Former IAEA Official Warns Of Nuclear Arms Race
If Iran abrogates international agreements that seek to limit Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, the move could trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, warned Olli Heinonen, former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.
Speaking Sunday on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio” on New York’s AM 970 The Answer, Heinonen said even with the current implementation of an interim international deal with Iran, the country is capable of assembling a nuclear weapon “within months.”
He accused Iran of having an “unfortunate history of misleading and not disclosing all its nuclear material.”
Heinonen previously served as head of the Department of Safeguards for the IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
Amid reports that Iran is meeting its commitments under a temporary arrangement with six world powers, Heinonen said the IAEA does not have a complete picture of Iran’s nuclear profile since inspectors have been kept out of some sites.
“There are a lot of things we don’t know,” he said.
Continued Heinonen: “Is this all the uranium in Iran? The IAEA has not been able to verify what is called the completeness of Iran’s declaration. It has only verified that which has been presented. But it has not been able to make an historical assessment [of] how much uranium has been produced in Iran over these years.”
The former inspector said the IAEA is also in the dark about the total number of Iran’s centrifuges and the degree of sophistication and advancement of some of Iran’s nuclear machinery at secretive sites.
White House Position Might Have Inspired Arab Violence
Did behind-the-scenes White House support for the Palestinian position on eastern Jerusalem help embolden a violent Palestinian campaign against Israeli civilians?
A campaign of rock-throwing and other acts of violence and intimidation has been targeting Jews in eastern sections of Jerusalem – areas the Palestinians claim as a future capital. The Palestinian claim has been bolstered by Obama administration behind-the-scenes support, as this column reported in early October.
A terrorist last week used a vehicle to plow through a crowd of Israelis at an eastern Jerusalem light rail station, killing a three-month-old baby and injuring seven other people, one of whom died of his wounds on Sunday.
Over the past few weeks, Arabs have engaged in a systemic campaign of rock throwing at Jerusalem’s light-rail system, attacking train cars as they pass through eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods.
The attacks are so frequent that Jerusalem officials announced earlier this month that nearly half the cars used in the Jerusalem light-rail system are out of service and in need of repair.
According to Israeli security officials, the rock attacks in eastern Jerusalem are being directly supported and encouraged by Abbas and the PA.
Earlier this month, the White House took the Palestinians’ side in a dispute about Jewish housing projects in eastern Jerusalem.
Behind the scenes, the Obama administration assured the Palestinian Authority it will not recognize new Israeli housing planned for a section of eastern Jerusalem as being a part of the Jewish state in future negotiations.
A senior Palestinian negotiator speaking on condition of anonymity said that in light of the new housing developments, White House officials reiterated to the PA their policy for final status talks on the future of Jerusalem.
The negotiator said the U.S. under Obama continues to back the so-called Clinton parameters, which means that Jerusalem areas where Arabs predominately reside will become part of a future Palestinian state regardless of whatever Jewish presence exists there. The parameters call for predominately Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem to become part of Israel.