The United States is conferring with Israel about new sanctions planned against Iran should international negotiations this month fail to curb the Islamic Republic\’s nuclear program, a U.S. official said on Monday.
New satellite images show possible recent nuclear activity at the Parchin facility in Iran as well as attempts to hide evidence of past activity.
Evidence found in an underground bunker in Iran could signal the country’s having moved one step closer toward the uranium threshold needed to make nuclear arms, International Atomic Energy Agency diplomats said today.
Iran\’s insistence that world powers acknowledge what it sees as its right to enrich uranium emerged as a significant difference in international talks on its nuclear energy programme this week, a senior U.S. administration official said.
Israel expressed deep suspicion on Tuesday about an expected deal between the U.N. nuclear agency and Iran, suggesting Tehran\’s aim was to wriggle out of sanctions rather than make real concessions ahead of wider atomic talks with world powers.
Facing an imminent toughening of sanctions, Iran is hinting at a readiness to give some ground in its long nuclear stand-off with world powers, but any flexibility could split their ranks and lead to protracted uncertainty about how to respond.
Israel\’s military chief said he does not believe Iran will decide to build an atomic bomb and called its leaders \”very rational\” – comments that clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\’s assessment.
Israel did not promise the United States that it would abstain from attacking Iran while negotiations are going on, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.
Israel on Tuesday played down the prospect of an imminent attack on Iran, saying its arch-foe\’s controversial nuclear program could still be set back by sanctions and sabotage.
Iran castigated its U.S. adversary on Tuesday over new financial measures to disrupt Iranian commerce, and a default on payment for rice purchases highlighted the encroachment of sanctions on the staples of everyday life.
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