Getting entry to the site at Parchin has been an obstacle for the IAEA

The IAEA visited Parchin twice in 2005. According to reports, the high-explosives test chamber the IAEA has an interest in was installed in 2000.
BBC News, Nov 3, 2005:

UN inspectors visit Iran complex
United Nations nuclear inspectors have been allowed to visit Iran’s sensitive Parchin military complex.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is trying to check US claims that tests linked to nuclear weapons’ development have taken place there.

The agency has threatened to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions unless its inspectors get full co-operation.

Iran is under pressure over its nuclear programme, which it says is peaceful.

Parchin is a centre for munitions work about 30km (19 miles) south-east of Tehran, which the IAEA has sought to re-inspect since it was last there in January this year.

“We are pleased that we can confirm that IAEA inspectors got access to buildings at the Parchin site as we had requested,” a spokesman for the Vienna-based agency said.

The US, Israel and Iran share a mutual interest is keeping Iran in the news.

The US needs to retain its designated principal world enemy to promote its interests with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf despots. For example, the $60bn arms sale to SA.

For Israel it’s more aid from the US and keeping Palestine, settlements etc. entirely off the news desk.

Iran’s leaders benefit from the attack threats — United We Stand thinking that all countries use. The sanctions are forced encouragement to diversify Iran’s economy and become more self-dependent, which are not bad. Monetary devaluation helps their exports (we hate when China does it). Iran is exporting more gasoline, electricity and petrochemicals among others. They have the second-largest world gas deposits, which next-door Pakistan desperately needs, but the US is leaning hard on Pakistan so the jury is still out on the I-P gas line. Meanwhile Iran is exporting gas to several countries.

Maybe the game plan is to let Israel attack, which would trigger the “Whore for Israel/AIPAC” reflex in DC, pushing Obomba to back Israel with force.

The window is closing, because it won’t be long before Iran will have its nuclear stuff buried so deep it can’t be destroyed by bombs.

Otherwise, it’s get used to a nuclear Iran.

I wonder if there are a few Senate Republicans and Democrats who may well realize just what havoc attacking Iran would cause to the teetering world economy. Don’t be surprised if they make lots of woofy noises about introducing legislation that’s super-tough, but somehow get distracted by other things and fail to push any such legislation.

Just the rumor of war with Iran is enough to tack on twenty to thirty cents a gallon at the pump here in the US. (Notice how prices have dropped since the former IDF and Mossad and Knesset heads have come out to say that attacking Iran is stupid?) No way does Obama want gas prices at $4.00 or above this summer — that would kill him in November.

What do you mean about burying nuclear stuff? I don’t get it.

Phoenix’ puts the 8-ball in the side pocket.

What’s ” beginning to work” is the fact that if one JDAM goes sailing into Iran, or one Israeli bomb falls on an Iranian site, Barack Obama won’t be re-elected.

Thus, the deal(s) he has certainly cut with Natanyahu, to try to ensure that neither happens before he can (he hopes) win a second term.

Iran has the capability of sinking US Navy warships, and a whole lot of other options besides against Israel and against US installations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. So nobody’s going to attack Iran except by mistake, and mistakes do happen.

What’s the big problem with “getting used to a nuclear Iran”?
Pakistan has had nukes for quite some time, and Israel has at least 200.
Maybe we should help them develop some old-school A-bombs, bring back their national pride and self-confidence.
The answer is what’s really troubling.
(They hate us for our freedom?)

I wonder if there are a few Senate Republicans and Democrats who may well realize just what havoc attacking Iran would cause to the teetering world economy. Don’t be surprised if they make lots of woofy noises about introducing legislation that’s super-tough, but somehow get distracted by other things and fail to push any such legislation.

I’m more worried about the legislation they pass by sticking on to war with Iran budget bills. After all you can’t veto war bills over a few billion here and a few billion there.
Plus any security measure like spying on Americans, torture etc will likely get passed during a war if it lasts long enough.
A bailout for the banks could be passed easily during a war just blame Iran for the war making the cost of oil go up and tanking the stock market.
As long as America does not have to blame Banker incompetence another bank bailout will be an easier sell.
Heck the push for war with Iran could just be cover for another bank bailout and lower taxes for the rich.

We’re talking about a potential war on suspected ambitions. It doesn’t get any flimsier than that.

But of course that’s not the real reason, is it. Even pols aren’t THAT stupid. It’s about the fact that when the US says “sit” Iran continues to stand. Makes you want to roll up a newspaper and swat ‘em. That’s where they’re at.

According to one report, when the Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani visited Moscow in October 2001 he requested a test firing of the Sunburn, which the Russians were only too happy to arrange. So impressed was Ali Shamkhani that he placed an order for an undisclosed number of the missiles.
The Sunburn can deliver a 200-kiloton nuclear payload, or: a 750-pound conventional warhead, within a range of 100 miles, more than twice the range of the Exocet. The Sunburn combines a Mach 2.1 speed (two times the speed of sound) with a flight pattern that hugs the deck and includes “violent end maneuvers” to elude enemy defenses. The missile was specifically designed to defeat the US Aegis radar defense system. Should a US Navy Phalanx point defense somehow manage to detect an incoming Sunburn missile, the system has only seconds to calculate a fire solution not enough time to take out the intruding missile. The US Phalanx defense employs a six-barreled gun that fires 3,000 depleted-uranium rounds a minute, but the gun must have precise coordinates to destroy an intruder “just in time.”

story/2012/03/19/1075317/-We-can-t-win-a-war-with-Iran-not-if-they-have-half-a-brain-

If iran decides to go after oil tankers the price of oil will go sky high and oil tankers don’t have missile defense systems. If Iran shoots the oil tankers at the narrowest part of the Gulf they can block the gulf to further traffic from oil tankers.
Never mind they can sink our ships. I guess nobody in the Pentagon has heard of economic warfare?

Never mind they can sink our ships.

I can’t do that. Sinking an aircraft carrier with 5,000+ squids and airpeople would be beyond tragic. Besides land-based cruise missiles, Iran has thousands of speedboats with them, plus smart mines plus submarines.

The US Navy has been so busy beating up on weak countries that it is not prepared for Iran’s armaments.
May 4, 2012
Iran Mine Threat Scares Navy; CNO Scrambles To Fix Decades Of Neglect
When asked point-blank whether he was “comfortable” with the Navy’s mine-clearing capabilities, the Chief of Naval Operations said bluntly, “No.”

I would characterize that as completely unhelpful, and an attempt to derail the talks.

It’s also perfectly consistent with this administration’s “diplomatic efforts,” which always turn more hostile the moment any progress is seen. As for the IAEA, the US picked the current head and he’s also said some disturbing things in the past.

As for whining neo-cons, just keep in mind that includes 97% of the US Congress, Hillary Clinton, a significant population at the Pentagon (though they don’t seem dominant), the vast foreign policy think-tank circuit and so on. Also, probably Barack Obama, since he’s not willing to put the brakes on the road to war. In Europe, those states also seem to be lining up for hostilities as well.

So we’re not talking about a piddling group of whiners. It comprises most of the US political establishment.

I’ll grant there are some nice words being said. But, no actions that are any different.

This is so odd. I doubt you’d swallow this kind of line from the GOP, yet you take Iran’s talk at face value.

During all the talk and sanctions, Iran has continued to progress down the road with no detours. The ONLY thing that has slowed them are the STUX and the odd cars of scientists having indigestion.

Now, if Iran announced it would allow unfettered access to all sites and all suspected sites, etc. then I’d believe they were negotiating in good faith.

Neocons once told us that the revenue from Iraqi oil would pay for our war to take it. 60 billion, max. “But we really only want to get the WMDs”. That prediction didn’t work out even remotely close to reality. China has a better oil contract than we got without firing a shot. No WMD. 1 trillion and counting unreimbursed pricetag.

Does someone make Wolfowitz piñatas?

We’ve got enough middle east democratic footholds to last several lifetimes and oil-sand from Canada. Tell Israel to shut-up and parley with the Palestinians. We don’t have extra trillions to play war games with, just to support their intransigent egos. Israel wouldn’t be so belligerent if we told them that if they start a old-testament fight, its their problem. Jesus said to make peace. Its been 67 years already, I guess my Holocaust sympathy and good will is wearing thin.

Let Iran have some nucs, its no big deal,.. terrorists can get them from Pakistan now if they tried hard enough anyway. Lindsey can have his war if and when they use one on us.

Nobody in the world allows visitations to all of its military sites, and only a Zionist sympathizer would suggest that Iran should. Israel doesn’t even allow the IAEA into their country and won’t sign any treaty, even though the Arabs who actually live in the area fear Israel (which has nukes) much more than Iran (which doesn’t).

You can’t reason with lunatics. Look at Sadam Hussein. That guy was in the catbird seat after the first Gulf War as we let him stay in power. What a friggin moron he was. All he had to do to keep him anda his sons “in power” was lete the damn UN inspectors see that h e had no WMD. If so, he’d likely still be there.

This may be what is being referenced. Anyway, hope it helps.

A few Democrats eh ?.You need to read David’s post again.

This is what David wrote,”But while Republicans – and sadly, most Democrats – continue to ramp up the frenzy toward war,”

The Dem Party just like the GOP is a corrupt entity.

You make a lousy warmonger (which is good).
The Fordo conversion site is under full IAEA surveillance. Nothing is “buried.”
Which is why kafka went silent.

Russia & China haven’t been factored into this equation, at least not in the Western punditocracy/expertocracy. When even the “Good Cop”, Medvedev, as opposed to the “Bad Cop” Putin, cautions about the game going nuclear, there is a huge problem. With the Pentagon overflowing with hubris/triumphalism in building a noose around Russia and China via the now global Anti-Missile Shield, they are blinded to the severe danger. An attack on Iran from whatever quarter, directly or thru a third party like NATO “humanitarian bombing” and invasion, via “NATO rebels”, of Syria would be just the fuse to set off a catastrophic spiral.

Here is one reference for my above post:

http://rt.com/politics/infringing-sovereignty-nuclear-apocalypse-482/

Hi, NCG –

The U.N. inspectors were in fact in Iran.

I remember very clearly hearing George W. Bush’s warning to the U.N. inspectors just before the U.S. invaded. He addressed them directly, telling them to get out of Iraq because the U.S. was coming in to bomb.

NPR carried the Bush talk.

Why tell the inspectors to get out of Iraq unless they’re in it?