Obama administration's offers to allow Iran limited uranium enrichment

[Jroc]

Obama caving to Iran?..

An Iranian Foreign Ministry official says the Obama administration's offer to consider allowing limited uranium enrichment 'would be a good start.'

TEHRAN — Iranian officials expressed skepticism Saturday about possible Obama administration support for allowing the country to continue enriching some uranium but said it could be a good start for further negotiations on its disputed nuclear program.

Senior U.S. officials have said they might agree to let Iran enrich uranium up to 5% purity if its government agreed to the unrestricted inspections, strict oversight and numerous safeguards that the United Nations has long demanded.

If the deal was offered by all six nations negotiating with Iran and the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, "it would be a good start," said one official in Iran's Foreign Ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The United States — along with China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany — began talks with Iran on April 14 in Istanbul, Turkey; the discussions are scheduled to resume May 23 in Baghdad.

"One thing I can tell you for sure is that Iran will never, ever close down the Fordow nuclear site," the official said, referring to the enrichment plant.

"But other issues such as 20% enrichment is open to negotiation. I can say Obama's proposal is good provided it is unanimously echoed."

Iran skeptical but open to U.S. overture on nuclear program - latimes.com

 

[Jroc]

After a year and a half of reports voicing concern about Iran’s work on designing a nuclear weapon, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a lengthy report on November 8, detailing precisely the sort of information that has spurred those concerns. The detailed intelligence, received from its members and gathered by its inspectors, is summarized in an annex to the new report. It is convincing enough that even Iranian officials, when presented with it, “agreed…that, if the information upon which it was based were true, it would constitute a programme for the development of a nuclear weapon.”

Despite the focus on Iran’s weapon program, however, the report also contains important information about the enrichment program. Here are the key points:

•Rate of production of 3.5% enriched uranium at Natanz has dipped slightly, but continues to be among fastest rates documented; remains almost twice as fast as pre-Stuxnet (2009 – 2010).
•Number of operating centrifuges at the main enrichment facility at Natanz reaches new high.
•Stockpile of 3.5% enriched uranium enough for more than one-and-a-half bombs.•Stockpile of 20% enriched uranium now at one-third of a bomb’s worth.
•Given current rate of enrichment and stockpiles could have capability to produce enough highly enriched in as little as 58 days.
•Previously secret plant at Qom almost ready to start production of 20% enriched uranium: 412 centrifuges already installed; 3.5% enriched uranium transferred there from Natanz.
Of all these, perhaps the most ominous is the approaching activation of the previously covert Qom enrichment facility buried beneath a mountain. Because enriching uranium to levels of 20% consumes about four-fifths of the time needed to produce weapons-grade (90% enriched) uranium, if Iran succeeds in its stated goal of tripling its current production of 20% enriched uranium at Qom it will have effectively be going 80% of the way towards a nuclear weapon under the watchful eye of the international community. In other words, enrichment at Qom portends a significant leap towards nuclear weapons capability.

The New IAEA Report: Beyond Weaponization | Bipartisan Policy Center

 

[waltky]

Iran got another virus to contend with...

‘AC/DC virus’ attacks Iranian nuke plant; DHS issues alert to U.S. industry
25 July - A supposed Iranian scientist emailed a world-renowned cybersecurity researcher to report a virus that blared music by the Australian rock band AC/DC while stopping equipment at the Natanz nuclear plant -- one day before America’s cyber emergency team issued two warnings about similar attacks.

The U.S. Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team alerts alluded to Siemens software exploits resembling Stuxnet -- the virus that crippled Natanz’s centrifuges in 2010. There was “some music playing randomly on several of the workstations during the middle of the night with the volume maxed out. I believe it was playing 'Thunderstruck' by AC/DC,” reads one email from the Iranian that Mikko H. Hypponen, chief research officer at antivirus firm F-Secure, posted to his blog on Monday. The scientist began the note by stating, “I am writing you to inform you that our nuclear program has once again been compromised and attacked by a new worm with exploits which have shut down our automation network at Natanz and another facility Fordo near Qom.”

The hackers had access to the nuclear program’s virtual private network, the Iranian added. “The automation network and Siemens hardware were attacked and shut down,” said the scientist, who admitted knowing little about cyber issues. Hypponen said he didn’t know what to make of the messages, three of which arrived on Sunday. But he was able to confirm that the purported researcher was sending and receiving emails from within the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

On Monday, ICS-CERT, part of the Homeland Security Department, announced that Siemens has released an update to fix a “hijacking vulnerability” reported by the German firm. If not resolved, an attacker could abuse the flaw to meddle with systems controlling critical operations in the energy, water and chemical sectors, among other industries, according to ICS-CERT. The Siemens threat described in the advisory works by overriding a file collection, called a Dynamic Link Library, that performs functions so software programs load the attacker’s dangerous operations instead of the legit preset ones. So-called DLL hijacking is made possible when developers do not instruct software programs where to search for the correct file library.

A separate notice distributed the same day cautioned industries about a weakness that “allows an attacker to gain unauthorized access” by using default logins “to read from or write to files and settings on the target system.” On Wednesday morning, Hypponen told Nextgov he is "quite sure” the cyber incidents reported by the Iranian scientist and ICS-CERT are not related.

MORE

 

[Jroc]

Iran got another virus to contend with...

‘AC/DC virus’ attacks Iranian nuke plant; DHS issues alert to U.S. industry
25 July - A supposed Iranian scientist emailed a world-renowned cybersecurity researcher to report a virus that blared music by the Australian rock band AC/DC while stopping equipment at the Natanz nuclear plant -- one day before America’s cyber emergency team issued two warnings about similar attacks.

The U.S. Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team alerts alluded to Siemens software exploits resembling Stuxnet -- the virus that crippled Natanz’s centrifuges in 2010. There was “some music playing randomly on several of the workstations during the middle of the night with the volume maxed out. I believe it was playing 'Thunderstruck' by AC/DC,” reads one email from the Iranian that Mikko H. Hypponen, chief research officer at antivirus firm F-Secure, posted to his blog on Monday. The scientist began the note by stating, “I am writing you to inform you that our nuclear program has once again been compromised and attacked by a new worm with exploits which have shut down our automation network at Natanz and another facility Fordo near Qom.”

The hackers had access to the nuclear program’s virtual private network, the Iranian added. “The automation network and Siemens hardware were attacked and shut down,” said the scientist, who admitted knowing little about cyber issues. Hypponen said he didn’t know what to make of the messages, three of which arrived on Sunday. But he was able to confirm that the purported researcher was sending and receiving emails from within the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

On Monday, ICS-CERT, part of the Homeland Security Department, announced that Siemens has released an update to fix a “hijacking vulnerability” reported by the German firm. If not resolved, an attacker could abuse the flaw to meddle with systems controlling critical operations in the energy, water and chemical sectors, among other industries, according to ICS-CERT. The Siemens threat described in the advisory works by overriding a file collection, called a Dynamic Link Library, that performs functions so software programs load the attacker’s dangerous operations instead of the legit preset ones. So-called DLL hijacking is made possible when developers do not instruct software programs where to search for the correct file library.

A separate notice distributed the same day cautioned industries about a weakness that “allows an attacker to gain unauthorized access” by using default logins “to read from or write to files and settings on the target system.” On Wednesday morning, Hypponen told Nextgov he is "quite sure” the cyber incidents reported by the Iranian scientist and ICS-CERT are not related.

MORE

Did Obama take responsibility again?

 

[waltky]

Granny says is terrible, dey tryin' to get enough uranium so's dey can incinerate alla Jews...

Netanyahu says sanctions have failed to deter Iran; "red line" must be drawn to prevent nuke
27 Sept.`12 - Netanyahu says world must draw "red line" for Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Thursday that Iran will have enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb by next summer and urged the world to draw a clear "red line" to stop it in its tracks. Saying it was getting "late, very late" to stop Iran, Netanyahu flashed a diagram showing the progress Iran has made toward creating a bomb. He said Iran had already completed the first stage of uranium enrichment, and then he drew his own red line on the diagram to highlight the point of no return _ the completion of the second stage and 90 percent enrichment. "Iran is 70 percent of the way there and ... well into the second stage. By next summer, at current enrichment rates, they will have finished the medium enrichment and move on to the final stage," Netanyahu said. "From there it is only a few more weeks before they have enriched enough for a bomb."

Netanyahu has repeatedly argued that time is running out to stop the Islamic Republic from becoming a nuclear power and the threat of force must be seriously considered. "I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down _ and it will give more time for sanctions and diplomacy," the Israeli prime minister said. "Red lines don't lead to war, red lines prevent war ... nothing could imperil the world more than a nuclear-armed Iran." Netanyahu's speech marks perhaps his final plea before Israel takes matters into its own hands. Israeli leaders have issued a series of warnings in recent weeks suggesting that if Iran's uranium enrichment program continues it may soon stage a unilateral military strike, flouting even American wishes.

The Obama administration has urgently sought to hold off Israeli military action, which would likely result in the U.S. being pulled into a conflict and cause region-wide mayhem on the eve of American elections. Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an existential threat, citing Iranian denials of the Holocaust, its calls for Israel's destruction, its development of missiles capable of striking the Jewish state and its support for hostile Arab militant groups. "Given this record of Iranian aggression without nuclear weapons, just imagine Iranian aggression with nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes but Israel, the U.S. and other Western allies reject the claim. Four rounds of U.N. sanctions have already been placed on Iran. A U.N. report last month only reinforced Israeli fears, finding that Iran has moved more of its uranium enrichment activities into fortified bunkers deep underground where there are impervious to air attack. Enrichment is a key activity in building a bomb, though it has other uses as well, such as producing medical isotopes.

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See also:

Netanyahu demands 'red line' on Iran
Thu, 27 Sep 2012 | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded Thursday that the international community impose a "red line" on Iran to stop it from enriching enough uranium for a nuclear bomb.

"The hour is getting late, very late," Netanyahu warned, in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. "At this late hour, there is only one way to peacefully prevent Iran from getting atomic bombs -- and that's by placing a clear red line on Iran's nuclear weapons program," he declared. "To be credible, a red line must be drawn first and foremost in one vital part of their program -- on Iran's efforts to enrich uranium." The Israeli leader used the world stage provided by the United Nations to present a cartoonish diagram of a bomb with three different levels on it. Netanyahu alleged Iran is already 70 percent of the way through enriching enough uranium for a bomb, and flourished a marker pen to literally draw a red line across the diagram where he indicated the process must stop.

He was referring to Iran's efforts to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity, a short step from the 90 percent needed for a nuclear weapon. UN inspectors said in August that Iran has produced nearly 418 pounds (190 kilograms) of uranium enriched to 20 percent purity, up from 320 pounds in May. The Islamic republic says it needs to enrich the uranium at the 20 percent level for a medical research reactor, but Israel and much of the West worry it is aimed at building a nuclear bomb. "By next spring, by most by next summer at current enrichment rates -- they will have finished the medium enrichment and moved on to the final stage," Netanyahu said. "From there, it's only a few months, possibly a few weeks, before they get enough enriched uranium for the first bomb. "A red line should be drawn right here," he added, drawing a thick red line across the 90 percent level of his bomb diagram for effect. "Faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down... Red lines don't lead to war, red lines prevent war."

Israel has refused to rule out military action against Iran in order to prevent it reaching a certain nuclear threshold, and has urged the international community to force Tehran to abandon its atomic quest. Iran denies it is building a nuclear weapon and this week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sneeringly dismissed the Israeli threat. US President Barack Obama vowed in his address to the United Nations on Tuesday that he would prevent Iran from getting the bomb. But his administration has repeatedly rejected publicly imposing a specific red line on Tehran. "At stake is the future of the world," Netanyahu said. "Nothing could imperil our future more than an Iran armed with nuclear weapons. He recounted a long list of "terrorist" attacks that he blamed to Iran, and warned that "given this record of Iranian aggression without nuclear weapons, just imagine this aggression with nuclear weapons. "If their terror networks were armed with atomic bombs, who among you would feel safe in the Middle East? Who would be safe in Europe? Who would be safe in America? Who would be safe anywhere?" the Israeli leader asked.

And he warned that the international community could not rely on its own arsenals to deter Iranian aggression, denouncing Iranian leaders as religious fanatics who would be quite prepared to sacrifice their own population. With relations between Netanyahu and Obama already viewed as frosty, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta earlier this month highlighted the policy split further when he rejected Israel's "red lines" outright. "The fact is, look, presidents of the United States, prime ministers of Israel or any other country -- leaders of these countries don't have, you know, a bunch of little red lines that determine their decisions," Panetta said. "What they have are facts that are presented to them about what a country is up to, and then they weigh what kind of action is needed to be taken in order to deal with that situation," he told Foreign Policy magazine. "That's the real world. Red lines are kind of political arguments that are used to try to put people in a corner."

Netanyahu demands 'red line' on Iran - Latest news around the world and developments close to home - MSN Philippines News