RUSSIA SHIPS NUCLEAR FUEL TO IRAN

From the BBC:

Russia has delivered its first shipment of nuclear fuel to a reactor it is helping to build at Bushehr in Iran.

The two sides reached agreement last week on a schedule to finish building the plant after years of delays.

Some Western countries fear Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons but Tehran says its programme is for peaceful power generation only.

The UN has demanded that Iran halt uranium enrichment but has approved the Russian nuclear fuel deliveries.

Responding to news of the first delivery, the White House said it meant Iran now had less of an excuse not to halt uranium enrichment.

"If the Russians are providing the Iranians fuel, the Iranians have no reason to enrich uranium themselves," spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

The NIE seems to have taken all of the air our of the sails of America's foreign policy with regards to Iran. As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, " the NIE report amounts to a "declaration of surrender" by America.

However, White House rhetoric, here coming through spokesman Gordon Johndroe, would seem to indicate a possible attempt at checkmating the Iranians.

Thing is, we have been trying to corner Ahmadinejad's king for quite awhile now, and thus far he has proven to be a better chess player.