NewsMax Wires
Saturday, March 13, 2004

And remember, you heard it here first.

NewsMax has learned from a senior State Department official that President Bush has, Alamo-style, drawn a line in the sand over Iran's nuclear weapons programs.

Bush's warning: Either Iran dismantles its nuclear weapons program or else.

Here is how the “crisis” has been unfolding.

On Saturday, Iran halted all international inspections of its nuclear facilities.

This came, as the AP reported, “hours after the U.N. atomic agency issued a resolution censuring Tehran for hiding suspect activities.”

The agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), recently discovered that Iran had been enriching its uranium to a degree that made it crystal clear they were planning to build nuclear weapons.

Faced with this evidence, Iran reneged on an agreement that it signed last year giving IAEA inspectors free access to its nuclear sites. The U.S., led by State Department Under Secretary John Bolton, has pressed for a censure by the IAEA of Iran for failing to comply with its promises.

The U.S. effort was opposed by many in the administration and the State Department. However, President Bush himself made clear his policy: Iran must comply or else.

As expected, the Iranians reacted angrily to the U.S.-sponsored IAEA resolution, with Pirooz Hosseini, Iran's permanent IAEA representative, claiming that "Iran's [nuclear] program is exclusively peaceful."

U.S. chief delegate Kenneth Brill accused Iran of "continuing to pursue a policy of denial, deception and delay."

The AP noted that an IAEA report last month accused Iran of hiding evidence of nuclear experiments and noted the discovery of traces of radioactive polonium, which can be used in nuclear weapons.

The report also expressed concern about the discovery of a previously undisclosed advanced P-2 centrifuge system for enriching uranium.

Editor's note:
Protect yourself from sun, wind, rain – get the desert hat – same one worn by our troops – click here now

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Bush Administration
George W. Bush
Middle East
War on Terrorism