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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


January 2004 Iran Special Weapons News

  • CHECKING IRAN'S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS Henry Sokolski and Patrick Clawson - January 2004 Army War College 's Strategic Studies Institute. This book is the result of nearly 2 years of planning and analyses commissioned by the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC)to reconsider U.S. efforts to arrest Iran 's nuclear weapons ambitions.
  • Iran stresses nuclear disarmament: Kharrazi IRNA 31 Jan 2004 -- Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said here Saturday that Iran always stresses making the world free from nuclear weapons.
  • Iran rules out visit of US congressmen, senators to Tehran IRNA 31 Jan 2004 -- Iran on Saturday brushed aside the prospect of visits by US congressmen and senators to Tehran a day after it was announced that a group of American congressional aides was to travel to the Islamic Republic in February.
  • US Congressional Staffers to Visit Iran VOA News 31 Jan 2004 -- A group of U.S. Congressional aides will visit Iran in February, a possible prelude to a trip by legislators, which would be the first of its kind since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. The Bush administration is signaling its approval of the contacts.
  • Russian official: Moscow`s stands close to Washington`s on Iran`s nuclear programs IRNA 30 Jan 2004 -- A Russian official told Russia`s Interfax News Agency on condition of anonymity on Friday that the Russian Federation`s stands on Iran`s nuclear programs are getting close to Washington`s.
  • Russian minister says Iran-Russia cooperation transparent IRNA 30 Jan 2004 -- Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said on Thursday that the nuclear cooperation between Iran and Russia are quite transparent while adding that both counties are well determined to go ahead with the nuclear cooperation.
  • Iran`s nuclear program more transparent than Israel`s: ElBaradei IRNA 28 Jan 2004 -- Iran has been more transparent regarding its nuclear program than Israel, the US website Global Viewpoint quoted the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohammad ElBaradei as saying Wednesday.
  • Iran: Washington, Tehran Hold Rare Talks on Sidelines Of Davos RFE/RL 27 Jan 2004 -- In a rare high-level meeting between Iran and the United States, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and U.S. Senator Joseph Biden held 90-minute talks on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Analysts say the meeting marks an important first step toward improved ties between the two nations.
  • Khatami: Warmongering is against int`l security IRNA 27 Jan 2004 -- President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday said expansion of violence and warmongering stemmed from unilateralism has endangered peace and security in the world, particularly in the Mideast region.
  • RFE/RL Iran Report, Volume 7, Number 04 26 Jan 2004 -- GUARDIANS COUNCIL SLOWLY REINSTATES SOME CANDIDATES / VIGILANTES ATTACK POLITICAL MEETING / WORKERS MAY SELL ORGANS TO EARN MONEY / TEACHERS PROTEST NONPAYMENT OF WAGES / TEHRAN REFOCUSES COUNTERNARCOTICS APPROACH / DRUGS FLOW INTO IRAQ FROM IRAN / KHATAMI PREACHES DIALOGUE IN SWITZERLAND / STATE OF THE UNION NOTES PERSIAN BROADCASTING / INTERNATIONAL CONCERN OVER IRAN'S NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES UNABATED / MERCENARY IRANIAN TESTIFIES IN GERMAN AL-QAEDA TRIAL / TEHRAN CLAIMS IT WILL TRY A DOZEN AL-QAEDA SUSPECTS
  • IRAN / ELECTIONS VOA 26 Jan 2004 -- Iran's conservative Guardian Council has vetoed a bill that would have restricted the council's ability to ban candidates from running in next month's election. The latest move is likely to further escalate the political crisis between reformists and conservatives in Iran.
  • Two new missile projects become operational IRNA 25 Jan 2004 -- On the threshold of auspicious Ten-Day Dawn celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the manufacturing line for a sophisticated missile dubbed `Ra`d` along with advanced radar system known as `DM-3B` were commissioned here Sunday in a ceremony attended by Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani.
  • I-A-E-A/IRAN VOA 25 Jan 2004 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency says it is negotiating with Iran on a definition of suspension of its uranium-enrichment activities agreed to by Tehran last year after international pressure.
  • IRAN/ELECTIONS VOA 25 Jan 2004 -- Iran's parliament has voted to change an electoral law to make it easier for candidates to run for office. But for the new standards to take effect, they must be ratified by the conservative Guardian Council, the group that moved to ban thousands of mostly reformist candidates from next month's election.
  • U.S. Says Iran Should Return Al Qaeda Members to Country of Origin Washington File 23 Jan 2004 -- White House Report, Jan. 23: Iran, Iraq/Baker/United Nations, Week Ahead
  • Senior US senator slammed Washington`s anti-Iran policies IRNA 24 Jan 2004 -- Senior US Senator Joseph Biden criticized the American government`s policies on Iran during a meeting with Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
  • IRAN / ELECTIONS VOA 24 Jan 2004 -- Iran's president has called on the Guardian Council to complete a full review of the more than three-thousand candidates whom the Islamic hard-line group has banned from next month's elections.
  • U-S / IRAN / QAIDA VOA 23 Jan 2004 -- The United States said Friday it opposes Iranian plans to put suspected al-Qaida members on trial. Bush administration officials say they should he handed over to the United States or their countries of origin to be interrogated about knowledge they have about terrorist attacks.
  • IRAN / ELECTIONS VOA 23 Jan 2004 -- A member of Iran's conservative Guardian Council, which barred thousands of mostly reformist candidates from next month's parliamentary elections, has promised the council will ease up on the candidates when it reviews its decisions.
  • IRAN /ELECTIONS VOA 22 Jan 2004 -- A group of Islamic hard-liners has attacked a reformist gathering in Iran, injuring five people. The assault marks the first episode of violence in Iran's political standoff between reformists and conservatives over next month's parliamentary election.
  • PAKISTAN / NUCLEAR VOA 21 Jan 2004 -- Pakistan has revealed that it sent a team of investigators to Libya and Iran to look into allegations that some of the country's top nuclear scientists may have been involved in the transfer of nuclear weapons technology. Officials say Pakistan launched a probe into the proliferation issue after the International Atomic Energy Agency sent a letter warning of possible technology transfers. The Pakistani statement marks the first time the government in Islamabad has acknowledged a possible unofficial link to Libya's aborted nuclear program.
  • U.S.: Can Bush Claim Credit For Libyan, Iranian Arms Inspections? RFE/RL 21 Jan 2004 -- Two years ago, in his annual State of the Union address, U.S. President George W. Bush called Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an "axis of evil" that threatened their regions, and the world, with unconventional weapons. Since then, the United States has led a war to depose Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and Libya and Iran have taken concrete steps to cooperate with the international community over nuclear weapons and energy programs. Last night, in this year's State of the Union speech, Bush said his stern policy, realized militarily in Iraq, has had beneficial results beyond the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
  • IRAN/RESIGNATIONS VOA 21 Jan 2004 -- Several of Iran's ministers and vice presidents have handed in their resignations and are ready to quit. As Kerry Sheridan reports from V-O-A's Middle East Bureau in Cairo, the move comes a day after the conservative Guardian Council announced it would reinstate a small portion of the candidates it barred from participating in the coming election.
  • RFE/RL Iran Report, Volume 7, Number 03 19 Jan 2004 -- GUARDIANS WILL REINSTATE DISQUALIFIED INCUMBENTS / PROTESTING PARLIAMENTARIANS VOICE GUARDED OPTIMISM / TEHRAN POLICE BRACE FOR UNREST / KHATAMI NOT GOING ANYWHERE / THEOLOGIANS AT ODDS OVER CANDIDATE DISQUALIFICATIONS / HARD-LINE POLITICAL ORGANIZATION RENAMED / THE ANTI-REFORM HEADQUARTERS, HARD-LINE WEBSITES, AND PARALLEL ORGANIZATIONS / JUDICIARY ORDERS FILTERING OF PRO-REFORM WEBSITE / IRANIAN WOMEN WANT RIGHTS IMPROVEMENTS... / ...AS THEY STAY POLITICALLY ACTIVE / SUPREME LEADER VISITS EARTHQUAKE SITE / TEHRAN TELLS WASHINGTON TO BUTT OUT / IRAQI SHI'A LEADER VISITS TEHRAN / HIZBALLAH REPORTEDLY STEPS UP ACTIVITIES AGAINST ISRAEL / FORMER HIZBALLAH SECRETARY-GENERAL CRITICAL OF IRAN / PAKISTAN, INDIA, IRAN DISCUSS NATURAL GAS PIPELINE / IRAN-JAPAN OIL DEAL REPORTEDLY GRINDS ON / IRAN TO BUILD OIL REFINERY IN INDONESIA / SOLANA VISIT TO IRAN HIGHLIGHTS EU POLICY DILEMMA
  • Pakistan, Iran never cooperated in N-program: spokesman IRNA 19 Jan 2004 -- Pakistan Monday confirmed recent statements by an Iranian high-ranking official that Islamabad and Tehran have never cooperated in transfer of nuclear technology.
  • IRAN/POLITICS VOA 19 Jan 2004 -- Iranian president Mohammed Khatami's political party is threatening to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections unless thousands of banned candidates are allowed back on the ballot.
  • IRAN/ELECTION VOA 17 Jan 2004 -- The head of elections in Iran is threatening to quit unless candidates barred from next month's parliamentary elections are reinstated.
  • FRANCE / IRAN VOA 15 Jan 2004 -- The head of Iranian security has rejected U-S criticism of the recent disqualification of more than three-thousand parliamentary candidates in Iran, most of them reformists. Hassan Rohani is visiting Paris, where the French foreign minister said France is watching the Iranian election process carefully.
  • IRAN/POLITICS VOA 15 Jan 2004 -- The decision of Iran's Guardian Council to disqualify thousands of candidates from next month's parliamentary election has sparked anger and resignation threats from Iran's reformists. The dispute is threatening the delicate balance between reformers, who control the parliament, and conservatives who control the more powerful Guardian Council. Both Iran's reformist president and its conservative supreme ayatollah are trying to settle the dispute.
  • IRAN / POLITICS VOA 14 Jan 2004 -- Iran's supreme leader has ordered the hard-line conservative Guardian Council to reconsider its decision to ban thousands of candidates from next month's parliamentary elections.
  • PAKISTAN / IRAN NUCLEAR VOA 14 Jan 2004 -- A top Iranian official says Pakistani scientists did not help his country's nuclear program. The comments contradict news media suspicions of a Pakistani-Iranian nuclear connection.
  • Iran denies assistance from Pakistan in N-program IRNA 14 Jan 2004 -- Visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific Affairs Mohsen Aminzadeh on Wednesday denied reports that Pakistani nuclear scientists have helped in its nuclear program.
  • IRAN / POLITICS VOA 14 Jan 2004 -- Iran's president has called for reformist members of parliament to end their four-day sit-in over the disqualification of thousands of candidates for next month's parliamentary elections. But the reformist lawmakers have rejected the president's appeal.
  • Iran: Solana Visit Highlights EU Policy Dilemma RFE/RL 13 Jan 2004 -- The EU's foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana has wrapped up a two-day visit to Iran. The bloc's relations with Iran are delicately poised at the moment, and member states are split on whether to resume the "twin-track" dialogue with the country on trade and human rights. The talks were suspended in June pending assurances from Iran that its nuclear program is not a threat to world peace. The mounting pre-election tensions between Iran's conservatives and reformers have now emerged as another complicating factor.
  • IRAN / POLITICS VOA 13 Jan 2004 -- Many top Iranian government officials are threatening to resign unless a decision to ban thousands of reformist candidates from next month's parliamentary election is reversed.
  • U-S / IRAN ELECTIONS VOA 12 Jan 2004 -- The United States has added its criticism to the decision by Iran's conservative religious authority, the Guardian Council, to disqualify many reformist politicians from parliamentary elections next month. The State Department said the United State supports elections that are free, fair and open to all.
  • Iran: Interior Ministry Criticizes Decision To Bar Opposition Candidates RFE/RL 12 Jan 2004 -- Iran's Interior Ministry says a decision by the conservative Guardians Council to prevent many reform candidates from standing in next month's parliamentary elections is "illegal."
  • RFE/RL Iran Report, Volume 7, Number 2 12 Jan 2004 -- GUARDIANS COUNCIL VETTING SETS OFF STORM OF PROTEST / VETTING BODIES AT ODDS / REFORMIST PARTIES RESUME THREAT OF ELECTION BOYCOTT / GUARDIANS COUNCIL OFFERS 'RELIABLE' VOTE-COUNTING SOFTWARE / KHOMEINI'S GRANDSON RETURNS TO IRAN / TEHRAN FORGOES AN OPPORTUNITY... / ...TO REFORMISTS' REGRET / RAFSANJANI SEES WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS / TEHRAN DENIES HOSTING AL-QAEDA LEADERSHIP / RENAMING OF STREET PAVES WAY FOR NORMAL TEHRAN-CAIRO RELATIONS / U.K. REPRESENTATIVE TO IRAQ VISITS TEHRAN / MOVING OR REBUILDING -- TEHRAN'S FUTURE IS SHAKY
  • Khatami asks Europe to fulfill its nuclear pledges to Iran IRNA 12 Jan 2004 -- President Mohammad Khatami on Monday urged Europe to honor its `commitments` toward Iran, made during a landmark visit of three key European foreign ministers to Tehran in October.
  • Solana: EU satisfied with Iran nuclear performance IRNA 12 Jan 2004 -- European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in a meeting with Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Hassan Rowhani here on Monday underlined the importance of his visit to Iran and said that Iran-EU ties have undergone many ups and downs in the past 25 years.
  • IRAN / POLITICS VOA 12 Jan 2004 -- Iran's provincial governors are threatening to resign unless a decision by the conservative Guardian Council is reversed. The council disqualified hundreds of reformist candidates from upcoming parliamentary elections. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says (Monday) for now, he will not intervene in the dispute.
  • IRAN/SOLANA VOA 12 Jan 2004 -- Amid an intensifying political crisis in Iran, a senior E-U official has told Iranian leaders that the way their scheduled February parliamentary election is conducted will have an impact on their country's relations with the European Union.
  • Khatami vows legal action against poll bans IRNA 11 Jan 2004 -- President Mohammad Khatami pledged Sunday to tap legal channels as it emerged that a large number of hopefuls, including many incumbent MPs, had been barred from standing in February`s parliamentary election.
  • IRAN / VOTE VOA 11 Jan 2004 -- Political turmoil erupted in Iran Sunday after powerful conservatives barred large numbers of reformists from entering next month's parliamentary elections.
  • Iran: President Appeals For Calm After Reformists Barred From Elections RFE/RL 11 Jan 2004 -- Iranian President Mohammed Khatami (pictured) has urged his supporters to react calmly to a move by conservatives to bar large numbers of reformists from standing in next month's parliamentary elections.
  • Iran/U.S.: Hopes Of Bilateral 'Earthquake Diplomacy' Appear To Be Crumbling RFE/RL 09 Jan 2004 -- Hopes for a thaw in relations between the United States and Iran due to "earthquake diplomacy" appear to be waning. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said yesterday that U.S. contributions of humanitarian aid to the victims of the Bam earthquake do not represent an improvement in relations. His comments echo those of U.S. President George W. Bush, who has said Tehran needs to do more if it wants closer relations.
  • US must stop repeating previous positions toward Iran: Rafsanjani IRNA 09 Jan 2004 -- Chairman of the Expediency Council (EC) Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here on Friday that the US must stop its previous positions toward Iran if it wants to re-establish ties with the Islamic Republic.
  • U.S.: Washington Welcomes Encouraging News From 'Rogue Regimes' RFE/RL 07 Jan 2004 -- In the span of just a few weeks, Iran, Libya, and now North Korea have all signaled, in one form or another, a willingness to cooperate on allaying international concern about their alleged programs to produce weapons of mass destruction. The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is cautiously welcoming the news from the nonproliferation front, though concerns persist about Pakistan.
  • Iran: A Capital Idea? Experts Disagree On Whether To Relocate Earthquake-Prone Tehran RFE/RL 07 Jan 2004 -- Tehran lies on major seismological fault lines, and following the earthquake in Bam, which killed more than 30,000 people, Iranian officials are considering moving the capital to safer ground. Experts warn that an earthquake in Tehran of the same magnitude as the one in Bam could kill hundreds of thousands of people and destroy most of the city's buildings.
  • Iran: Reformers Warn They May Boycott February Polls RFE/RL 07 Jan 2004 -- An Iranian politician says pro-reform parties may boycott next month's parliamentary elections if many of their candidates are barred from running by hard-liners.
  • Iran `ready to play positive role` in Iraq, says Greenstock IRNA 06 Jan 2004 -- Britain`s special envoy to Iraq, Sir Jeremy Greenstock says that he feels "reassured" that Iran wants to play a positive role in restoring Iraq after holding talks in Tehran.
  • EGYPT / IRAN VOA 06 Jan 2004 -- Egyptian officials say President Hosni Mubarak will travel to Tehran next month to underline the restoration of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Iran, after a break of more than 20 years. The decision to make the trip was made after a key Egyptian demand was met by Tehran's city council.
  • RFE/RL Iran Report, Volume 7, Number 1 05 Jan 2004 -- EARTHQUAKE KILLS THOUSANDS IN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN / GOVERNMENT LOOKS INTO SHODDY CONSTRUCTION / REMOTE CLERICS LEARN VALUE OF SHOWING CONCERN / U.S. AID ARRIVES IN IRAN, BUT 'NO POLITICAL ANGLE.' / IRAN'S PLEAS FOR AID EXCLUDE ISRAEL / GUARDIANS COUNCIL-INTERIOR MINISTRY BATTLE COULD LEAD TO CANCELED ELECTIONS IN TWO PROVINCES / RELATIVELY FEW PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES REJECTED / PARLIAMENT REJECTS MORE GUARDIANS COUNCIL NOMINEES / MINORITIES GET ANOTHER DEGREE OF EQUALITY / KURDISH STUDENTS URGED TO VOTE / FOREIGN CYCLISTS FREED; KIDNAPPERS 'CAPTURED.' / TEHRAN HOSTS ISLAMIC CONFERENCE / SENEGAL GETS $20 MILLION CREDIT LINE FROM IRAN / TEHRAN COMMITS $10 MILLION FOR KYRGYZSTAN INVESTMENT / IRANIANS GET BUSY IN TAJIKISTAN / ISRAEL DENIES THREATENING IRAN / FATE OF MUJAHEDIN KHALQ MEMBERS REMAINS UNCLEAR
  • Shamkhani: Iran will launch its own satellite within 18 months IRNA 05 Jan 2004 -- Iran will launch its locally-built satellite within one and half years, Defense Minister Rear-Admiral Ali Shamkhani said here Monday, adding the launch will make the country the first in the Islamic world to capture outer space.
  • IRAN / CAPITAL VOA 05 Jan 2004 -- Iranian newspapers Monday reported that the government will soon be presented with a proposal to move Iran's capital to a new location because of concerns that earthquakes could devastate Tehran.
  • Time not ripe yet for US delegation visit, says Iran IRNA 04 Jan 2004 -- Iran said Sunday the time was no ripe to receive an official US delegation headed by top Senator Elizabeth Dole to Tehran to deliver American relief.
  • U-S / IRAN VOA 04 Jan 2004 -- The exiled son of the late Shah of Iran says the United States should continue to try to engage the nation of his birth, but do so in such a way that does not prop up the government in Tehran.
  • Iran calls for int`l pressure on Israel to destroy its WMD IRNA 03 Jan 2004 -- Iran`s Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here on Saturday stressed the need for "international pressure" on Israel to make the Zionist regime dismantle its weapons of mass destruction.
  • U-S / IRAN QUAKE VOA 02 Jan 2004 -- Iran has, at least for the time being, turned down a U-S proposal to send a high-level delegation there to underscore the Bush administration's commitment to help Iran with earthquake relief. The delegation was to have been headed by Senator Elizabeth Dole, former president of the American Red Cross.
  • Jannti says Iran not to normalize relations with US IRNA 02 Jan 2004 -- Substitute Leader of the Tehran Friday Prayers Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati blasted the US administration bellicose policies over the past year but wished that the advent of the new Christian year would herald peace and stability to the world.
  • Asefi terms as "human" US aid to Iranian quake-hit people IRNA 02 Jan 2004 -- Spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Hamid Reza Asefi here Friday termed as "human" the United States` action to provide aid to the quake-hit people of Bam, southeast Iran.
  • Iran: U.S., Iranian Leaders Dampen Expectations Of 'Earthquake Diplomacy' RFE/RL 02 Jan 2004 -- Can a dialogue between Washington and Tehran emerge from the rubble of the earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people last week in southeastern Iran? Some U.S. and Iranian officials have hinted it might. But both Tehran and Washington are lowering expectations with tough conditions that are unlikely to be met.
  • Iran: Tehran's Latest Nuclear Efforts Weighing Heavy On Minds Of Proliferation Experts RFE/RL 02 Jan 2004 -- The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization says Tehran has almost completed construction of a plant to produce heavy water. Iran also says it plans to build a 40-megawatt heavy water nuclear reactor next to it. Arms experts are expressing concern over the project, since heavy water reactors can produce plutonium for use in nuclear weapons.
  • U.S Lifts Restrictions to Facilitate Humanitarian Aid for Iran Washington File 01 Jan 2004 -- The United States will issue temporary licenses to individuals and non-governmental organizations permitting the transfer of funds and export of specialized equipment to aid the victims of the devastating earthquake in Bam, Iran, the White House announced December 31.
  • IRAN-IRAN: Earthquake relief having an impact IRIN 01 Jan 2004 -- Teams of Iranian Red Crescent Society volunteers (IRCS) have been distributing ration books to families in each of Bam's twelve districts, six days after the devastating earthquake that claimed an estimated 40,000 lives hit the city. Survivors will be given essentials such as rice, sugar, oil, tea and vegetables, as well as blankets, cooking equipment and sanitary products. After a concern over shelter, the IRCS have also been providing more tents, having allocated over 90,000 by Thursday.
  • BUSH IRAN VOA 01 Jan 2004 -- President Bush says helping the survivors of the earthquake in Iran is the right thing to do. But he stresses his willingness to ease restrictions so American aid can get into Iran does not indicate a change in U-S policy is in the offing. Mr. Bush says there are still conditions that must be met by Tehran.
  • IRAN/QUAKE VOA 01 Jan 2004 -- Iranian officials are responding favorably to the U-S decision to ease sanctions against the Islamic republic to help the flow of humanitarian aid into the country.



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