Iranian moves rile the West
‘Spy’ death penalty fuels crisis
IRAN has begun enriching uranium deep inside a mountain and has sentenced an American to death for spying, angering the West and undermining hopes that diplomacy can avert further sanctions or war.
Yesterday, France condemned with “the utmost firmness” the launching of uranium enrichment at Iran’s Fordo plant, labelling it a “grave” violation of international law.
“This new challenge leaves us no choice but to strengthen international sanctions and to adopt, with our European partners and all willing countries, measures of an unprecedented scale and severity,” said a French foreign ministry spokesman in a statement.
The start of enrichment at the Fordo bunker near the Shia Muslim holy city of Qom was confirmed yesterday by an Iranian official in Tehran and by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.
Iran says its nuclear programme is non-military but the West believes it is designed to produce nuclear weapons.
The EU is to bring forward by one week to January 23 a meeting of foreign ministers, which is expected to decide on an oil embargo on Iran. Apart from France’s criticism, Germany and Britain have also condemned Iran’s actions.
The death sentence for Amir Mirza Hekmati, 28, an Arizonaborn former US military translator with dual nationality, has further riled Washington, which denies that he is a spy and has been demanding his release since he was arrested.
Hekmati’s family says he was arrested last August while visiting grandparents in Iran.
His execution could still be blocked by Iran’s highest court, which must confirm all death sentences. Iran could “hold on to Hekmati and use him as a pawn in their rivalry with the United States”, said Gala Riani, an analyst at forecasting firm IHS Global Insight.
The two moves come at a time when new US sanctions imposed because of Iran’s nuclear programme are causing the country real economic pain. Oil buyers are demanding deep discounts from Iran, cutting the revenue it needs to feed its 74 million people. The rial, Iran’s currency, has plunged, and Iranians are withdrawing savings from banks to buy dollars. Tehran has responded with threats to international shipping that have scared oil markets.
On New Year’s Eve, President Barack Obama signed into law by far the toughest financial sanctions yet against Iran, which if fully implemented could make it impossible for most countries to pay for Iranian oil. The EU, which still buys a fifth of Iran’s 2.6 million barrels a day of exports, is expected to announce an embargo this month.
The US and Israel say they will not dismiss the possibility of military action against Iran because it may become the only way to prevent it from making a nuclear weapon. – Reuters and SAPA-AFP