Fox News Channel

November 19, 2004

Diplomats Say Iran is

Producing Nuke Gas

Rick Folbaum: Well, there are some diplomats out there who say that Iran is producing a gas that can be used to make nuclear weapons. When asked just how much gas we’re talking about? One diplomat told the AP, it’s not a little. There’s word that number could be as high as 22 tons. Joining us now from Washington is Alireza Jafarzadeh, who is a Fox News Foreign Affairs Analyst. He revealed the existence of several Iranian nuclear facilities. Alireza, good to see you, as always. Thanks very much.

Alireza Jafarzadeh: Thank you Rick. Good to see you.

Rick Folbaum: We’ve got some maps that show some facilities. Let’s put the maps up and tell us what you see when you take a look at these images.

Alireza Jafarzadeh: Well, the image you see now is the site known as Lavizan that as you can see in the three pictures you see the buildings have been raised a few months after the first picture was taken. This is a site that used to hold a number of nuclear related facilities and equipment and Iran raised the building in order to move the equipment to another hidden site that was disclosed just two days ago by the Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance. This new site which is near that site in Lavizan area is a site that they are actually now doing laser enrichment.

Rick Folbaum: Well, we’ve got this deal that goes into effect on Monday. I wonder what you think about it because Iran has basically agreed to stop enriching uranium. Is there any chance, does anybody in the international community believe that Iran is going to keep that promise?

Alireza Jafarzadeh: Well, they haven’t in the past, and I don’t see why they would keep that promise in the future. They made pretty much a similar promise last year --exactly one year ago. Only a few months later, they broke that entirely. In this period, in the one year period they bought, they further developed their nuclear weapons program. They opened a new site in Isfahan. Now we find out about two more new sites.

I think the international community has to get serious. Enough is enough. Iran has proven times and over that its intent in pursuing its nuclear weapons program and get the bomb by the mid or end of next year. So we don’t have much time, and I think the policy should be focused on that is very interesting because there is grounds for it. As I was coming to the studio here, I saw on the Capitol Hill a large crowd of Iranians who were calling for the end to Iran’s nuclear weapons program, calling for regime change. That’s what we need to do.

Rick Folbaum: I wanted to ask you about those pro democracy Iranians both inside and outside of the country, dissidents who are trying to sway public opinion here in the US and in European nations. How much power do they have realistically? Are they making any headway?

Alireza Jafarzadeh: I think they are making lots of headways, but the problem has been, Rick, the international community has always been helping in effect the Iranian regime, harming the opposition, creating all kinds of obstacles to them. Not only they didn’t help the opposition but also they tried to hamper their efforts by calling them terrorists, making it illegal for people to help them. This is not the way to help change a regime which is repressive which is pursuing a nuclear weapons program. I think it’s now time to shift that.

Rick Folbaum: Alireza, we only have a few seconds left. Israel has a solution. Israel says let us go in there and take care of these sites. We’ll go in there and bomb them in Iran. Is that an answer?

Alireza Jafarzadeh: I doubt Rick, this might sound like a band aide solution. But this problem is far more serious than just sending planes and bombing a few places. After all, you don’t know the entire nuclear weapons program of the Iranian regime. So I think the real solution is to further tighten political screws on Iran and reach out to those who really want and end to the regime. That’s the real solution.

Rick Folbaum: Alireza Jafarzedeh, it’s always good to talk to you. Fox News Foreign Affairs Analyst. Thanks very much.

Alireza Jafarzadeh: Always a pleasure, Rick.

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