War criminal Tony Blair has used the second session of the Iraq War Inquiry to once again promote an anti-Iran message. The Iranians are in a very similar position to the Iraqis during the lead up to the contrived invasion.
During his second session at Chilcot this morning, Blair said Iran was “a looming and coming challenge” and made the hypothetical point that if he didn’t invade Iraq in 2003, we could have ended up with a situation where Iraq and Iran were in competition to create nuclear weapons. The evidence for this is not forthcoming.
There is currently no evidence that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapons program, and it’s now firmly on the record that there was extremely thin and dubious evidence at the time that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. In hindsight they obviously didn’t.
It is ironic that an inquiry about a disastrous and illegal war could be used as a platform to push another potential war.
In the January 29, 2010 hearing he made the statement that:
“If you were to look at Iran today, the reason why I take, and still take, a very hard line on Iran and nuclear weapons is not just because of nuclear proliferation, it is because the nature of the Iranian regime makes me even more worried about the prospect of them with a nuclear device.”
“My fear was … and I would say I hold this fear stronger today than I did back then as a result of what Iran particularly today is doing.”
He later repeated:
“I do take such a strong line on Iran or any other nation that tries to develop WMDs.”
His entire speech is filled with references to Iran and nuclear-proliferation.
“The link between Iran, having nuclear weapons capability, and those types of terrorist organisations, it is the combination of that that makes them particularly dangerous.”
His speech today was no different. He name dropped Iran on several occasions. In fact more worryingly was that those conducting the inquiry seemed to be working from the predisposition that Iran is actively seeking nuclear weapons.
One of the final questions from Chilcot himself asked whether the action against Iraq had warned Iran off from developing its weapons program. Blair essentially said Iran was back on track.
To allow Blair to impose his agenda against Iran with no evidence during what is supposed to be a fact finding inquiry in to the UK’s role in Iraq is extremely careless.
First off Iran has never claimed to have been pursuing a nuclear weapons program. President Ahmadinejad told CBS NEWS last year:
“The nuclear bomb is a fire against humanity rather than weapon for defense…Its possession is disgusting and shameful…even more shameful is the threat to use such weapons.”
What Iran has is a civilian nuclear power program, which is safeguarded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). They are also members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Under this treaty only the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China actually possess nuclear weapons. Countries like Israel and north Korea that also have weapons, have not committed to the agreement and should be considered rouge threats, although Israel somehow gets a free pass, been to the point of condemning Iran.
Iran has always been open and compliant about it’s program. In September 2010, they reverified the non-diversion of nuclear material with the IAEA.[1]
A phrase often thrown around in the wrong context is that they have nuclear enrichment – but all nuclear power programs need to enrich uranium. It is the amount of enrichment that would potentially become a problem.
Iran is only enriching uranium at 20% [2], which is well within international agreements. This uranium is being used in an American built isotope reactor given to them in 1967. [3], so is not even close to becoming weaponized. In fact uranium needs to be enriched at 90+ percent before a nuclear weapon can be built. As the BBC notes:
Weapons-grade uranium is at least 90% enriched. Then you would need the capability to turn it in to a warhead and fire it, which Iran does not have.
When quizzed by Sen. Carl Levin, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said US intelligence does not believe Iran has a nuclear weapons program:
With no verifiable intent, and in fact statements from the President of Iran that are against nuclear weapons, and no capacity to create nuclear weapons; one has to wonder why and how somebody like Tony Blair and the mainstream US and British Press can continue to spread such an idea…when the US, UK and Israeli allies are themselves the ones with nuclear weapons, and the ones interfering in the middle-east.
Another point Blair made during the Iraq inquiry was that he claimed Iran were supporting terrorists.
This appears to be in-line with accusation that Iran is supporting Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, which is completely out of touch with reality.
Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden have completely different political and religious allegiances than the Iranian majority. Iran is Shiite Muslim; Bin Laden is a Sunni Muslim. That’s like aligning Catholics and Protestants.
President Ahmadinejad knows how preposterous that idea is. During an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, he was asked:
If you did know that Osama bin Laden was in Tehran, would you show him hospitality? Would you expel him? Would you arrest him?
Ahmadinejad humorously replied: I heard that Osama bin Laden is in Washington DC.
Stephanopoulos: No, you didn’t.
Ahmadinejad: Yes, I did. He’s there. Because he was a previous partner of Mr Bush. They were colleagues in fact in the old days. You know that. They were in the oil business together. They worked together. Mr bin Laden never cooperated with Iran but he cooperated with Mr Bush.
Ahmadinejad although antagonistic, is more grounded in fact than his the interviewer. Bush’s former oil company Arbusto Energy took investment from Bin Laden’s older brother Salem. [4]. And of course the CIA worked with Bin Laden during the Soviet/Afghan war. [5]
Blair said he sees a “negative and destabilizing influence of Iran, supporting terrorist groups”.
But it was his pal George Bush in 2007 who authorized a covert operation to support terrorist group Jundullah in destabilizing Iran!
As reported by ABC News:
“…the United States has supported and encouraged an Iranian militant group, Jundullah, that has conducted deadly raids inside Iran from bases on the rugged Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan “tri-border region.”
It is quite clear that there is more going on than the Iraq Inquiry will ever acknowledge. Lets just hope we never have to come back in few years for an Iran war inquiry because it turned in to the new Iraq.
The Iraq inquiry hearings will recommence next Tuesday.
