Iran's New U.N. Sanctions

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 18, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

         Playing games with the U.N. Security Council, Iran tried yesterday to float a new proposal to allow Turkey and Brazil to reprocess its enriched uranium, an attempt to avert a new round of sanctions.  When past Director-General of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaredei warned Tehran Nov. 9, 2009 about continued defiance, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejadd rejected any U.N. attempt to contain Iran’s nuclear program. “The great nation of Iran will never bow to pressure and intimidation vis-à-vis its inalienable right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” said Ahamadinejad, rejecting IAEA efforts to rein-in Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.  Western powers don’t accept Ahamadinejad’s interpretation of “peaceful uses,” since  stockpiling nuclear bombs for Mutual Assured Destruction is on its face for “peaceful purposes.”  

            U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced May 18 a major breakthrough in a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Iranian sanctions.  Veto-wielding Security Council holdouts Russia and China finally agreed to more sanctions after Tehran proposed with Brazil and Turkey a new half-baked plan to ship low-level enriched uranium to the two countries.  U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany all agreed on new sanctions designed to get Iran to comply with past resolutions to halt its enrichment program.  “This announcement is as convincing an answer to the efforts undertaken by Tehran over the last few days as any we could provide.” Hillary told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  Neither Russia nor China bought Iran’s latest effort to buy more time, avoid new sanctions and continue its feverish pursuit of highly enriched weapons grade uranium.

            Iran’s nuclear enrichment centrifuges have steadily grown over the last few years, now estimated in the thousands.  Ahmadinejad announced April 9 that Iran was using more efficient centrifuges boosting nuclear enrichment more rapidly from three to 20%, close to weapons’ grade  “Iran’s nuclear path is irreversible. The Iranian nation has reached a new point where no power can deter it from moving full speed ahead to reach peaceful nuclear energy,” said Ahmadinejad at an April 9 ceremony from which he revealed a new high-speed centrifuge from behind a curtain.  Iran rejected last year’s  U.N. proposal to reprocess low-grade-uranium in Russia and France.  Yesterday’s announcement about reprocessing uranium in Brazil and Turkey reassured no one at the IAEA or the West.  “There are a number of unanswered questions regarding the announcement coming from Tehran,” said Clinton.

            Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Tehran that Israeli won’t sit idly by while Iran pursues the A-bomb.  Israeli acted forcefully in 1981, blowing up Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear reactor.  “From this lectern, I call on the enlightened nations to rise and powerfully condemn Iran’s genocidal intentions and act with real resolve to stop Iran arming itself with nuclear weapons,” Netnanyu told an audience on Holocaust Memorial Day at Yad Vashem.   If Ahmadinejad didn’t repeatedly threaten Israel, Netanyahu wouldn’t see Tehran as an existential threat.  Clinton’s latest announcement of new sanctions may not satisfy Netanyahu, looking less for reassurance than concrete steps to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions.  No amount of diplomatic talk changes Iran’s accelerated enrichment program at its heavily fortified underground Natanz nuclear facility.

            Admadinejad’s triangulation of Brazil and Turkey attempts to short-circuit new U.N. sanction designed impede Iran’s nuclear development.  “I think Iran has taken a leap forward.  Now it’s in a very positive situation which should be appreciated by international players,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who’s fought a new round of U.N. sanctions.  Da Silva believes more sanctions antagonize Iran into a defensive posture, potentially breaking off relations with the U.N. and IAEA.  Iran’s pursuit of the A-bomb directly relates to a siege mentality, calling the U.N. Security Council “bullying powers” designed to rob the nation from its rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to pursue “peaceful” nuclear power.  Ahmandinejad subscribes to Pakistan’s definition of “peaceful,” having neutralized its archenemy India by building atomic bombs.

            No longer bashing Israel during a tough election year, Clinton scored some political points getting Russia and China to sign onto a new sanctions regime against Tehran.  Hillary knows there’s linkage between an eventual Palestinian peace deal and containing Tehran’s feverish pursuit of nuclear bombs.  Israel finds no priority in peacemaking when its existence is threatened by a potential nuclear holocaust.  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged Tehran to comply fully with IAEA monitoring requirements for its nuclear program.  Brazil and Turkey’s deal with Tehran can only work if Iran agrees to the IAEA’s vigorous monitoring regime.  Brazil and Turkey must wake up to Iran’ s ultimate goal:  An arsenal of nuclear weapons giving Tehran strategic power in the Middle East.  Without sanctions that bite, there’s little chance of changing Iran’s mind.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.