Iran Stonewalling IAEA About Possible Military Dimensions

By Chris Schang

In a news article the other day the IAEA accused the Iranian government of "stonewalling" the international community on it's nuclear program and there are serious concerns about the military "weapons" aspect of the program. To many of us who have been following Bible prophecy, it is nothing new to us that Iran is seeking to develop both a civilian AND military nuclear weapons program. In fact, many of us will recall Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map" as a result of their anti-semitic hatred towards Israel. There is no doubt that if the Iranians obtain a military nuclear weapons program that they will use it to try to destroy Israel.

In a Jerusalem Post news article the IAEA officials were quoted as saying that Iran has yet to clarify all aspects of their nuclear program. The news article reported:

But on Friday, IAEA officials said Iran was stonewalling the agency about "possible military dimensions" to its suspect nuclear program, urging the regime to clarify the mysterious role of a foreign explosives expert and shed light on other issues. In its latest report, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it has pressed the Islamic Republic to clarify its uranium enrichment activities and reassure the world that it's not trying to build an atomic weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and geared solely toward generating electricity. The United States and key allies contend the country is covertly trying to build an atomic weapon.

Iran for their part has declared that the IAEA report has cleared them of any wrongdoing and shows that their nuclear program is simply for "peaceful" means as they have claimed all along. Iran for their part stated:

Iran said a report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday had confirmed its nuclear program was peaceful and vowed to resist political pressure to change it, Reuters reported on Saturday. "The report emphasized ... that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful," Iran's envoy to IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh reportedly told the Fars news agency on Saturday. "It shows Iran has continued its cooperation with the agency ... but at the same time will not accept any political pressure to take measures beyond its legal commitments," he said.

The IAEA for it's part also noted that Iran had been producing enriched materials at a much slower rate than they had previously been doing. But despite this the IAEA reports that Iran still has not stopped their enrichment activities as demanded by the international community. The IAEA reports:

Ahead of September 2 six-power talks on Iran - and a key meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board a week after that - the IAEA acknowledged that Tehran has been producing nuclear fuel at a slower rate and has allowed UN inspectors broader access to its main nuclear complex in the southern city of Natanz. But the Vienna-based agency delivered a blunt assessment: "Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities."

Further:

"There remains a number of outstanding issues which give rise to concerns and which need to be clarified to exclude the existence of possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," said the text, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. It said the IAEA "does not consider that Iran has adequately addressed the substance of the issues, having focused instead on the style and form ... and providing limited answers and simple denials." The report raised the specter of harsher international sanctions against Iran for not answering lingering questions about its nuclear activities.

Israel for their part has accused the IAEA of hiding incriminating evidence against Iran. In a Jerusalem Post article:

Despite the publication of a critical report on Iran's nuclear program, senior Israeli diplomatic officials are accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency of "hiding critical information on Iran's nuclear progress," the Foreign Ministry said Saturday. IAEA officials said Iran was stonewalling the agency about "possible military dimensions" to its program. In the report, the IAEA said it has pressed Iran to clarify its uranium enrichment activities and reassure the world that it's not trying to build an atomic weapon.

The Israeli's are further quoted as saying:

"The IAEA is the only body recognized by the international community that can prevent the games of deception being played by Iran as it works to build nuclear weapons," a senior Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post Saturday. While Israeli officials would not give details about the information the IAEA was allegedly hiding, "we're talking about information that would be far more incriminating for Iran," the official said. "The 35 member states of the IAEA can't let [the organization] get away with hiding critical information on the dangers of the Iranian program," the official added.

The article went on to say that the IAEA has admitted that Iran is producing enrichment material at a slower rate and that there has been little to nothing done about the Iranian nuclear situation. US President Obama is reported to have given the Iranians an ultimatum of suspending enrichment activities or face further sanctions. To me, this "ultimatum" is simply a form of appeasement to the mullahs in Iran. The international community has been placing sanctions on Iran for years with little to no effect. Iran is skirting the sanctions and has more than enough "friends" to help them trade essential materials and items. Previous articles have even said that EU countries are still trading with Iran despite the UN Security Council sanctions. Talk about "toothless" sanctions.

As for the Israeli claims that the IAEA is holding back incriminating evidence against Iran, I believe that is probably the case. The IAEA director ElBaradei has expressed his political views before and has taken a lax stance on the Iranian nuclear situation. In the past the US tried to have ElBaradei removed from the IAEA but was unsuccessful in making that happen. There could be several reasons for the IAEA to withhold evidence against Iran. One reason could be that the international community is simply afraid of confronting Iran and the potential backlash that could occur for doing so. Iran has in the past threatened to attack Western interests in the Middle East as well as block the strategic Straits of Hormuz should their nuclear program be attacked militarily. Another possible reason is that IAEA director ElBaradei is simply being a good "Islamic" citizen and placing his allegiance towards the Islamic cause. As we know Pakistan, North Korea, and Iran have made significant strides in their nuclear programs under the watch of ElBaradei. It is my opinion that ElBaradei's lax stance towards his job has made him a threat to the world as he will not perform his duties as IAEA director and strongly confront the rogue states who are trying to obtain nuclear weapons for evil purposes. ElBaradei, it should be noted, is an Egyptian who is married to an Iranian wife. To me, ElBaradei has a natural conflict of interest in the current situation with Iran and should be removed from his position. History has shown that ElBaradei is at best a failure at his duty and/or at worse an enabler for evil regimes around the world in their desire to obtain the ultimate weapons of mass destruction.

As we can see things continue to "boil" in the Middle East. The lid is about to fall off the pot from the tension in the region. With the diplomatic stalemate on the Iranian issue it is my opinion that eventually Israel will be forced to act. They are on the front lines of the "war on terror" and that includes not only the terrorist proxies on their borders but the main source of state sponsored terrorism - Iran.

Let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and that the Lord's perfect plan for the redemption of mankind take place according to his perfect will. The God of Israel, he neither sleeps nor slumbers, is surely not surprised by what is happening on the earth. Let that ease our minds and let us take refuge in the Lord. Let us continue to watch the situation in the Middle East and spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. Until next time, keep looking up, your redemption is drawing nigh.

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