Iran blows hot and cold on the nuclear

Iranian warships have entered, Saturday, Feb. 18, in the Mediterranean after crossing the Suez Canal, announces the commander of the Navy Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, quoted by the official IRNA news agency. He did not elaborate on the number and nature of the buildings involved in this operation, the second in a year, intended to "show the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran". The first operation of warships in the Mediterranean since the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979 had caused, in February 2011, a sharp reaction from Israel and the United States. The new Iranian mission in the Mediterranean comes as tensions between Israel and Iran are the highest, fueled by the crisis over Iran's nuclear program and recent anti-Israeli attacks in India and Thailand awarded by the Jewish state to Tehran.

The manifest desire of Iran to acquire nuclear weapons could spark a dangerous arms race in the Middle East, says William Hague, British Foreign Minister, in an interview published Saturday by the Daily Telegraph. The Iranians "should adopt a military nuclear capability, I think other countries in the Middle East will seek to develop nuclear weapons." "Then the cycle would begin the most serious nuclear proliferation since the invention of nuclear weapons, with all destabilizing the Middle East, and the threat of a new Cold War in the Middle East without necessarily all the mechanisms security, "adds William Hague. "It would be a disaster for international affairs." Iran says its nuclear program is purely civilian.

THREAT OF IRANIAN ATTACK ON FACILITIES

A debate is underway in Israel on the merits of a possible bombing of nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic. "We say very clearly that we do not support military action," says William Hague. "We support a two-pronged strategy: sanctions and pressures, and other negotiations," he adds. "We do not support the idea that anyone who attacks Iran at this time."

The White House announced that the national security adviser to President Barack Obama, Tom Donilon, was paid a visit to Israel from Saturday. Mr. Donilon held consultations with senior Israeli officials on many issues, "including Iran, Syria and other issues related to security in the region," said the American presidency. A dozen U.S. senators from both sides have warned Obama against any concession that would allow Iran to continue its uranium enrichment activities. In a letter, the senators suggested that Tehran was seeking to buy time with his offer of negotiation and that "such delaying tactics are dangerous and should not be tolerated."

VISIT THE IAEA

Wednesday, the chief negotiator for Iran's nuclear issues, Saeed Jalili, suggested to the powers of the Group 5 +1 (United States, China, Russia, France, Great Britain + Germany) to resume "as soon as possible "discussions on Iran's nuclear program," while respecting the right of Iran to peaceful uses of nuclear energy ". This proposal was greeted with cautious optimism Friday by the head of the European diplomacy Ashton and his U.S. counterpart Hillary Clinton.

For the second time in less than a month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sends, from Sunday to Tehran a mission called "last chance" to clarify the exact nature of the program Iranian nuclear: military referred to as the suspect in the West, or strictly civilian, as claimed by the Islamic Republic. The mission of high rank, led by IAEA Deputy Director and Chief Inspector, the Belgian Herman Nackaerts, leaving Vienna for Tehran Sunday evening and will stay in Iran until February 21. This time, unlike his previous visit, the mission of the IAEA should ask to visit the controversial nuclear sites, including those suspected by the UN agency in the military base Parchim. The previous mission, from 29 to 31 January, was described as "good" by Herman Nackaerts, who nevertheless stressed that there was "still much work to do."