makin iran and venezuela bosom buddies

[Guest guest]

part of the problem i see with this story, and the US trying desperately to make

venezuela a bogey man....

Iran doesn't need uranium deposits elsewhere..they already have deposits on

their own territory..and if they didn't, there are deposits closer in russia...

but..gotta make wotever links you can....

i hear chavez beats small puppies and hates santa claus......

 

 

Venezuela, Iran Vs. U.S.

4/5/2006 6:00:00 PM GMT

 

 

 

U.S. is concerned over Venezuela's ties with Iran

 

 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is known for his anti-Americanism and

public support for regimes that oppose the United States. But there is

growing concern that Chavez's government may have taken serious steps

to go beyond mere rhetorical support with a deal that some experts say

could allow Iran access to uranium deposits in Venezuela.

 

Public details of the Venezuelan-Iranian uranium deal are not clear,

but an article on The Washington Post speculates that the agreement

could involve the production and transfer of Venezuelan uranium to

Iran. Media reports also talked of an alleged Israeli intelligence

report that gave an account of the exact locations of uranium deposits

in Venezuela and spoke of " extraction " already taking place in the

State of Bolivar.

 

In addition to the Israeli report, José V. Méndez, a Venezuelan

expert in nuclear matters talked of the establishment of a

" subcommittee of the U.S. Senate " to probe the alleged

Iranian-Venezuelan deal. " If the matter of the subcommittee is true,

I must say that that is precisely like what happened before the Iraq

invasion, " he said.

 

A U.S. State Department official said: " We are aware of reports of

possible Iranian exploitation of Venezuelan uranium, but we see no

commercial uranium activities in Venezuela. "

 

But a Venezuelan diplomat, Julio César Pineda, said that uranium

reserves in Venezuela " were estimated to be approximately 50,000

tons. " He also believes in the possible existence of the Israeli

report. " Israel is on the alert as to what is happening because there

is that Iranian threat of wiping it off the map. Europe is also on the

alert and even the Arabic world... "

 

The speculations come at a critical time between Iran and the West,

after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a non-binding

statement giving Iran 30 days to halt uranium enrichment activities.

 

In January, members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

voted for sending Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council.

Only Venezuela, Cuba and Syria voted against it.

 

" The nuclear matter is very sensitive and the world powers are very

perceptive of that. It is significant that China, who receives 15% of

its oil from Iran, and Russia, who provided it with nuclear technology,

have not voted in favor of Iran at the UN. And yet Venezuela did. They

have already entered us in the game of nuclear chess, " said César

Pineda.

 

Last month, Chavez said that " it's absolutely false that the Iranian

government is developing an atomic bomb. " He also criticized the U.S.

for being hypocritical for maintaining its nuclear weapons and those of

friendly countries while demanding that others " paralyze their programs

for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "

 

Venezuela insists, like Iran, that it seeks atomic technology strictly

for civilian purposes. Chavez recently attempted to purchase his own

nuclear technology from Argentina. But Argentina marked its distance

from the idea of its wealthy neighbor. Iran, on the other hand, hinted

that it will help Venezuela in developing nuclear energy for peaceful

uses and always within the norms of the IAEA.

 

In February, Caracas and Tehran announced that they reached several

agreements during a visit to Venezuela by the speaker of the Iranian

parliament, Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel. One of those deals, perhaps the

most important, could lead to the mining of Venezuelan uranium for

Iranian use, prompting U.S. opposition figures to warn that Chavez's

government could be planning to provide Tehran with uranium for its

nuclear program, according to The Washington Times.

 

Tehran and Caracas also agreed to set up a joint U.S. $200 million

development fund aimed at promoting bilateral trade and consolidate a

relation in which there already existed an old accord meant to oppose

Washington's imperialism. Both countries also signed bilateral

agreements to build homes and factories in the South American country.

 

" Point of no return "

 

Allying himself with states that share his opposition to the U.S. is

nothing new for the oil-rich Chavez, but any deal towards a joint

nuclear effort with Iran is alarming for Washington.

 

The U.S. fears that Venezuela may be sharing uranium with Iran, and

that Iran may be giving secret nuclear advice to Venezuela in order to

avail itself of nuclear fuel. Both countries fear that the Bush

administration may find an excuse for invading them.

 

According to Venezuela's former Defense Minister Raul Salazar,

Chavez' support for Iran's nuclear program was pushing relations

with Washington past " the point of no return. " Caracas' support for

Tehran has so far been purely political, he said, but " that is not to

say [uranium transfers to Tehran] couldn't happen in the future. "

 

But Chavez dismissed the reports of the Venezuelan-Iranian uranium deal

as being part of an " imperialist plan " propagated by international news

media. " Now they say I am sending uranium to make atomic bombs from

here, from the Venezuelan Amazon to send directly to the Persian Gulf, "

he said last week. " This shows they have no limit in their capacity to

invent lies. "

 

Venezuelan Foreign Commerce and Integration Minister Gustavo Marquez

also denied sending uranium shipments to the Middle East. " There is no

sort of exploitation of that, " he said.

 

And Venezuela's former representative to the IAEA, Leancy Clemente

Lobo, said: " I do not believe that uranium is being taken out of

Venezuela sent to Iran, because they have more of it there that we do

here. Iran does not need Venezuela in the nuclear sector; quite to the

contrary. But one must be careful to recognize and accept the rules of

the game. There has always been this hullabaloo because it is a kind of

neuralgia; it happened to Pakistan with respect to India, Korea lives

it now, Brazil and Argentina expressed it in their time. And this is

Venezuela's moment. "

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=11088

 

 

 

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