[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] Iran launches slick nuclear energy propaganda site

Iran has created a very professional English language website, NuclearEnergy.ir, that was launched right before the Geneva nuclear talks.

Based on its Twitter feed, it looks like the site is associated with Iran's Foreign Ministry.

It pretends to be a transparent description of Iran's nuclear program, answering questions in the FAQ such as:

Has Iran allowed IAEA inspections of the Parchin complex?

Yes, Iran allowed IAEA inspectors to visit several buildings at the site during two visits in 2005. It also allowed the inspectors to take a number of soil and environmental samples. In its February 2006 report, the IAEA said it "did not observe any unusual activities in the buildings visited, and the results of the analysis of the environmental samples did not indicate the presence of nuclear material at those locations." Since then, however, Tehran has denied access to the site, insisting that the IAEA must first come up with a step-by-step roadmap for resolving all outstanding issues.

and

The IAEA has in the past raised several concerns about Iran's nuclear activities. How cooperative has Iran been in addressing these concerns?

Tehran has addressed every concern raised by the IAEA. It has also allowed inspections of its sites when needed and provided explanations to clarify ambiguities.

These are all half-truths and 100% propaganda.

This, for example, comes from the latest IAEA report on Iran, from August, about Parchin:

[I]t is worth recalling that the Agency's request for access to a specific location at the Parchin site was followed by Iran undertaking extensive activities at this location that have seriously undermined the Agency's ability to conduct effective verification.

And about Iran's supposed cooperation with the IAEA:

In November 2011, the Board of Governors adopted resolution GOV/2011/69, in which, inter alia, it stressed that it was essential for Iran and the Agency to intensify their dialogue aimed at the urgent resolution of all outstanding substantive issues for the purpose of providing clarifications regarding those issues, including access to all relevant information, documentation, sites, material and personnel in Iran. In September 2012, the Board of Governors adopted resolution GOV/2012/50, in which, inter alia, it decided that Iranian cooperation with Agency requests aimed at the resolution of all outstanding issues was essential and urgent in order to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. The Board of Governors also stressed that it was essential for Iran to immediately conclude and implement a structured approach for resolving outstanding issues related to possible military dimensions to its nuclear programme, including, as a first step, providing the Agency with the access it had requested to relevant sites. In light of these resolutions, between January 2012 and May 2013, Agency and Iranian officials held ten rounds of talks in Vienna and Tehran, including during a visit by the Director General to Tehran in May 2012, aimed at reaching agreement on a structured approach document. However, no concrete results were achieved.

The Agency has not been able to begin substantive work with Iran on resolving the outstanding issues, including those related to possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme. Since the Director General's previous report, no further talks aimed at concluding the structured approach document have been held. However, another round of talks is planned for 27 September 2013 in Vienna.

Doesn't sound exactly the same as the Iranian answers, do they?

Iran's "charm offensive" is not charming. But it is quite offensive.

(h/t Irene)



--
Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 11/17/2013 07:00:00 PM