- Making News: IAEA Pressure Increases on Iran
Iran has just two weeks to prove to the rest of the world that it-s not building nuclear weapons. October 31st is the deadline imposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency for Iran to suspend its enrichment program and permit intensive inspections of nuclear sites. Yesterday, Mohamed El Baradei, Director General of the IAEA, said that -time is running out.- Today, he met with Russia-s foreign minister in Vienna. - Reporter's Notebook:China-s Manned Space Flight
The weather is good and the final countdown-s begun for China-s first space launch involving a human being. But it won-t be on TV. During the 90-s, the Chinese Space Program had five conspicuous failures, when unmanned rockets failed. But, as China prepares this week-s effort to become the third nation to send an astronaut into space, the atmosphere is decidedly optimistic.
Israel and its Nuclear Weapons
The United Nations is demanding that Iran comes clean about whether its nuclear power program is a front for producing nuclear weapons. At the same time, reports say that Israel has upgraded its nuclear arsenal and is making plans to attack nuclear facilities in neighboring Iran. In 1969 the United States reportedly made a deal with Israel. As long as Israel did not go public about its nuclear weapons or openly test them the US would not insist that Israel-s nuclear facilities be subject to international inspection. This weekend the L.A. Times reported that Israel has now outfitted submarines with nuclear missiles giving it the ability to launch atomic weapons. We look at Israel and its nuclear weapons with experts in the Middle East, the director of the Nonproliferation Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the director of Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University and a professor of Middle East Studies.