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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran set a one-month deadline Saturday for the West to accept its counterproposal to a U.N.-drafted nuclear plan and warned that otherwise it will produce reactor fuel at a higher level of enrichment on its own.
The warning was a show of defiance and a hardening of Iran's stance over its nuclear program, which the West fears masks an effort to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Tehran insists its program is only for peaceful purposes, such as electricity production, and says it has no intention of making a bomb.
"We have given them an ultimatum. There is one month left and that is by the end of January," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, speaking on state television.
Even if Tehran started working on the fuel production immediately, it would likely take years before it could master the technology to turn uranium enriched to the level of 20 percent into the fuel rods it needs for a medical research reactor.
Still, any threat to enrich uranium to a higher level is likely to rattle the world powers that have been trying to persuade Iran to forgo enrichment altogether.
Enrichment is at the center of the West's concerns because at high levels it can be used in making nuclear weapons. At lower levels, enriched uranium is used in the production of fuel for nuclear power plants.
Iran dismissed an end-of-2009 deadline imposed by the Obama administration and its international partners to accept a U.N.-drafted deal to swap most of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. The deal would reduce Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium, limiting—at least for the moment—its capability to make nuclear weapons.
The U.S. and its allies have demanded Iran accept the terms of the U.N.-brokered plan without changes.
Instead, Tehran came up with a counterproposal: to have the West either sell nuclear fuel to Iran, or swap its nuclear fuel for Iran's enriched uranium in smaller batches instead of at once as the U.N. plan requires.
This is unacceptable to the West because it would leave Tehran with enough enriched material to make nuclear arms.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, refused to comment Saturday on Iran's announcement of a one-month deadline. The U.S. State Department also had no immediate comment.
The U.N. deal has been the centerpiece of the West's latest diplomatic push to get Iran to scrap a key part of its nuclear work.
Under the plan, drafted in November, Iran would export most of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium for further enrichment in Russia and France, where it would be converted into fuel rods. The rods, which Iran needs for the research reactor in Tehran, would be returned to the country about a year later.
Exporting the uranium would temporarily leave Iran without enough of a stockpile to further enrich the uranium into material for a nuclear warhead, and the rods that are returned cannot be processed further for use in making weapons.
"They (the West) must decide on supplying fuel for the Tehran reactor on one of the two offers—purchase or swap," Mottaki said. "Otherwise, the Islamic Republic of Iran will produce the 20 percent enriched fuel with its own capable experts."
Iran currently has one operating enrichment facility that churns out enriched uranium at a level of 3.5 percent. The country needs fuel enriched to 20 percent to power the Tehran medical research reactor. For nuclear weapons, uranium needs to be enriched to 90 percent or more.
The U.N. has demanded Iran suspend all enrichment, a demand Tehran refuses to meet, saying it has a right to develop the technology under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iran has also defiantly announced it intends to build 10 new uranium enrichment sites, drawing a forceful rebuke from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency and warnings of the possibility of new U.N. sanctions.
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Associated Press
Obama wants answers after botched terror attack
HONOLULU – President Barack Obama is demanding answers on why information was never pieced together by the U.S. intelligence community to trigger red flags about an alleged terrorist and possibly prevent his botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner.
Administration officials are poring over reams of data, looking for failings that allowed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian with suspected ties to al-Qaida, to board the Northwest Airlines flight from Nigeria by way of Amsterdam.
Obama's criticism came as senior U.S. officials told The Associated Press that intelligence authorities now are looking at conversations between the suspect in the failed attack and at least one al-Qaida member. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the conversations were vague or coded, but the intelligence community believes that, in hindsight, the communications may have been referring to the Detroit attack. One official said a link between the suspect's planning and al-Qaida's goals was becoming clearer.
The New York Times reported in Wednesday's editions that the government had intelligence from Yemen before Christmas that leaders of a branch of al-Qaida there were talking about "a Nigerian" being prepared for a terrorist attack. The newspaper said the information did not include the name of the Nigerian.
Obama's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, is due to present the president with an early report by Thursday, based on recommendations and summaries from across the government.
"There were bits of information available within the intelligence community that could have — and should have — been pieced together," Obama said in a brief statement to reporters Tuesday.
"Had this critical information been shared, it could have been compiled with other intelligence, and a fuller, clearer picture of the suspect would have emerged," Obama said. "The warning signs would have triggered red flags, and the suspect would have never been allowed to board that plane for America."
Senior administration officials said the system to protect the nation's skies was deeply flawed and, even then, the government failed to follow its own directives. They described a breakdown that would have been much worse had Abdulmutallab been successful; an angry Obama called the situation "totally unacceptable."
"It now appears that weeks ago this information was passed to a component of our intelligence community but was not effectively distributed so as to get the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, on a no-fly list," Obama said.
Obama first spoke to reporters Monday after three days of silence. On Tuesday, he chided officials for what he called a "potential catastrophic breach of security." Critics have questioned why Obama didn't talk sooner about the issue publicly.
Officials said Obama chose to make his second statement in as many days after a morning briefing offered him new information about the suspect's activities and thinking, along with al-Qaida's plans.
It will take weeks for a more comprehensive investigation into what allowed Abdulmutallab to board the airliner he is accused of trying to blow up with more than 300 people aboard. Law enforcement officials believe the suspect tried to ignite a two-part concoction of the high explosive PETN and possibly a glycol-based liquid explosive, setting off popping, smoke and some fire but no deadly detonation. Abdulmutallab, charged with trying to destroy an aircraft, is being held at the federal prison in Milan, Mich.
Abdulmutallab had been placed in one expansive database, but he never made it onto more restrictive lists that would have caught the attention of U.S. counterterrorist screeners, despite his father's warnings to U.S. Embassy officials in Nigeria last month. Those warnings also did not result in Abdulmutallab's U.S. visa being revoked.
Intelligence officials began laying blame on other agencies.
The CIA said it worked with embassy officials to make sure that Abdulmutallab's name made it into the government's database of suspected terrorists and noted his potential extremist connections in Yemen. The CIA said it forwarded that information to the National Counterterrorism Center.
Intelligence officials say they learned the suspect's name in November, when his father came to the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria and sought help in finding him.
One U.S. intelligence official said Abdulmutallab's father didn't provide sufficient information to earn him a spot on the no-fly list.
"Abdulmutallab's father didn't say his son was a terrorist, let alone planning an attack. Not at all," the official said on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. "I'm not aware of some magic piece of intelligence that suddenly would have flagged this guy — whose name nobody even had until November — as a killer en route to America, let alone something that anybody withheld."
Officials in Yemen were investigating whether Abdulmutallab spent time with al-Qaida militants there during the months leading up to Friday's attack.
By PHILIP ELLIOTT and LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press
ASPEN, Colo. – Authorities say actor Charlie Sheen has been accused of using a weapon in an alleged case of domestic violence in Aspen.
Sheen spent part of Christmas Day in jail after being arrested at a home in the Colorado ski resort town.
Police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro did not provide details on what kind of weapon Sheen is accused of using.
Sheen also was arrested on investigation of second-degree assault, a felony, and criminal mischief, a misdemeanor.
Sheen's lawyer didn't return a telephone call Sunday seeking comment.
Sheen hasn't been charged and was released Friday after posting an $8,500 bond. Prosecutors will determine whether to file charges.
Sharp-dressed man aided terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab onto plane without passport (MLive.com exclusive)
By Sheena Harrison | MLive.com
A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport.Kurt Haskell of Newport, Mich., who posted an earlier comment about his experience, talked exclusively with MLive.com and confirmed he was on the flight by sending a picture of his boarding pass. He and his wife, Lori, were returning from a safari in Uganda when they boarded the NWA flight on Friday.Haskell said he and his wife were sitting on the ground near their boarding gate in Amsterdam, which is when they saw Mutallab approach the gate with an unidentified man.
Kurt and Lori Haskell are attorneys with Haskell Law Firm in Taylor. Their expertise includes bankruptcy, family law and estate planning.
While Mutallab was poorly dressed, his friend was dressed in an expensive suit, Haskell said. He says the suited man asked ticket agents whether Mutallab could board without a passport. “The guy said, 'He's from Sudan and we do this all the time.'”
Mutallab is Nigerian. Haskell believes the man may have been trying to garner sympathy for Mutallab's lack of documents by portraying him as a Sudanese refugee.
The ticket agent referred Mutallab and his companion to her manager down the hall, and Haskell didn't see Mutallab again until after he allegedly tried to detonate an explosive on the plane.
Haskell said the flight was mostly unremarkable. That was until he heard a flight attendant say she smelled smoke, just after the pilot announced the plane would land in Detroit in 10 minutes. Haskell got out of his seat to view the brewing commotion.
“I stood up and walked a couple feet ahead to get a closer look, and that's when I saw the flames,” said Haskell, who sat about seven rows behind Mutallab. “It started to spread pretty quickly. It went up the wall, all the way to ceiling.”
Haskell, who described Mutallab as a diminutive man who looks like a teenager, said about 30 seconds passed between the first mention of smoke and when Mutallab was subdued by fellow passengers.
“He didn't fight back at all. This wasn't a big skirmish,” Haskell said. “A couple guys jumped on him and hauled him away.”
The ordeal has Haskell and his wife a little shaken. Flight attendants were screaming during the fire and the pilot sounded notably nervous when bringing the plane in for a landing, he said.
“Immediately, the pilot came on and said two words: emergency landing,” Haskell said. “And that was it. The plane sped up instead of slowing down. You could tell he floored it.”
As Mutallab was being led out of the plane in handcuffs, Haskell said he realized that was the same man he saw trying to board the plane in Amsterdam.
Passengers had to wait about 20 minutes before they were allowed to exit the plane. Haskell said he and other passengers waited about six hours to be interviewed by the FBI.
About an hour after landing, Haskell said he saw another man being taken into custody. But a spokeswoman from the FBI in Detroit said Mutallab was the only person taken into custody.
Senate sets Christmas eve vote on U.S. debt limit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday set a Christmas Eve vote on final congressional approval of a bill to provide a two-month increase in the federal debt limit.
The measure, passed last week by the House of Representatives, would increase the debt limit, now at $12.1 trillion, by $290 billion.
Senate Democrats may approve the measure largely by themselves because most, if not all, Republicans are expected to vote against it, Republican aides said. Democrats control the Senate, 60-40.
Republicans have objected to raising the debt limit, accusing Democrats of reckless spending. Democrats counter by noting that the debt exploded during the administration of Republican President George W. Bush, which ended in January.
Democratic President Barack Obama is expected to promptly sign the debt-limit measure into law after Senate approval.
The Treasury Department has warned that it would likely reach the current debt limit by December 31, potentially putting the United States at risk of default.
U.S. lawmakers want to avoid default but have refused to provide a long-term increase amid mounting concern about the debt limit.
Democratic leaders had hoped to raise the limit by at least $1.8 trillion, enough to ensure they would not have to revisit the issue before the November 2010 congressional elections. But they were unable to agree on measures that lawmakers had hoped to attach to the legislation to control the debt. The two-month hike provides more time to reach a deal.
The government posted a record $1.4 trillion deficit in the fiscal year ended September 30 and is on track this year to spend at least $1 trillion more than it collects.
The debt has more than doubled since 2001, due to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tax cuts and the worst recession since the 1930s, one that has caused tax revenues to plunge and spending on federal safety-net programs to rise.
Senate leaders set the debt-limit vote for Thursday, Christmas Eve, just before lawmakers go home for the holidays.
The vote is to occur after anticipated Senate passage of a bill to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, a measure that has tied up the chamber for weeks, delaying departure.
Iranian security forces have clashed with crowds of opposition supporters in the city of Isfahan, according to opposition website reports. Activists said police used tear gas and batons to disperse people gathering to commemorate Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri, who died at the weekend. The cleric was one of the country's most influential dissidents. On Monday, tens of thousands attended his funeral in the holy city of Qom - many shouting anti-government slogans. 'Fiercely confronted' The funeral saw reports of clashes between security forces and mourners - with confrontations continuing Qom on Tuesday. State television reported that government supporters staged counter-demonstrations on Tuesday and Wednesday in Qom. Reformists say there has also been unrest in the ayatollah's home city of Najafabad over the past two days. BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne says the confrontations are all part of a build-up to a big series of demonstrations expected at the weekend. The authorities have not yet confirmed the unrest in Isfahan, but the country's police chief warned on Wednesday that protests would not be tolerated. "We advise this movement to end their activities," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam as saying. "Otherwise those who violate the order will be fiercely confronted, based on the law." The Rahesabz website said crowds of opposition supporters had gathered at a mosque in Isfahan for a memorial service for the ayatollah. But hundreds of police and plain-clothes security officers were already there. The website said opposition supporters had been injured and there were a number of arrests. Another reformist website, Parlemannews, said more than 50 people had been detained. The ayatollah's funeral was attended by several leading opposition figures, including Mir Hossein Mousavi. Mr Mousavi, who came second in this year's presidential election, has been an outspoken critic of the current government and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. On Tuesday, Mr Mousavi was dismissed as head of the Council for Cultural Revolution, an arts institution affiliated to the president's office. In recent days hardliners have urged Iran's judiciary to put Mr Mousavi on trial for instigating unrest.
BBC
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed as a US forgery a document allegedly showing plans by Tehran to test a nuclear bomb trigger.
In a US TV interview Mr Ahmadinejad said the report in the Times newspaper was "fundamentally not true".
He said criticism of Iran's nuclear program had become "a repetitive and tasteless joke".
Iran denies claims it wants to build atomic weapons, saying its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.
The BBC's Jane O'Brien in Washington says the interview offered a rare opportunity to see an Iranian leader being questioned by the US media.
But Mr Ahmadinejad's answers gave little indication that his administration is moving towards a more conciliatory position, says our correspondent.
'Fabricated papers'
The Times reported last week that it had obtained a document, dating from 2007, describing a four-year plan by Iran to test a nuclear trigger using uranium deuteride.
The product can be used as a neutron initiator: the component of a nuclear bomb that triggers an explosion.
The memo apparently details how some work on the trigger should be outsourced to universities, but other work is too secret and must be carried out by "trustworthy personnel" within the organisation allegedly carrying out Iran's secret nuclear weapons research.
Another document seen by the Times is said to be a memo from Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, naming him as the chairman of the Field for the Expansion of Deployment of Advance Technology (Fedat) - which the newspaper says is a cover for a secret nuclear weapons programme.
In his first public response to the report, Mr Ahmadinejad said the accusations were "fundamentally not true".
In an interview filmed on Friday with ABC News, but broadcast on Monday, he dismissed the documents, saying: "They are all a fabricated bunch of papers continuously being forged and disseminated by the American government."
When asked if there would "be no nuclear weapon in Iran, ever", Mr Ahmadinejad said his view was already known.
"You should say something only once. We have said once that we don't want a nuclear bomb. We don't accept it."
A senior adviser to US President Barack Obama, David Axelrod, said it was "nonsense" that the US had fabricated the documents.
"Nobody has any illusions about what the intent of the Iranian government is," he told ABC.
'Bullying'
Iran is already subject to three sets of UN sanctions for its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.
It is at risk of further sanctions after it rejected a deal to send low-enriched uranium abroad to be refined into fuel for a research reactor.
A defiant Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran would welcome talks "under fair conditions".
"We don't welcome confrontation, but we don't surrender to bullying either," he said.
"If you are saying you are going to impose sanctions, then go and do it."
Ahmadinejad also rejected criticism of Iran's human rights situation and allegations of mass arrests following the elections which returned him to office in June.
"These things have to do with the judiciary. We have good laws. There is the judge. These people have got lawyers. These are not political questions."
He said people in Iran had more freedom than in the US.
The ABC interview took place before the latest protests held at the funeral of the influential dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri.
Iran says its uranium enrichment program is for purely peaceful purposes, aimed at generating electricity so that it can export more gas and oil.
But the US and its allies say it could be used to develop weapons.
Source: BBC News
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran set a one-month deadline Saturday for the West to accept its counterproposal to a U.N.-drafted nuclear plan and warned that otherwise it will produce reactor fuel at a higher level of enrichment on its own.
