Analysis: More Brinksmanship from Tehran
Council on Foreign Relations
Updated: June 9, 2006
Prepared by: Michael Moran
With diplomats focused on an initiative aimed at opening direct talks between the United States and Iran for the first time in a generation, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), released a report noting Iran continues to defy UN wishes (Arms Control Today). In fact, the agency says, Iran stepped up enrichment activities this week in what some see as a sign Iran intends to drive a hard bargain as the latest American diplomatic initiative advances.
The report, made public ahead of next Monday's regular board meeting in Vienna, quotes IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei saying Iranian obstruction means his agency is "unable to make progress in its efforts to provide assurance about the nuclear material and activities in Iran." (NYT)
Iran's IAEA ambassador dismissed the significance of the report (IRNA). Still, the EU's current president, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, says Iran has until the G-8 Summit in July to accept the deal or face the prospect of economic and diplomatic sanctions (eitb).
The deal on the table, made public just over a week ago by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, includes a U.S. offer to talk directly to the Iranian government, a major shift in American policy (BBC) since the 1979 Iranian revolution. It also mulls the possibility of allowing Iran a uranium-enrichment program (NYT) as long as complete transparency can be agreed upon. It also includes broad economic and political incentives (Globe&Mail).
Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.
Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.
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