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U.S. Deployments to Persian Gulf Raise Stakes in Iran Showdown

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The USS Enterprise aircraft carrier has been deployed to the Persian Gulf in advance of nuclear talks with Iran.In a move that some perceive as a response to growing concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, the United States Navy has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. This is the fourth time within the past ten years that the U.S. has placed two carriers in the area simultaneously.

While there is media speculation that America is displaying its military might in advance of the imminent resumption of negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear activities, a spokeswoman for the 5th Fleet stated that the presence of the USS Enterprise carrier strike group in the Gulf is “routine and not specific to any threat.” The spokeswoman did not specify how long the Navy is planning to keep its increased military presence in the region.

A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that is currently on its last deployment, the USS Enterprise has joined the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the region. The Navy explained that the carriers will support military operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. The warships also patrol the Gulf’s strategic oil routes – a passageway that Iran has threatened to close in retaliation for the economic sanctions levied against Tehran because of its nuclear program. While the West believes that Iran may well be using the program to develop nuclear weapons, the Islamic Republic has consistently denied those charges, claiming its nuclear development is intended for peaceful purposes.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions continue to be of foremost concern to Israel, which has been the target of threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and violent attacks by Iranian-sponsored terrorist groups. “Since the exposure of additional clandestine nuclear facilities in Iran, Israel has been on high alert, and the clock in Jerusalem is now rapidly approaching midnight,” the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) said in a statement. “Senior Israeli officials have publicly declared that time is running out for economic and diplomatic negotiations to compel Iran to cease its nuclear program.”

In recent months, Israeli leaders – most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – have emphatically expressed their sense of urgency over the looming threat posed to the Jewish state’s security by Iran’s advancing nuclear efforts. Claiming that the upcoming talks will only provide Iran with an opportunity to “delay and deceive” the world, Netanyahu insisted that the six superpowers scheduled to conduct the negotiations should make three ironclad demands – that Iran dismantle a nuclear facility near the city of Qom, put a total end to its program of uranium enrichment, and remove all material from the country that has been enriched above 3.5 percent.

The Prime Minister’s adamant attitude is clearly based on information about Iran’s activities gleaned by Israeli intelligence. In just one example, Israel’s Director of Military Intelligence, Major General Aviv Kochavi, recently declared that, “Iran is estimated to have over four tons of enriched materials and nearly 100 kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium – sufficient fissile material for four bombs.”

With the talks between Iran and the six Western superpowers – the U.S., England, France, the Russian Federation, China and Germany – about to begin, Iran has suggested a possible compromise. According to the head of Iran’s nuclear program, Fereidoun Abbasi, the country’s representatives may state during the negotiations that their government is willing to stop producing its most highly enriched uranium at a later date, with the proviso that it will maintain its ability to produce nuclear fuel.

However, the West may not be satisfied with Abbasi’s proposal, as it would keep the higher enriched uranium that has already been produced in Iran’s possession. The nuclear chief said that Tehran could halt its production of 20 percent enriched uranium required for a research reactor, and continue enriching uranium to lower levels for the benign purpose of power generation. Abbasi said that this could occur at the point when Iran has accumulated a sufficient amount of the 20 percent enriched uranium, which can be utilized for medical research and treatments.

In order for it to be fit for use as a nuclear weapon, uranium must be enriched to more than 90 percent. But Iran’s enrichment of uranium to 20 percent levels has raised substantial worries that the rogue nation is now one step closer to nuclear weapons capability.

Abbasi said that Iran “doesn’t need” to enrich uranium up to 20 percent for any long-term purposes. “The job is being carried out based on need,” he said. “When the need is met, we will decrease production, and it is even possible to completely reverse to only 3.5 percent” enrichment levels.  It was not known at press time whether the nuclear chief’s comments are reflective of  Tehran’s official stance when the negotiations begin shortly in Turkey.
At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted this week on the Iranian parliament’s website that – while he hopes for some progress in the talks – Iran refuses to accept any preconditions. “We will honestly try to have the two sides conclude with a win-win situation in which Iran achieves its rights while removing concerns of the five-plus-one group,” Salehi stated. “But imposing any conditions before the talks would be meaningless.”

Abbasi’s comments come on the heels of a dramatic statement last week from Iranian legislator Gholam Reza Mesbahi Moghadam, who claimed Tehran has the knowledge and capability to produce a nuclear weapon, but would never actually do so. Moghadam also said that Iran has the resources to produce 90-plus percent enriched uranium.

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