ElBaradei says," the Council's
expert, Alireza Jafarzadeh, told a news conference,
referring to Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief of the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
ElBaradei said this week there was still plenty of time for
diplomacy, sanctions, dialogue and incentives to bear fruit
in negotiations with Iran, but the Council disagreed.
"We are talking about last minutes to prevent the Iran
regime from having a bomb," Jafarzadeh said.
"By replacing Larijani with another revolutionary guard
commander, the Iranian regime has sent a very clear message
that it is closer to a bomb, as there is no need for
negotiations as was the case in previous years," he added.
Iran's new chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, is a close ally
of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Council also welcomed new sanctions against Teheran
imposed by the United States on Thursday, saying they would
hit the operations of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Washington accused the Revolutionary Guard of spreading
weapons of mass destruction and labelled Iran's Qods
military force a supporter of terrorism
"The designation of the Revolutionary Guard and other
related entities ... is important. It harms the
Revolutionary Guards' significant financial resources, puts
a squeeze on them, makes their operations very difficult,"
said Jafarzadeh.
