Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, meets with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sept 18, 2019.
‘Saudi Arabia ‘admitted’ onto nuclear watchdog IAEA’s board of governors’, RT.com, 19 Sept, 2019
“Saudi Arabia has won membership on the governing body of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, according to a report by the Saudi state media.
The Kingdom was voted onto the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) board of governors on Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Riyadh currently lacks a functioning nuclear energy program, but IAEA officials said in April that the Kingdom is expected to complete its first reactor by the end of the year.
The board of governors crafts much of the IAEA’s policies and reports, and makes budget and membership recommendations, generally meeting five times per year. The watchdog has largely entered media headlines in connection to the Iran nuclear deal, as it is tasked to oversee Tehran’s nuclear program.’
Aawsat.com/english adds:
“It also appoints the Director General of the IAEA, with the approval of the General Conference.”
davidly
Greyson Smythe
LeMoyne
juliania2
ohiobarbarian
stephenadavis1
wendyedavis
café babylon 
Was Foul Play Behind IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano’s Death?
by Stephen Lendman, July 24, 2019
“His death came at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West because of Trump regime-led hostility toward the country.
During his tenure, he oversaw the landmark JCPOA nuclear deal’s adoption by its signatories and Security Council members, making it binding international law.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi paid tribute to Amano following his death, saying:
“My deep condolences…We worked very closely” during JCPOA negotiations. “I commend his skillful and professional performance (that) resulted in complete closure. May the Almighty bless his soul.”
Vladimir Putin said he “always admired his wisdom and foresight – his ability to make informed decisions in the most difficult circumstances.”
It’s unclear who’ll succeed him. Deputy director general Mary Alice Hayward is serving as acting IAEA chief in the interim.
Last October, in response to Israel’s Netanyahu falsely claiming Iran seeks nuclear weapons, citing a (nonexistent) “secret atomic warehouse” in his UN General Assembly address, Amano refuted the accusation, saying:
“The agency sends inspectors to sites and locations only when needed. The agency uses all safeguards relevant to information available to it but it does not take (so-called intelligence) at face value.”
Without mentioning Israel or Netanyahu by name, Amano added that “(a)ll information obtained, including from third parties, is subject to rigorous review and assessed together with other available information to arrive at an independent assessment based on the agency’s own expertise.”
“In order to maintain credibility, the agency’s independence in relation to the implementation of verification activities is of paramount importance.”
Following Trump’s unlawful JCPOA pullout in May 2018, a week’s later IAEA June 8-dated quarterly report said the following:
“Since 16 January 2016 (JCPOA Implementation Day), the Agency has verified and monitored Iran’s implementation of its nuclear-related commitments in accordance with the modalities set out in the JCPOA, consistent with the Agency’s standard safeguards practices, and in an impartial and objective manner.”
“The Agency reports the following for the period since the issuance of the Director General’s previous quarterly report:
“Iran has continued to permit the Agency to use on-line enrichment monitors and electronic seals which communicate their status within nuclear sites to Agency inspectors, and to facilitate the automated collection of Agency measurement recordings registered by installed measurement devices.”
The report, others preceding and following it, found Iran in full compliance with its JCPOA obligations, stating:
“Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.” [snip]
On Wednesday, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported the following:
“Informed sources have speculated that late chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano was assassinated by Israel in collaboration with the US for refusing to give in to pressures to raise new fabricated allegations against Iran’s nuclear program,” adding:
“Informed sources told Tasnim that Amano is thought to have been ‘eliminated’ by the Israeli regime so that the UN nuclear agency could have a new chief.”
He “was reportedly standing against the US and Israeli ‘heavy pressures to open a false case against Iran on the nuclear issue,’ the sources said.”
“There is evidence that the (US and Israel) were constantly pressuring Amano to accuse Iran of violation of the 2015 nuclear deal…contrary to all technical and legal reports by the IAEA that confirmed Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA, as a leverage for implementing Donald Trump’s ‘pressure-talks’ scheme, they said.”
“The sources also said that the US and Israel had kept the news of death of Amano in the dark for a couple of days after his funeral.”
The CIA and Israel’s Mossad have long disturbing histories of assassinating individuals for political reasons.”
there’s a lot more, of course.
https://stephenlendman.org/2019/07/was-foul-play-behind-iaea-chief-yukiya-amanos-death/
That’s what we need, nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia. This was expected, can’t remember where I read it some time ago, but it’s par for the course. Aimed primarily at Iran, maybe it’s time for Bernie Sanders and his progressives to proclaim it’s time for Saudi Arabia to get it’s hand dirty, again.
yeah, it’s been brewing for a while, and there’s been speculation that boss tweet and the clown prince’s bein’ BFFs now is hastening it along. IF the US hasn’t already, but fiddlesticks, russia’s providing ‘civilian’ nuclear technology to so many nations. this piece says it’s just a hop,skip,and a jump to weapons grade and bombs.
‘Saudi Arabia and the nuclear temptation; Will the US soon supply Saudi Arabia with civilian nuclear technology? If the kingdom possessed it, it could destabilize the entire region, to the concern of countries such as Israel.
https://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-and-the-nuclear-temptation/a-47659982
lord luv a duck, that was quite an assertion the bern had made, wasn’t it? ‘saudi arabia should get their hands dirty fighting ISIS!’ nopers, not dirty enough already, are they, bern? not terrorists, are they, bern?
Ya, according to the author, the jews don’t want the Arabs to have nukes because you never know who will be their leaders, but Israel and Netanyahoo can have a couple hundred. And a guy like Trump has thousands. Go figure. I wonder what that guy is writing for. Money maybe?
Nothing matters anymore, it’s all about survival.
iirc, what the author said was that ‘the jews say’ they don’t want the ksa to have nuclear weapons, which some think tanks may say. SIPRI estimates israel has about 100, none ‘deployed’ as far as they can tell, with enriched uranium enough for loads more.
yeah, between the US and russia, SIPRI says they own about 90% of the world’s nukes. but the big difference is this: the sauds are sunni muslims, iranians are largely shiite muslims, and that difference is stark in the sunni/wahabbisit world. for instance, bahrain’s ruling class is something like 15% of the population ruling over the shi’ia population as though they have no human rights. the world yawns at the vicious way they’re treated, and what happens to protestors.
of course the US navy’s 4th or 5yh fleet is anchored there.
Don’t doubt that for a second. The old disease Greed and the Lust for Power and Profit, makes another bid for war, starve them first with sanctions, then send in the bombs, gotta keep that military/Industrial machine humming along. All civilian deaths accidental, OOP’s sorry about that, say I bet we forgot to apologize to Iraq for all those dead civilians we left behind when we got our war on there. By David Rees: “In the first days after the 9/11 attacks, I promised to use EVERY ELEMENT OF NATIONAL POWER to fight the terrorists, wherever we find them. One of the strongest weapons in our arsenal is the POWER OF FREEDOM, the terrorists fear freedom as much as they do our firepower.” G. W. Bush, 9/11/06……Auditor:”Umm…Is the pentagon aware that terrorists fear freedom as much as our firepower? Because I’m looking at the FY 2006 military budget and we seem to be spending a shitload of money for something that’s not even scarier than freedom……Pentagon Secretary:”But if we didn’t spend $450 billion a year on firepower, how would we create the fertile garden of peace in which freedom can take root and blossom?” Auditor: “Ah, so we’re making a beautiful garden in Iraq! I hope we’re at least using the corpses for fertilizer.” Ah! So……
heh. trouble with corpses as fertilizer in iraq’s garden…there’s depleted uranium everywhere, and terrifying numbers of kids have been born deformed, and no one knows for how many generations it will be so. DU: the gift that keeps on giving!
and now the military budget is $738 billion (increased by the D team over what the trumpeter asked for…but it still takes shit tons of money to make was against the terr’ists created by the amerikan military. ironic that amerikan military hardware costs thrice what russia’s does, and is inferior. now the saud’s are asking moon jae-in for missile defense, putin says russia will provide it. MAD: mutually assured defense!
but gawd’s blood: who will the US/ksa pressure the board of govs to be the next inspector general of the IAEA? light bulb: john bolton?/s
More: More: More: We must have money for More bombs, drop them, any-where, we do not care where they fall, only that we can now build more of them and keep earning money, money, money; such a sad song
yes, indeed; but srsly, who will take yukiya amano’s place as director general? i doubt most of the world has paid any attention to this. those socialists and truth tellers whose twitter accounts i look at don’t seem to have twigged, and i wonder why that is?
one japanese commie/socialist on twitter i’ve corresponded with in order to borrow his essays…i might ask, just in case.
let’s make this clear, new clear, nuclear.
The war hawks are ready to destroy all but their control of capital.
In the shame of the fockker, the holy ghost and hedge fund managers everywhere. Putting the wolf in charge of the hen house is going to piss off a lot if the Israelites. Bibi’s bitch ain’t helping much.
Would make a good parody of power plays in the 21st century.
ha; love your revisionist trinity prayer, spiritlevel! to say the truth, this diary over yonder at c99% got scant attention. dunno even if the iranians took note of it, but to me it’s a srsly.big.deal. guesses as to who the next inspector might be? yeah, i know; too many candidates.
Yeah, wtf’s up with that? This is the end of the future as we assume it. Too busy staturating on possible political positions methinks. Many more important things a-going on for that gibberish to be important. Past that already. Keep up the good work, got your back. We can define the enemy and deliver a blow if we stay focused on the better end of things. Maybe.
maybe postulating would be a better descriptor?
and only a nuclear WW III is at stake…nothing to see here….