Press Conference on Iran's Nuclear Program

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http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=53366

Press Conference on Iran's Nuclear Program

9/14/2005 8:43:00 PM

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To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor

Contact: Paul Leventhal of the Nuclear Control Institute, 202-822-8444, [e-mail] [e-mail], or Raymond Tanter of the Iran Policy Committee, 202-742-6517, [e-mail]

News Advisory:

WHEN: Friday, September 16, 9 a.m.

WHERE: Murrow Room, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington DC 20045

WHO:

-- Paul Leventhal, founding president, Nuclear Control Institute. Web: http://www.nci.org

-- Alireza Jafarzadeh, president, Strategic Policy Consulting Inc. Web: http://www.spcwashington.com

-- Patrick Clawson, deputy director for research, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Web: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org

-- Raymond Tanter, Co-chair of the Iran Policy Committee. Web: http://www.iranpolicy.org

WHY: The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must decide at a crucial meeting on September 19, 2005 whether to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for violating Iran's commitments to the EU-3 (France, Germany and United Kingdom) to suspend all nuclear fuel cycle activities, as well as Iran's treaty obligations to submit to full agency inspections.

WHAT: The Nuclear Control Institute and the Iran Policy Committee are co-hosting a press conference to present evidence that Iran is embarked on a nuclear weapons program and is denying the IAEA access to military sites where these activities are taking place. Alireza Jafarzadeh, who as then-Washington spokesman for the Iranian opposition in 2002 made the initial disclosures of Iran's secret nuclear program, will present major new evidence of nuclear weapons work in Iran. He will also present a complete summary of all allegations the opposition has made to date and how the IAEA has responded to each allegation. Paul Leventhal will discuss the limits on the IAEA's ability to conduct effective inspections in Iran. Patrick Clawson will discuss regional and global security threats posed by a nuclear Iran. Raymond Tanter will discuss the options for preventing Iran from going nuclear.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

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1. Nuclear Control Institute

http://www.nci.org/

The Nuclear Control Institute, founded in 1981, is a research and advocacy center for preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. Non-profit and non-partisan, NCI is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization supported by philanthropic foundations and individuals.

In particular, we focus on the urgency of

eliminating atom-bomb materials (plutonium and highly enriched uranium) from civilian nuclear power and research plants;
disposing of these materials from dismantled nuclear warheads without introducing them into civilian commerce.
Active both at home and abroad, we play a watchdog role and engage governments and industry, international and public-interest organizations and the media in our work. Our track record indicates an impact on decisionmaking that far exceeds what might be expected of an organization of modest size.
Our credo: "Be effective."

more......

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2. Strategic Policy Consulting Inc.

http://www.spcwashington.com

Strategic Policy Consulting, Inc. (SPC)
Strategic Policy Consulting, Inc. (SPC) is an independent firm, whose purpose is to provide
expert advice and analysis on geopolitical developments in the Middle East. SPC serves as a valuable consultant in researching, developing and deploying solutions to the problematics of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and Islamic Fundamentalism, particularly with respect to these issues in Iran and Iraq.

SPC specialties include:
• Advising Congress, various Executive Branch agencies, and non-governmental organizations;

• Offering speakers for seminars, conferences, briefings, Congressional hearings, and university lectures;


• Providing incisive commentary to the media;

• Anticipating, assessing, and helping to disrupt threats to world peace;

• Informing a wide range of clients from senior policymakers to all-source analysts about the strengths and weaknesses of policies addressing key issues;

• Researching the evolution of sensitive topics of concern.

SPC experts will give counsel on international policy matters, conflict resolution, and regional & international crisis management.

Our consultants will provide comparative analyses of the various strategies proposed as solutions to the tough challenges of the Middle East, especially as they arise in Iran and Iraq.

We have experience, knowledge, unmediated information and a proven record in areas crucial to global security, peace and human rights.

SPC has effectively combined insight and knowledge of global issues to meet ever-changing international and regional challenges.

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3. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org

Our Mission

"The Washington Institute has become the number one center for information and analysis in Washington." —Charles Krauthammer

"Washington's most respected center for studies on the Middle East" —Vice President Al Gore

Founded in 1985, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy was established to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East. Under the guidance of a distinguished and bipartisan Board of Advisors, the Institute seeks to bring scholarship to bear on the making of U.S. policy in this vital region of the world. Drawing on the research of its scholars and the experience of policy practitioners, the Institute promotes an American engagement in the Middle East committed to strengthening alliances, nurturing friendships, and promoting security, peace, prosperity, and democracy for the people of the region.

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4. Iran Policy Committee.

http://www.iranpolicy.org

Iran Policy Committee (IPC) is comprised of former officials from the White House, State
Department, Pentagon, intelligence agencies, and experts from think tanks and universities.


For too long, Washington has been divided between those who favor engagement with and those who support military strikes against the Iranian regime. President George W. Bush advocates working with the Iranian people as opposed to the regime in Tehran but has not explicitly called for regime change. By calling for change in Tehran based on Iranians instead of Americans, IPC stresses the potential for a third alternative: Keep open diplomatic and military options, while providing a central role for the Iranian opposition to facilitate regime change.


Iran is emerging as the primary threat against the United States and its allies: Iran’s drive to acquire nuclear weapons, continuing support for and involvement with terrorist networks, publicly-stated opposition to the Arab-Israel peace process, disruptive role in Iraq, expansionist radical ideology, and its denial of basic human rights to its own population are challenges confronting U.S. policymakers.


IPC enters the debate in Washington over Iran policy by think tanks that also published reports on Iran—Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), The Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (TWI). In trying to solve the puzzle posed by Iran, IPC’s report suggests that Iranian opposition groups play a central role in U.S. policymaking.


Members of IPC: James Akins, Ambassador (ret.); Lt. Col. Bill Cowan, USMC (ret.); Paul Leventhal; Dr. Neil Livingstone; R. Bruce McColm, Lt. General Thomas McInerney; Captain Charles T. "Chuck" Nash, USN (ret.); Lt. General Edward Rowny, USA (ret.); Professor Raymond Tanter; Major General Paul E. Vallely, USA (Ret.); Clare M. Lopez.