6 Years Later The IAEA Concludes: Iran Is Not Cooperating

Yesterday the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, issued a scathing report highlighting Iran’s continued lack of cooperation with the agency. This report amounts to the culmination of 6 years of bureaucratic failure by the UN. Before we touch on the report, perhaps we should look at what the UN has accomplished in 6 years:

August 2002 - The exiled opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran, working with Israeli Intelligence, reports the existence of two secret nuclear facilities in Iran.
December 2002 - The United States accuses Iran of "across-the-board pursuit of weapons of mass destruction".
June 2003 - An IAEA report concludes that Iran has violated the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS!
September 2005 - IAEA report confirms Iran has resumed uranium conversion at Isfahan.
January 2006 - Iran removes U.N. seals at and resumes nuclear fuel research in violation of the Paris Agreement.
February 2006 - IAEA votes to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council. Iran ends snap U.N. nuclear inspections the next day. Iran restarts small-scale feeding of uranium gas into centrifuges after two-and-a-half year suspension.
April 2006 - Ahmadinejad declares that Iran has successfully produced enriched uranium. The UN and International community condemn Iran.
June 2006 - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana delivers a package of incentives from world powers if Iran agrees to halt uranium enrichment. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS!
August 2006 - IAEA announces Iran has not met a deadline to suspend its atomic fuel program.
December 2006 - Security Council votes for sanctions and gives 60 days to suspend enrichment. Iran calls the resolution illegal.
March 2007 - The Security Council unanimously approves further arms and financial sanctions against Iran.
April 2007 – Iran announces an expansion to “industrial scale” enrichment.
August 2007 - Iran and the IAEA say they agreed a timeline for answering outstanding questions about Iran's nuclear program. SHOULDN’T THIS HAVE BEEN DONE UPFRONT!
October 2007 - The United States imposes new sanctions on Iran.
November 2007 - Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Russia and China agree to push ahead with a third round of tougher sanctions.
December 2007 - The opposition NCRI says Iran did shut down its program in 2003 but restarted it a year later. The group says a recent U.S. analysis gives the wrong impression. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS!!!!
February 2008 - An IAEA report paints a more positive picture of Iranian cooperation than before, but also confirms Iran was testing technology that could give it the means to enrich uranium much faster -- in further defiance of Western demands.
March 2008 - U.N. Security Council adopts third sanctions resolution targeted at Iran's nuclear program.
April 2008 - Ahmadinejad says Iran has started to install 6,000 advanced centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment plant.
May 2008 - Britain says major powers have agreed to make a new offer of incentives. Days later Iran says it will not agree to incentives that violate its nuclear rights.

Yesterday – IAEA Issues a Report Containing the following:

• Iran “a matter of serious concern”


• Iran had more than 3,500 centrifuges, including advanced second & third generation centrifuges operating a Natanz, an increase that was not disclosed to the IAEA and “suggests” (the UN’s term) that Iran is increasing it’s enrichment of uranium in direct defiance of the demands of the UN.


• The IAEA also estimates that since December Iran has doubled their output of enriched uranium from the level of production 18 months ago.


• The IAEA also reported of direct proof that the Iranian Military was involved in the production of centrifuges, a relationship that Iran has refused to acknowledge.


• The IAEA report reflected 14 inspections of facilities over the past 12 months, but Iran has not allowed inspectors access to nuclear sites since the beginning of April. Yet another violation.


• The IAEA report references 18 separate documents provided by various International Intelligence agencies that outline evidence that Iran has obtained explosives, uranium processing, and warhead designs; all activities necessary to for a nuclear weapons program. Over the past year, Iran has claimed (not denied) these activities are separate from their nuclear program and has refused to provide documents and access to the IAEA scientists.
  

To Sum up the Report here is an excerpt of the report:
“Iran has not provided the agency with all the information, access to documents and access to individuals necessary to support Iran's statements (that its activities are purely peaceful in intent."Iran may have additional information, in particular on high-explosives testing and missile-related activities which… Iran should share with the agency."

This report, although not providing any new insight into Iran, does bring to the surface the failure of the international community to act upon Iran’s continued defiance.

THE UNITED NATIONS & IRAN

I would love to find one rational individual who can provide evidence that the United Nations is an effective organization that is fulfilling its own obligations under its charter to collectively enforce international laws and treaties. When Woodrow Wilson first designed the League of Nations (which never dissolved, it merely adopted a new name and charter after World War II), he designed the organization with the specific purpose of preventing the secret alliances & agreements that led to the escalation of WWI. Today, we those same secretive alliance and agreements forming within the world. Repeated Evidence strongly suggests a collective sharing of military technology and intelligence between Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and North Korea.
The primary function of the United Nations is to A) provide a platform for open diplomatic communication and B) to enforce international laws and treaties and collectively act against nations in violation. Yet, after 6 years, the United Nations has failed t enforce the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, Paris Agreement, and other international law. The United Nation, after 6 years, has only concluded that Iran is willfully not cooperating with the organization. The UN has passed sanctions, but the sanctions have been weak and have failed to apply any real pressure to Iran. As long as the United Nations continues down a path of bureocratic ineptitude in dealing with Iran, not only will Iran continue to deceive the world and progress towards nuclearization but other rogue nations will follow the same path.

The United Nations is headed down a dangerous path, one that they have embarked upon before. WWII, contrary to popular belief, did not begin when Hitler invaded Poland; rather it began in 1931 when Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria. The League of Nations repeatedly failed to enforce international laws and treaties; condemning Japan’s actions, but collectively failing to take action against Japan. In the years that followed the League of Nations ineptitude allowed Japan, Germany, and Italy to continue to deceive the international community, abrogate previous treaties, violate international law, and rebuild their militaries. The repeated failure of the League of Nations to fulfill its own primary functions led to the invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) by Mussolini in 1935. It was all downhill from there. The UN has proven to the world for the second time in its history that it has become a bureocratic failure unable to collectively address global security.

THE UNITED STATES & IRAN

There is an ongoing debate on the presidential campaign trail as to how we deal with Iran. I have addressed these issues in previous posts: Obama’s Kid Gloves: The Iranian Fallacy & Syria Adopts Obama’s Doctrine. Today I will bring up two issues.

First, the Bush Administration has utilized the diplomatic platform provided by the United Nations; however, the Bush administration has adopted a policy by which we rely upon the UN to lead collective action against Iran. The question is: How long cans the US, the EU, and our allies afford to rely upon the UN?

Second, there is a popular belief that the United States should begin direct presidential talks with Iran. Historically, as I have pointed out in previous posts, this is a dangerous action that has rarely produced results. In addition, what results could direct presidential talks achieve with Iran? This nation is willing to deceive and not cooperate with the collective international union. The British, French, Russia, and the EU organization have repeatedly attempted direct talks with Iran over the past 6 years. The Paris Agreement was the result of direct talks and Iran breeched that agreement. In direct talks with Iran, these nations have offered on no less than 5 occasions, incentive packages (including economic, technology, and energy incentives) in return for cooperation from Iran. 6 years of collective and direct talks have left in the same position we were 6 years ago. How much more time can the US afford to dedicate to these futile attempts?

If the UN Couldn't Do It, The British Couldn't Do It, The French Couldn't Do It, The Russians Couldn't Do It, and the EU Couldn't Do It, why does Obama think "YES WE CAN"?

Leadership is not following the path of least resistance as we have seen the United Nations and the World Pursue; Leadership is not setting deadline after deadline, only to set one more; Leadership is not allowing a rogue nation to continue to deceive and manipulate the bureaucracy of the UN, while continuing to build its armament. Leadership is making the tough decisions and placing the interests of our allies and the world above that of our own.

By the way, want to know what is completely funny yet disgusting?

New York Times Headline: Nuclear Agency Accuses Iran Of Willful Lack Of Cooperation - Fair Reporting
CNN: Iran Holds Back Nuclear Details, IAEA Says – Fair Reporting
Alalam News Network (Iran, State Ran) – IAEA Fresh Report Vindicates Iran Stance – Would You Expect Anything Else
Los Angeles Times Headline: UN Finds No Proof Iran Continued Nuclear Arms Program – What? @%*($%&%^@*$&%(##$Y&@OP%^

J Brown
May 27th, 2008

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