Iran now controls the entire cycle for producing nuclear fuel, the Iranian president said Saturday, highlighting his country's growing capabilities at a time when the U.S. wants to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments came two days after the inauguration of a facility which produces uranium oxide fuel pellets for a planned heavy-water reactor — the final step in the long, sophisticated nuclear fuel cycle.
"Today, with the grace of God, Iran is a country controlling the entire nuclear fuel cycle," Ahmadinejad said on state television Saturday.
The step is significant toward furthering Iran's nuclear energy capabilities and, an analyst said, could be designed to strengthen Iran's position at a time when the Obama administration says it would negotiate with the Iran over it nuclear program.
I suspect the debate we are having is only important for some to argue that not dealing with Iran now isn't really appeasement and surrender, because some argue Iran is years from being able to deploy nuclear weapons.
It is bad whether Iran gets nuclear weapons in one year or five years.
Call me cynical, but I think the people unwilling to act now because they don't think Iran is close to producing nuclear weapons will not be willing to act should the consensus develop that Iran is close to getting nuclear weapons.
The basic hope of these people (including the Europeans) is to forestall action until Iran is openly a nuclear power and then say, "Oh well, too late to do anything now. We'll have to live with Iran's nuclear weapons."
