Calls for tougher sanctions against Iran following IAEA report

A UN nuclear watchdog report is expected to show concern that Iran benefited from foreign expertise to help develop technology that could be used to build atomic bombs, Western officials said yesterday.

Tehran is “clearly trying to reach out to nuclear scientists around the world,” a Western diplomat accredited to the UN agency in Vienna said, suggesting it was a case of Iran contacting individuals rather than their governments.

Other Western officials painted a similar picture of suspected foreign involvement in providing know-how for activities seen as geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability, but it was unclear how extensive it had been.

China warns of turmoil over Iran, mute on sanctions

A general view shows the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, about 1,215km south of Tehran, in this file photo of November 30, 2009. China warned on November 9, 2011 against turmoil in the Middle East from action over Iran’s nuclear programme.


China warned today against turmoil in the Middle East from action over Iran’s nuclear programme, but declined to comment on the possibility of new sanctions following a UN report that Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China was “studying” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, and repeated a call to resolve the issue peacefully through talks.







“I wish to point out that China opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and disapproves of any Middle Eastern country developing nuclear weapons. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran bears the responsibilities of nuclear non-proliferation,” he told a daily news briefing.

“The Iranian side should also demonstrate flexibility and sincerity, and engage in serious cooperation with the agency,” Hong said, referring to the IAEA.

“I want to stress that avoiding fresh turmoil in the Middle Eastern security environment is important for both the region and for the international community.”

Hong made no mention of sanctions, and indicated China was in no rush to take the matter back to the United Nations Security Council, saying only that all sides should do more to promote dialogue and cooperation.

“I’ve already pointed out that China has consistently advocating using dialogue and cooperation to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue,” he said, when asked about the possibility of new unilateral US sanctions on Iran.

Chinese policy-makers are caught between their demand for Iranian oil and worry that the United States and its allies will demand harsher sanctions against Iran, even risk military action, after the IAEA concluded Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic weapon.

China has kept close ties with Iran but has also backed past UN Security Council resolutions criticising Iran’s position on nuclear issues and authorising limited sanctions.

But China has repeatedly resisted Western proposals for sanctions that could seriously curtail its energy and economic ties with Iran. As one of the Security Council’s five permanent members, China holds the power to veto any resolutions.

China has also denounced the United States and European Union for imposing their own separate sanctions on Iran, and said they should not take steps reaching beyond the UN resolutions.

“WHITE HOT”

A Chinese state newspaper said a standoff between Iran and the West over Iran’s nuclear plans could erupt in military conflict.

“It is clear that contention between the various sides over the Iranian nuclear issue has reached white hot levels and could even be on the precipice of a showdown,” the overseas edition of the People’s Daily said in a front-page commentary.

If Iran refused to back down in the face of growing US conviction that it was developing nuclear weapons, “the risks of war will grow”, said the paper, noting reports that Israel could consider a military strike on Iranian nuclear sites.

The People’s Daily is the top newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party and broadly reflects official thinking, as well as the anxieties weighing on Beijing after the latest UN nuclear agency report.

China’s official Xinhua news agency also suggested that Beijing would respond warily to the report. The UN watchdog still “lacks a smoking gun”, Xinhua said in a commentary.

“There are no witnesses or physical evidence to prove that Iran is making nuclear weapons,” it said.

“In dealing with the Iran nuclear issue, it is extremely dangerous to rely on suspicions, and the destructive consequences of any armed action would endure for a long time.”

China is likely to face difficult choices as it tries to keep steady ties with the United States, which is likely to introduce new unilateral sanctions on Iran.

“If these sanctions harm China’s substantive interests, then China will have to respond in some way,” said Li Hong, the secretary general of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, a government-controlled body.

“It would certainly have an impact on bilateral relations,” Li said in an interview.

ONUS ON CHINA?

Iran is China’s third-largest crude oil supplier, shipping 20.3 million tonnes in the first nine months of the year, up by almost a third on the same time last year, according to Chinese data. Overall trade between the two countries grew to US$32.9 billion in value in the first nine months, up by 58 per cent.

“The onus will really be on China, as the only country whose economic relations with Iran have grown,” Suzanne Maloney an expert on Iran at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington, said in a telephone interview.

Over the past year or more, China has quietly stalled on oil and gas investments in Iran, seeking to ward off stricter unilateral sanctions from Washington while preserving a foothold in Iran. But that implicit deal will come under growing pressure, especially from Congress, said Maloney.

“They’ve had a compromise for the past 18 months of a go-slow in investment. But it’s difficult to see how that bargain can hold in the wake of the latest revelations,” said Maloney.

Citing what it called “credible” information from member states and elsewhere, the IAEA said Iran appeared to have carried out activities applicable to developing nuclear weapons, such as high explosives testing and developing a trigger that could be used for an atomic bomb.

This week and last, China urged Iran to show flexibility over its nuclear programme and warned that the use of force to resolve the issue was the last thing the Middle East needed.

Li from the Chinese arms control association said Beijing was worried about the tension, but war remained a slim risk.

“Overall, I think the international conditions show governments couldn’t stomach armed conflict over Iran,” he said.

“The US economy is in poor shape, and Europe has its debt crisis,” he said. “Iran is not like Libya; it has the strength to counter attack.”

Meanwhile, France said today it wanted to bring together members of the UN Security Council after an International Atomic Energy Agency report said Iran had worked to develop an atomic bomb design.

“Convening of the UN Security Council is called for,” Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told RFI radio.

“We cannot accept this situation which is a threat,” said Juppe, adding that France was ready to toughen sanctions.

“We need hard sanctions that prevent Iran from continuing to obtain resources that allow it to pursue its activities in violation of all international rules,” said Juppe.

Japan PM, facing no-confidence vote, says won’t quit

A file photo of Naoto Kan (R) and Ichiro Ozawa in Tokyo. The ruling party power broker has hinted he would back the no-confidence motion if the premier refused to quit

Unpopular Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan today refused to step down in the face of a no-confidence motion in parliament this week, saying he wanted first to resolve the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Analysts expect Kan to survive the vote, which could be submitted as early as tomorrow, but say he will still face major hurdles pushing policies through a fractious parliament, including an extra budget to help pay for the recovery from the damage caused by the huge earthquake and tsunami in March which devastated the Fukushima nuclear plant.

“I cannot give up the responsibility to do what needs to be done now. I would like to resolve the nuclear crisis first,” Kan told a panel in parliament.

“I am determined to perform my duty.”



The prospect of even more political confusion mounted after media said ruling party power broker Ichiro Ozawa had hinted he would back the no-confidence motion if the premier refused to quit.

Kan, who took office last June as the fifth premier in as many years, is battling to control the nuclear crisis, figure out how to pay for rebuilding the northeast region hit by the quake and tsunami, and draft tax reforms to pay for rising social security costs.

The government needs to enact a bill enabling the issuance of fresh bonds to fund 44 per cent of the US$1 trillion (RM3 trillion) budget for the year from April and find ways to pay for rebuilding from the natural disasters, Japan’s biggest reconstruction project since after World War Two.

The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its allies need 70 or more of the 305 ruling Democratic Party lower house members to defect to secure passage of the motion, which would force Kan to resign or call a snap lower house election.

Kan’s departure could ease the path for a coalition with the LDP that would make it easier to pass legislation in a divided parliament. But who would replace him is unclear and whether a new premier would be able to manage such an unwieldy group is in doubt. Many think Kan is too stubborn to quit.

COALITION OR CONFUSION?

Ozawa, a veteran politician known as the “Destroyer” for his record of shaking up politics, told his followers he would push for Kan to step down on his own but hinted he would back the no-confidence motion if that failed, media quoted sources close to him as saying.

“If such efforts are unsuccessful, I will make a decision when I need to,” Ozawa was quoted as saying.

Some analysts said financial markets would welcome Kan’s resignation since a broad coalition with the LDP would make it easier to agree on tough policy decisions such as raising the five per cent sales tax to pay for ballooning social security costs.

“A formation of a grand coalition will be a big win for Japanese politics after the poor performance following the earthquake,” said Takuji Okubo, chief Japan economist at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking.

Others questioned the wisdom of political infighting at a time when Japan faces so many challenges.

Data today showed the economy was rebounding from the natural disasters, but doubts remain about the outlook for long-term reforms.

“Do they just want to bully Kan? Do they have anyone who can replace him? Do they have an extra budget plan? I don’t know why they are trying to create a tense political situation now,” said Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital Japan.

“From foreign investors’ point of view, it is hard to predict what will happen to policies and they will probably avoid getting involved with a risk of the unknown.”

VP reveals Ahmadinejad's UN message -Iran, US take their nuclear cases to UN stage

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in New York to take part in the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his address in New York will foil US efforts to isolate Tehran over it civilian nuclear program, says his vice president.

Ahmadinejad's message to the UN nuclear disarmament conference is that "Iran will not give up even a portion of its inalienable nuclear rights," Vice President Lotfollah Forouzandeh was quoted by Fars News as saying on Monday.

He added that the president's New York visit also "conveys the Iranian nation's message of peace and friendship to the world and shows that the Islamic Republic is empowered more than ever, while the global arrogance is weakened."

President Ahmadinejad arrived in New York early on Monday to take part in the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The conference, which will run from May 3 to May 28, aims to monitor global progress in fulfilling disarmament obligations set out in the NPT.

"The participation of Ahmadinejad in the NPT Review Conference shows that Iran seeks lasting peace and security in the world and it is the colonialist countries that threaten others with nuclear bombs," Forouzandeh said.

The US and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful enrichment program and are vying to rally support for UN Security Council sanctions against the country.

Iran, a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the NPT, has repeatedly dismissed the allegations, maintaining that its nuclear program is solely aimed at civilian applications of the technology.





Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brings his nuclear case to New York on Monday, turning a U.N. treaty conference into a stage for Tehran's long-running showdown with the Western powers over its uranium enrichment program.

The only head of state participating, Ahmadinejad was one of Monday's scheduled kickoff speakers for the monthlong session, to review the workings of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

Departing Tehran on Sunday, the Iranian leader made clear he would assail U.S.-led efforts to impose a new round of U.N. sanctions on his country for refusing to stop its enrichment program, which Washington and others contend is meant to produce the nuclear fuel for bombs in violation of Iran's NPT obligations.

"Under the pretext of prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation, they impose heavy pressures on independent countries," Ahmadinejad complained to reporters.

He is also expected to counter with a denunciation of the United States and other nuclear-armed nations for their slow movement toward disarmament. "The atomic bomb has become a tool for bullying, domination and expansionism," he said Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, following Ahmadinejad to the U.N. stage later Monday, suggested over the weekend he was coming to New York "to divert attention and confuse the issue."

"We're not going to permit Iran to try to change the story from their failure to comply" with the NPT, she said on Sunday's "Meet the Press" on NBC.

The U.S. delegation will find an ally in U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said last week that "the onus is on you" — Ahmadinejad — to prove the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, as Iran claims.

While delegates assess the state of the NPT in U.N. conference halls, American and European diplomats will be working elsewhere to reach agreement with the sometimes reluctant China and Russia on a fourth round of U.N. Security Council economic penalties to impose on Iran.

Although Ahmadinejad's presence meant the first-day agenda was dominated by the Iran issue, it was only the beginning of a four-week diplomatic marathon meant to produce a consensus final document pointing toward ways to better achieve the NPT's goals of checking the spread of nuclear weapons, while working toward reducing and eventually eliminating them.

The treaty is regarded as the world's single most important pact on nuclear arms, credited with preventing their proliferation to dozens of nations since it entered into force in 1970. It was a grand global bargain: Nations without nuclear weapons committed not to acquire them; those with them committed to move toward their elimination; and all endorsed everyone's right to develop peaceful nuclear energy.

The 189 treaty members — every nation but India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea, all of which have nuclear arsenals or weapons programs — gather every five years to discuss new approaches to problems, by agreeing, for example, that the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear inspection agency, should be strengthened.

But the NPT conference cannot easily "name and shame" an alleged treaty violator, such as Iran, since as a member state its delegation would block consensus.

At three of seven past conferences, delegates failed to produce a declaration, including in 2005, at a time when the U.S. administration, under President George W. Bush, was unenthusiastic about arms control talks.

President Barack Obama has steered the U.S. back onto a negotiating track, including with a new U.S.-Russian agreement to reduce their thousands of long-range nuclear arms. Despite that, Libran N. Cabactulan, the Philippine diplomat who is president of this 2010 NPT conference, said he finds the No. 1 goal of many treaty nations is to press the NPT nuclear powers — also including Britain, France and China — to move more rapidly toward disarmament.

To that end, the Nonaligned Movement of 118 developing nations has submitted to the conference a detailed "plan of action" for moving toward global nuclear disarmament by 2030. One its earliest steps is full ratification and entry into force of the 1996 treaty banning all nuclear tests.

In the first concrete step associated with this 2010 meeting, Indonesia announced last week it would ratify the test-ban treaty. Obama has pledged to push for U.S. ratification of the pact, which was rejected by the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate in 1999.

Iran says to consider processing nuclear fuel abroad

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaks during a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Michael Spindelegger (not pictured) in Vienna April 25, 2010.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here on Sunday that Iran is willing to consider enriching uranium in other countries as suggested by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

At a joint press conference held after meeting his Austrian counterpart Michael Spindelegger, the visiting Iranian official said his country is willing to negotiate on the issue, but details should be worked out later. He said he will discuss the issue with members of the UN Security Council.

Mottaki reiterated that Iran has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and there was no reason for sanctions against Iran on the issue. Furthermore, the sanctions imposed on Iran over the past five years have been ineffectual, he added.



But Spindelegger said Iran should cooperate with the global community on the issue actively, otherwise "the trend of sanctions against Iran" will continue.

He also said that he "did obtain some new messages" during the meeting with Mottaki, but he still needs to evaluate them. The massages will be disclosed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers next Monday.

Mottaki also met IAEA chief Yukiya Amano during his visit to Vienna.

The United States, other Western countries and Israel criticized Iran's nuclear plan, which they said is intended to develop nukes. But Iran said its nuclear plan is for peaceful purposes only and defended its right to use nuclear energy.

The IAEA made a proposal last autumn, suggesting that Iran take its low-enrichment uranium of 3.5 percent to other countries, where it can be processed into high-enrichment uranium of 20 percent before being sent back to Iran. The processed high-enrichment uranium will be then used as fuel for nuclear reactors and for medical purpose.

Iran blames 'U.S. and Zionists' after top nuclear scientist is killed by remote-controlled motorcycle bomb -US denies 'absurd' claim of role in Iran bombing

Tehran University professor Massoud Ali-Mohammadi who was killed by a bomb in front of his home

Iranian fire fighters wash the scene of a bombing in northern Tehran's Qeytariyeh neighborhood this morning

Professor Massoud Ali Mohammadi was killed as he was climbing into his car when a nearby parked motorbike exploded

An Iranian security agent speaks on his mobile phone at the scene of the explosion which killed Professor Mohammadi

ran has blamed the U.S. and Israel for the assassination of one of the country's top nuclear scientists.

Massoud Ali Mohammadi was killed this morning by a bomb-rigged motorcycle parked outside his Tehran home.

He has just left the house on his way to work when the remote-controlled explosion went off.

Websites linked to the country's clerical leadership blamed the killing on an armed Iranian opposition group under the direction of Israeli agents.

But Massoud Ali Mohammadi was a vocal supporter of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi after the disputed presidential election result last June.

The blast shattered the windows of Mohammadi's home in northern Tehran's Qeytariyeh neighborhood and left the pavement outside smeared with blood and strewn with debris.

It is unclear whether the 50-year-old was actively involved in the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, which controls the country's nuclear programme.

'Signs of the triangle of wickedness by the Zionist regime (Israel), America and their hired agents, are visible in the terrorist act,' the Foreign Ministry said.

'Such terrorist acts and the apparent elimination of the country's nuclear scientists will definitely not obstruct scientific and technological processes,' it added.

A US government spokesman described the accusations as 'absurd'.
Another Iranian nuclear scientist, Shahram Amiri, disappeared in June while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Amiri's disappearance raised questions about whether he defected and gave the West information on Iran's nuclear program, but Iran's foreign minister accused the U.S. of helping to kidnap him and asked for his return.

Amiri worked at a university linked to the elite Revolutionary Guard military corps and his wife said he was researching medical uses of nuclear technology at a university.

In 2007, state TV reported that another nuclear scientist, Ardeshir Hosseinpour, died as a result of gas poisoning.

A one-week delay in the reporting of his death prompted speculation about the causes, including that Israel's Mossad spy agency was to blame.

The United States and its allies in Europe have been pushing Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, a technology that can be used to make fuel for power plants but which also offers a possible pathway to weapons development.

Israel has threatened to take military action if diplomatic efforts fail.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday said the Obama administration has concluded that the best way to pressure Iran to come clean on its nuclear ambitions is to impose sanctions aimed at the country's ruling elite.

'It is clear that there is a relatively small group of decision makers inside Iran,' Clinton told reporters traveling with her on the first leg of a nine-day trip across the Pacific.

'They are in both political and commercial relationships, and if we can create a sanctions track that targets those who actually make the decisions, we think that is a smarter way to do sanctions. But all that is yet to be decided upon.'

Iran is already under three sets of U.N. sanctions for refusing to freeze its enrichment work.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, told reporters that sanctions would not work.
'This is not a constructive attitude,' he said. 'I do not think the issue can be solved this way. Instead, our nuclear rights should be respected.'

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi confirmed that Ali Mohammadi had been killed and added that there had been no arrests.

Iran denies having any intention to produce weapons and insists its nuclear work only has peaceful aims, such as energy production.

Mohammadi was the author of several articles on quantum and theoretical physics in scientific journals.

He also was a member of some academic associations focusing on experimental science, but he did not appear to have any high-profile role in promoting Iran's nuclear programme.

He received his doctorate in 1992 from the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran.

The assassination of one of Iran's nuclear scientists is an indication of the country's advancement in different scientific fields, the head of a leading scientific establishment in the capital said Tuesday.

Professor Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, a lecturer at Tehran University, was killed by a booby-trapped motorbike blast in the Iranian capital earlier in the day. The explosion took place near the professor's home in the Qeytariyeh neighborhood of northern Tehran.

"Our scientific expertise has prompted our enemies to target our scientists," Mohammad-Javad Larijani, who heads the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, said.

Ali-Mohammadi had cooperated with the institute that offers various advanced PhD degrees in areas such as Mathematical Logic and Plasma Physics among others.

The enemy, the Berkeley-educated mathematician said, has made a colossal mistake as the death of one scientist will only motivate tens of other Ali-Mohammadi's to rise in his place.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said that it found traces of US and Israel's involvement in the assassination of an Iranian nuclear physics scientist.

"Primary investigations into the assassination revealed signs of the involvement of the Zionist regime [Israel], the US and their allies in Iran," ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said.

Mohammad Marandi, a professor at Tehran University, told Press TV that Ali-Mohammadi's colleagues at the capital's most prestigious university believe the attack was orchestrated by the West.

"It is widely believed among collogues that he was assassinated by terrorist organizations probably supported by the United States and with connections with the Americans and the Israelis under different names," he said.

"Unfortunately when it comes to Iran anything is acceptable in the eyes of the foreign powers."

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Read more about Iran Nuclear Plan



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Iran's New Missile Flies Farther, Faster and Can Be Launched in Minutes

The White House said on Wednesday that Iran's test of an upgraded missile undermines its insistence of peaceful intentions and will be looked upon seriously by the world.



Iranian armed forces launched the high-speed surface-to-surface Sajjil-2 missile today

a high-speed, surface-to-surface missile with a range of about 1,200 miles.
That range places Israel well within reach and increases the threat against south-eastern Europe.

The launch will increase tensions between Gordon Brown, pictured here being interviewed today, and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over his country's military and nuclear intentions

The White House said on Wednesday that Iran's test of an upgraded missile undermines its insistence of peaceful intentions and will be looked upon seriously by the world.

"At a time when the international community has offered Iran opportunities to begin to build trust and confidence, Iran's missile tests only undermine Iran's claims of peaceful intentions," White House spokesman Mike Hammer said.

"Such actions will increase the seriousness and resolve of the international community to hold Iran accountable for its continued defiance of its international obligations on its nuclear program," he said.

Gordon Brown today called for fresh sanctions against Iran after it successfully tested a missile capable of striking Israel.

The Prime Minister described the testing of the Sajjil-2 missile as a 'provocative act' which raised fresh concerns about Tehran's intentions.

A senior British official said the missile test suggested progress on persuading Iran to pursue peace was 'going backwards'.

t will also fuel fears about Iran's nuclear programme, with the new missile suggesting any nuclear warhead could potentially be launched against Israel.

Mr Brown discussed the development when he met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at climate change talks in Copenhagen.

He said afterwards: 'I have expressed to him and he has also expressed concern about the test of a long-range missile by Iran.

'This is a matter of serious concern to the international community and it does make the case for us moving further on sanctions.

'We will treat this with the seriousness it deserves.'

The warning followed an announcement from Iran that it had successfully tested its Sajjil-2 missile, a high-speed, surface-to-surface missile with a range of about 1,200 miles.

That range places Israel well within reach and increases the threat against south-eastern Europe.

Iran has intensified its missile development program in recent years to the anger of Israel and the West. Tehran is also suspected of trying to build a nuclear weapon.

EU leaders agreed last week to pursue a 'dual track' approach towards Iran, offering negotiations that would allow it to pursue a civilian nuclear programme while also beginning work on possible

Mr Brown's words suggest he will push for a tough new sanctions package against Iran when the UK, France, Germany, the US, China and Russia meet in the new year to discuss Iran.

A British official said: 'It is extremely concerning that we have had no positive response from Iran to the offer of negotiations. It is not a question of a lack of pregress, we are going backwards.'

The EU already has a package of sanctions covering arms sales to Iran and certain industrial sector.

But British officials suggested this could be increased dramatically to include oil, gas and financial services.

Iran has repeatedly shrugged off the impact of such punitive measures, that include three rounds of limited U.N. sanctions since 2006.

In September, Iran test-fired missiles which a commander said could reach any regional target. The White House branded those tests 'provocative'.

Washington suspects Iran is trying to develop nuclear bomb capability and has previously expressed concern about Tehran's missile programme. Iran says its nuclear work is solely for generating peaceful electricity.

Earlier this week, diplomats said intelligence suggested that Iran worked on testing a key atomic bomb component as recently as 2007, a finding which if proven would clash with Iran's assertion its nuclear work is for civilian use.

Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected the claim as 'baseless'.

On Tuesday, Israeli military intelligence chief Major-General Amos Yadlin said: 'Iran is striving to improve it surface-to-surface missile capability. It is developing missiles propelled by solid fuel and is expanding their range to other continents.'

The United States and five other major powers said on Tuesday that a planned meeting on Iran's nuclear programme will not take place this year because of scheduling conflicts, although consultations will continue by telephone.

In October, negotiators offered a deal under which Iran would send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment. However, Tehran has backed away from it, raising the prospect of additional sanctions.


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Israeli says some time left for diplomacy on Iran-Urge for tought sanctions-AirStrike is an option.

In this Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 photo released by the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Iranian technicians, work with foreign colleagues at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, just outside the southern port city of Bushehr, Iran. Iran's announcement of plans to build 10 more uranium enrichment facilities is largely bluster following a strong rebuke from the U.N.'s nuclear agency, according to analysts. Nonetheless, the defiance is fueling calls among Western allies for new punitive sanctions to freeze Iran's nuclear program. U.S. and European officials were swift to condemn the plans, warning that Iran risked sinking ever deeper into isolation, but Iran responded that it felt forced to move forward with the plans after the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution Friday demanding that it halt all enrichment activities.



Iran revealed in September it had been building a second uranium enrichment plant inside a mountain near Qom



U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, being welcomed by an unidentified North Korean official, right, upon arrival at Pyongyang airport, North Korea. Another year has passed in the world's standoff with Iran and North Korea over nuclear weapons, and the situation has only gotten worse. Both countries have pressed ahead with their programs, while the U.N. has stuck to sanctions that seem to have little if any effect, and a slew of other countries are now seen as candidates for the nuclear club.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pauses during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs committee, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem. Netanyahu testified at the committee about Israel's interest in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Another year has passed in the world's standoff with Iran and North Korea over nuclear weapons, and the situation has only gotten worse. Both countries have pressed ahead with their programs, while the U.N. has stuck to sanctions that seem to have little if any effect, and a slew of other countries are now seen as candidates for the nuclear club.


Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak speaks at a news conference after his meeting with Austrian counterpart Norbert Darabos, not on picture, in Vienna, on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009


Israel's defense minister urged the world Monday to agree to tough new sanctions on Iran, suggesting that military strikes remained a final option should Tehran refuse to heed U.N. Security Council demands to curb its nuclear activities.

Ehud Barak indicated Israel was prepared to wait for an unspecified period of time to give more space to world power diplomacy in trying to end Iran's nuclear defiance.

"We still believe that its time for diplomacy, tough diplomacy," Barak told reporters during an official visit on the invitation of Norbert Darabos, his Austrian counterpart. "There is a need for tough sanctions ... something that is well and coherently coordinated to include the Americans, the EU, the Chinese, the Russians, the Indians."

At the same time, he said, "we recommend to all players not to remove any options from the table," just as "we do not remove it."

Both Israel and the U.S. administration have said all options remain — diplomatic language for military strikes — in attempts to strip Iran of the capability of turning what it says are peaceful nuclear activities into a program geared toward making nuclear arms.

Israel in particular is growing impatient after seven years of failed attempts to strip Iran of its capacity to make nuclear weapons.

During that time, Iran has moved closer to that status, even while insisting that its atomic program is meant solely to generate energy.

Its thousands of centrifuges have produced enough enriched uranium to produce two nuclear weapons — even though it maintains the stockpile will only be used for nuclear fuel and not for weapons-grade material.

It has only recently — and belatedly — revealed that it is building a second enrichment site and is stonewalling an International Atomic Energy Agency probe of allegations that it had experimented with making nuclear weapons.

As well, Iran threatened earlier this month to expand its enrichment program tenfold, while rejecting an IAEA-brokered plan to supply fuel for its research reactor if Iran exports of most of its enriched stockpile — a move that would strip it of its warhead material.

The White House has said Iran has until the end of the month to accept that plan and Barak suggested that Israel was willing to give the U.S. more — but not indefinite — time in mixing outreach toward Iran with the threat of further sanctions.

"There should be a time limit for all these attempts to block them through sanctions," he told reporters, warning that an Iran armed with nuclear weapons "will clearly ... initiate a nuclear competition."

"Think of Egypt, or Turkey or Saudi Arabia," he said. "They can hardly afford not being nuclear if Iran turns ... nuclear."

IRAN is making nuclear bom componenets.

Iran is working towards testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb, British newspaper The Times said Monday, citing confidential documents.

The daily said it had obtained notes describing a four-year plan to test a neutron initiator, the component of a nuclear bomb which triggers an explosion.

The Times claimed that foreign intelligence agencies dated the documents to early 2007 -- four years after Tehran was thought to have suspended its weapons programme.

The technical document describes the use of uranium deuteride -- a neutron source, said the newspaper.

Uranium deuteride is thought to have no possible civilian or military use other than in a nuclear weapon.

In the view of experts contacted by the newspaper, Iran's work in this field "has no possible civilian application. It makes sense only for a programme to develop a nuclear weapon," the Times said.

A picture of the document, written in Farsi, was printed inside the newspaper.

The Times said the documents detailed a plan to test whether the device works -- without leaving traces of uranium that the outside world could detect.

A spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said: "We do not comment on intelligence, but our concerns about Iran's nuclear programme are clear and based on information in the public domain.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has made clear that it cannot verify Iran's nuclear programme is for exclusively peaceful purposes," he added, saying the recent revelation of a facility at Qom "was further blow to confidence and trust in Iran's intentions."

Iran, which is already enriching uranium in defiance of UN sanctions at a plant in Natanz, revealed in September it had been building a second uranium enrichment plant inside a mountain near the Shiite holy city of Qom.

The disclosure of its existence triggered widespread outrage in the West, which suspects Iran is developing technology to enrich uranium to highly refined levels to covertly build a nuclear bomb.

Tehran vehemently denies the charge, saying its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

Iran is under three sets of sanctions for refusing to halt enrichment.

Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank, told the Times: "The most shattering conclusion is that, if this was an effort that began in 2007, it could be a casus belli.

"If Iran is working on weapons, it means there is no diplomatic solution.

"Is this the smoking gun? That's the question people should be asking. It looks like the smoking gun. This is smoking uranium."

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US says 'nothing new' in Iran nuclear offer-Iran going to face sanctions

Defense Secretary Robert Gates(left) said on Friday he expected the international community to impose significant additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki (right)


Two Iranians work at the zirconium production plant, part of the nuclear facilities


The United States bluntly dismissed an Iranian offer Saturday to swap nuclear fuel, which a senior US official said was inconsistent with a deal allowing the Islamic republic to avoid further sanctions.

"Iran's proposal today does not appear to be consistent with the fair and balanced draft agreement proposed by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) in consultation with the United States, Russia and France," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Iran's foreign minister earlier proposed that Tehran swap 880 pounds (400 kilograms) of low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel in an exchange on the island of Kish, a free trade zone, as the first phase of a deal with world powers.

The US official said Iran's offer contained "nothing new" and urged the country to take up the existing IAEA proposal, which calls on Iran to send 2,645 pounds (1,200 kilograms) of its low enriched uranium to Russia "in one batch."

"We remain committed to these terms. Unfortunately, Iran has been unwilling to engage in further talks on its nuclear program," the official said. "We urge Iran not to squander this opportunity."

The IAEA had previously ruled out a swap taking place inside Iran.

"I don't think that is an option. The whole purpose of the deal is to defuse the crisis," outgoing chief Mohamed ElBaradei said last month at the agency's Vienna base before handing over to his successor, Yukiya Amano.

Many in the West suspect Iran is developing technology to enrich uranium to highly refined levels to covertly build a nuclear bomb, a charge Tehran vehemently denies, saying its nuclear program serves peaceful purposes.

The US official said the IAEA-brokered agreement was "an opportunity for Iran to begin to build confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear program."

On Friday, the White House warned Iran it faced "credible consequences" if it did not respond positively to the offer by the end of the year, while European Union leaders warned that Tehran's refusal to negotiate over its nuclear program must be met with a tough response.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday he expected the international community to impose significant additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Iran to face possible harsh sanctions for refusing to backoff from Uranium standoff.

A senior U.S. official said the United States and its allies would decide early next year whether to pursue more sanctions.

Gates also told U.S. troops in northern Iraq that military action against Iran would only delay its nuclear progress and instead urged a package of "incentives and disincentives" to convince leaders in Tehran to meet western demands.

He made his comments as European Union leaders meeting in Brussels expressed grave concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions and also warned of new sanctions.

"I think you're going to see some significant additional sanctions imposed by the international community, assuming that the Iranians don't change course and agree to do the things they signed up to do at the beginning of October," Gates said.

Gates was referring to a deal under which Iran would have transferred stocks of low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad, receiving fuel in return to run a reactor producing medical isotopes.

He said Iran was "stiffing" the international community by refusing to implement what was agreed in October.

That "has brought the international community, including the Russians and the Chinese, together in a way that they have not been in terms of significant additional sanctions on the Iranians," he said.

Western powers saw the deal as reducing Iran's scope to divert LEU for potential bomb-making, but Tehran later backed away from it.

In a statement, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the United States echoed the concerns expressed by European leaders and that Washington remained committed to finding a diplomatic solution.

"However, if Iran continues to fail to bring its nuclear program into full compliance with the requirements of the United Nations Security Council and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), there will be consequences and we will be consulting closely with our partners to ensure those consequences are credible," Gibbs said.

STRIKE WOULD ONLY BUY TIME

The United States, Britain and France warned Iran on Thursday that it may face new sanctions over its nuclear program, but Russia and China hinted that they were not convinced more punitive steps were needed.

The exchange of views during a U.N. Security Council debate on Iran showed how the Western powers' desire to ratchet up the pressure on a defiant Tehran over its atomic ambitions might face tough resistance from Moscow and Beijing.

The West suspects Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran rejects the allegations, along with U.N. demands that it suspend a program it says is intended solely for the peaceful generation of electricity.

Western officials say recent revelations about a previously hidden uranium enrichment plant in Iran have made Tehran's denials less credible.

Asked in a meeting with U.S. troops in Kirkuk about using military force to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions, Gates expressed skepticism over whether such action would work.

"Let me just say, you never take any options off the table. But the reality is that any military action would only buy some time, maybe two or three years," he said.

"So at the end of the day the way to avoid a nuclear-armed Iran is to put together a package of incentives and disincentives that persuade the Iranian government that they would actually be less secure with nuclear weapons than if they had them."

He added: "If we learned anything from Iraq over the past six years, it is the inherent unpredictability of war."

A U.S. official traveling with him on a five-day visit to Afghanistan and Iraq said a decision on sanctions would be made early in 2010.

"That's where we're heading," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Gates's plane.

In a draft statement expected to be approved at the meeting of EU leaders, they urged Iran to comply without delay with resolutions by the United Nations Security Council and the U.N.'s IAEA.

"Iran's persistent failure to meets its international obligations and Iran's apparent lack on interest in pursuing negotiations require a clear response, including through appropriate measures."

The term "appropriate measures" is used by the EU to refer to sanctions.

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Iran faces consequences of refusal to end Nuclear issues with US as world deliberate what to with Iran.-Rejects IAEA resolution as politically plot

Iran's covert uranium enrichment plant

Iran on Friday rejected a resolution by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a "politically motivated" move and refused to stop its nuclear activities.

The resolution against Iran was passed "with insistence and political ambitions of certain member states," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the English-language satellite channel Press TV.

"We think that this is politically motivated and only aimed at exerting more pressure on Iran," he added.

Mehmanparast warned that Iran would not be obliged to continue its cooperation with the IAEA "at the maximum level" if some member states "want to take a political path in dealing with Iran's nuclear case by exerting pressure on the IAEA and consequently depriving us of our basic rights."

"As a member of the agency, we will limit our cooperation with the IAEA to legally mandated minimum," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Iran's permanent representative to the IAEA Ali Soltanieh lashed out at the UN nuclear watchdog's latest resolution against the country and said Iran would not stop its uranium enrichment program.

"The answer to the resolution is definitely 'no'. We are not going to suspend our enrichment activities. We are not going to suspend the completion of the Fordo nuclear enrichment activities," Soltanieh was quoted by Press TV as saying in Vienna.

He said that Iran will continue its cooperation with the IAEA and all of Iran's nuclear activities will be carried out within the framework of the comprehensive safeguards of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The resolution passed by the IAEA Board of Governors during a meeting Friday in Vienna called for the "full cooperation" of Iran to clarify all outstanding issues involving its nuclear program.

It was reported that the resolution contained a strong call on Tehran to implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, as well as all the transparency measures the IAEA needed to restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.

It also required Iran to stop construction on the newly-disclosed Fordo uranium enrichment facility near the central Iranian city of Qom.

The move was the IAEA's first adoption of a resolution against Iran after one adopted in February 2006. The 35-member Board of Governors of IAEA passed the resolution with 25 yes votes, 3 votes by Cuba, Venezuela and Malaysia against, six abstentions and one absence.


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U.N. Official Seeks Global Action on Iran-Refuse to sent enriched uranium to Russian for processing.

Map locates uranium enrichment plant in Iran

President Barack Obama exits Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009.


In this Nov. 17, 2009 file photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki addresses the media in Tehran, Iran.


Representatives of six world powers urged Iran on Friday to accept a U.N. plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon, as the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute.

An EU official said there was no mention of imposing sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt nuclear enrichment activities at the meeting of senior diplomats from the U.N. Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany.

"These things are a matter of timing, and this was not the right time for it," said the official who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The talks in Brussels involved political directors — foreign ministry officials below ministerial level. The United States was represented by Undersecretary of State William Burns, and Russia by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

The talks came just a day after a day after President Barack Obama said the six nations will develop a package of serious new punitive measures in coming weeks. He did not give details.

On Wednesday, Tehran indicated it would not export its enriched uranium for further processing, effectively rejecting the latest plan brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency and aimed at delaying Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon.

Under the IAEA plan, Iran would export its uranium for enrichment in Russia and France where it would be converted into fuel rods, which would be returned to Iran about a year later. The rods can power reactors but cannot be readily turned into weapons-grade material.

A statement issued by the political directors expressed disappointment over Iran's failure to engage in intensified dialogue since a promising meeting on Oct. 1 in Geneva. The West says Tehran agreed in principle to export that amount in one shipment during the Geneva talks — something Iranian officials have denied.

The statement also noted that Tehran had not responded positively to the IAEA proposal.

"We urge Iran to reconsider the opportunity offered by this agreement ... and to engage seriously with us in dialogue and negotiations," the statement said.

The officials said they would hold a follow-up meeting around Christmas.

In Berlin, Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency chief, pressed Iran to work with the international community.

"I would hate to see that we are moving back to sanctions," ElBaradei said. "Because sanctions, at the end of the day ... really don't resolve issues."

He said the IAEA had not yet received a formal reply from Tehran to its proposals, although Iranian officials had told him they would not send uranium for reprocessing abroad unless they first received promised fuel rods.

"Well, that to me is an extreme case of distrust," ElBaradei said. "And what we are really trying to do is replace distrust by a degree of trust."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the U.S. has not given up hope that Iran will accept and implement the uranium exchange.

"We continue to call on Iran to accept this proposal with regard to the Tehran research reactor. We think it's a good one," Wood said. "We think it's a great way for Iran to show, if, indeed, its intentions are peaceful, that they want to cooperate with the international community with regard to its nuclear program."

Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki on Thursday played down the threat of sanctions saying embargoes had proved ineffective in the past and that he didn't believe they would be tried again.

International Iran sanction looked dim.

The Obama administration is shifting the focus of its Iran policy from talk to sanctions, but the prospect of winning early international support for toughened new penalties appears dim.

Equally problematic is finding a set of sanctions that would have a significant impact on the prime target of American and international worry: Iran's suspected pursuit of an atom bomb. Three rounds of U.N. sanctions, dating to December 2006 and aimed mainly at squeezing Iran's nuclear work, have had little apparent effect.

The administration may get an early indication of its prospects at a huddle Friday in Brussels with senior diplomats from the four other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Russia, China, Britain and France — plus Germany. Any decisions on new Iran sanctions, though, are likely weeks away.

The administration has tried for months to draw Iran into talks to resolve international worries that its declared intent to develop a civilian nuclear power network is cover for a secret nuclear weapons program. But the Iranians have shown little interest, while denying any clandestine nuclear ambition.

The diplomacy, while unsuccessful so far, may improve the administration's chances on sanctions by demonstrating to the Europeans, Chinese and others that Washington has at least tried to find an accommodation with Iran.

"Many of them are still instinctively against sanctions, but Iranian intransigence has put them in a bind," said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank.

President Barack Obama said Thursday in South Korea that because the Iranians rejected a U.N. proposal to ship the majority of Iran's low-enriched uranium out of the country, "we have begun discussions with our international partners" about new pressure tactics. He said "a package of potential steps" against the Iranians would be developed over the next several weeks. He was not more specific.

The uranium gambit was seen as a way of getting Iran to open up, but on Wednesday Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki appeared to close that door by saying Iran would not send its uranium abroad. The uranium, if enriched sufficiently, could be used to produce a nuclear weapon, although Iran insists it is intended as fuel to power a planned network of civilian nuclear power reactors.

If, as some suspect, China and perhaps Russia balk at imposing new sanctions on Iran, the U.S. could enact its own penalties and coordinate them with the European Union, as it has done in the past. The administration's first choice, however, is to get the U.N. Security Council to ratchet up the pressure.

One possibility is to strengthen existing U.N. sanctions such as a March 2008 provision for financial monitoring of certain banks with suspected connections to the illicit spread of nuclear technologies.

Both houses of Congress are considering legislation that would give Obama a broad new array of authority to target Iran's energy sector by penalizing foreign companies that sell and ship refined oil products to Iran. Despite Iran's large oil holdings, it has limited capacity to make refined products like gasoline.

Obama has expressed confidence that he can persuade allies to join him in getting tougher on Iran, given widespread opposition to a nuclear-armed Iran. But it's far from clear that China, which has strong and growing commercial and investment ties to Iran, would go along. Russia's intentions also are unclear, although Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in September that sanctions may be inevitable.

Stephen P. Cohen, president of the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, said it's no surprise that China has not publicly expressed a willingness to consider new sanctions, even if it might eventually go along. More significant, Cohen said, are recent Russian statements suggesting possible support.

"This is probably why the president thinks that he can discuss sanctions now without it being blown out of the water within five minutes by the Chinese and the Russians," Cohen said in a telephone interview.

Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, is doubtful of a positive turn of events, in part because he sees the Iranian leadership in turmoil following a disputed presidential election in June.

That might be why, he suggested, Iran has shown little interest in a separate International Atomic Energy Agency offer to provide nuclear fuel for an Iranian research reactor in exchange for Iran's shipping the majority of its low-enriched uranium to Russia or another third country.

"You may have a political system (in Tehran) that is so fractured, that is so at each other's throat, that they are incapable of making a decision of this magnitude," Parsi said.

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U.S. authorities to seize four mosques and 36-storey New York skyscraper that are 'under secret control of Iran'

The 36-storey skyscraper in New York, known as the Piaget building, was erected in the 1970s on Manhattan's posh Fifth Avenue


U.S. Marshals post a copy of the federal government's demands last night on the door of a school in the New York borough of Queens borough. The school is among the assets listed by U.S. prosecutors

last night as the government took steps to seize it as part of the operation



The entrance to the Piaget skyscraper in New York yesterday. As part of its claim the U.S. government wants to seize the building


Another view of the Razi school in the Queens borough of New York last night



U.S. Federal authorities have moved to seize this Islamic Education Centre - a primary school and mosque - in Houston


Four mosques and a Manhattan skyscraper owned by a Muslim organisation are suspected by U.S. prosecutors of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

Prosecutors filed a civil complaint yesterday in federal court against the Alavi Foundation in an attempt to take control of more than $500million in assets.

The move may be one of the biggest counter-terrorism seizures in American history.

The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centres consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres of land in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York.

The mosques and the skyscraper will remain open while the case is tangled up in the courts. It is expected to be a long legal process.

What will happen to them if the government wins is unclear. The U.S. government usually sells properties it has seized through forfeiture, and the proceeds are sometimes distributed to crime victims.

Prosecutors claim the Alavi Foundation managed the office tower on behalf of the Iranian government.

Working with a front company known as Assa Corp., the Foundation illegally funnelled millions in rental income to Iran's state-owned Bank Melli, they claim.

Bank Melli has been accused by a U.S. Treasury official of providing support for Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. It is illegal in the U.S. to do business with the bank.

The U.S. has long suspected the foundation was an arm of the Iranian government. A 97-page complaint includes details of the involvement of several top Iranian officials in the Foundation's business - including the deputy prime minister and ambassadors to the United Nations.

The skyscraper in New York, known as the Piaget building, was erected in the 1970s on Manhattan's posh Fifth Avenue under the shah of Iran. The shah was overthrown in the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Tenants of the skyscraper include law and investment firms, among other businesses.

The sleek, modern building, last valued at $570million to $650million in 2007, has served as an important source of income for the foundation over the past 36 years.

The most recent tax records show the foundation earned $4.5million from rents in 2007.

Rents collected from the building help fund the Islamic centres and other ventures, such as sending educational books and other literature to jailed Muslims in the U.S.

The foundation has also invested in dozens of mosques around the country and supported Iranian academics at prominent universities.

If federal prosecutors seize the skyscraper, the Alavi Foundation would have almost no way to continue supporting the Islamic centres, which house schools and mosques.

That could leave a major void in Shiite communities, and hard feelings toward the FBI, which played a big role in the investigation.

'For two decades, the Alavi Foundation's affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations, in violation of a series of American laws,' U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

Confiscating the properties would be a sharp blow against Iran, which has been accused by the U.S. government of bankrolling terrorism and trying to build a nuclear bomb.

Iran's U.N. Mission has not yet commented on the case.

So far no British link has emerged in the operation.

The Alavi Foundation is the successor organization to the Pahlavi Foundation, a non-profit group used by the shah to advance Iran's charitable interests in America.

But authorities said its agenda changed after the fall of the shah in 1979.

There were no raids yesterday as part of the forfeiture action. All the government had to do was post notices of the civil complaint on the property.

John D. Winter, the Alavi Foundation's lawyer, said it intends to fight back against the move.

He said the foundation has been co-operating with the government's investigation for the better part of a year.

'Obviously the foundation is disappointed that the government has decided to bring this action,' Mr Winter said.

It is extremely rare for U.S. law enforcement authorities to seize a house of worship. To do so immediately raises questions about the constitutional right to freedom of religion.

The move is also expected to inflame tensions between the U.S. government and American Muslims.

Many Muslims in the U.S. are already fearful of a backlash after last week's shooting rampage at Fort Hood military base, blamed on a Muslim American major.

'Whatever the details of the government's case against the owners of the mosques, as a civil rights organization we are concerned that the seizure of American houses of worship could have a chilling effect on the religious freedom of citizens of all faiths and may send a negative message to Muslims worldwide,' said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

'No action has been taken against any tenants or occupants of those properties,' U.S. attorney's office spokeswoman Yusill Scribner said.

'The tenants and occupants remain free to use the properties as they have before today's filing. There are no allegations of any wrongdoing on the part of any of these tenants or occupants.'

As prosecutors outlined their allegations against Alavi, the Islamic centres and the schools they run carried on as normal yesterday. The mosques' leaders would not comment on the case and accusations.

Parents lined up in their cars to pick up their children at the schools within the Islamic Education Center of Greater Houston and the Islamic Education Center in Rockville, Maryland.

No notices of the forfeiture action were posted at either place as of late last night.

At the Islamic Institute of New York, a mosque and school in the city's Queens borough, two U.S. marshals came to the door and rang the bell repeatedly.

When there was no answer, the marshals taped a forfeiture notice to the window and left a large document sitting on the ground. After they left a group of men came out of the building and took the document.

The fourth Islamic centre marked for seizure is in Carmichael, California.

The operation comes at a tense moment in U.S.-Iranian relations, with the two sides at odds over Iran's nuclear programme and its arrest of three American hikers.

But Michael Rubin, an expert on Iran at the American Enterprise Institute, said the timing of the forfeiture action was probably just a coincidence.

'Suspicion about the Alavi Foundation transcends three administrations,' Mr Rubin said.

'It's taken ages dealing with the nuts and bolts of the investigation. It's not the type of investigation which is part of any larger strategy.'

Legal scholars said they know of only a few cases in U.S. history in which authorities have seized a house of worship.

Marc Stern, a religious-liberty expert with the American Jewish Congress, called such cases extremely rare.
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• Diplomats: Iran agrees to draft deal on uranium
• Missile tests underscore the threat Iran poses in Mideast-Isreal ,US bases in the Middle East, and southeastern Europe are within range-To provoke USA
• Exclusive: Salehi sheds light on purpose of nascent nuclear site
• Iran secret nuclear plant exposed. Iran said nothing new now allow IAEA to inspect the facility.
• Iran Agrees to Meeting on Nuclear Program
• Iran very close to produce Nuclear weapon-may expedite nuclear bom USA said.
• Ahmadinejad says Iran ready for more sanctions-But ready for face to face talk.
• Iran test-fires short-range missiles
• World must stand together, Obama tells UN- Security council approve Non Foliferation of Nuclear Weapon signed.
• Muslim and Jew protest against Ahmednijah Iran New president in New york U.N
• Failure to advance Middle East peace a setback for Obama
• Iran confirms detention of three Americans
• Neda, young girl brutally killed in Iran, becoming symbol of rebellion
• Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed the second term presidency of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Israel threaten