On Nov. 27, the International Atomic
Energy Agency board of governors in Vienna passed a resolution against Iran.
Fifteen member countries voted for the resolution, six countries abstained,
while Cuba, Venezuela and Malaysia voted against it. The resolution ordered Iran to stop
construction on the Fordo uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom. Because the resolution has no basis in international law and itself violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the
vote was a diplomatic victory for the United States and its imperialist allies.
 Bushehr joint project with Russia years behind schedule Photo: japanfocus.org |
Under the NPT, Iran was required to announce the existence of the Fordo plant six months prior to it becoming operational. Instead, Iran did so 18 months before planned operation. Iran’s
envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, explained: “What we have done in fact
is that we have informed [the agency] much sooner than we were obliged [to].”
Through a massive propaganda campaign,
imperialist governments and media have turned the Fordo facility into evidence
of Iran’s intention to build nuclear weapons. Currently, as confirmed by IAEA
inspectors who were allowed to inspect the facility, Fordo is nothing but a building under
construction without an ounce of nuclear material in it.
In October, Iran participated in
negotiations with the United States and other Western powers in Vienna. What
was offered Iran was a deal that required it to ship 1,200 kilograms (2,640
pounds) of low-enriched uranium out of the country. This would amount to over
three-quarters of the enriched uranium that Iran has produced to date. In
exchange, Iran would receive higher-enriched fuel rods at an undetermined date,
possibly a year later.
Initially, there were hints that Iran
would accept. Under stiff sanctions and the constant threat of military strikes
by the United States and Israel over the past few years, it is easy to see why
the Islamic Republic of Iran would seek to reach some kind of an agreement.
However, a closer look makes it clear why
Iran refused the deal. The objective of Iran’s nuclear program is to allow it
to achieve greater independence through making scientific advancements,
preparing for a not-so-distant future when Iran’s oil will only suffice for its
domestic consumption. Sending the bulk of its enriched uranium abroad would
leave Iran at the mercy of Western imperialists.
Imperialist pressure tactics
The return of the nuclear fuel rods would
undoubtedly be used as a bargaining chip by the imperialists to compel even
more concessions from Iran. This would be true even if Iran’s nuclear material
were shipped to Russia, a country with extensive trade relations with Iran and
one that has not been enthusiastically endorsing sanctions against it.
The Bushehr
nuclear power plant in southern Iran illustrates this point. The construction
of the plant has been a joint operation between Russia and Iran. The scheduled
launch of the plant has now been delayed by several years, with the Russians
repeatedly failing to meet construction deadlines, citing non-payment of
contract obligations by Iran, technical difficulties, and so on. In reality,
every time Washington has increased the pressure on Russia to refuse
cooperation with Iran, Russia has either halted real progress in the
construction or demanded more concessions from Iran.
Now, with the Obama administration’s
announcement of the cancellation of the missile shield defense plan in Eastern
Europe—an aggressive and provocative military operation aimed squarely at
Russia—Russia appears more willing to go along with Washington’s hostility
towards Iran.
Iran has yet to formally respond, but
statements made by high-ranking officials make it clear that Iran will not
accept the offer in its current form. Iran indicated that it would be open to a
simultaneous swap, where the country would ship out its low-enriched uranium at
the same time that it received higher enriched nuclear fuel rods. The counter
offer was still a major concession by Iran, conceding to the demand that it
would not exercise full control over its enriched uranium. In response to the
Iranian proposal, U.S. officials made statements indicating that they had
already given their best and last offer and accused Iran of not negotiating in
good faith, only intending to drag the negotiations along.
The Obama administration is already
setting the stage for the next round of sanctions against Iran. Iran is
presently under three rounds of sanctions as punishment for its nuclear
program, a program under which hundreds of IAEA inspections have failed to
produce evidence of any weapons component whatsoever.
In the planned next round of sanctions,
Washington is hoping to bring Iran’s regime to its knees by banning sales of
refined petroleum to Iran. Iran currently lacks sufficient refining capacity to
meet its domestic needs and imports 40 percent of its refined petroleum.
In late November, President Ahmadinejad
announced that Iran would “produce 20 percent” enriched uranium to power its
medical research reactor and “anything it needs” for its nuclear program. Iran
has also announced plans to construct 10 more nuclear enrichment facilities
like the one it has in Natanz.
Once again, imperialist propaganda
portrays Iran’s plans to build more enrichment plants as an unmistakable sign
that its leaders are intransigent, fundamentalist hardliners bent on destroying
the world with their nuclear weapons. In reality, Iran needs a multitude of
plants not only to produce enough enriched uranium to supply its nuclear power
plant, but also to make it difficult for U.S. or Israeli bombing campaigns to
destroy its entire nuclear program, as Israel did to Iraq’s Osirak plant in
1981.
A prerequisite for buying into the
propaganda against Iran is to accept the imperialist prerogative to possess
thousands of nuclear weapons, some currently aimed at Iran. Additionally,
Israel, the U.S. watchdog in the Middle East, has an estimated 200 nuclear
warheads and does not even bother to sign the NPT. But because Iran is an
independent state that does not have their seal of approval, imperialist
nations will not trust Iran with nuclear technology for even civilian purposes,
much less nuclear weapons.
Iran is entitled to the development of nuclear energy. Living under the
“all options on the table” U.S. threat, Iran also has a right to develop
nuclear weapons for self-defense. In the coming months, sanctions and other
hostile actions against Iran may force Iran’s government to react. This could
set the stage for extending the current U.S. wars against Iraq and Afghanistan
into the country between them, Iran. It is the responsibility of anti-war and
progressive forces in the United States to defend Iran against imperialist
threats. U.S. imperialism is not just the enemy of independent states but also
the enemy of the U.S. and global working class. U.S. Hands off Iran.
