Iran sticks its thumb into Bush/Cheney eyes & plans to build 19 new nuclear plants

[whistle]

<snip>
Iran to seek bids for 19 atomic power plants: MP
Mon Dec 24, 2007 9:46am EST

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it rejected any preconditions for talks with the United States, which suspects it wants an atomic bomb, and a member of parliament was quoted as saying Tehran planned 19 nuclear power plants.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made clear Iran's position on talks three days after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington was open to better ties and talks with Iran if it suspended sensitive nuclear work.

"After the publication of a report by America's intelligence organizations, U.S. officials have talked of negotiations with preconditions with Iran," Mottaki was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

"But we do not accept any preconditions for talks," he said in comments to an Iranian satellite television station, reported on the state television Web site and by Iranian news agencies.

He was referring to a U.S. intelligence estimate published this month which said Iran had ended its nuclear weapons program in 2003, leading to calls by some Iran experts for Washington to drop its precondition that Tehran give up uranium enrichment before broader talks could begin.

At a news conference on Dec 21. in Washington, however, Rice dismissed such suggestions, saying the new intelligence estimate reinforced the need for sustained pressure on Iran.

Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, is embroiled in a dispute with Western powers who fear its nuclear program could be used to build an atomic bomb. Tehran says it is aimed at generating electricity.

Easing a diplomatic freeze that lasted almost three decades, Iranian and U.S. officials have held three rounds of talks in Baghdad this year, but those discussions have been limited to ways to quell the violence in Iraq.

The U.N. Security Council is discussing a possible third round of sanctions against Iran over its refusal to suspend its sensitive atomic work.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSDAH42006520071224

[bemildred]

1. Hmmm. They sound "emboldened". nt

[whistle]

2. As in courageous, I suppose

[bemildred]

4. As in "this will embolden the terrorists." nt

[Hydra]

3. US ignores facts in favor of policy while Iran flips us the finger

Given how all of this has played out, I suspect Iran will use the plants as a smokescreen to develop weapons- I would in their position. The US and other superpowers have made it clear that only nukes keep colonizing troops from flooding in.