Can Iran’s current government ever be trusted?

by YankeeJim | April 9, 2012 at 02:32 am

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The answer is no, so why bother? “Negotiating,” being at the table with Iran, provides them a forum for blather. They typically make fools of themselves while throwing out just enough hope that the weakest people in the world may feel compelled to give them slack and more time.

That’s all Iran wants, enough time to advance nuclear development under the noses of the IAEA. What is their end game?

They want to be in the position to aim their weapons at any Western nation with the threat of pushing a button and devastating a population. At that point, they will say they just want to demonstrate readiness and with that gun at the head of some weak nation they may try to extract some economic gain that otherwise would be blocked.

Is time on their side, or is time against Iran?

“IAEA: Iran agrees to nuclear talks

By the CNN Wire Staff

April 9, 2012 -- Updated 1033 GMT (1833 HKT)

(CNN) -- Nuclear talks will resume this week in Turkey between Iran and six world powers, the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported Monday.

"We have agreed with Iran to launch a new round of talks in Istanbul on 14 April," said International Atomic Energy Agency spokesman Michael Mann in a statement. "We are very pleased that these talks, which will address the international community´s concerns on the Iranian nuclear programme, are going ahead after more than one year since we last met."

Agreement comes after weeks of diplomatic wrangling between Tehran and Russia, China, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Faced with mounting pressure from the world powers over its controversial nuclear program, Iran said last month that it was ready to re-engage with the IAEA.

As a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Iran has the right, like other countries, to enrich uranium for commercial and research reactors. But the same facilities that are used for peaceful enrichment can be used to enrich uranium for a bomb. And that's what many Western countries suspect Iran is doing.

Iran insists its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

The Gulf nation's economy has been hit hard by U.S. and European oil and financial sanctions over its nuclear activities, while another round of sanctions targeted the crude oil sales that make up about half of Tehran's revenue.

Israel has threatened to attack Iran's nuclear sites should peaceful alternatives be exhausted, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterating in March that Israel reserved the right to defend itself from the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Iran, meanwhile, has threatened to cut off the Strait of Hormuz -- the only shipping lane out of the oil-rich Persian Gulf -- if it is attacked.

In early March, the head of the IAEA said there were indications that Iran was engaged in the development of nuclear weapons.

"Iran is not telling us everything. That is my impression. We are asking Iran to engage with us proactively, and Iran has a case to answer," said Yukiya Amano, the director general of the IAEA.”