Iranian Nuclear Crisis Timeline

From Left Space

The Iranian Nuclear Crisis Timeline details the events that have led to the contemporary crisis surrounding the Iranian uranium enrichment program.

[edit] December

• December 21: Keeping the hope for war alive! U.S. Ambassador to the IAEA Gregory L. Schulte insists that Iran is a threat because it is a potetential threat: "Iran’s leaders could choose to restart that program. There is no certainty the I.A.E.A. would know, particularly with the director general twice warning us that I.A.E.A. knowledge of Iran’s current activities is diminishing. That is a matter of grave concern. The technology that Iran is mastering today for enrichment — a capability not necessary for Iran to have a peaceful nuclear program — could be readily applied to building a bomb, should Iran’s leaders so decide." Source: n.a. "U.S. Envoy Says Iran Could Revive Halted Nuclear Arms Program." The New York Times. December 22, 2007. New Report. (What about the threat of Isreal's real rather than potential 300 nuclear warheads?)
• December 21: Former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel (former senior adviser to Pres. George W. Bush) repeats threats he heard from Israeli hawks: ""Israel is not going to allow its nuclear monopoly to be threatened." Source: n.a. "Israel Will Attack Iran On Its Own." The Jerusalem Post. December 21, 2007. News Report
• December 21: After failing to achievement agreement on stricter sanctions, U.S. Secretary of State Condolleeza Rice states that her government will, "continue, in the meantime, to step up the pressure behind our diplomacy." Source: Sue Pleming. "Rice Promises More U.S. Pressure On Iran in 2008." Reuters. December 21, 2007. News Report.
• December 20: More evidence of weak leadership from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The P5 plus Germany (United States Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) fail to reach agreement on new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. "I suspect that at some point this is going to have to go to ministers, as it always does. But we think that there's enough continuous forward movement, that it's good for the political officials to keep talking," she stated. Source: n.a. "Powers Fail To Reach Deal On Iran Sanctions." Agence France Presse. December 20, 2007. News Report
• December 17: Russian Foreign Ministry announces that the first shipment of nuclear fuel to the Bushehr plant in Iran. "All fuel that will be delivered will be under the control and guarantees of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the whole time it stays on Iranian territory. Moreover, the Iranian side gave additional written guarantees that the fuel will be used only for the Bushehr nuclear power plant." Source: Jim Heintz. "Russia Makes 1st Nuke Shipment to Iran." Associated Press. December 17, 2007. My Way News.
• December 17: U.S. Pres. George W. Bush uses the Russian fuel shipment to the Iranian Bushehr planet into another provocation against Iranian nationalist sentiment: "If the Russians are willing to do that, which I support, then the Iranians do not need to learn how to enrich. If the Iranians accept that uranium for a civilian nuclear power plant, then there’s no need for them to learn how to enrich." Source: Heleen Cooper. "Iran Receives Nuclear Fuel in Blow to U.S." The New York Times. December 18, 2007. News Report (By the same logic, the U.S. should give up on developing its new generation of space shuttles because the Russians can launch resupply missions to the I.S.S. cheaper.)
• December 15: According to his spokesperson Mati Gil, Isreali Public Security Minister Avi Dichter claims that public revelation of the truth threatens Israel: "The American misconception concerning Iran's nuclear weapons is liable to lead to a regional Yom Kippur where Israel will be among the countries that are threatened. Something went wrong in the American blueprint for analyzing the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat. A misconception by the world's leading superpower is not just an internal American occurrence." Source: Laurie Copans. "Israel: US Report On Iran May Spark War." Associated Press. December 15, 2007. News Report
• December 8: Iranian government ends oil transactions in U.S. dollars. Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari states, "At the moment selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies. The dollar is an unreliable currency, considering its devaluation and the oil exporters' losses." Source: n.a. "Oil Min: Iran Has Halted Oil Transactions In Dollars-AFP." The Wall Stret Journal. December 8, 2007. News Report (Baksheesh: Which of the Iranian regime's favorite currency traders were alerted to this ahead of the announcement?)
• December 2: New National Intelligence Assessment (NIE) throws cold water on the claimed near term "threat" that Iran will acquire its first nuclear weapon. The consensus among U.S. intelligence agencies is that Iran is 10 years from acquiring its first nuclear weapon. Worse for the neo-conservatives trying to march America into another "preemptive war" (code for imperial conquest) the report says that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program back in 2003: "We assess with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program [and] that the halt lasted at least several years." Source: Dafna Linzer. "Iran Is Judged 10 Years From Nuclear Bomb." Washington Post. December 2, 2007. News Report

[edit] August

• August 22: U.S. representative to the IAEA Gregory L. Schulte accuses Iranian government of "clearly trying to take the attention from its continued development of bomb-making capabilities...I don't think the (U.N.) Security Council will be distracted...We are continuing to move forward with other members of the Security Council on a third resolution...If Iran's leaders truly want the world's trust, they would ... start to cooperate fully and unconditionally and suspend activities of international concern...These activities are not necessary for peaceful purposes, but are necessary to build a bomb." Source: George Jahn. "U.S.: Iran Cooperation Insufficient." The Guardian. August 22, 2007. News Report. (Q: And what did Schulte have to say about Isreal's 200 nuclear weapons?)
• August 22: Iranian Defense Ministry announces development of a 2000 lb. "smart bomb" named Qased or Messenger. Source: n.a. "Tehran Says It Has Designed a ‘Smart Bomb'." Reuters. August 22, 2007.
• August 19: U.S. Major-General Rick Lynch offers the second Bush administration an excuse for war against Iran: The enemy is ramping up indirect fire attacks. The enemy is more aggressive. The great concern is about the Iranian munitions he is using...We have some members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. They are facilitating training of Shi'ite extremists. In my battle space ... we think there are about 50 members." Source: Ross Colvin. "Iranian Agents Training Militias in Iraq: U.S. General." Reuters. August 19, 2007. News Report
• August 18: Return to Bombastic Rhetoric. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad describes the Israeli "regime" as "the flag of Satan." He then throws in a threatengin sounding but vague prediction: "When the philosophy of the establishment and the continuation of this regime is not just, it is not unlikely that it is on the path of decline and disintegration." But you wouldn't guess it was vague from some of the headlines the story gets! Source: n.a. "Ahmadinejad: Israel Is 'Flag of Satan,' May Face Disintegration." Reuters and Ha'aretz. August 18, 2007. News Report.
• August 16: U.S. Government offers to pay Israeli Government $30 billion in miltiary aid over a ten year period in return for Israeli permission to sell $20 billion in military goods to Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Gulf States. There is something in this deal for everyone but the American taxpayer and whoever is killed by the weaponry. Israel is allowed to spend 26.3% to buy weapons from itself! The rest of the money must be spent on purchases from U.S. vendors. According to U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns, "there is no question that, from an American point of view, the Middle East is a more dangerous region now even than it was 10 or 20 years ago, and that Israel is facing a growing threat." Source: Steven Erlanger. "U.S. and Israel Sign Military Aid Deal." August 16, 2007. News report (So rather than give Israel a reason to make peace with its neighbors the U.S. gives it an economic incentive to remain at war for another ten years! How corrupt would you have to be to see that as good foreign policy?)
• August 15: The Washington Post and New York Times report that an anonymnous U.S. official has stated that the U.S. government will soon name the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization to punish Iran for its effort to acquire nuclear weapons and its support for clients in Iraq. Such a designation would be the first time the U.S. has ever placed the armed forces of any sovereign state on its list of terrorist organizations. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Karim Sadjadpour the probable reason for the move was domestic, with the U.S. State Department acting in reponse to criticism by Vice President Dick Cheney for negotiating with Iran. Source: Sue Pleming. "U.S. May Soon Label Iran Guard "Terrorist." Washington Post. August 15, 2007. News Report
• August 15: Iranian judicial spokesperson Ali Reza Jamshidi announces that two Chinese nationals were taken into custody for taking photos and recording videotape of a military complex in Arak city. Source: Fred Attewill & Agencies. "Iran Holds Two Chinese 'Spies'." The Guardian. August 15, 2007. News Report
• August 15: Best friend to American protestant fundamentalist theocrats, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Guiliani writes in Foreign Affairs magazine that, "The theocrats ruling Iran need to understand that we can wield the stick as well as the carrot, by undermining popular support for their regime, damaging the Iranian economy, weakening Iran’s military, and, should all else fail, destroying its nuclear infrastructure." Source: By Katherine Q. Seelye. "In Magazine Article, Giuliani Details His Policy on Iran." The New York Times. August 15, 2007. News Report

• August 8: Just a squabble over money or a serious falling out among tacit allies? An anonymous U.S. diplomat claims to have seen the secret evidence that its more than mere money. Iranian Speaker of the Parliament Gholam-Ali Hadad-Adel complains/threatens Russians about delays in completing the joint nuclear power plant in the southern Gulf port of Bushehr: The Bushehr project is symbol for Iran-Russia cooperation... a delay would have a negative impact in the minds of the Iranian government and nation." Source: n.a. "Iranian Speaker Warns Russia Over Further Delay In Nuclear Project." Deutsche Presse-Agentur. August 8, 2007. News Report. However an anonymous U.S. official sought to encourage division (or the appearance of division) by saying that it was more than a matter of payments: "I've seen some stuff that indicates that the delays in providing fuel are more than routine problems over the contract." Source: George Jahn. "Officials: Russia Ups Pressure on Iran." The Guardian. August 7, 2007. News Report.

• August 6: In what may be the most ironic statement of the year, U.S. President George W. Bush described the leadership of the Iranian government as disappointing: "The people of Iran could be doing a lot better than they are today." He then went on to say that, "I believe it is in the interests of all of us that we have an Iran that tries to stabilize not destabilize, an Iran that gives up its weapons ambitions and therefore we are working to that end." Source: n.a. "Bush Calls Iranian Leadership "Big Disappointment." Reuters. August 6, 2007. News Report (Bush probably understands that he is a big diappointment to the American people, and even to his own political party.)
• August 5: Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mohammad Ali Hosseini says there will be slow-down of uranium enrichment: "Iran's nuclear activities continue as planned and scheduled." He denies reports that Iran might accept a slowdown: "Those reports are false and the suspension (of uranium enrichment) is unacceptable. It is completely ruled out." n.a. "Iran Says Atomic Work Has Not Slowed Down." Reuters & Washington Post. August 5, 2007. News Report
• August 5: Heritage Foundation fantasizes about a wider war in the Middle East by conducting a "simulated war game" in which the U.S. bombs the Iranian uranium enrichment infrastructure after Iran withdraws from the NPT and tests a nuclear device. Source: n.a. "Think Tank Envisions Impact of Military Strike on Iran's Nuclear Facilities." Midland Reporter-Telegram. July 5, 2007. News Report
• August 5: Bangladeshi Minister of Power, Energy and Natural Resources Tapan Chowdhury meets with Iranian Ambassador Hasan Farazandeh to ask for Iranian assistance in constructing a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. Source: n.a. "Bangladesh Seeks Iran's Cooperation in Nuclear Energy Sector." IRNA. August 5, 2007. News Report

• August 3: In an speech to the Israel Electric Company's (IEC) Engineers Union Israeli Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer announces that his government plans to build a nuclear power plant in Shivta, in the Negev. Source: n.a. "Ben-Eliezer To Present Nuke Plant Plan." Jeruslaem Post. Augsut 3, 2007. News Report

[edit] July

• July 30: The Jerusalem Post reports that unnamed Israeli government officials were investigating reports that Russia plans to sell 250 two-seat Sukhoi-30 fighters/bombers to Iran. Source: Yaakov Katz & Herb Keinon. "Reports: Iran to Buy Jets From Russia." Jerusalem Post. July 30, 2007. News Report.
• July 29: In an decision said to be intended to counterbalanace Iran but certain to make money for U.S. arms producers the Bush administration announces $20 nillion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Nothing contributes toward achieving the pious wish for "Peace in trhe Middle East like another $20 billion in weapons.
• July 26: Speaking in Baku, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak states that the Bushehr nuclear power plant will be late in starting operations because Iran was still late with its payments: "It will clearly not be possible to start-up the atomic station this year so it will be moved to the next year. We are fully determined to take Bushehr to its logical conclusion and launch the atomic power station." Source: Afet Mehtiyeva. "Russia Blames Late Payments For Iran Reactor Delay." Reuters. July 26, 2007. News Report (If Iranian elite nuclearism is just about power generation why can't they come up with the payments necesary to actually begin producing electricity from this nuclear power plant?)
• July 26: Who put a politician could be proud of weasel words? In an interview with Le Figaro Shimon Peres responds to a question about Israeli nuclear weapons with: "I will confine myself to reaffirming the Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the region. In this connection, it was I who invented this formula, which I devised in the early 1960s, during a visit to the White House." Source: Marc Henry. "Shimon Peres: 'Sanctions on Iran Could Work'." July 26, 2007. News Report
• July 26: Unnamed Israeli "diplomat" uses thuggish language to demand stronger economic sanctions from the "international community" (code for the United States): "There is an understanding that the game to get Iran to stop its development is a boxing match," one diplomatic official said Thursday. "Iran has not done badly; you don't see the laceration above the eye, or the bruised ribs, or the broken thumb. But [Iran would be dealt a knockout] if the international community would give them a strong blow to the head and the rib....The inclusion of Bank Sepah in the last round of sanctions (in December 2006), and the subsequent ramifications, has demonstrated that the inclusion of leading banks in the system can have an impact on the Iranian financial sector." Source: Herb Kaimon. "Israel Demands Damaging Iran Sanctions." Jerusalem Post. JUly 27, 2007. News Report
• July 26: U.S. Treasury Department Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levy comments in telephone interview that sanctions against Iran can be effective: "We believe that there is a real potential that these sanctions will have the effect of changing the government of Iran's mind about the defiant policy it is currently pursuing." Source: n.a. "US Treasury's Levey Says Iran Sanctions Bearing Fruit." Agence France Presse. July 26, 2007. (Mammon is also an awesome diety!) New Report
• July 26: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki comments on the ineffectivensss of economic sanctions in an NPR interview: "In today's world, the instrument of sanctions is no longer effective." Source: n.a. "Iranian Minister Says Sanctions Are Ineffective." Reuters. July 26, 2007. News Report
• July 26: Reuters reports a bid for Zionist votes from U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama in a letter to the Israel Project: "Allowing Iran, a radical theocracy that supports terrorism and openly threatens its neighbors, to acquire nuclear weapons is a risk we cannot take." Source: Carol Giacomo. "Candidates See Iran Nuclear Threat." Reuters. July 26, 2007. News Report
• July 25: More of the same from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Iran will never abandon its peaceful (nuclear) work. Our nuclear work is legal and why should we stop it?...Let's say they issue resolution number 300...what will happen? It should be remembered that Iran is obtaining nuclear technology. They have to eventually accept that" Source: Parisa Hafezi & Zahra Hosseinian. "Iran Says It Will Never Stop Nuclear Activities." Reuters. July 25, 2007. News Report
• July 25: When refusal to meet is an international sanction. U.S. State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack rejects higher level negotiations with the Iranian government: "We have an established channel with Ryan Crocker." Source: Paul Tait. "U.S. Cool to Iran Feelers on Iraq, Bombs Kill 50." Reuters Canada. July 25, 2007. News Report
• July 24: U.S. diplomat Ryan Crocker met with Iranian diplomat Hassan Kazemi-Qomi in Baghdad for a second round of negotiations about the future of Iraq. Crocker complained about the failure to achieve results from the first round of negotations: "The two months since May have not exactly been encouraging. The fact is, and we made very clear in today's talk, that over the roughly two months we have actually seen militia-related activities that can be attributed to Iranian support go up and not down." Kazemi-Qomi olffered a quasi-positive assessment: "They (the Americans) acknowledged making mistakes and this is a step forward in itself and it's now up to the Americans to rectify their mistakes." Source: Haroon Siddique. "US 'Confronts' Iran As Talks Resume On Iraq." Guardian. July 24, 2007. News Report
• July 18: Iranian state television broadcasts "In the Name of Democracy" documentary that includes the "confessions" of two American born Iranian academics in Iranian custody on charges of espionage, Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbaksh. SourceL Robert Tait. "US Academics Admit Aiding Iran Democracy Drive." The Guardian. July 19, 2007.
• July 18: US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki confirm they plan to conduct a second round of talks on the future of Iraq. Source: Ewen MacAskill. "US and Iran Agree to Hold More Talks on Stabilising Iraq." The Guardian. July 19, 2007.
• July 18: More rhetorical outbidding from the Isrealis. Speaking at the "Night to Honor Israel" second annual Christians United for Israel event in Washington, D.C. Israeli Ambassador to the United States Sallai Meridor states: "We must prevent this nightmare. The world must act and act now. All options are on the table, and no matter what, they will not be able to get a nuclear weapon." Fundamentalist protestant Texas Pastor John Hagee states: "It's 1938 all over again. Iran is Germany, Ahmadinejad is Hitler and he is talking about killing the Jews. The only way to prevent a nuclear war is to make certain it never starts." Source: Galit Greenfield. "Israel's Envoy to U.S.: Free World is Under Attack by Iran." Haaretz. July 19, 2007. News Report. (By "the world" Ambassador Sallai Meridor means "the United States" and by "act" he means that the United States should attack Iran to protect Isreal.)
• July 16: Islamic High School Society in Iran releases Special Operations 85 computer game to encourage nuclear patriotism. Secretary General of the Islamic High School Society, Mohammad-Taqi Fakhrian, describes its purpose as ideological indoctrination: "'We chose computer games as the most popular appliance currently among kids to transfer (ideological) values such as sacrifice and martyrdom to our pupils while focusing on the nuclear issue." n.a. "Game Created to Encourage Iran's Youth to Support Nuclear Technology." Deutsche Presse-Agentur & Monsters & Critics. July 16, 2007. News Report
• July 13: Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former Iranian president acting as Tehran's substitute Friday prayer leader, complained and condemned: "The whole oppression against the Muslim nation of Iran originates from the US. They (the Americans) are receiving an appropriate response from the Almighty God in Iraq and Afghanistan. from the Almighty God in Iraq and Afghanistan. What a superpower the US is when it can be easily trapped in a small country like Iraq?" Source: n.a. "Rafsanjani: World Should Admire Iran's Nuclear Achievements." IRNA. July 13, 2007. News Report (Rather amazingly, Rafsanjani claims that he knows the mind of God with respect to current events! That must make submission to his will so much easier!)
• July 12: Reporter for The Australian, one of the many newspapers and other news sources owned by Rupert Murdoch, reports that unnamed "analysts" in Isreal predict that Iran might construct its first nuclear warhead by mid-2009. What's more, a "last-resort option, a military strike, could significantly set back Iran's efforts despite the extensive safeguarding of nuclear facilities it has done..." Source: Abraham Rabinovich. "Iran Nuclear Armed In Two Years: Israel." The Australian, July 12, 2007. News Report
• July 12: German prosecution office in Potsdam are reportedly investigating illegal nuclear exports by 12 German firms to Iran valued at 150 million euros. Source: n.a. "Germany Expands Inquiry into Iran Nuclear Exports." Deutsche-Welle, DW-World.DE. July 12, 2007. New Report
• July 10: U.S Navy is now planning to have only one aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf for part of 2007. The USS John C. Stennis and USS Nimitz are scheduled to leave the Gulf and be replaced by only the USS Enterprise. The USS Harry S. Truman is not scheuled to arrive until the Fall. Source: Pauline Jelenik. Associated Press. July 10, 2007. News Report.
• July 9: The new British Foreign Secretary David Miliband answers a question about sanctiosns in a in a Finacial Times interview: "Iran has every right to be a secure, rich country. It doesn’t have the right to set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, and it doesn’t have the right to undermine the stability of its neighbours. And that’s why I think the E3 plus three approach, and you can choose your own metaphor, but it makes a very clear offer to the Iranians with big gains for them, as well as having sanctions if they defy the international community." Source: James Blitz, Daniel Dombey and Philip Stephens. "Interview Transcript: David Miliband." Financial Times. July 9, 2007. News Report
• July 7: Comparing Russia, Iran, (North) Korea and China U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sees Iran as the most dangerous, describing it as: "a country that is increasingly dangerous. Its support of terrorism around the world in places like--supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, supporting very radical elements of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in the Palestinian territories, what Iran is doing in the south of Iraq, where it is supporting and arming militias that are then threatening our force presence in Iraq. If you look at Iran's pursuit of the technologies that would lead to a nuclear weapon despite Chapter 7, the most serious Security Council resolution you can have--two Chapter 7 resolutions against Iran -- they continue to pursue these policies, not to mention the crackdown on their own population that has caught up some Iranian Americans, one woman who was just going home to visit her elderly mother. So this is a very dangerous state with very dangerous policies. And we need the help and support and intense efforts of the international community to deal with Iran." She also perceives a world "desperately" looking for American leadership to solve its problems: "Everywhere that I go in the world, people desperately look to American leadership in all of the world's most difficult problems, whether in nonproliferation, in terms of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, efforts at poverty alleviation, efforts at leading the fight in--against AIDS and malaria, as this President has been doing, leading the effort for democracy for those who've been denied it, helping to support those who are seeking democracy." Source: "Interview With Maria Bartiromo on CNBC's Closing Bell." July 6, 2007. U.S. Department of State Transcript
• July 6: Tehran Provisional Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani claims: "The Islamic Republic of Iran would never retreat from demanding its absolute nuclear right, because the nuclear issue is a national project...How can an Iranian ever abandon the technology that is among the pillars of the country's scientific advancement, prestigious entity, and Islamic civilization." Source: n.a. "Nuclear Energy a Part of Our Islamic, Iranian Culture-Kashani." IRNA. July 6, 2007. News Report
• July 5: Chicago Tribune thumps the tub for nuclear war: "They must know, without a doubt, that an Iranian-inspired nuclear blast in an American city, even if delivered by affiliated terrorists, would bring swift and sure annihilation of Tehran and other Iranian cities." Source: n.a. "Editorial: Nuclear Juggernaut." Chicago Tribune. July 5, 2007.
• July 2: Second and last day of the Lobster Summit produces no breakthroughs.
• July 1: First day of the Lobster Summit in Kennebunkport, Maine between U.S. President George W. Bush (chaperoned by his father George H.W. Bush) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Observers expect the negotiations to include the Russian proposal that the U.S. accept the use of existing Soviet era radar facilities in Azerbaijan rather than construct new radar facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland for use, it is claimed, in an as yet non-existent ABM system against the threat of as yet non-existent nuclear armed ballistic missiles from Iran.

[edit] June

• June 30: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei joins other Iranian political elites in defending fuel rationing: "Gasoline (rationing) is among issues that the government decided and implemented brave. If this huge amount (spent on imported gasoline) is gradually reduced, definitely it will be spent on people's lives, employment, investment, construction of schools and roads." Source: Ali Akbar Dareini. "Iranian Leaders Defend Fuel Rationing." Guardian. July 1, 2007. News Report.

• June 29: Representatives of the permanent five plus Germany offer their Iranian counterparts a "time out," postponing new sanctions if Iran stops expanding uranium enrichment, in a proposal drafted by the British and delivered by European Union "Foreign Minister" Javier Solana. The Iranians fail to accept the proposal. Source: George Jahn. "Powers Offering Iran Nuclear 'Time Out'." Guardian. June 29, 2007. News Source

• June 29: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrives in Tehran on his thrird official visit to Iran, after visiting Russia and Belarus. According to Chavez: "Cooperation of independent countries such as Iran and Venezuela has an effective role in defeating the policies of imperialism and saving nations." According to Ahmadinejad: The pillars of the global arrogance have become shaky and victory (can) be achieved with resistance and standing firm." Source: n.a. "Iran and Venezuela Discuss "Defeating Imperialism'." Reuters. June 1, 2007. News Report

• June 26: Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Ahari Mostafavi rejects the possibility of a suspension of uranium enrichment: "There is no reason for suspension. Suspension is impossible. Iran will pursue ways leading to build more confidence and is ready to hold talks." Source: n.a. "Tripartite Iran-US-Iraq Talks To Be Discussed: Mostafavi." IRNA, June 26, 2007.

• June 24: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejects "chatter" about accepting less than a full freeze on Iranian uranium enrichment: "I don't know what partial suspension means. I don't know what partial suspension would look like, and it doesn't seem to me to be a very wise course." Source: Anne Gearan. "Rice Rejects Lowering Bar for Iran Talks." Guardian. June 24, 2007. (So why does Rice suffer from this concept blindness?)

• June 24: Double standards on display. Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Gholamali Haddadadel complained by the British decision to award Salman Rushdie a knighthood: "The latest act of the British government was shameless and imprudent and can not be interpreted to anything but blind hostility and absolute brainlessness. The Muslims of the world will not leave this imprudent and shameless act without response." Source: n.a. "Iran Parliament Speaker Says Rushdie Honour 'shameless.'" Reuters. June 24, 2007. (So an Iranian governemnt that inists it has the "right" to develop nuclear facilities without international controls also inists on the right to interfere in the internal afairs of Britain involving the awarding of knighthoods?)

• June 23: European Union "Foreign Minister" Javier Solana meets with Iranian Chief Nulcear Negoiator Ali Larijani in Lisbon. Larijani offers vague warning after the meeting: "If some adventure-seeking countries want to interrupt the process of diplomacy, this may have some effects." Source: n.a. "Solana Says Talks With Iran Envoy Constructive." Reuters. June 23, 2007. News Report

• June 20: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells reporters: "We do not see any kind of threat from Iran. Thus, we do not understand why in order to justify the installation of a US anti-ballistic missile system in Europe you have to bring up the pretext of a genuine Iranian threat." Source: n.a. "Iran Poses No Missile Threat, Russia Tells US." Agence France Presse. June 21, 2007. News Report

• June 17: Speaking at a military pork barrel rally supporting Pratt & Whitney's competition for a military contract, Joe Lieberman beat the drum for war against Iran again: "If we don't figure out first through diplomacy and, if necessary, through limited military action how to stop the Iranians from killing Americans and our Arab allies today it's going to be impossible for us to do what everybody in both parties and all ideologies say we have to do tomorrow, which is to stop them from getting nuclear weapons. Iran has effectively begun to carry out military action against American soldiers and a lot of our allies in the Arab world and if we just sit back they're going to continue to move forward. They're going to take it as a sign of weakness." Source: Stephen Singer. "Lieberman Repeats Calls For Military Action In Iran." The Day. June 16, 2007. New Report.

• June 15: The New York Times reports that second Bush administration is divided over its Iranian policy, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's faction battling the even more bellicose faction of Vice President Dick Cheney. Source: Hellene Cooper and David Sanger. "Iran Strategy Stirs Debate at White House." The New York Times. June 15, 2007. News Report
• June 15: Speaking as the substitute Friday prayer leader at Tehran University Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani sounds more reasonable than Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but the rhetoric is still "rights": "The only right path is prudent and fair negotiations and refrain from hegemonism. Unfortunately, you can't see the needed fairness on the other side. The Islamic Republic of Iran has demanded nothing more that its international and inalienable rights. We are still hopeful that these aggressive, bullying and hegemonic powers see sense and do not trigger a situation in this strategically important part of the world which causes trouble later on for everybody. They shouldn't resort to complicated and oppressive ways which would be of no benefit to them whatsoever." Source: n.a. "Rafsanjani Urges West to Act Wisely on Iran's Nuclear Issue." Payvand. June 15, 2007. News Report

• June 14: IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei describes using military force against Iran as, "an act of madness...(that) would not resolve the issue." He then urged the Iranian government to adopt a unilateral moratorirum. Source: George Jahn. "IAEA Head: Iran Attack 'Act of Madness'." Guardian. June 14, 2007. News Report

• June 13: Speaking in Semnan, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismisses criticism of his government's nuclear program: "This nation will punch its intimidators in the mouth. You — the West — must know that for Iran your resolutions are not worth the smallest thing." Source: n.a. "Iran's Ahmadinejad Warns West Over Threat of New Sanctions Over Its Nuclear Program." International Herald Tribune. June 13, 2007. News Report

• June 12: IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei warns that the Iranian nuclear crisis was a "brewing confrontation" that "urgently needs to be defused." Source: David E. Sanger. "ElBaradei Warns of 'Brewing Confrontation' Between U.S. and Iran." The International Herald Tribune. June 12, 2007. News Report

• June 11: In Vienna, senior Iranian envoy Javeed Vaidi cancells meeting with IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei. Source: George Jahn. "Iran Envoy's Meeting With IAEA Canceled." Guardian Unlimited. June 11, 2007. News Report

• June 10: Independent Democrat U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, an opponent of the War in Vietnam, demands that the U.S. bomb Iran: I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq. And to me, that would include a strike over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers." Source: n.a. "Lieberman: U.S. Should Weigh Iran Attack." The Washington Post. June 10, 2007. News Report

• June 10: Iranian Admiral Ali Shamkhani rattles the Persian Gulf oil price/choke point sabre by telling Defense News that not only U.S. military bases but also oil refineries and power stations could be targets for a retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile attack. Source: Michael Smith. "Iran Threatens Gulf Blitz If US Hits Nuclear Plants." The Times. June 10, 2007. News Report

• June 9: Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz rattles the U.S./Israeli air strike sabre on Israel Radio: "The strategy shared by the U.S. and Israel has three elements. One is a united international front against the Iranian nuclear program. Secondly, at this time, sanctions are the best way to act against the aspirations of Iran." The third element is "a very, very clear signal and a clear statement that all options are on the table. I never said there is no military option, and the military option is included in all the options that are on the table, but at this time it's right to use the path of sanctions, and to intensify them." Source: n.a. "Military Option on Table Concerning Iran." Reuters. June 9, 2007. News Report

• Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz demands: "Sanctions must be strong enough to bring about change in the Iranians by the end of 2007." Source: Hilary Leila Krieger. "Mofaz Warns Sanctions On Iran Must Bite by Year's End." The Jerusalem Post. June 7, 2007. News Report

• June 5: At the Republican Presidential Candidates Debate in New Hampshire, Wolf Blitzer asked Duncan Hunter the following question: "If it came down to a preemptive U.S. strike against Iran's nuclear facility if necessary, would you authorize as president the use of tactical nuclear weapons?" Hunter responded as follows: "I would authorize the use of tactical nuclear weapons if there was no other way to preempt those particular centrifuges." Transcript Nearly all of the other candidates at the debate agreed that they might order a nuclear attack on Iran.
• June 5: Speaking at Czernin Palace in Prague, U.S. President George W. Bush recommits to the neo-conservative goal of spreading democracy and condemns the Iranian government in moralistic terms: "The Iranians are a great people who deserve to chart their own future, but they are denied their liberty by a handful of extremists whose pursuit of nuclear weapons prevents their country from taking its rightful place amongst the thriving." Source: White House Speech Writiers. "President Bush Visits Prague, Czech Republic, Discusses Freedom." The White House. June 5, 2007. News Source

• June 3: Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini states: "``If reviewing of Iran's nuclear issue returns to the agency, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to reach an agreement over settling a few remaining problems with the agency in the short term."

[edit] May

[edit] May 31, 2007

• U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice claims to speak for the "international community" against Iran: "I think it's time for Iran to change its tactics...The international community is united on what Iran should do, which is to suspend; to demonstrate that it is in fact not seeking a nuclear weapon under cover of civilian nuclear power." Source: Anne Gearan. "Rice Holds Line on Iran Nuclear Program."