Iran our next stop in our mideast world tour?

(CNN) – Iran’s Cabinet has authorized the construction of another 10 uranium enrichment plants, the state news agency IRNA announced Sunday, further defying international calls to halt its production of nuclear fuel.
The Iranian Cabinet approved existing plans for five more facilities similar to its current plant at Natanz and ordered planning for five more to begin, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The dispatch quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying that the new plants will be used to produce fuel for civilian nuclear power stations.
The move comes two days after the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, passed a resolution demanding that Iran stop construction on a previously secret nuclear facility at Qom. The agency also repeated calls for Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program. The agency said it would not comment on Sunday’s announcement.
Iran has said its uranium enrichment program is aimed at producing fuel for civilian power plants. But the United States and other countries have accused Tehran of working toward a nuclear bomb, and the IAEA’s Friday resolution stated that Iran’s refusal to comply with international demands “does not contribute to the building of confidence.”

I think almost everyone saw the “negotiations” ending. It was such an obvious stall tactic. Pretty much textbook.

They are either A) holding out for some sort of deal from the UN, B) Want a nuke to bargain with c) actually want to nuke isreal.

I think that Iran might actually be trying to do what it says and build fuel for civilian power plants, the other thing here is that Iran is doing what few nations on the planet will and defy the US because it knows it’s strategic position in the worlds politics. As of 2005 Iran was listed as having the 3rd largest oil reserves in the world, and was the 4th largest exporter as the US was again the largest importer. Iran has stopped trading oil in dollars and subsequently trades in Euros which means they can produce less oil and make more profit. This angers the US as it weakens our position in the world and one of the main talking points as to why we went into Iraq as Saddam Hussein did the same thing. Attacking Iran would be the end of the United States as you KNOW it. The American people won’t allow the use of force in Iran, too much of the middle class has been effected by the losses in Afghanistan and Iraq. Unless of course something terrible happens but it will most likely be a false flag like The Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam and this Iraq war was. The entire world would faction off if there was a fight in Iran, especially as much of the world relies on Iran for oil. Besides, we wouldn’t start the war, most likely Israel would and we would rally a coalition.

With our dollar going down we are losing political clout in the world which was exhibited at the Chinese summit for the US president, a very level playing field as seen by the rest of the world. The US was not greeted as it was in the past. The Chinese in 10 years will be the leading superpower barring an all out world war.

Times, they are a changing.

I initially believed they were in it for civilian power only, but after looking at the access to free fuel rods and engineering they were offered, combined with the way they have acted during the back & forth “negotiations” it is clear they are in it for something else.

True, however keep in mind the culture and the cultural view of the US on part of their culture. It is not hard to see why they would want to defy our heavy handed rule of law.

Not saying that they should be given nuclear weapons, just saying that seeing it from both sides is not that difficult.

The negotiations included options that had nothing to do with the United States. If they did not have any other motive, they would have taken one.

I think the easiest way to sum this is up is to say that they have realized that whoever has the oil has the power… and they have the oil.

Hmmm, maybe for the world, but for us, not in top 15. Canada is our Number 1:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html

Yeah with how they handled their election over there, the sheer number of enrichment sites, secret sites…yeah lets not kid ourselves, something not “kosher” is going on over there.

Its also not the fact that they may have a bomb that’s bad, its the “what ifs” that run around uprising and terrorists grabbing them, because we know how well they secure stuff over there. The world is a pretty fucked up place right now.

This has nothing to do with oil.

Not sure what you mean by this. Since when has Iran been known to lose military weapons of mass destruction?

The most probable reason is for bargaining power in the region. Nations don’t tend to build nukes to use them.

Yeah but wackos in power have a tendency to want to use them.

However N.Korea has seemed to calm down.

Not on a WMD level but when I wan in Iraq we were shelled with Iranian munitions on a regular basis.

Funny that the only wacko in power who ever actually used one was FDR. It only worked for him because he was the first to have one. Once another leader got a nuke they became obsolete thanks to assured mutual destruction. The threat of nukes makes for a great bargaining chip though.

I hope that Iran socially implodes before anything big happens. I have this pipe dream that digital age of instant information will help them see how stupid it is to allow themselves to be governed by a divinely selected supreme dictator. :cjerk: Really? A dictator selected by God in 2009? Really?

I’ve had it with the middle east. As far as I’m concerned Iran and Iraq, and North Korea should be pilladged and turned into desert waste land.

I am going to assume you actually know which president used the A-bomb and that was just a mistake.

Israel is a big part of this.

FDR was 6 feet under when we dropped the bomb.

if i had said what Don said you’d all be at my neck with anti-canadianism…lol

i agree with Don.

And thank goodness Just Karter will never have any authority over any type of military or mega big lasers or anything…

:picard: to me. Truman.

sorry, but the U.S. cannot tell one country that they are not allowed to build nuke power plants as we keep building them.

Contrast this situation against Japans nuclear energy program.