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France to help develop Saudi, Egyptian, Gulf nuclear programs DEBKAfile Special Report March 14, 2009, 7:54 AM (GMT+02:00) French nuclear giant offers stake to Arab interests France has injected fresh momentum into the Middle East nuclear race by inviting Gulf nations to take a minority stake in the French nuclear giant Areva (CEPFi.PA), DEBKAfile's military sources report. They will be able to use their access to advanced nuclear technology for creating the infrastructure for a military nuclear industry to rival Iran's. Paris has a separate deal with Egypt.  More... Moscow signals harder position on nuclear-armed Iran DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis March 13, 2009, 1:37 PM (GMT+02:00) Russian rocket expert Vladimir Dvorkin heeded also in the West A Russian strategic arms control expert, Vladimir Dvorkin, said Thursday, March 12, that Iran could produce an atomic weapon in "one or two years," allowing Tehran to broaden its support for Hamas and Hizballah. This was the first time a Russian figure had predicted Iran would be nuclear-capable within so short a period, DEBKAfile's Moscow sources stress. Its correlative linkage to a heightened threat from Hamas and Hizballah has never been heard from Moscow, or even explicitly from Washington or Jerusalem.  More... Washington experts: Iran has fissile material for 50 nuclear bombs DEBKAfile Special Report March 9, 2009, 7:00 PM (GMT+02:00) On March 4, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy published a paper with two important disclosures: Iran has enough fissile material available for making up to 50 nuclear bombs and Tehran can go from low enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium in a relative brief period of time, perhaps a year or so. Israeli officials, while evading action to curb a nuclear-armed Iran, now go about suggesting that the Jewish state can live in its shadow.  More... •US-born Somalis go missing, feared recruited for jihad •France to help develop Saudi, Egyptian, Gulf nuclear programs •The first US-Saudi co-production is unveiled in Riyadh •Moscow signals harder position on nuclear-armed Iran •US Intel: Iran may have bought nuclear weapon abroad •Washington experts: Iran has fissile material for 50 nuclear bombs US-born Somalis go missing, feared recruited for jihad DEBKAfile Special Report March 14, 2009, 6:58 PM (GMT+02:00) Al Qaeda-linked Somali al Shabaab militia DEBKAfile's sources in the US Minneapolis-St. Paul report that the disappearance of dozens of young US-born Somali men in this area since last fall is under investigation by anti-terror authorities concerned they have been recruited to fight with al Qaeda-linked Islamist al Shabaab to topple the transitional federal government in Mogadishu. Some may even return home trained to form America's first homegrown Islamist terrorist cell.  More... US Intel does not rule out Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapon from abroad DEBKAfile Special Report March 10, 2009, 7:51 AM (GMT+02:00) US intelligence chief Dennis Blair sounds alarm In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, US intelligence chief Dennis Blair warned that it would be difficult to convince Iran to give up its quest for nuclear weapons by diplomatic means. By 2010, he estimated, Tehran would have enough fissile material for a weapon.  More... The first US-Saudi co-production is unveiled in Riyadh DEBKA-Net-Weekly Exclusive Analysis March 13, 2009, 1:42 PM (GMT+02:00) The Arab mini-summit springs from Barack Obama's first venture into Middle East diplomacy. Bashar Assad has made certain anti-Iranian gestures to prove himself worthy of admission to the pro-Western club led by Saudi King Abdullah and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak,. But is he willing to go all the way and cut Syria's strategic ties with Iran? The latest DEBKA-Net-Weekly – out this Friday – provides some answers and insights. To subscribe to DEBKA-Net-Weeklyclick HERE .