Don’t Bomb Iran

summary: the Telegraph defence editor in Washington provides a headline he must know is misleading - the quote is not even attributed to anybody.  Other things I noted… “according to reports received by Western intelligence” implies secrecy, in fact the Iranians announced it openly and it was in newspapers worldwide-no spying involved;  senior unnamed intell officer says “Iran’s recent activity is a clear escalation of its attempts to enrich uranium to weapons grade. With the UN inspectors out of the way they are basically free to do as they please.” both statements the IAEA would probably disagree with.   The Telegraph is syndicated worldwide.

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original article here

Iran plant ‘has restarted its nuclear bomb-making equipment’
By Con Coughlin, Defence and Security Editor, in Washington
(Filed: 11/02/2006)

Iran’s controversial Natanz uranium processing plant has successfully
restarted the sophisticated equipment that could enable it to produce
material for nuclear warheads, according to reports received by
Western intelligence.

In the past few days Iranian nuclear scientists have reportedly restarted
four of the centrifuges required to produce weapons-grade uranium,
and have begun feeding them with uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas, a
key component in the production of nuclear bombs.

This crucial development follows Iran’s decision to withdraw its co-
operation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
Vienna after the body decided last week to refer Iran to the United
Nations Security Council.

Iranian officials have moved quickly to obstruct the work of the UN
nuclear inspectors still working in the country’s nuclear facilities.

Intelligence officials say restrictions have been imposed on the
inspectors’ movements between the various facilities at Natanz.

They have been specifically excluded from those areas where the
Iranians have announced they would resume uranium enrichment, and
have ordered the UN inspectors to report to officials running the plant
on a daily basis. Security cameras installed by IAEA officials to monitor
key facilities have been disabled.

Having effectively excluded the UN inspection teams from the most
sensitive sites, Iranian nuclear scientists have removed the seals from
the P-2 centrifuges that Iran acquired from Pakistan through the secret
nuclear network operated by Dr A Q Khan, the “father” of Pakistan’s
nuclear bomb.

They have also begun installing tanks in underground bunkers that are
designed for industrial enrichment.

In previous submissions to the UN inspectors, the Iranians insisted they
had acquired the P-2 centrifuges merely for research purposes, They
have continued to insist that their nuclear programme is solely aimed
at developing alternative energy sources.

However, a senior Western intelligence official said: “Iran’s recent
activity is a clear escalation of its attempts to enrich uranium to
weapons grade. With the UN inspectors out of the way they are
basically free to do as they please.”