White House seeks to soften Iran sanctions

Cleverer Schachzug, schließlich sollte man nicht gleich zu Beginn der Verhandlungen sein ganzes Pulver verschießen:

The Obama administration is pressing Congress to provide an exemption from Iran sanctions to companies based in „cooperating countries,“ a move that likely would exempt Chinese and Russian concerns from penalties meant to discourage investment in Iran.

The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act is in a House-Senate conference committee and is expected to reach President Obama’s desk by Memorial Day. [Weiterlesen…]

Iran’s Secret Uranium Deal with Zimbabwe

Ryan Mauro über den atomaren Deal zwischen der „Islamischen Republik“ und Zimbabwe (deutsche Medien berichteten ausführlichst):

On April 22, the Drudge Report linked to an article about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad meeting with Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. It failed to cause a fuss, but it tells us a lot about why General David Petraeus believes that Iran’s nuclear program has been delayed and we have at least until the end of the year before it gets the bomb.

Iran secretly agreed last month to provide Zimbabwe with oil in return for being given access to its uranium ore, the basic material that must be enriched in order to create the fuel for a nuclear bomb. Iranian scientists have been studying the African nation’s deposits for over a year to prepare for mining. The Iranian regime may have enriched some of its uranium to 20 percent, but they will still need a lot of uranium ore to create a nuclear arsenal. This latest cooperation with Zimbabwe confirms reports that this is where the Iranians are having trouble. [Weiterlesen…]

Iranian missile may be able to hit U.S. by 2015

Reuters:

(Reuters) – Iran may be able to build a missile capable of striking the United States by 2015, according to an unclassified Defense Department report on Iran’s military sent to Congress and released on Monday.  „With sufficient foreign assistance, Iran could probably develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the United States by 2015,“ said the April report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.  A classified version was also submitted to Congress. [Weiterlesen…]