I want to refer back to this post considering Iran’s recent threats of retaliating against civilians inside of the United States.
In addition to manufacturing cyanide the last text touches upon biotechnology and the manufacture of vaccines and medicines.
How does any country-whether it is the United States or Iraq or Britain or North Korea- acquire WMDs without the original contribution of a set of scientists (and engineers and technicians of all kinds) to the production of these devices somewhere? These scientists Cuba has in abundance.
Tehran will supply the raw materials and chemicals needed for rubber and plastic production in Cuba.
Each year, thousands of tons of cyanide are manufactured and shipped throughout the world. Manufactured cyanide is a byproduct of plastic combustion, making it an important toxin to be aware of in smoke inhalation cases. The natural compound also can be found in small quantities in the pits of cherries, peaches and apricots.
Several countries manufacture cyanide as a potential chemical warfare agent. Because it is easy to make, buy or steal, cyanide poses a significant terrorist threat of mass destruction. Self-styled, budget-conscious terrorist splinter groups that lack large bankrolls or sophisticated weaponry seem particularly interested in cyanide capabilities.
LONDON, March 11 (IranMania) - Iran and Cuba signed an agreement based on which Iran will build a cement plant in this Latin American country, MNA reported.
In addition to the $200m agreement concluded for building the cement production plant, Iran has also agreed to construct a power plant aimed at generating at least 500 to 1,500 megawatts of electricity in this island of the Greater Antilles.
Also, Tehran will supply the raw materials and chemicals needed for rubber and plastic production in Cuba, the report quoted an official at Iran?s Ministry of Industries and Mines as saying.
Moreover, based on a short-term agreement Iran has undertaken providing tractors needed by Cuba through its tractor manufacturing plant in Venezuela, Mohsen Shaterzadeh said here, on Friday.
Trade volume between Iran and Caribbean island state has increased from the earlier $20m to about $90m, he commented predicting that, ?The trade volume between the two countries is expected to hit $600m soon.?
#msg-10171924 Iran grants Cuba 20-million euro credit • Plant under construction in that Asian country to manufacture a Hepatitis B vaccine, Interferon, Streptokinase and human Erythpoyetine with Cuban technology • Cooperation with Cuba to be diversified and extended starting this year, as the Iranian ambassador in Cuba informs this weekly
BY RAISA PAGES—Granma International staff writer—
WHILE a plant is under construction in Iran to produce vaccines and medicines with Cuban technology, the island is very interested in that Asian country’s experiences in the rational use of water, among other contributions via the established cooperation between the two nations.
"There is no doubt that Iran is determined to strengthen its economic relations with Cuba and there are many interesting areas in which to cooperate," affirmed Mr. Ahmad Edrisan, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran .
He confirmed that economic cooperation between the two nations is to be diversified and extended to a notable degree starting this year. The Iranian ambassador conceded an interview to Granma International on the 10th Cuba-Iran Joint Commission.
"In discussions between the delegations we have made concrete the most propitious areas for economic cooperation and strengthened banking relations," he noted.
"The Central Bank of Cuba already has agreements with the Iran Development Bank, which will facilitate trade between the two countries.
Iran is to give Cuba a credit of 20 million euros, which could be increased with projects and cooperation.
The ambassador stated that his country has announced its disposition to help Cuba in oil pumping developments now that new reserves of this resource have been found.
Although economic cooperation currently covers agriculture, water usage, medicines, biotechnology and sports, this exchange is to be much expanded..
Mr. Ahmad Edrisan reviewed bilateral relations, which he qualified as excellent, and recalled President Fidel Castro’s visit to Iran in 2001.
There were many delegation exchanges between the two nations in 2004, which provided a better knowledge of realities on both sides.
"We consider that the 10th Cuba-Iran Joint Commission is complementary to that process of exchanging delegations to date and now we would like those areas of cooperation to be made concrete," he added.
The Iranian agricultural minister is heading the 25-person delegation from different agencies and ministries in that country currently in Cuba for the joint commission.
The volume of trade between Cuba and Iran in recent years has oscillated between $20 and $30 million but there is much capacity between the two nations to raise that," he observed.
Given its scientific developments in biotechnology, Cuba is supplying Iran with vaccines against Hepatitis B and other successful medicines like Interferon and Erythropoyetine, at a cost of $15 million per year.
A plant is currently under construction in that country for the manufacture there with Cuban technology of the Hepatitis B vaccine, Interferon, Streptokinase (utilized in the treatment of heart attacks) and human recombinant Erithropoyetine, used for the treatment of kidney failure, among other pathologies.
Exchanges of professors and students of medicine are part of an existing cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education, which also includes grants for students on both sides.
Last year a new agreement was signed in the field of sports to give continuity to cooperation in this activity, the ambassador commented. Trainers and athletes in volleyball, basketball and boxing from both nations are assimilating their experiences.
The recent visit by José Ramón Fernández to Iran will help to implement this sports agreement, the ambassador affirmed. The Asian nation is also to produce sports equipment that the island can acquire.
Both countries are exchanging information in the area of agriculture. Iran has benefited from Cuban experiences in sugarcane cultivation and in its turn is facilitating information on the production of rice and other foodstuffs.
Geographically located in a very dry area, Iran has an annual rainfall of only 250 millimeters. However, it is a large agricultural producer and food exporter. Iran is interested in the island’s experience of tropical fruits.
USE OF WATER
"Iran can help Cuba in the more efficient use of water, above all in agriculture," the ambassador stated.
He also noted that they could cooperate in transportation systems and the long-distance diverting of hydraulic resources. The Asian country could supply technology for the construction of aqueducts in the eastern region of Cuba.
Another area of cooperation with the island is in the construction of thermoelectric plants. Ambassador Edrisian explained that Iran manufactures large turbines down to systems for transforming energy into electricity.
Iranian entrepreneurs are interested in developing the textile, footwear and plastics industries and spare parts for sugar mills, he stressed. "In transportation, we could contribute engines, wagons and rail tracks, as well as other personal and collective vehicles, he confirmed.
The potential for the investment of Iranian capital in Cuba or the establishing of joint enterprises is one of the subjects for discussion in the commission. The delegation that traveled to Cuba for this joint session includes private-sector representatives from the footwear and plastics industries.
"Iran is capable of contributing everything that Cuba needs in terms of industrial development," he affirmed. "We are two revolutionary countries and establish our relations within the principles of South-South cooperation."
THE UNITED STATES SHOULD REVIEW ITS POLICY
With the US invasion and occupation of Iraq world security has been reduced and terrorism has developed even further, the ambassador observed.
"If the United States does not review its Middle East policy we are not going to see any improvement in the situation in that region," he stated.
"By invading Iraq the United States has strained international relations and endangered world security.
"The US government must end the invasion of Iraq as soon as possible. This country, under international supervision, has to attain its autonomy, its government, and for that reason we are in agreement with the elections, because that would be the first step toward the sovereignty of that people.
"The unilateral nature of US policy in international relations should be ended. That country should stop violating international law and should respect the national sovereignty of the peoples," ambassador Edrisian concluded.
Cordesman and Khalid Al-Rodhan of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said in a recent report that advanced models, if perfected, would "enable Iran to target the U.S. Eastern Seaboard."
-Am
By William J. Broad and David E. Sanger The New York Times
TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2006
The spacecraft is small by world standards - a microsatellite of a few hundred pounds. Launched in October by the Russians for a wealthy client, it orbits the earth once every 99 minutes and reportedly has a camera for peering down on large swaths of land.
But what makes this satellite particularly interesting is not its capabilities, which are rudimentary, but its owner: Iran. With last year's launching and another planned for the next few weeks, Tehran has become the newest member of the international space club.
The question now asked in Washington and other capitals is whether Iran's efforts are simply part of its drive to expand its technical prowess or an attempt to add another building block to its nuclear program. In that sense, it is the newest piece of the Iranian atomic puzzle.
To some government analysts and other experts in the West, Iran's space debut is potentially worrisome. While world attention has focused on whether Iran is clandestinely seeking nuclear arms, these analysts say the launchings mark a new stage in its growing efforts to master a range of sophisticated technologies, including rockets and satellites. The concern is that Tehran could one day turn such advances to atomic ends.
"It may appear tempting to dismiss Iranian efforts" as relatively crude, said John Sheldon, an analyst at the Center for Defense and International Security Studies in Britain who recently wrote a report on Tehran's space program. "But Iran has already demonstrated a persistence and patience that would indicate it is prepared to play a long game in order to achieve its ambitions."
Iran has publicly rejected the goal of developing unconventional arms. It says its space and rocket efforts are either entirely peaceful, aimed at improving the state's telecommunications and monitoring natural disasters - strong earthquakes shook Iran on Friday - or are military efforts meant to boost its defenses with conventional weapons.
But some Western analysts note that such technologies can also have atomic roles and that a crucial element of a credible nuclear arsenal is the ability to launch a missile accurately and guide a warhead to its target. While Iran now depends on Russia to launch its satellites into orbit, it has vowed to do so itself, and is developing a family of increasingly large rockets. In theory, the biggest could hurl not only satellites into space but warheads between continents.
"The real issue is that they have a very large booster under development," said Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington who wrote a recent report on Iran's nuclear effort.
He said Tehran's bid to develop new rocket and space technologies might be nothing more at this point than its exploring of technological options, at times quite modestly, as in its recent effort to loft experimental satellites.
"That doesn't mean the potential should be minimized," Cordesman said. "We know these states can achieve technical surprise."
On Sunday, Iran said it had test-fired a fast underwater missile that could evade sonar, and on Friday announced that it had launched a new rocket that can carry multiple warheads and elude radar. The military actions, accompanied by film clips on state television during a week of naval maneuvers, seemed calculated to defy growing pressure on Tehran.
So far, U.S. officials say they have not protested Iran's space program. Intelligence agencies reviewed information about the satellite launching last fall, but concluded that it warranted no action. Nor has the United States urged Russia - a key player in the current negotiations with Iran over its efforts to enrich uranium - to halt the launchings.
But a senior American official who spoke anonymously because he was unauthorized to address the topic publicly said the United States was "taking another look" at pressing Moscow to end the space assistance as a way of pressuring Iran to stop the enrichment of nuclear material.
Analysts across the political spectrum seem to agree that the Iranian missile and satellite programs bear watching, even if judged as presenting no current threat to the United States.
"It's clearly interesting to see what direction they're going," said David Wright, a space analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a policy research group in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The UN Security Council is now debating possible sanctions against Iran because many states worry that Tehran's atomic push conceals a clandestine effort to acquire an atom bomb. American intelligence agencies estimate that Iran is 5 to 10 years away from having enough material for a nuclear weapon.
John Negroponte, director of national intelligence, recently called the danger that Tehran "will acquire a nuclear weapon and the ability to integrate it with ballistic missiles Iran already possesses" a cause "for immediate concern." Iran has missiles that can reach about 1,000 miles, or 1,600 kilometers, which is as far away as Israel and, as Negroponte put it, has "the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East."
American intelligence officials estimate that it might field an intercontinental missile by 2015, but such forecasts are always rough approximations.
Scores of nations have satellites, including Algeria, Greece, Spain and Tonga. But only a dozen or so have rockets big and powerful enough to put satellites into orbit. In the Middle East, only Israel can now do so.
Tehran's effort to build a fleet of rockets, and to buy and make satellites, has received technical help from not only from Russia but China, India, Italy and North Korea.
Its effort began during the war between Iran and Iraq, from 1980 to 1988, when Baghdad fired many rockets and Tehran worked hard to respond in kind. A recent report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a respected arms analysis group in London, sketched the Islamic state's progress.
At first, Iran bought Russian Scud missiles and then learned how to make them on its own, calling them Shahab-1, Persian for shooting star. The missiles, 36 feet, or 10 meters, tall, can throw one- ton warheads roughly 200 miles. By 1991, Iran learned how to extend their range to about 300 miles, naming the new weapon Shahab-2.
Iran fired waves of these missiles in 1994, 1999 and 2001 at the armed camps of the National Liberation Army of Iran, a dissident force based in Iraq committed to overthrowing Tehran's regime.
During that period, Iran also sought to develop a new, more powerful family of missiles, dubbing them Shahab-3. Based on a North Korean model, they stand 56 feet tall.
In recent military parades, it has draped them with banners reading, "We will crush America" and "Wipe Israel off the map." Iran cloaks its advanced rocket work in as much secrecy as possible. However, Western analysts say many signs and declarations indicate that Tehran is working hard on missiles powerful enough to launch satellites into space or warheads between continents.
Charles Vick, an expert on the Iranian rocket program at GlobalSecurity.org, a research group in Alexandria, Virginia, said one strategy was apparently to stack a Shahab-1 or Shahab-2 atop a Shahab-3, making a tall missile with two stages. It might have a range of nearly 2,000 miles. Other variants, Vick said, would go further.
Cordesman and Khalid Al-Rodhan of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said in a recent report that advanced models, if perfected, would "enable Iran to target the U.S. Eastern Seaboard."
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