Reply
Sun 1 Jan, 2012 11:21 am
Iran Says It Has Produced Its First Nuclear Fuel Rod
by The Associated Press
January 1, 2012
Iranian scientists have produced the nation's first nuclear fuel rod, a feat of engineering the West has doubted Tehran capable of, the country's nuclear agency said Sunday.
The announcement marks an additional step in Tehran's efforts to achieve proficiency in the entire nuclear fuel cycle — from exploring uranium ore to producing nuclear fuel — despite U.N. sanctions and measures by the U.S. and others to get it to halt aspects of its atomic work that could provide a possible pathway to weapons production.
Tehran has long said it is forced to seek a way to manufacture the fuel rods on its own, since the sanctions ban it from buying them on foreign markets. Nuclear fuel rods are tubes containing pellets of enriched uranium that provide fuel for nuclear reactors.
Iran's atomic energy agency's website said the first domestically made rod has already been inserted into the core of Tehran's research nuclear reactor. But it was unclear if the rod contained pellets or was inserted empty, as part of a test.
"Scientists and researchers at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have succeeded in producing and testing the first sample of a nuclear fuel rod," said the announcement.
The U.S. and some of its European allies accuse Iran of using its nuclear program as a cover to develop atomic weapons. Iran denies the charge, saying the program is for peaceful purposes only and is geared toward generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.
Although the rods are easier to make, Iran is also seeking to produce the pellets with enriched uranium. But so far it is not known whether Iranian nuclear scientists have been able to overcome the technical hurdles to do so.
Tehran focused on domestic production of nuclear fuel rods and pellets in 2010, after talks with the West on a nuclear fuel swap deal ended in failure as Iran backed down on shipping a major part of its stock of enriched uranium abroad in return for fuel.
The announcement on the fuel rod came just a day after Tehran proposed a new round of talks on its nuclear program with six world powers. The last round of negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany was held in January in Istanbul, Turkey, but it ended in failure.
The U.N. has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Tehran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can lead to making a nuclear weapon. Separately, the U.S. and the European Union have imposed their own tough economic and financial penalties.
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
1950s - The US and The UK overthrow Iran's democratically elected government and install a brutal dictatorship in order to steal the country's oil wealth.
Following the "logic" of the west, Iran is fully within its rights to invade those countries to shock and awe them into complete submission. If Israel can possess nuclear weapons, there's no legitimate reason to stop Iran from having them. There are, of course, many bogus ones - the hypocrites of the US and the UK think up new ones all the time.
@JTT,
JTT wrote:1950s - The US and The UK overthrow Iran's democratically elected government and install a brutal dictatorship in order to steal the country's oil wealth.
You overlook the role of the Iranian clerics in the overthrow (the same clerics who later overthrew the Shah and rule Iran today). The Shah wasn't just something that was imposed on Iran from out of the blue with no support from the Iranians.
And the US was interested in fighting Communism. The oil was beside the point.
JTT wrote:If Israel can possess nuclear weapons, there's no legitimate reason to stop Iran from having them.
Sure there is: the Non Proliferation Treaty.
If we found out that a nabor
who is a malicious lunatic had built a nuke in his basement,
then swift action, in the name of self defense, is in order!
David
@OmSigDAVID,
apparently you dont seem to understand the dofference between a fuel rod and a CM of highly enriched "oralloy"
@farmerman,
We can 't afford to fool around
and wait around.
@oralloy,
Quote:And the US was interested in fighting Communism. The oil was beside the point.
More bald faced lies from Oralboy, the slurper of Uncle Sam's jism.
Quote:Obama admits US involvement in 1953 Iran coup
(AFP) – Jun 4, 2009
CAIRO (AFP) — US President Barack Obama made a major gesture of conciliation to Iran on Thursday when he admitted US involvement in the 1953 coup which overthrew the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
"In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government," Obama said in a keynote speech to the Muslim world in Cairo.
It was the first time a serving US president had publicly admitted American involvement in the coup.
The US Central Intelligence Agency, with British backing, masterminded the coup after Mossadegh nationalised the oil industry, run until then by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
For many Iranians, the coup demonstrated duplicity by the United States, which presented itself as a defender of freedom but did not hesitate to use underhand methods to get rid of a democratically elected government to suit its own economic and strategic interests.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j8-a9Bpq471PDjYA2z6WazPmIZqw
@OmSigDAVID,
You are such a doofus, Om. It's so hard to imagine how someone as igorant as you could have ever functioned as a lawyer.
Weren't you disbarred for taking kickbacks?
@farmerman,
farmerman wrote:apparently you dont seem to understand the dofference between a fuel rod and a CM of highly enriched "oralloy"
The problem isn't fuel rods. The problem is Iran is rushing to develop every technology they would need to build nuclear weapons, all while illegally blocking IAEA inspectors.
@JTT,
JTT wrote:Oralloy wrote:And the US was interested in fighting Communism. The oil was beside the point.
More bald faced lies from Oralboy, the slurper of Uncle Sam's jism.
Quote:Obama admits US involvement in 1953 Iran coup
(AFP) – Jun 4, 2009
CAIRO (AFP) — US President Barack Obama made a major gesture of conciliation to Iran on Thursday when he admitted US involvement in the 1953 coup which overthrew the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
"In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government," Obama said in a keynote speech to the Muslim world in Cairo.
It was the first time a serving US president had publicly admitted American involvement in the coup.
The US Central Intelligence Agency, with British backing, masterminded the coup after Mossadegh nationalised the oil industry, run until then by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
For many Iranians, the coup demonstrated duplicity by the United States, which presented itself as a defender of freedom but did not hesitate to use underhand methods to get rid of a democratically elected government to suit its own economic and strategic interests.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j8-a9Bpq471PDjYA2z6WazPmIZqw
No lies on my part. I never said we were not involved.
As usual, your name-calling is no substitute for actual facts.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace