Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric who was a surprise winner in the recent elections, took oath on Sunday as Iran's seventh president at a ceremony attended by a galaxy of world leaders, including Vice President Hamid Ansari, with which he has pledged to expand ties.
United States President Barack Obama has said that he would order the US military to destroy Iran's nuclear programme as a final option, if economic sanctions fail to compel Tehran to shelve its nuclear ambitions. "I don't bluff," Obama said while delivering his most explicit threat to Tehran till date, warning that "all options are on the table" and that the final option is the "military component."
For a country whose national capital has routine blackouts in its poshest colonies, not to mention the rest of the country, the debate on the advisability of nuclear power is bizarre, says Sanjaya Baru
"Bad actors" cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons at the cost of those trying to maintain peace and safety, United States envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said.
Amid warning by the UN nuclear watchdog that Iran could be hiding multiple secret nuclear sites, the UN and Iranian officials have been secretly engaged in negotiating a deal to allow Tehran keep most of its nuclear programme and end sanctions in return for co-operation with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, a news report said on Tuesday.
'North Korea could choose to go China's way by selectively opening up the economy, but Kim does not seem enthused by the idea.' 'Getting Pyongyang to give up the nuclear programme may be the best outcome Trump can hope for at the moment,' says Vikram Johri.
China's official media on Tuesday went public over India's Nuclear Suppliers Group bid for the first time, saying New Delhi's membership of the elite club will not only touch a "raw nerve" in Pakistan and increase a nuclear arms race in the region but also "jeopardise" China's national interests.
Strategic guru K Subrahmanyam, who passed into the ages recently, discusses the history of India's nuclear weapon programme in a fascinating interview.
Missile man and former President APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday said the country is suffering from the 'fifth nation syndrome' as it is always the fourth or fifth nation to launch any mission like the space mission or nuclear programme.
"We estimate that Pakistan now has a nuclear weapons stockpile of 130-140 warheads. This stockpile exceeds the projection made by the US Defense Intelligence Agency in 1999 that Pakistan by 2020 would have 60-80 warheads," said the report released last month.
Ahmed filed an application seeking details about the controversial and much talked about Indo-US nuclear deal as there were apprehensions regarding the sovereignty of the country.
Image of Chirac, who made controversial remarks on Iran N-programme
Pakistan, with some help from China, will demand its share in the changing nuclear order.
An Israeli military strike can at the most delay Iranian nuclear programme by a couple of years, a top Pentagon official has said, noting that such a move would not be "prudent".
Since $4-5 billion (Rs 18,670-23,340 crore) will be needed to set up each nuclear reactor, capital costs alone add up to $200-250 billion (Rs 9,33,600-11,67,000 crore). Then there are fuel costs, nuclear waste disposal, reprocessing, consultants & advisors and, of course, the financial market aspects of raising all that money.
They said that India and the US should put on a fast track the negotiations with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency and pave the way for signing the pact.
Talks between Britain, Germany and France, which negotiated on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, and Iran collapsed in early August after Iran resumed Uranium reprocessing activities
British scientists are secretly working on the design of a revamped nuclear warhead at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire.
With India still keen to join an ambitious gas pipeline project involving Iran and Pakistan, the United States has warned all countries against engaging in transactions with Tehran at a time when sensitive talks are on to consider additional sanctions on it over its nuclear issue.
'It is unacceptable that some tend to limit the access to peaceful nuclear technology to an exclusive club of technologically advanced States under the pretext of non-proliferation,' said foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi.
'Pakistan has been successful in convincing the rest of the world that the Pakistani nuclear terrorists are meant to target only India. This is myopia at its worst,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Lantos said the objective of his legislation is two-fold: "To prevent Iran from securing nuclear arms and the means to produce them. And to ensure that we achieve this goal in a peaceful manner."
The United States on Monday said a civil nuclear deal cannot be finalised with Pakistan till it addresses the world community's concerns about proliferation and explains its opposition to the proposed Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
Conveying his condolences to the bereaved family, Manmohan Singh said Ramanna's contribution to the development of India's nuclear capabilities and the consolidation of its nuclear programme would be remembered for a long time to come.
Putting forward its point of view in the key matter, the Congress has also denied that the 123 agreement will in any way hamper India's right to conduct nuclear tests.
The US does not expect any "serious response" from Iran to halt its controversial nuclear programme unless the UN Security Council slaps Tehran with additional sanctions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.
Iran has threatened to review its economic and political relations with the countries that voted for the referral to UNSC.
Diplomatic observers and foreign policy wonks were left perplexed trying to figure out what Senator John F Kerry meant when he said India had begun "to reinvigorate its own programme there", which he described as "absurd on both sides".
In its judgment in response to a petition filed by 74-year-old Khan seeking the removal of restrictions on his movement, the Lahore High Court ruled that Khan was not allowed to talk about nuclear weapons technology.
Disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist A Q Khan, under house arrest for the past four years, on Tuesday claimed he was being "persecuted for the sake of one man", an apparent reference to President Pervez Musharraf. Khan, who had confessed in 2004 to passing on nuclear technology and equipment to North Korea, Iran and Libya, said he wanted to be free to meet his relatives and to travel within the country.
Reiterating that "Iran must not acquire nuclear capability," Mullen after his arrival in Israel on Sunday said that if a regional confrontation were to break out following a strike on Tehran, it 'will be a big, big, big problem for all of us, and I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike'.
He denied suggestions that he sought conflict with the US, saying Iran was 'trying to find ways to love people.'
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Saturday defended India's decision to vote against Iran on the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution, claiming that it had been taken keeping in mind the fact that the Islamic nation was a signatory of the NPT. He was responding to a question on whether India had toed America's line over Iran's nuclear programme.
Pakistan Friday said it plans to generate 8,800 MW of nuclear power by 2030 and maintained that its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes.
Pakistan's envoy to the United States Husain Haqqani argued: "First of all, let us understand one thing -- a Pakistani court had ordered the release of Dr Khan. That does not mean that Dr Khan goes from house arrest and takes over the Pakistani nuclear programme again."
Iran has the right to enjoy the peaceful use of nuclear technology and it will never divert to military purposes, a senior official said.
India on Thursday successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances