Defiance from Iran's religious bigots

CNN:

Tehran's new uranium enrichment plant will be operational soon, and "will blind the eyes of the enemies," Iran's semi-official news agency Fars reported Saturday, quoting a senior Iranian official.

On Friday, Tehran acknowledged the existence of a second uranium enrichment facility near the Shia Muslim holy city of Qom.

The announcement came ahead of a planned meeting October 1 between Iran and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members, plus Germany.

"God willing, this plant will be put into operation soon, and will blind the eyes of the enemies," the senior official, Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, said in a written statement from Fars.

Golpayegani heads of the office of the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told reporters Friday that Iran met IAEA requirements by informing it about the plant at least six months before it begins operating. He said it would be 18 months before the plant comes on line.

Also Saturday, the Web site of the Iran Student News Agency (ISNA) carried comments from an Iranian legislator who warned Western nations not to make Iran regret its cooperation with the IAEA.

"Western countries and the U.S. must not make Iran regret its cooperation with the IAEA beyond its legal obligations," said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chief of the Iran Parliament Commission for National Security and Foreign Policy.

He said Western criticism of Iran's new facility was an "illogical and unrealistic" smear campaign, noting that Iran announced the project earlier than IAEA regulations require.

The U.S. president said the conclusions about Iran's nuclear ambitions came as a result of the work of three intelligence agencies -- those of Britain, France and the United States. The work, Obama said, was done "to make sure that we were absolutely confident about the situation there."

The United States has known about the unfinished site since the Bush administration, according to senior U.S. officials who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. French intelligence officials were also aware of the facility for several months at least, a U.S. diplomatic source said.

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There is more.

I have not seen a response to Ahmadinejad's legalistic response. The administration needs to get that out there. They have a tendency to avoid such issues, but this is one that should not be avoided if they expect to get cooperation from other countries.

I have a vague recollection of seeing something about this facility over a year ago, and it clearly was not a surprise to Obama who found out about it during the transition period. That suggest the timing of his announcement was driven by politics and diplomacy more than by concern about the facility.

The jaw-jaw track for dealing with Iran is looking like it will have little success. I am not optimistic about sanctions changing the minds of people who think they are on a mission from God. Obama better start planning on alternative strategies.