Letter: No law forbids uranium enrichment

This is a comment on an article “Japan official wary of Iran sanctions impact” (The Jakarta Post Online, Jan. 18).

In principle, nothing in international law or in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty forbids the enrichment of uranium.

Besides Iran, several other countries, whether they are parties to the treaty or not, enrich uranium without being accused of “threatening the peace”.

In Iran, this activity is subjected to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

It is true that these inspections are constrained by a safeguards agreement from the 1970s. But it is also true that the IAEA has never uncovered any attempted diversion of nuclear material towards military use in Iran.

Iran is to be independent in peacefully developing nuclear energy fuel cycles, according to NPT, since sanctions ban the country from buying materials from foreign markets.

That is its purpose. Other things are total nonsense — such as wanting to wipe Israel off the map, WikiLeaks’ claims, Saudi murder plots — just like claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

The WikiLeaks claims, the murder plot against a Saudi ambassador, a negative IAEA report against Iran: Are these really truthful? The United States and its allies have never proved them, but have used them as justification to initiate action. It is the Iraq war with the fake WMD.

Iran is not a threat to any nation. Let’s stop all the propaganda that lack proven facts, are based on Islamaphobia and aim to destroy Iran.

We should support Iran becoming a pioneer of a peaceful nuclear energy industry in the Muslim world.

If the NPT is only for friends of the US then Iran should withdraw from it.

A military attack will give Iran the best justification to pursue a nuclear race and withdraw from the NPT. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will say he was attacked by a country with nuclear capabilities when his nuclear program was peaceful, but he must protect his country by using nukes like them.
Anwar
Jakarta