Don't Hold Your Breath

Fox News: Rice: Iran Can't Have Nuclear Weapons Capability---

WASHINGTON — Momentum is building to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions. Britain, France and Germany, the three countries that make up the European Union-3 that has been negotiating with Iran, have drafted a resolution that seeks a Security Council referral.

Key excerpts of the draft resolution being circulated by the EU-3 and obtained by FOX News state that Iran is being referred to the U.N. General Assembly Security Council under Article XII.C of the International Atomic Energy Agency's governing statutes. It states the referral has been made because of "Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply with its NPT safeguards agreement."

The draft "calls on Iran to understand that the [IAEA] Board [of Governors] lacks confidence in its intentions in seeking to develop a fissile material production capability against a background of safeguards non-compliance and unresolved questions; [and] to recognize that the confidence-building measures that it has implemented since September 2003 have fallen short."

Near the end of the document, the draft calls once again on Iran "to extend full and prompt cooperation to the [IAEA], which the director-general deems indispensable."

We shouldn't hold our collective breath. The UN and the IAEA dropped the ball on Iraq. Why should we think they will do anything about Iran?

"I think the EU has already — France has already responded concerning whether or not they think it would make any sense to have discussions with the Iranians at this point. And my understanding is they believe it would not," added Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who met with Solana in Washington. "It's the Iranians who walked away and I'm sensing from the Europeans that there's not much to talk about."

Rice said it's up to the Iranians to demonstrate that they're not just talking, but are serious about dismantling their nuclear program, which Tehran claims is for peaceful civilian use. International observers say they believe Iran's activities are aimed at developing a nuclear weapon in defiance of international agreements.

"The EU has made quite clear that the Iranians have crossed an important threshold, that it is now important for the IAEA Board of Governors to act so that Iran knows that the international community will not tolerate its continued acting with impunity against the interest of the international community," Rice said. "Iran must not be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, it must not be allowed to pursue activities that might lead to a nuclear weapon. And on that, we are fully united."