When It Comes To Nuclear Enrichment, What Are The Iranians Thinking?

When It Comes To Nuclear Enrichment, What Are The Iranians Thinking?
from War News Updates by Bookyards
Another Puzzle in Iran After Nuclear Fuel Is Moved -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — When Iran was caught last September building a secret, underground nuclear enrichment plant at a military base near the city of Qum, the country’s leaders insisted they had no other choice. With its nuclear facilities under constant threat of attack, they said, only a fool would leave them out in the open.

So imagine the surprise of international inspectors almost two weeks ago when they watched as Iran moved nearly its entire stockpile of low-enriched nuclear fuel to an above-ground plant. It was as if, one official noted, a bull’s-eye had been painted on it.

Why take such a huge risk?

Read more ....

My Comment: When it comes to Iran there is one simple rule that everyone should follow .... do not trust them. Iran has a terrible history in the international arena of diplomacy and respecting the sovereignty of other countries and negotiated agreements. Death to America and threatening the annihilation of Israel in every speech and demonstration tends to get dry after a while ... but they are listed as a state sponsor of terror for a reason and every threat and comment made by the regime in Tehran must be taken seriously. So .... moving their nuclear fuel may be a puzzle to the New York Times .... but trust me .... there is a very blunt reason on why they are doing this ..... it is just that we have not figured it out yet.

http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-it-comes-to-nuclear-enrichment.html

Another Puzzle in Iran After Nuclear Fuel Is Moved

Another Puzzle in Iran After Nuclear Fuel Is Moved
from NYT > Home Page by By DAVID E. SANGER
Officials in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East have been trying to determine why Iran moved much of its low-enriched nuclear fuel out in the open, where it could easily be attacked.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/world/middleeast/27iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Russia planning to offer investors 49% stake in nuclear project

Russia planning to offer investors 49% stake in nuclear project
Russia is willing to offer investors a 49% interest as well as long-term supply deals in the country's first nuclear plant since the Soviet period, Rosatom said. The company is holding discussions with multiple European companies for the project. The Moscow Times/Bloomberg

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/investors-to-be-offered-49-of-baltic-plant/400463.html

Ariz. lawmakers drop bill to identify nuclear energy as renewable

Ariz. lawmakers drop bill to identify nuclear energy as renewable
Protests from a number of solar companies have prompted Arizona's Legislature to drop a bill that would have placed lawmakers in charge of the state's renewable-energy standard. Provisions in the proposed measure included declaring nuclear a renewable-energy source. American City Business Journals/Phoenix

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/02/22/daily51.html

My comment: This is where the nuclear industry falls short in its PR/long range business planning activities: They should be cultivating a coalition with the Solar Boys, rather than competing against them.

W. Va. lawmakers vote down bill to lift nuclear-construction ban

W. Va. lawmakers vote down bill to lift nuclear-construction ban
A Senate panel in West Virginia rejected legislation seeking to lift a moratorium on the construction of nuclear plants. The bill would have erased language in state code prohibiting new nuclear facilities until a waste-storage facility is built. "We are a coal and natural gas state," said state Sen. Richard Browning, who opposed the measure. WBOY-TV (Clarksburg, W.Va.)

http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=75844

My Comment: I wouldn't expect anything else from a coal state.

Nuclear must be developed to meet rising energy demand

Nuclear must be developed to meet rising energy demand
Carbon-free and cost-competitive nuclear power must be developed alongside renewable sources to better meet the country's growing energy needs, according to this opinion article. Renewable power sources such as wind and solar will not be enough to meet baseload demand, the writer argues, as well as being expensive compared with other sources in terms of cost per megawatt-hour. The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/02/25/1151166/we-must-keep-nuclear-power-as.html

Feds cite progress in N.M. uranium-enrichment plant

Feds cite progress in N.M. uranium-enrichment plant
Louisiana Energy Services' uranium-enrichment site worth $3 billion is nearly operational. Centrifuges at the facility will generate enriched uranium for commercial nuclear plants once the facility has received Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. KVIA-TV (El Paso, Texas)/The Associated Press

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=12044603

TVA to consider converting plutonium into fuel for nuclear plants

TVA to consider converting plutonium into fuel for nuclear plants
The Tennessee Valley Authority will consider using weapons-grade plutonium as nuclear fuel at its facilities after it struck a deal with the National Nuclear Security Administration to study the concept. Although the utility still needs to secure federal approval for the plan, the agreement moves it closer toward converting nuclear warheads into an electricity-generating source. Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tenn.)

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/feb/25/tva-may-use-bomb-material-nuclear-plants/?breakingnews

What to do about tactical nuclear weapons from Web Edition | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Pavel Podvig

What to do about tactical nuclear weapons from Web Edition | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Pavel Podvig

Since the United States and Russia might soon sign a new treaty that limits their strategic nuclear weapons, it's natural to wonder about Washington and Moscow's tactical nuclear weapons, which the treaty won't cover. The hope is that the momentum for a nuclear-weapon-free world, the renewed U.S.-Russian negotiations, and the ongoing review of the U.S. nuclear posture and NATO strategic concept will help make progress on reducing nonstrategic nuclear arsenals--an issue that has been largely neglected for more than a decade.




http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/col...nuclear-weapons

EU Plans Massive Sanctions against Iran

EU Plans Massive Sanctions against Iran
Hans-Jürgen Schlamp, Der Spiegel
The EU is preparing tough sanctions against Iran's energy and financial sectors, according to a confidental list of proposals drawn up for EU foreign ministers and obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE.
Full Article
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,679853,00.html

Iran Wants to Discuss Japan Offer to Enrich Uranium: Report

Iran Wants to Discuss Japan Offer to Enrich Uranium: Report
Agence France-Presse
Iran will study a Japanese offer to enrich uranium for Tehran to allow it access to nuclear power for peaceful purposes, an Iranian politician was quoted as saying in Tokyo Thursday.
Full Article
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100225/wl_asia_afp/irannuclearpoliticsjapan

Obama Urges Russia to Help Gain Treaty

Obama Urges Russia to Help Gain Treaty
Barry Schweid, Associated Press
STARTPresident Barack Obama weighed in Wednesday to try to hasten the conclusion of a new nuclear weapons treaty with Russia, urging President Dmitry Medvedev to help accelerate its completion.

White House official told The Associated Press that Obama telephoned the Russian leader and found him in accord on the need to press their negotiators to complete the elusive pact, which would sharply reduce their arsenals of long-range nuclear weapons.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/24/AR2010022403698.html

South Carolina seeks to block termination of Yucca Mountain project

South Carolina seeks to block termination of Yucca Mountain project
The White House's plan to terminate the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste-storage project in Nevada has prompted South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster to take legal action to prevent it. South Carolina wants to ensure that the license proceedings for the project continue, "so that the [used] fuel and other nuclear material now being temporarily stored in our state will be safely placed in the Yucca Mountain repository," he said. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2423031720100225?type=marketsNews

Obama should resolve regulatory hurdles for new nuclear plants

Obama should resolve regulatory hurdles for new nuclear plants
Though President Barack Obama vocalized support and gave the government's financial backing for the revival of the country's nuclear industry, he still needs to address the slow process of approving new projects, according to this editorial. It is time he calls for a regulatory overhaul to make nuclear a leader in green energy, the editorial argues. The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Va.)

http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/news/opinion/editorials/article/obama_sees_the_light_on_nuclear_power/24448/

U.S. signs nuclear-cooperation deal with UAE

U.S. signs nuclear-cooperation deal with UAE
The U.S. struck an agreement to assist the United Arab Emirates and expand its civilian nuclear energy program. The deal establishes a framework for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration to help its counterparts in the UAE. BusinessWeek.com/The Associated Press

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9E2MQ980.htm

Vt. Senate vote won't stop Entergy's bid to relicense nuclear plant

Vt. Senate vote won't stop Entergy's bid to relicense nuclear plant
Entergy said it won't give up plans to have its Vermont Yankee nuclear plant relicensed for two decades. This comes after Vermont's Senate voted to close down the plant once its license expires in 2012. "We remain determined to prove our case to the legislature, state officials and the Vermont public," the company said. Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61N66T20100224

Nuclear Weapons in Germany: Broaden and Deepen the Debate

Nuclear Weapons in Germany: Broaden and Deepen the Debate
Germany George Perkovich explains that arguments against the withdrawal of all U.S. nuclear weapons from Germany on the basis of nuclear deterrence obscure the broader challenge of reinvigorating NATO and extending deterrence against lower-scale threats.
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=30994

START is Key to Reducing the Nuclear Threat

START is Key to Reducing the Nuclear Threat
STARTThe risks associated with Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal still pose the single greatest existential threat to the United States. Matthew Rojansky and Ambassador James Collins explain that a treaty to replace the expired START agreement is an essential step toward managing those risks.
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=30993

More on START:
Don't Stop with START [proliferation analysis]
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24254

Moniz named to Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future

Moniz named to Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future

MIT Energy Initiative Director Ernest Moniz has been named to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, which will provide recommendations for developing a safe, long-term solution to managing the nation’s used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) announced today.

Moniz currently serves as a member of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Moniz served as DoE undersecretary from October 1997 until January 2001. From 1995 to 1997, he was associate director for science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. Moniz is also director of MIT’s Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. He is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems at MIT, where he has been on the faculty since 1973. He has served as head of the Department of Physics and as director of the Bates Linear Accelerator Center.

The commission, which will be chaired by former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, will produce an interim report within 18 months and a final report within 24 months.

For more information about the commission and its members, visit the DOE’s web site at http://www.energy.gov/news/8584.htm.

Thailand's power-development plan to include nuclear

Thailand's power-development plan to include nuclear
Thailand is considering nuclear energy as part of efforts to reduce its dependence on costly oil and gas imports. "At the moment, they are proposing five to seven nuclear reactors into the power development plan," said Tara Buakamsri, a campaign director for Greenpeace. Voice of America
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/science-technology/Thailand-Looks-at-Nuclear-Power-as-Part-of-Alternative-Energy-Plans-85040182.html