Iran Gives IAEA Warhead Blueprints
Iran handed over a nuclear weapons blueprint to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday, which details how to mold uranium into hemispheres used for making nuclear weapons.
The IAEA requested the documents four years ago after finding them accidentally during an inspection of Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iranian officials said they received the plans unsolicited from AQ Khan's nuclear smuggling network, and that they do not indicate Iran's intention to build an atomic warhead.
The blueprint arrived ahead of an IAEA report due this week that will evaluate Iranian cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
The report will most likely confirm Iran is continuing to enrich uranium in defiance of a UN Resolution.
British PM's Speech Signals United Western Bloc
Western powers have given the impression over that last several days that they will push harder on Iran as a united bloc.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave a speech on Monday suggesting the UK would help bring tougher EU sanctions against Iran if Russia and China continued blocking a third round of sanctions in the UN Security Council.
Britain, France, the US, Russia and China sit on the council and each country has the power to veto potential sanctions.
Mr. Brown's Monday speech places Britain in line with French and US leaders who have endorsed EU sanctions regardless of the outcome at the UN.
A US envoy was quick to call the hand-over of the blueprints "selective cooperation."
The concern, it seems, is that Russia and China may point to the documents as evidence of Iranian transparency and continue to prevent the security council from taking action.
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