This latest plot to destabilise Iran’s civilian nuclear power industry comes on the heals of a recent foreign intelligence operation to eliminate Iranian nuclear scientists.
Three Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in mysterious explosions over the past three years, and a fourth survived additional assassination attempt.
In addition to this, the US and Israel orchestrated a highly risky Stuxnet cyberattack on Iran’s nuclear facility systems in 2010 – an operation which arguable put millions of innocent lives at risk. US General James Cartwright (photo, right), became the high-ranking, high-profile whistleblower in 
the history of the United States this year, for exposing the US-Israeli Stuxnet and Flame virus program to the New York Times. His reward from the Obama administration was to be indicted under the 1917 Espionage Act.
This past Friday President Obama told the media that while Rouhani was saying “all the right things”, meanwhile Israeli leader Benyamin Netanyahu is actively leading a public, and private effort to undermine any chance of a diplomatic solution with Iran.
21WIRE’s Andrew McKillop explains the obvious antagonistic, under the table agenda – and the hypocrisy, which Israel is running regarding their propaganda campaign to demonise Iran:
“In a vintage performance at the UN General Assembly, October 1st, Israel’s Benyamin Netanyahu castigated the Obama outreach strategy to Tehran, telling world leaders that Iran’s President Hasan Rouhani is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. He claims that this he bazaar-wise Tehran dealer is even more dangerous than the last one – a Muslim (if not Arab) street-credible menace, who according to Netanyahu is determined to use Obama’s naïve and dangerous thawing of relations to craftily advance his country’s alleged nuclear weapons program.
Israel, weapons analysts estimate, already has a fully functional nuclear arsenal including at least 80 warheads of the explosive power used against Hiroshima, of around 13 – 16 kilotons TNT equivalent, each.”
Obama has always had difficulty following through with any of his rhetoric, so no one is expecting the President to go the distance with diplomacy with Iran. More than likely, his peaceful overtures are part of a White House PR rear-guard action to save the President from a public opinion free fall in approval ratings. When push comes to shove and Israel engages in pre-emptive aggression towards Iran, it’s all but certain that Washington’s diplomatic facade will fold in favour of the powerful Israeli lobby who ultimately dictate Washington’s foreign policy agendas.
This latest sabotage effort seems intent on derailing peaceful efforts between the West and Iran.
RT reports…
The Iranian authorities have arrested four men for planning to sabotage nuclear sites, reports state news. The announcement comes as Iran’s newly-appointed president takes steps to allay fears over its supposed nuclear weapons program.
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced on Sunday that a“number of saboteurs” had been caught “red-handed” before they could carry out their plan.
IMAGE: The reactor building of Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (photo: Iranian Students News Agency – ISNA).“Four of these individuals were caught red-handed and their interrogations are ongoing,” he said, according to the Mehr news agency on Sunday. Salehi did not elaborate on any of the details of the alleged plot to sabotage Iranian nuclear facilities and did not specify the nuclear sites that were targeted.
He added that the suspects were now being interrogated by Iranian authorities.
Iran has accused the West on a number of occasions of sabotaging its nuclear program. In the past Tehran has slammed the US and Israel for orchestrating the Stuxnet cyberattack on nuclear facility systems in 2010. Iran has also claimed the West is behind the assassination of its nuclear scientists.
The arrest of the suspected saboteurs comes as the Iranian government takes steps to dispel western fears over its nuclear program. The West believes that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, something that the country’s leadership has consistently denied, maintaining its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.
New to office, President Hassan Rouhani has reached out to Washington in a move to restart negotiations over Iran’s supposed nuclear weapons program.
Rouhani spoke to President Barack Obama last week in a telephone call, which marked the first talks between US and Iranian leaders in over three decades.
As it stands President Rouhani is set to meet with leaders from the UK, Germany, France, Russia and China in Geneva in mid-October in landmark negotiations. Iran’s new moderate leadership wants to lift the crippling economic sanctions implemented against Tehran by Washington with a view to curtailing the Iranian nuclear program.
Tehran has said that the international community must come up with new conditions before the negotiations in Geneva. Currently, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – plus Germany demand that Iran cease enrichment of uranium to 20 per cent. In addition, they have asked Tehran to ship out some uranium stockpiles.
Iran’s new stance on the nuclear issue has been hailed by world leaders as a step in the right direction and a possible end to the diplomatic stalemate.
‘Iran is one year away from nuclear armament’
However, Washington has voiced skepticism over Tehran’s motives. On Friday Obama told press that while Rouhani was saying “all the right things,” it remains to be seen whether or not he will follow through with his pledges. In addition, Obama stated that Iran is one year away from developing a nuclear weapon, citing US intelligence sources.
Israel, on the other hand, claims that Tehran’s wish to negotiate is merely a ruse and Iran is months away from developing its nuclear capabilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel will move to strike Iranian nuclear facilities if Tehran does not cease its alleged nuclear weapons ambitions.
On Tuesday Netanyahu urged the UN General Assembly not to be fooled by Iran, stressing that Israeli was ready to “stand alone” against the country it has branded an enemy of the state.
“Rouhani is a wolf in sheep’s clothing – a wolf who thinks he can pull the wool over the eyes of the international community,” said Netanyahu. He appealed to the international community to keep the financial penalties against Tehran in place. http://rt.com/news/iran-arrested-nuclear-sabotage-800/
