Will the cyber worm turn

LATimes--Stuxnet reportedly set back Iran’s nuclear program. That’s the good news. But what about threat to us? The tale of the Stuxnet worm is one of those seemingly good-news stories that grows more worrisome over time.

Security experts first became aware of the mysterious Stuxnet malware last summer, but it wasn’t until months later that they agreed on its likely target: Iran’s secretive nuclear weapons program. The worm hid itself benignly in personal computers, spreading (often through USB drives) until it could infect machines made by Siemens that control motors and other industrial equipment. The infected controllers intermittently sent the motors racing, all the while reporting that everything was normal.

Analysts speculate that Stuxnet damaged a sizable percentage of the gas centrifuges at Iran’s well-guarded uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, which relies on Siemens controllers. Iran hasn’t talked in detail about the situation, but U.S. and Israeli officials (who won’t discuss Stuxnet publicly) are no longer projecting that Iran is poised to develop an atomic bomb. Instead, they’ve pushed back their estimates by several years, citing unspecified "technological problems." Continued…
Why Iran nuclear talks ended in stalemate

Csmonitor--Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers ran aground on Iranian preconditions about enrichment and sanctions; no plans to meet again.

stanbul, Turkey —

Iran and six world powers failed to make any progress during two days of talks in Istanbul, raising questions about the future of diplomacy over Iran’s controversial nuclear program.

The talks hung up on two preconditions laid down by Iran at the outset: that its right to enrich uranium be acknowledged, and that all sanctions be lifted.

Despite deliberations that stretched almost to midnight Friday – and several proposals put on the table for Iran to consider ­­– diplomats ended talks Saturday with no plans to meet again.

American and European negotiators expected more from Iran after preliminary meetings in Geneva last month, since diplomatic stalemate here will boost efforts in Congress for more sanctions as Washington exercises the “pressure” side of its dual-track policy.

IN PICTURES: Who has nukes?

And Iran appears to have overreached by misjudging the willingness of the P5+1 – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany – to step away from a process it had come to see as pointless.

“This is not the conclusion I had hoped for,” said European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represented the P5+1 and said she was “disappointed,” though "the door remains open" for Iran.

“We had hoped to have a detailed and constructive discussion of those ideas,” said Ms. Ashton. “But it became clear that the Iranian side was not ready for this unless we agreed to preconditions relating to enrichment and sanctions. Both these preconditions are not a way to proceed.”

After the talks, Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili told a press conference that Iran’s demands were not preconditions, but in fact “prerequisites” that were mandatory to further discussion. He said the P5+1 wanted “dictation, not dialogue.”

The two sides often appeared to be speaking about different events. Mr. Jalili was well into his press conference before he mentioned the word “nuclear,” the subject that Ashton said later was the “only” issue discussed.At the table for the US was William Burns, the undersecretary of State for political affairs. Continued

Ahmadinejad nominates Salehi as Foreign Minister ILNA: Iran President presents Ali Akbar Salehi to parliament for as new Foreign Minister, official said Sunday Ahmadinejad’s Parliament deputy announced the introduction of Ali Akbar Salehi to Parliament for the post of Foreign Minister.
The Acting foreign minister holds the post for 40 days after discharge of Manoucher Mottaki .
Mohammad Mirtajodini told reporters that President Ahmadinejad will present Salehi as his preferring foreign minister to the parliament this week.
Iran’s parliament) confirmed on Sunday that it has received the letter.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that Majlis will review Salehi’s records next week.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast had said on Saturday that Salehi is likely to be voted into office as foreign minister.
“Our understanding is that lawmakers as well as the Foreign Ministry staff have very positive views toward him (Salehi) being selected as the foreign minister,” Ramin Mehmanparast told.
Since Salehi took over as the caretaker foreign minister, said the spokesman, he has shown that he has enough experience in foreign policy.
In mid-December, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and appointed head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, as the acting foreign minister.
Salehi was officially inaugurated as Iran’s caretaker foreign minister in a ceremony on December 18, 2010.