Latest news with #DwightDEisenhower
NDTV
25-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
How The United States Forced Iran To Pursue A Nuclear Programme
New Delhi: When American scientists helped install a nuclear reactor in Tehran in the 1960s, they did so under the banner of peace. Decades later, US warplanes bombed Iranian nuclear sites to halt what they now see as a threat. It began with the 'Atoms for Peace' programme, launched by President Dwight D Eisenhower to share civilian nuclear technology with allies. At the time, Iran, ruled by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was a model Cold War partner, secular, West-leaning, and eager to modernise. The US responded by helping install the Tehran Research Reactor, training Iranian scientists at elite institutions like MIT, and encouraging partnerships with European allies. To Washington, it was a strategy to extend influence, contain Soviet power, and showcase the "benevolent" use of atomic energy. In practice, it created an entire ecosystem of nuclear capacity inside Iran that would long outlast the Shah's regime. "We gave Iran its starter kit," said Robert Einhorn, a former US arms control negotiator and now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "We weren't terribly concerned about nuclear proliferation in those days, so we were pretty promiscuous about transferring nuclear technology." The concern was not about what Iran might do with the technology one day, but what the Soviet Union could do at the time. Under the Shah, Iran's ambitions scaled. Despite sitting on massive oil reserves, Iran was determined to become a nuclear power in both symbolism and capability. France and Germany signed multibillion-dollar reactor deals. US media ran ads touting the Shah's responsible embrace of nuclear power. Behind the public enthusiasm, intelligence officials in Washington were growing wary. The Shah's insistence on uranium enrichment, legal under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), but dual-use in nature, was raising flags. By the late 1970s, US policymakers tried to restrain Iran's growing autonomy by modifying reactor contracts and insisting on fuel restrictions. But by then, the nuclear infrastructure was already embedded. And then came the 1979 Islamic Revolution, sweeping away the Shah from power and replacing him with a clerical regime hostile to the US. US-Iranian relations collapsed overnight. Initially, the new rulers had little to no interest in the nuclear project. It was expensive, Western-built, and closely tied to the ousted regime. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini saw little value in continuing it. Iran's brutal war with Iraq in the 1980s, marked by chemical weapons and massive casualties, forced its leadership to reassess national defence. Once again, nuclear technology looked less like a luxury and more like a deterrent. But this time, the US wasn't the supplier. Instead, Iran turned to Pakistan. There, Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, provided Iran with designs and components for uranium enrichment centrifuges. That transfer, based on stolen European technology, gave Iran its first real tools for weaponization of nuclear energy. Yet the foundation that enabled Iran to absorb that technology had been laid by the United States decades earlier. By the early 2000s, the world discovered Iran's secret enrichment sites. Tehran claimed it was within its rights under the NPT. The US and its allies were unconvinced. From there, the crisis hardened: sanctions, sabotage, and shadow wars replaced dialogue. The 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the JCPOA, briefly froze the crisis. But the Trump administration withdrew from the deal in 2018. That unravelling triggered a return to confrontation, ending in the very airstrikes meant to destroy the kind of capability the US once helped cultivate.
Indian Express
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
What happens if Iran chooses to leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
Amid the heightened military tensions between Iran and Israel, the Islamic Republic said on Monday (June 16) that its Parliament was preparing a Bill that could result in it leaving the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The Israeli attack on Iran began on June 13 after Tel Aviv claimed that Iran was close to enriching weapons-grade uranium — which would effectively allow the Islamic Republic to build a nuclear weapon and pose, as per Prime Minister Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a 'threat to Israel's very survival'. Israel struck major nuclear facilities in Natanz and other Iranian cities in Iran. Iran has denied the charges, saying it only plans to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes and not to develop weapons. It also vowed retaliation and launched ballistic missiles towards Iran. While at least 24 people have died in Israel, the death toll in Iran has crossed 600. In this context, what is the NPT, and what happens if Iran leaves it? Signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970, the international treaty is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and technology, and promoting cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, as well as disarmament. Soon after World War 2 (1939-45) which ended with the United States dropping atomic bombs on Japan, world powers raced to develop their own nuclear weapons. Simultaneously, efforts were also made to restrict the proliferation of nuclear technology. In 1953, the US government launched the Atoms for Peace initiative under President Dwight D Eisenhower, laying the groundwork for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Eisenhower said in a speech: 'The United States would seek more than the mere reduction or elimination of atomic materials for military purposes. It is not enough to take this weapon out of the hands of the soldiers. It must be put into the hands of those who will know how to strip its military casing and adapt it to the arts of peace'. International relations professor Joseph Nye wrote in an article in 1981 that the initiative's biggest contribution was a safeguards system, where 'nonweapons countries agree to file… regular detailed reports on nuclear civilian activities, and agree to allow international inspectors to visit their nuclear facilities to verify the reports and to ensure that there has been no diversion of materials from civilian to military purposes.' 'The safeguards system is central to the basic bargain of the international regime in which other countries are assisted in their peaceful nuclear energy needs in return for their accepting the intrusion of safeguards and inspection,' he wrote. IAEA personnel now carry out such inspections. The treaty defines a nuclear state as one 'which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967.' These are the US, the UK, France, the Soviet Union (later Russia) and China. Today, 191 states have joined the treaty. India carried out its first nuclear tests in 1974 but has not signed it, and instead reiterated the principle of universality in preventing nuclear proliferation. Given the treaty's exceptions for the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, and the arbitrary date chosen as the cut-off point to accommodate the P5 members, it has been criticised as discriminatory. Pakistan is also not a signatory. Israel, which is reported to possess nuclear weapons but has never confirmed it officially, has not signed it. North Korea signed it in 1985 but announced its withdrawal in 2003 after it was found to have built an enrichment program. It also expelled IAEA inspectors. One of the treaty's 11 articles mentions the procedure for leaving it. Article 10 speaks of withdrawal: 'Each Party shall in exercising its national sovereignty have the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of this Treaty, have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country.' A notice of withdrawal must be given to other parties and the UNSC three months in advance, and 'such notice shall include a statement of the extraordinary events it regards as having jeopardized its supreme interests.' Iran has been a signatory since 1970 – nine years before the Islamic Revolution saw the formation of a theocratic state. However, in its first such decision in almost 20 years, the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors (which includes the P5, India, Bangladesh, Japan and Ukraine) recently said that Iran breached its non-proliferation obligations. The board's resolution mentioned its 'many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran'. In response, Iran said it always adhered to its safeguards obligations. Exiting the treaty raises two major concerns: first, it will keep Iran out of the IAEA's purview and regular inspections, and second, it could set a precedent for other states to leave the global framework, weakening cooperation on a crucial subject. According to IAEA data compiled by Bloomberg, IAEA inspectors averaged 1.4 nuclear-site visits a day last year in Iran. Such access would end if Iran chooses to withdraw. However, remaining in the NPT does not necessarily signal an intention to build nuclear weapons, because signatories (like North Korea) have also developed weapons in the past. In this case, Iranian officials have repeatedly denied plans to do so, but the changing dynamics in the Middle East mean there are few guarantees. Some scholars, such as Nye, have said the treaty nonetheless served a purpose by slowing the pace of proliferation. 'Realistically, an international regime does not need perfect adherence to have a significant constraining effect, any more than deviant behavior means the irrelevance of domestic legal regimes. Nevertheless, there is a tipping point beyond which violations lead to a breakdown of normative constraints,' he wrote. Rishika Singh is a Senior sub-editor at the Explained Desk of The Indian Express. She enjoys writing on issues related to international relations, and in particular, likes to follow analyses of news from China. Additionally, she writes on developments related to politics and culture in India. ... Read More
Irish Examiner
06-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: Listening is an important precursor to change
There was much proverbial gnashing of teeth and rending of raiment by environmental lobbyists when it was recently suggested that Ireland will miss its climate targets. Ireland, as with many other states, has committed itself legally to transition to net zero by 2050. Financial penalties — to be paid to the EU — are put variously between €8bn and €26bn in an admonitory report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council. Future historians and legal students will no doubt debate the wisdom of committing to onerous and binding financial punishment on targets which are 25 years away. The list of missed goals, cost over-runs, and deadline failures, even of the last decade, is far too long to be catalogued here. As we noted the 81st anniversary of D-Day, the largest collaborative operation in human history, on Friday it is worth recalling the words of its commander general (later US president) Dwight D Eisenhower. He was fond of saying: 'Plans are useless but planning is indispensable.' It is in that context that we must recognise a court judgement which applies some constraints to corporate rights over those of individuals irrespective of the size, and urgency, of the environmental challenges we face. A judgement handed down by Mr Justice Oisín Quinn sent something of a chilly breeze through an industry which has lately been basking in the sunshine of progress after Irish windfarms provided 38% of the country's electricity over the first three months of 2025. But in this case operators of a windfarm in Co Wexford have been ordered to shut down three of their turbines and pay €360,000 damages to a couple over their commercial response to noise and nuisance complaints covering a dozen years. ABO Energy Ireland Ltd and ABO Energy O&M Ireland Ltd, operators of the wind farm at Gibbet Hill, near Bunclody, along with its owner, Wexwind Ltd, also face a potential legal costs bill of €2.3m incurred by Raymond Byrne and Lorna Moorhead in their case. In a 100-page judgement, Mr Justice Quinn, who refused to permit a stay to allow three turbines closest to the couple's home to partially operate in fixed hours, said the defendants failed to engage 'in any meaningful way' with the 'genuine and substantive' complaints made by the couple since the turbines became operational in 2013. The judge added that the defendants' 'seriously unimpressive' approach represented a threat to the goal of developing wind farms and wind energy here. Addressing wind turbine noise in a substantial way was seen as 'critical' to the future success of wind as a major source of renewable energy. This was 'one of the worst cases of wind farm noise impact', he added. While the Bunclody case may be, as was suggested, 'an outlier' it is an important reminder of the need for consensus and agreement on changes which may have major and unforeseen impacts on people's lives. To that end, it would be prudent to extend the consultation period over the proposed route for Cork's Luas line from Ballincollig to Mahon Point which is destined to radically reshape the city's transport options for the next 100 years. Following what was described as a 'lively' public meeting, Transport Infrastructure Ireland has been asked to give people affected longer to study the 75-page technical report and feasibility study. A deadline was originally set for Monday for consultation. While flow charts, and pinch points, and traffic management schemes may be the meat and drink of civil engineers, logistical experts, surveyors, and the like, they can take a little longer for the ordinary citizen to digest. The opportunity to ask questions and receive answers is an important part of this process. Spending time on it now is a critical investment in the future. Tracking the sad history of rail death As we recently pointed out, railways can be dangerous places. There has always been a risk around trains, and one which long predated the establishment of Iarnród Éireann 38 years ago. The perils involved in working within the industry is dramatically illustrated in an ambitious data project initiated by Britain's National Archive — which has analysed, and made freely available online, records of railway worker accidents from 1900 to 1915 and from 1921 to 1939. It's a Microsoft Excel-based treasure trove for the amateur genealogist and one which will be expanded over the years as part of the Railway Work, Life & Death project, run by the University of Portsmouth, the National Railway Museum, and the Modern Records Centre. Irish connections can be filtered. In a time before health and safety legislation, there are many sad tales. The goods porter who was struck on the head by the hook of a steam crane; the Dublin shunter crushed when coupling some wagons; and to give the dangers a contemporary feel, the guard killed while crossing the line with parcels at Birdhill Station in Tipperary. It's an impressive piece of voluntary work and the researchers would like to hear from anyone who has a story to tell or some artefacts to contribute. To be or not to be. What is the question? The secondary school principal who has pointed out that an increasing number of students no longer see college as a guaranteed route to a job, house, and financial stability may be something of a voice in the wilderness. However, we are often wise to listen to such opinions. Áine Moran, of Sancta Maria College in Louisburgh, Co Mayo, said the Leaving Cert class of 2025 is no longer focused solely on Central Applications Office points. While education has great merits, it is no longer true that it protects a young person from poverty; and it may never pertain again. 'A lot of the traditional roles education brought people to today mean they still can't afford a house' says Ms Moran. 'The young people this Leaving Cert year are very savvy. Many feel they don't want to risk going to college to do a course and spend years learning a function for a job that can be done by AI in four years.' Second guessing where AI is taking us can be a debilitating experience but it is no surprise that so many believe that the route to riches, if not exactly security, lies through the computer screen. Many young people, says Ms Moran, are interested in building online businesses and being profitable 'influencers' on YouTube and TikTok. 'Some are making a lot of money,' she adds. At this age, it is a bad idea to rain on anyone's parade and there is perhaps a subliminal recognition of the modes of modern communication in some of this year's test papers. Particularly controversial has been the inclusion within Junior Cycle English of a short story question. It asked the examinee to comment on how the use of a setting had a vital influence on a short story they had studied. Although there has been an explosive resurgence in the popularity of short stories in recent years, some academic critics view them largely as a stepping stone to more detailed novels requiring deeper analysis. Other criticisms were applied to a question that asked students to imagine they are a contributor to a podcast. We must deal in the creative lexicon of our times and there is no doubt that podcasts, and audiobooks, have stimulated interest in literature in general. The examiners strived to keep matters topical by including a speech from Margaret Attwood and an extract from the 2024 Booker Prize winner Orbital. It's easy to imagine that the Shakespearean text King Lear — which asked students to construct a discussion between two characters — could easily be set as a Black Mirror encounter between Goneril and Regan. Is there a showrunner in the house? Ms Moran says her main advice to students is to get their Leaving Cert in their back pocket. Many more people are pursuing trade-focused courses such as architecture, construction, and engineering. There has been a 25% increase in nursing applications and a 41% rise in people choosing dentistry. In the future, nearly everyone will have more than one career. We need you all. That's what education should give you ... the ability to choose. Read More Irish Examiner view: Cameras could contribute to road safety
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
06-06-2025
- General
- First Post
History Today: How Normandy landings changed the course of World War II
The Allied forces launched mission D-Day on the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. It was the largest amphibious invasion in military history and marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany in World War II. On this day in 1930, frozen foods hit retail stands for the first time in Springfield, Massachusetts read more US infantrymen wade through the surf as they land at Normandy in 1944. File image/AP It was June 6, 1944, when the Allied Forces launched mission D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion in military history, storming the beaches of Normandy, France. This monumental operation marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany in World War II. If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers' ongoing series, History Today will be your one-stop destination to explore key events. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On this day in 1930, frozen food hit retail shelves for the first time changing the ways foods were consumed and sold. Here is all that happened on this day. Allied Forces stormed Normandy More than 1,56,000 troops from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries stormed the beaches of Normandy in northern France on June 6, 1944 , during World War II to launch one of the largest amphibious invasions in military history. This invasion, named D-Day, marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany in World War II. The troops crossed the English Channel, landing on five designated beaches namely Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. On the morning of June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops had already infiltrated enemy lines, securing crucial bridges and exit routes. While British and Canadian forces met lighter opposition on Gold, Juno and Sword beaches, Omaha Beach proved a brutal exception for US forces, resulting in over 2,000 American casualties due to heavy resistance. Meanwhile, Utah Beach proved to be easier to overcome for the American troops. According to some estimates, the D-Day invasion claimed over 4,000 Allied lives , with thousands more wounded or unaccounted for. A US Coast Guard landing barge tightly packed with helmeted soldiers approaches the shore at Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. File image/AP The planning and execution of Operation Overlord were meticulous and complex. Under the supreme command of General Dwight D Eisenhower, the Allies conducted an extensive deception campaign to mislead the Germans about the actual landing site. Despite these efforts, the German forces had fortified the Atlantic Wall with bunkers, mines and machine gun nests. Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed at Normandy. D-Day was a pivotal moment in World War II. It opened a crucial Western front and allowed the Allies to begin their liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe. In the weeks that followed, thousands more troops and equipment poured into France, leading to the liberation of Paris by August 1944. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Frozen food sold in retail stores for the first time It was on this day in 1930 when the way the world ate changed forever as frozen food was sold in retail stores for the very first time. This moment took place in Springfield, Massachusetts, where Clarence Birdseye, the innovator behind the freezing process, introduced his new line of frozen products under the brand name Birds Eye. Birdseye's flash-freezing method, characterised by the rapid freezing of foodstuffs at exceptionally low temperatures, offered significantly enhanced preservation of flavour, texture and nutritional value compared to preceding techniques. His conceptualisation of this process originated during his residency in Labrador, Canada where he observed indigenous populations employing natural freezing practices to maintain the freshness of fish. Drawing inspiration from these observations, Birdseye innovated a commercial freezing technique capable of mass-scale application. To overcome a logistical hurdle, Birdseye collaborated with the Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation and General Foods for crucial funding and distribution. Representational image/ Reuters Early frozen products from the brand included spinach, peas, fruits and various fish fillets. These hit stores in specialised display cases, a logistical hurdle given that most retail establishments at the time lacked freezers. To overcome this, Birdseye collaborated with the Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation and the Postum Company, later General Foods, for crucial funding and distribution. Consumer reception was initially cautious as some doubted the frozen food's quality while others were drawn to its undeniable convenience and extended shelf life. Over the subsequent decades, continuous advancements in refrigeration, packaging and transportation propelled frozen foods from a niche offering to a ubiquitous staple in homes across the United States and eventually, worldwide. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This Day, That Year On this day in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon and subsequently defeated the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Syrian armed forces and assorted leftist Lebanese groups. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a US regulatory agency, was established on this day in 1934. In 1844, George Williams originated the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in London. With inputs from agencies
Daily Record
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Record
The strange Scottish road where cars appear to defy gravity and roll uphill
The mysterious quarter-mile stretch of road has attracted visitors from across the globe, including Dwight D Eisenhower before he became US President. Scotland and magic often go hand in hand. From the legendary Loch Ness Monster to our national animal being the mythical unicorn, there's often a touch of the supernatural to our stories. But there is one very real oddity that you can visit for yourself; a road where cars seem to defy gravity, rolling mysteriously uphill. The curious stretch of road can be found in South Ayrshire. Known as the Electric Brae, this quarter-mile section on the A719 between Drumshrang and Knoweside, just south of Dunure and not far from Ayr, has baffled visitors for years with vehicles appearing to move against the slope. It is an optical illusion that truly must be seen to be believed and, for decades, the cause of this strange phenomenon was a complete mystery. Many people thought it was due to some form of electric or magnetic force, which inspired the unusual name Electric Brae. However, in truth, it is what experts call a gravity hill. The road actually slopes downhill, but the surrounding landscape cleverly tricks the eye, making the incline seem reversed. One end of the road, at the bend overlooking Croy Railway Viaduct, sits at 286 feet Above Ordnance Datum, while the other end, near the wooded Craigencroy Glen, is at 303 feet AOD. Despite this clear upward gradient of one in 86, the configuration of the land on either side creates the illusion that cars are rolling uphill when their hand brakes are off. Metal road signs once marked the spot but have often been taken by visitors as souvenirs. These signs have since been replaced by a stone inscribed with an explanation of the phenomenon, offering travellers some much-needed insight into the mysterious effect. The Electric Brae is just one of hundreds of gravity hills found worldwide, where visual illusions, similar to the well-known Ames room effect, make objects appear to defy the laws of gravity. A suitably free-running vehicle will slowly move off from a complete standstill, seemingly uphill, which continues to intrigue and entertain visitors. This strange phenomenon has attracted visitors from far and wide. One particularly notable admirer was Dwight D Eisenhower, who stopped by during the Second World War while stationed at nearby Culzean Castle. If you're keen to witness the Electric Brae yourself, the stretch of road runs from the bend overlooking Croy Railway Viaduct in the west to the wooded Craigencroy Glen in the east. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. South Ayrshire Council has even created a layby where visitors can safely stop and experience the odd sensation firsthand, allowing them to marvel at this roadside curiosity. The phenomenon is certainly not unique to Scotland. According to the Visit Mourne Mountains website, the Electric Brae effect has also been observed at Spelga Dam in the Mournes. The term 'Electric Brae' comes from the Scottish word 'brae', meaning hill, and 'electric' was added because people originally believed the strange movement was caused by electric or magnetic forces from the surrounding hills or, in the case of Spelga Dam, from the large reservoir nearby. The Visit Mourne Mountains website further explains: "Just visualise how two magnets repel each other."
