Iran Reponds to UN Demands

Making News

Eleven Suspects Appear in Court over Alleged Airline Terror Plot ()

Eleven suspects in the alleged plot to blow up airliners bound for the US were brought to court today in Britain. The charges include conspiracy to murder, and so-called "martyrdom videos" are part of the evidence. Kim Sengupta, defense correspondent for The Independent, was in the courthouse and has the details.

Guests:

• Kim Sengupta: Correspondent, Independent of London

Links:

• Independent article on today's court proceeding on airline terror plot

Main Topic

Iran Reponds to UN Demands ()

Iran has until the end of this month for a final response to the UN Security Council's incentive package for halting the enrichment of uranium that could lead to building a nuclear bomb. Today, Iran met its own deadline, proposing what's described in Tehran as "a new formula," which has not as yet been released to the public. At the United Nations, where the US and other Security Council members are studying the response, US Ambassador John Bolton called the move "a significant moment." Nevertheless, nobody thinks Tehran will stop enriching uranium. If it refuses, can the UN agree on punishment for Iran's suspected progress in building a nuclear bomb? The available options might hurt Council members as much as they hurt Iran. Is military action still "on the table?" What are the political stakes inside Iran?

Guests:

• Christopher Dickey: Middle East Editor, Newsweek magazine
• Simon Tisdall: Assistant Editor, Guardian newspaper
• Frank Gaffney: President and Founder, Center for Security Policy
• Jim Walsh: Research Associate, MIT's Security Studies Program

Links:

• Tisdall's article on Iranians' response to western accusations against its nuclear program
• Walsh’s testimony on Iran’s nuclear program before Senate Subcommittee on International Security
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran
• Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Reporter's Notebook

Russian Mathematician Refuses Field's Highest Honor ()

Grigory Perelman, who could be rich or famous for proving the Poincar&eaucte; Conjecture, has declined to pick up the Field Medal, the mathematical equivalent of the Nobel Prize, at a ceremony in Madrid for solving a problem first posed in 1904.  Silvia Nasar, who wrote A Beautiful Mind about another famous mathematician, interviewed the reclusive 40 year-old Russian for this week's New Yorker magazine.<br>

Guests:

• Sylvia Nasar: author, 'A Beautiful Mind'