Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/486484
ByGeorgeJahnand Matthew Lee The Associated Press LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND TheUnitedStatesiscon- sidering letting Tehran run hundreds of centrifuges at a once-secret, fortified un- derground bunker in ex- change for limits on centri- fuge work and research and development at other sites, officials have told The Asso- ciated Press. The trade-off would allow Iran to run several hundred of the devices at its Fordo fa- cility, although the Iranians would not be allowed to do work that could lead to an atomic bomb and the site would be subject to interna- tional inspections, according to Western officials famil- iar with details of negotia- tions now underway. In re- turn, Iran would be required to scale back the number of centrifuges it runs at its Na- tanz facility and accept other restrictions on nuclear-re- lated work. Instead of uranium, which can be enriched to be the fissile core of a nuclear weapon, any centrifuges permitted at Fordo would be fed elements such as zinc, xenon or germanium for separating out isotopes used in medicine, industry or science, the officials said. The number of centrifuges would not be enough to pro- duce the amount of ura- nium needed to produce a weapon within a year — the minimum time-frame that Washington and its negoti- ating partners demand. The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not au- thorized to discuss details of the sensitive negotiations as the latest round of talks began between U.S. Secre- tary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minis- ter Mohammed Javad Zarif. The negotiators are racing to meet an end-of-March deadline to reach an outline of an agreement that would grant Iran relief from inter- national sanctions in ex- change for curbing its nu- clear program. The dead- line for a final agreement is June 30. One senior U.S. official declined to comment on the specific proposal but said the goal since the begin- ning of the talks has been "to have Fordo converted so it's not being used to en- rich uranium." That official would not say more. The officials stressed that the potential compro- mise on Fordo is just one of several options on a menu of highly technical equa- tions being discussed in the talks. All of the options are designed to keep Iran at least a year away from pro- ducing an atomic weapon for the life of the agree- ment, which will run for at least 10 years. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has joined the last several rounds as the negotiations have gotten more technical. Experts say the compro- mise for Fordo could still be problematic. They note it would allow Iran to keep intact technology that could be quickly repurposed for uranium enrichment at a sensitive facility that the U.S. and its allies originally wanted stripped of all such machines — centrifuges that can spin uranium gas into uses ranging from re- actor fuel to weapons-grade material. And the issue of inspec- tor access and verification is key. Iran has resisted "snap inspections" in the past. Even as the nuclear talks have made progress, Iran has yet to satisfy ques- tions about its past possi- ble nuclear-related mili- tary activity. The fact that questions about such activ- ity, known as Possible Mili- tary Dimensions, or PMDs, remain unresolved is a se- rious concern for the U.N. atomic watchdog. In addition, the site at Fordo is a particular con- cern because it is hardened and dug deeply into a moun- tainside making it resistant — possibly impervious — to air attack. Such an attack is an option that neither Israel nor the U.S. has ruled out in case the talks fail. And while too few to be used for proliferation by themselves, even a few hun- dred extra centrifuges at Fordo would be a concern when looked at in the con- text of total numbers. Robert Menendez, se- nior Democrat on the Sen- ate Foreign Relations Com- mittee, said such a compro- mise demonstrates that the U.S. is negotiating "any deal for a deal's sake." "An undue amount of trust and faith is being placed in a negotiating partner that has spent de- cades deceiving the interna- tional community," denying inspectors access and ac- tively destabilizing the re- gion, he said. As negotiations stand, the number of centrifuges would grow to more than 6,000, when the other site is included. Olli Heinonen, who was in charge of the Iran nuclear file as a dep- uty director general of the U.N's International Atomic Energy Agency until 2010, says even 6,000 operating centrifuges would be "a big number." NUKE NEGOTIATIONS Officials:Iranmayruncentrifugesatfortifiedsite BRENDANSMIALOWSKI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Iranian Foreign Mohammad Minister Javad Zarif, right, waits for the start of a meeting with a US delegation at a hotel in Lausanne Switzerland on Thursday during negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program. By Ahmed Al-Haj and Hamza Hendawi The Associated Press SANAA,YEMEN Theturmoil inYemengrewintoaregional conflictThursday,withSaudi Arabiaanditsalliesbombing Shiite rebels allied with Iran, while Egyptian officials said a ground assault will follow the airstrikes. IrandenouncedtheSaudi- led air campaign, saying it "considers this action a dan- gerous step," and oil prices jumped in New York and London after the offensive. The military action turned impoverished and chaotic Yemen into a new front in the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Yemen's U.S.-backed President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the country Wednesday as the rebels known as Houthis advanced on his strong- hold in the southern port of Aden, reappeared Thurs- day. He arrived by plane in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh, Saudi state TV re- ported. Starting before dawn, Saudi warplanes pounded an air base, military bases and anti-aircraft positions in the capital of Sanaa and flattened a number of homes near the airport, killing at least 18 civilians, including six children. Another round followed in the evening, again rocking the city. Rebel leader Abdul-Ma- lik al-Houthi angrily ac- cused the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel of launching a "criminal, un- just, brutal and sinful" cam- paign aimed at invading and occupying Yemen. "Yemenis won't accept such humiliation," he said in a televised speech Thurs- day night, calling the Sau- dis "stupid" and "evil." The Houthis, who have taken over much of the coun- try, mobilized thousands of supporters to protest the airstrikes, with one speaker lashing out at the Saudi-led coalition and warning that Yemen "will be the tomb" of the aggressors. White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One en route to Alabama that President Barack Obama had au- thorized logistical and in- telligence support for the strikes, but that the U.S. is not joining with direct mil- itary action. In the air assault code- named "Operation Decisive Storm," Saudi Arabia de- ployed some 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units, Saudi-owned Al- Arabiya TV reported. Also involved were aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Egypt, though it was not clear which carried out actual strikes. Once the airstrikes have weakened the rebels and their allies in the military forces loyal to former Pres- ident Ali Abdullah Saleh, a ground invasion of Yemen is planned by Egyptian Saudi and other forces. The assault will come from Saudi Arabia and by landings on Yemen's coasts along the Red and Arabian seas, according to three Egyptian military and se- curity officials. Three to five Egyptian troop carriers are stationed offshore, they said. The aim is not to oc- cupy Yemen but to weaken the Houthis and their al- lies until they enter nego- tiations for power-sharing, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not au- thorized to talk about the plans with the press. Saudi Arabia and fellow Sunni-led allies in the Gulf and the Middle East view the Houthi takeover as an attempt by Iran to establish a proxy on the kingdom's southern border. Iran and the Houthis deny that Teh- ran arms the rebel move- ment, though it says it pro- vides diplomatic and hu- manitarian support. MIDDLE EAST Regional turmoil escalates as Saudi Arabia bombs rebels in Yemen By Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press WASHINGTON The United States persuaded Iraq to sideline Iranian-backed Shiite militias as a condi- tion to American airstrikes in the strategic city of Ti- krit, a senior U.S. general said Thursday. The move limits Iran's influence, at least temporarily, and could re-invigorate a ground of- fensive that U.S. officials said had become stalled un- der Iranian leadership. Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of U.S. Central Com- mand, told a Senate hear- ing that he had insisted that Iranian-backed militias pull back before the U.S. began flying intelligence-gather- ing flights over the week- end and dropping bombs Wednesday in support of a reconfigured Iraqi force of soldiers and federal police. Spokesmen for a number of the Shiite militias fired back, saying they chose to withdraw from the battle for Tikrit in protest of the United States entering the fray. Either way, the condi- tions set for US airstrikes were an important turn of events, given U.S. concerns that Iran's role in Tikrit had unsettled its anti-Is- lamic State group coalition of Sunni Arab states like Saudi Arabia, that see Iran as an adversary and worry about spread of Iran's Shi- ite influence. Tikrit is a predominantly Sunni city and the home- town of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The predominant role of Iranian-backed militias in the early stages of the bat- tle to retake Tikrit from IS fighters also raised con- cerns that the offensive could deepen Iraq's sectar- ian divide and drive Sun- nis to the militants, who al- ready control large swaths of the country. While the U.S. has bombed IS targets in much of northern and western Iraq nearly every day since August, it had until now been a bystander in Tikrit, saying Baghdad had not requested help. The Iraqis said they intended to liber- ate the city on their own, while acknowledging they were getting help from Ira- nian military advisers and arms. Offering an explanation for "why it failed," Austin said the attempt to quickly recapture Tikrit with Shi- ite militias in the lead was flawed. He said it lacked precision firepower, proper command from the Iraqi government and a coher- ent plan for maneuvering ground forces against a dug-in enemy. Iraq lacks a sophisticated air force. The introduction of American air power is in- tended to open the door for Iraqi ground forces to en- ter the city in coming days or weeks. The Pentagon said it was using fighter jets, bombers and armed drones. U.S. said it conducted 17 airstrikes Wednesday, hit- ting a dozen military tar- gets including two bridges, two earthen berms, an IS military command post and two staging areas for IS fighters. Officials said U.S. planes resumed attacks on Thursday. Referring to the Shi- ite militias armed, trained and advised by Iran, Aus- tin said, "These forces ob- viously were not being con- trolled by the government of Iraq." That is a bold state- ment, given the Iraqi gov- ernment's assertion that it had effectively and delib- erately balanced its part- nerships with the U.S. and Iran, which is a neighbor. Austin cited not only what he called the militia's ineffective leadership in the Tikrit offensive but also his painful recollection of how American troops fighting under his command during the Iraq war had been "bru- talized" by Shiite militias. "I will not, and I hope we never, coordinate or coop- erate with Shiite militias," the general told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Austin said there now are about 4,000 Iraqi regu- lar military troops, special operations commandos and federal police involved in the battle for Tikrit. He said some Shiite militias were in the general area, including across the Tigris river from the main part of the city. Austin said the Iraqi government accepted as a condition of U.S. airstrikes not only a pull-back of Shi- ite militias in the current stage of the ground cam- paign but also that they not be part of the effort to stabilize the city once it is recaptured. BATTLE FOR TIKRIT US sees opportunity in Iran's pullback from Shiite militia support in Iraq KHALID MOHAMMED — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Iraqi security forces launch rockets against Islamic State extremist positions during clashes in Tikrit, 80miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday. Select"Subscribe"tabinlowerrightcorner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! This FREE service made possible by the advertisers in TV Select Magazine Kindly patronize and thank them. Click on their ads online to access their websites! FREE online subscription to TV Select Magazine Digital edition emailed to you, every Saturday! Just go online to www.ifoldsflip.com/t/5281 (You'll only need to go there one time) N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY • Fully searchable online, zoom in, print out pages and more! • No newspaper online subscription or website access required. • Best of all ... it's ABSOLUTELY FREE! | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015 8 B