DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A “big and unforgivable” sin. A Western falsehood. An attempt to deprive developing nations of peaceful nuclear technology.
That’s how Iran’s supreme leader addresses allegations that the Islamic Republic seeks atomic weapons.
Iran’s denials — while forceful and delivered from the pinnacle of its ruling Islamic system — can carry a hollow ring among its foes as the U.N. nuclear watchdog piles on worries: Complaining about limits on inspection access and reporting that Iran is expanding its nuclear fuel labs in a virtually attack-proof underground site.
They are enriching uranium far beyond what is needed for their lone energy reactor and preventing inspection, adding to the urgency while repeatedly predicting Israel will be destroyed and actively supporting militancy in the region.
But, as Israel weighs the option of a military strike, Western leaders wary of another Middle East conflict might have to pay closer attention to the claims by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others. Quite possibly, they might be telling the truth. Or at least to a point.
Iran could be shaping its nuclear ambitions after Japan, which has the full scope of nuclear technology — including the presumed ability to produce warhead-grade material — but has stopped short of actually producing a weapon. It creates, in effect, a de facto nuclear power with all the parts but just not pieced together.
More than two years ago, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani essentially embraced Tokyo’s nuclear model during a visit to Japan that included a stop in Nagasaki, one of the two cities destroyed by American atomic bombs World War II.
Larijani met with Japanese officials and praised the country’s nuclear program as a symbol of a third path that dates back to the 1970s, when then-Japanese Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata told reporters that Japan “certainly” could possess nuclear arms “but has not made them.”
The major difference, however, is Israel and other U.S. allies, such as Saudi Arabia. They would have to adapt to a huge balance-of-power shift with Iran on the doorstep of having nuclear arms.
Following Japan’s path would allow Iran to push their nuclear technology to the limit while being able to claim it has adhered to its international pledge not to develop a bomb.
Yoel Guzansky, an Iranian affairs expert for Israel’s Institute of National Security Studies, thinks Iran could be adopting a Japan-style policy to reach a “nuclear threshold.”
“Israel can’t live with the uncertainty of a nuclear threshold state,” he said. “Iran could push over (to weapons capability) at any given moment.”
The world, however, has absorbed the game-changing nuclear arms development of states such as China and Pakistan. Israel, too, is thought to have a nuclear arsenal although officials neither confirm nor deny its existence.
This is where Iran might seek seams in the unity of the West and its allies: Could some live with an almost-armed Iran rather than risk a war?
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Nuclear reactor reaches full capacity, Iran says • TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s sole operational nuclear power reactor has reached full capacity, a senior official said Saturday.
Iran’s deputy nuclear chief, Mohammad Ahmadian, said the reactor at the Bushehr power plant was brought to its “full capacity of 1,000 megawatts” Friday evening. The reactor went into operation for the first time last year at minimum capacity.
The Islamic Republic built the nuclear power plant in the southern Iranian port city with Russian help. The facility is a cornerstone of Iran’s drive to become a technological leader among Muslim nations.
The United States and some of its allies think the Bushehr plant is part of an Iranian attempt to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusation, saying its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The Associated Press
