IRAN IS ON THE WAY TO NUCLEAR POWERS
Karine Ter-Sahakyan
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.02.2009 GMT+04:00
If we believe the English paper "The Times", Washington is considering
the previously unthinkable variant – to turn to Iran with the request
to use her territory for deliveries.
Iran successfully completed the Bushehr nuclear power plant trial
run, thus taking the first step towards the nuclear powers. However,
Russia has had her role in the realization of this step, and it was
rather predictable. The atomic station "Bushehr" has been built for
30 years. Russia joined the construction process only in 1995, while
before it the construction works were carried out by western companies,
which also supplied the power plant with part of the equipment that
has been kept in the site for more than 20 years.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ It’s quit clear that "Bushehr" is part of Iran’s
nuclear program, because of which, by the hand of 43rd US President
George Bush, this country became a Â"social outcastÂ". However,
the reality is that not so much the "Bushehr" as the centrifuges at
Natanz pose a real threat to the world. As fuel the Iranian power
plant uses lead and not enriched uranium, the latter being necessary
only for full-power operation of the reactor and pretending to become
the nuclei of the atomic industry of Iran. By the way, this is what
the world community fears most. However, for some unknown reasons, the
same world community does not fear of the nuclear weapons of Pakistan,
which is more dangerous than Iran. Possibly the reason is that Israel
stands closer to Iran than to Pakistan. And even if this theory is
not quite true, it is at least tempting – to blame the omnipresent
Jewish lobby for everything. By the way, this is what Tehran has been
engaged in for quite a while.
Times are changing however, and what was impossible yesterday may today
be a necessity. As a matter of principle, there is nothing strange
here – nothing is impossible in politics, especially when it comes
to the interests of power states. After the closure of the air base
"Manas", the United States have been looking for new paths to deliver
goods to Afghanistan, desirably bypassing Russia. ¾ of the goods go
through Pakistan but lately there have been cases of attacking convoys
and acts of sabotage on the roads, especially in the region of Khyber
Pass. Islamabad Government is unable to guarantee security. Thus,
there remains only the southern way, i.e. Iran. If we believe the
English paper "The Times", Washington is considering the previously
unthinkable variant – to turn to Iran with the request to use her
territory for deliveries. By the way, Iran will be more compliant
than the RF that laid down her terms: "Traffic must necessarily be
of non-defense character". What will Iran require against the transit
is still a question. Neither is it known whether Washington will turn
to Iran or not. Most likely, the issue will be settled down after the
Presidential Elections in Iran due in June. There is little time left,
and if we also take into account that the USA is deeply concerned with
the victory of ex-President Mohammad Khatami, we should be expecting
certain changes in the region. In any case, even if current President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stays to power, he will have to reconsider his
policy both towards the USA and Russia. After all, no one can guarantee
that Moscow will not arrange the southern variant of the Â"gas warÂ"…
Even the EU has begun to speak in favour of Iran. "The Nabucco
project can be realized only with participation of Iran and Russia,"
declared EC Energy Spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny. Thus, Europe’s
dependence on the Russian gas will be somewhat neutralized through
Iran. But nothing is certain even in this case. Everything depends
on what Russia and the USA will offer Iran, taking into account that
after all Iran is not Kyrgyzstan and she needs more than USD 2 billion
and not in money terms.
As for Russia and Iran, they are currently in the stage of discussions
for a joint enterprise on operating the Bushehr atomic power plant. In
the words of Sergei Kiriyenko, Head of Russia’s state nuclear power
corporation "Rosatom", "Iran and Russia are due to sign a long-term
contract of minimum ten years on delivering nuclear fuel."