Anybody worried about nuclear fallout from Iran?

by YankeeJim | February 12, 2012 at 07:29 am

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Nuclear fallout can happen a number of ways: 1) Iranians can threaten Europe and Middle Eastern targets when and if they produce weapons for their already able delivery systems; 2) Israel and the US can attack nuclear development sites in Iran and create waste akin to Japan’s earthquake tsunami disaster or worse; 3) Europeans and other allies can retaliate against Iran militarily that may ignite any number of nuclear polluted storms.

Why worry?

Diverting this disastrous scenario should not be left to bit players like Turkey, nor should it ignite conflict among the world’s largest powers.

Collaboration and consensus-building among world leaders is essential to taming the “supreme leader” beasts inside Iran.

I still think that the best way is to arm and support the Iranian people to let them mitigate their problem while they still have a chance to do so.

New York Times Synopsis

“Iran has been a quasi-theocracy since the ouster of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. It has been at odds with the United States and the West for much of that time.

In recent years, the United States has criticized Iran over its suppression of the Green Movement and its support for militant groups around the region like Hamas and Hezbollah. But the conflict has centered on Iran’s nuclear program, which much of the international community believes is meant to develop weapons.

In November 2011, a report by United Nations weapons inspectorspresented a trove of new evidence that they said makes a “credible” case that “Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device” and that the project may still be under way.

Later that month, the United States and other major Western powers took significant steps to cut Iran off from the international financial system, announcing coordinated sanctions aimed at its central bank and commercial banks. In addition, the United States also imposed sanctions on companies involved in Iran’s nuclear industry, as well as on its petrochemical and oil industries, adding to existing measures that seek to weaken the Iranian government by depriving it of its ability to refine gasoline or invest in its petroleum industry.

In retaliation for the proposed oil embargo and sanctions, Tehran issued a blunt warning in late December that it would block theStrait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil transit point, if Western powers attempted to impose an embargo on Iranian petroleum exports. Both the Defense Department and the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, made statements that suggested American warships would stop the Iranians if necessary.

On Dec. 31, President Obama signed new sanctions aimed at stopping Iran’s oil exports.

A week later, Iranian officials made a defiant declaration that the country was on the verge of starting production at its second major uranium enrichment site.

RELATED: Iran: Nuclear Program | Haleh Esfandiari | New York Times Special Report: The C.I.A. in Iran | Strait of Hormuz”