Iran agrees to nuclear inspection, seventh time is a charm?

Following diplomatic talks with Iran, the mainstream media was abuzz with the stunning success of the Obama administration. During the short meeting, Iran agreed to allow inspections of another secret nuclear facility publicly disclosed during the G20 summit. But is Iran's agreement to inspections of the nuclear facility a genuine success?

History tells us that the Obama Administrations direct engagement yielded no more results than the failed global approach of the past 7 years. Since proof was first submitted in 2002 or Iran's secret nuclear program, the Iranian government has agreed 7 times to allow the inspections to occur.

In February of 2003, following the discovery of Iran's nuclear facilities, then Iranian President, Mohammad Khatami, publicly disclosed that his nation had indeed built two factories in which nuclear materials were being produced. On February 21st, Iran would agree to allow scheduled nuclear inspections. After inspections begin later that Spring, IAEA Inspectors disclose in August that Iran has developed two types of enriched Uranium not needed for peaceful energy production.

During the Fall of 2003, international pressure would mount on Iran. The Iranian Government would temporarily suspend enrichment at its facilities after the IAEA report and by the end of October, would agree to sign an additional protocol to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. On December 18, 2003 Iran would sign the NPT protocol and agree disclose all facilities and submit to unannounced IAEA inspections. The signing of the protocol would represent the pinnacle of international attempts to curb Iran's nuclear program. Never again would nuclear talks achieve the short-lived promises agreed to by Iran.

In March of 2004, Iran would abruptly bar UN inspections of nuclear facilities aimed at determining the source of two highly enriched uranium samples and previously discovered equipment used in the weaponization process. An IAEA report and UN resolution would condemn Iran for failing to disclose nuclear operations and facilities in violation of the 3-month old NPT protocol. Following the resolution, Iran would once again agree to allow inspections but would further stall IAEA inspectors until a new timeline was established in April.


By the middle of June 2004, it was apparent that Iran had no intention of abiding by the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, nor the additional protocol signed 6 months earlier. In June, Iran would announce that it would resume Uranium enrichment. A subsequent IAEA report would allude to Iran's failure to abide by the additional protocol and would disclose satellite photos of an additional suspected secret facility. After another round of mounting pressure throughout the fall of 2004, Iran would once again agree to allow inspections and suspend uranium enrichment. On November 14th Iran would suspend enrichment activities and would subsequently (Feb. 27,2005) sign an international accord to purchase nuclear material (not utilized for weaponization) from Russia.

Five months later, Iran would abruptly announce its intentions to resume Uranium enrichment in direct violation of all earlier agreements. On August 3rd, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
would take office and just 2 days later Iran's nuclear facilities were back online. On September 2nd, the IAEA would confirm that nuclear operations had resumed. A draft report condemns the actions of Iran, but without Chinese or Russian support the nation avoids action by the United Nations Security Council.

Between September 2005 and January 2006, Iran would continue to prepare for full-scale uranium enrichment. On January 10th, 2006 Iran would remove the IAEA seals from enrichment equipment at one facility sparking international calls to bring the nation in front of the security council. Security Council members would agree, but postpone a meeting until March. Following failed last minute negotiations, on March 29, 2006, the security council give Iran 30 days to suspend enrichment. On April 29th, Iran would once again agree to allow inspections of nuclear facilities in an attempt to avoid sanctions while still enriching uranium. The United Nations backs down and Iran continues enrichment activities and allows limited inspections to self-chosen sites. The remainder of 2006 would be marred by blocked IAEA attempts to inspect nuclear facilities and continued international threats of sanctions.

In May of 2007, the IAEA would announce Iran had progressed to a point in which they would have enough material to produce a nuclear bomb in 3 to 8 years. The assessment, in addition to various IAEA reports, would force the Security Council to once again debate international sanctions against Iran. The impending referral to the security council and planned vote for sanctions, would lead to an offer by Iran to allow inspections of a heavy water facility previously blocked to IAEA inspectors. Once again, the Security Council caved, delaying sanctions until November.

By November 2007, no progress had been made in regards to full disclosure, full inspections or a halt to enrichment activities. The security council, facing opposition by Russia and China, would delay UN imposed sanctions as member-nations attempted to reach an agreement with Iran. As a result in January 2008, Iran would agree to "clarify" all questions that the IAEA had in regards to their nuclear program within 30 days. After 3 months, the IAEA would conclude that Iran had failed to fully disclose its nuclear activities and was "not cooperative".

Since May of 2008, little has changed in regards to international dealings with Iran. That is until last week when the mainstream media hyped the Obama administration success in getting Iran to agree to inspections. However, what the press failed to mention is the stark reality that President Obama could only achieve the same level of diplomatic success that the international community had achieved each and every year since 2003. Every year since the admission of their nuclear program Iran has agreed to allow inspections and continue talks, only to obstruct such inspections and return to its hardline stance. The press would lead you to believe that this was a great step forward towards peace, yet the results of the meeting follow the exact process of "promise and stall" that the Iranians have been engaged in for years.

The press has created a perception that the Bush policies of deferring talks to the EU were an utter failure. Yet, history does not lie and prior to the election of Ahmadinejad the U.S. and its allies were twice able to temporarily stop the production of enriched uranium. Although Iran's total shut-down only lasted months in each case, when combined the more than 1 year of shut-down may have bought just enough time to allow President Obama to hold more fruitless talks.

President Theodore Roosevelt developed the United States' first comprehensive foreign policy and was popularly coined for the phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick". Those very words could easily have been attributed to the later President Roosevelt, President Kennedy or President Reagan. Yet, President Obama's approach has become the equivalent of speak loudly and carry a Hello Kitty purse. The President abstained for the entirety of his Presidency from releasing photos of yet another Iranian nuclear site; opting instead to wait for an economic summit of the G20 to release the information. The president has failed to counter Iranian rhetoric, nor challenge the nation at any point during his presidency; including the utter failure to mention the belligerent nation in either his UN General Assembly speech, nor his initial security council meeting. Furthermore, the President has failed, unlike European leaders, to mention the reality that Iran has violated the NPT, the additional protocol of 2003, or 2004 & 2005 international agreements. While the President has been apologizing for the past actions of the US, he has utterly failed to demonstrate international leadership.

Iran has no intention of dismantling its nuclear ambitions, let alone allowing full and transparent inspections of their five nuclear sites (disclosed so far). The actions of this administration and the international community resemble those of the 1930's whereas the League of Nations laid the foundation of their own failure. Just as in the 1930's this administration's first act in dealing with a belligerent state was to allow Iran to dictate the terms from which they would manipulate international law to further their illegal nuclear program.

The Bush Administration spent years developing clandestine and public efforts to promote the idea of a popular uprising to remove the fundamentalist regime in Iran. Yet, when the Iranian people took to the streets this past spring, President Obama passed on a golden opportunity to demonstrate international leadership and apply powerful pressures to the Iranian government. The President was the last leader of the free world to speak up in support of the people of Iran and did so with a whisper. Furthermore, the uprising in Iran presented the ideal time to release satellite imagery of a fifth nuclear installation and apply never-before seen pressure upon a belligerent state dealing with internal unrest. The President passed on this opportunity, the uprising was crushed and years of effort to promote an internal overthrow of the regime were discarded. As a result, Iran's leadership has recognized the utter weakness of US leadership built upon likability and has every intention of utilizing that weakness to further stall enforcement of international law. The meeting with Iran in past weeks was the farthest thing from unprecedented success that much of media has made it out to be. Nothing more was achieved in that meeting than has been achieved in the past seven years. Ultimately, Iran will break their limited pledge and continue the same process of utilizing international weakness to further their belligerency.