If the story is true then the answer to your first question is YES.
Well the story is true as we know and is you had read the whole story not just bits of it you would have seen the last few lines that state no plants were built and that claims that Iran has no functoning nuclear reactors.
For your 2nd question, I know of no link so this question cannot be answered.
[COLOR=blue]Ok you don't have a link but at least one of us has done some research
Sorry can't get a link to work but thats the whole story off the FT website if you want to see it just go to the FT website and type UK, Iran and reactors the story will show up
Britain entered into secret negotiations in 1977 to build 20 nuclear reactors for the Shah of Iran, a programme that would have dwarfed similar projects offered at the time by France and Germany.
In negotiations with the head of the Iranian atomic energy programme, senior UK civil servants predicted that by the end of the 20th century Iran would have obtained the technology – from Britain itself – to build nuclear weapons.
But the imperative to keep Britain’s own nuclear energy industry alive by signing the enormous deal trumped such considerations, according to the archives.
In a note to No 10 Downing Street in February that year, a senior official in the ministry of Tony Benn, energy secretary, wrote: “Eventually, but in my view not for another 10 years at least, [Akbar] E’temad [president of the atomic energy organisation of Iran] will ask for reprocessing and enrichment technology.
“Given the state of Iranian industry we ought to be able to put him off until near the end of the century.”
In another note to James Callaghan, prime minister, Mr Benn said Iran would invest millions of pounds in pressurised water reactor technology in return for Britain’s agreement to supply the 20 PWR plants.
Mr Benn conceded that his most senior atomic energy adviser had “found himself drawn into a proposal that would involve a close nuclear partnership between Britain and Iran under which we would take a leading role in developing their massive nuclear power programme with some cross investment of Iranian funds here.
“There is a risk that we might be drawn inexorably into the supply of sensitive technology at a later stage – say in 10 years’ time.”
The file contains a bitter letter of complaint to Callaghan from Arnold, later Lord, Weinstock, chairman of GEC, saying that he had only heard about the scheme in May and “astounded” at the secrecy and the delay in pressing ahead with the project.
In fact, by this time the cabinet had already decided to slow down progress because in April 1977 the new American president, Jimmy Carter, had begun a nuclear non-proliferation initiative.
But the file shows that UK officials were still hopeful of beating off competition from France and Germany, which had offered to build one or two relatively small reactors for the Shah.
The delay meant that by January 1979, when the Shah fled and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took power, there were no British reactors in Iran and the German and French plants were only partially built.
Today, Iran does not yet have a functioning nuclear power plant.
Ok you don't have a link but at least one of us has done some research
Someone that reads this thread and your research will go away same info of subject. The thread is just the EDITED version of your research.
Britain agrees to build 20 nuclear reactors for Iran, but for some reason changes its mind ( The Lancaster Act II).
The point of the article is show the HYPOCRISY of the UK government.
Today , warning Iran not to build nuclear reactors, but (just) in 1977 was "secretly negotiating a nuclear partnership " that would allow UK to develop Iran's massive nuclear program and "dwarf" similar prjects from other EU countries.
OK malcolm lets look at the story and point out a few things firstly the story states that there was NEVER a deal only negotiations nothing was signed and no work was done secondly the negotiations started to cool in April 77 when Carter took office so if the UK started to engotiate in Jan 77 thats just under 4 months that the talks went on for. Also remember that in 1977 I don't think Iran had threatend to wipe Israel off the map yet had they?
As for hypocicy like somebody else told you it ws a diffrent government with different policies and the world was a diffrent place, so you tell me how a diffrent governemnt in a diffrent time when realtions with Iran are difficult are being hypocritical, going by your logic we should not class Germnay as an ally after all our government went to war with them thats clearly hyocritical same as the end of Apartheid at some point our government like other thought it was a bad move so clearly we are being hyocritical in suppoting eqaulity for blacks in S Africa, of course none of that is true becaise what you fail to understand is that government can and do change thier policy.
01-13-2008 01:09 AM
