The "Father of the Pakistani Bomb," A.Q. Khan, has written an official report on his illegal activities that points the finger at Iran for seeking to buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan at the end of the 1980's.
Jeffrey Smith and Joby Warrick writing in the Washington Post:
Bombmaker Abdul Qadeer Khan states in documents obtained by The Washington Post that in lieu of weapons, Pakistan gave Iran bomb-related drawings, parts for centrifuges to purify uranium and a secret worldwide list of suppliers. Iran's centrifuges, which are viewed as building blocks for a nuclear arsenal, are largely based on models and designs obtained from Pakistan.Khan's narrative calls into question Iran's long-standing stance that it has not sought nuclear arms. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last month that "we won't do that because we don't believe in having them."
The account also conflicts with the Pakistani government's assertion that Khan proliferated nuclear know-how without government approval.
Pakistan has never disclosed Khan's written account. A summary of interrogations of Khan and four others in 2004, conducted by Pakistan's intelligence service and later provided to U.S. and allied intelligence officials, omitted mention of the attempt to buy a nuclear bomb. But Pakistan's former top military official in 2006 publicly hinted at it.
As far as Pakistani involvement with Khan, we conveniently turned a blind eye to their proliferation violations due to our need to have them on board in the War on Terror and assisting us in Afghanistan. But it is little wonder that American presidents from Clinton through Obama have insisted that the Iranians want nuclear bombs, despite their protestations to the contrary.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says it will be "months" before another round of sanctions against Iran will be approved by the UN. Koucher mentions June as a probable target date for getting everyone on board.
Not much urgency there, eh?
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