Monthly Archives: August 2007

I paraphrase, but former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix (now a private citizen) suggests that the international community apply the same diplomatic strategy that worked with North Korean to Iran. That is, offer Iran a security guarantee and extend the promise of normalized relations in exchange for the verifiable dismantling of Iran’s uranium enrichment program. He also suggested that the international community work toward a uranium enrichment and plutonium production freeze in the Middle East.

“The powers negotiating … are willing to give North Korea a guarantee … both against attack from abroad and, implicit in that, a guarantee against regime change,” he said.

North Korea was also offered normalization of relations with Japan and the U.S.

“These two elements have not been tried to my knowledge in the case of Iran,” Blix said.

[snip]

“They would commit themselves for some period of time not to build enrichment plants, so Iran would not be alone … the others would be there as well,” Blix said.

“It would also mean Israel, that has (plutonium-based) nuclear weapons, would not produce more plutonium, could not make more bombs on the basis of that plutonium,” he said.

Sound advice from someone who has a proven track record on these issues. Unlike, say, folks at the Weekly Standard. READ MORE

In a report out today, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that, as expected, Iran’s progress on uranium enrichment and plutonium production is moving along sluggishly. Further, it seems that some in the Iranian ruling elite are doubting the political utility of pursuing the nuclear program full steam a head. From the AP:

…while Iran continued to expand its uranium enrichment program, it was doing so much more slowly than expected, and had produced only negligible amounts of nuclear fuel that was far below the level usable for nuclear warheads.

One of the U.N. officials also noted that construction of the plutonium-producing reactor at the city of Arak had slowed in recent months.

He said that “design difficulties, getting equipment, materials and components, and fuel technology, plus perhaps some political considerations,” could be causing the delay.

The allusion to “political considerations” appeared linked to reports that Iranian officials might be considering stopping construction of the Arak reactor in another sign of good will calculated to blunt the threat of new U.N. sanctions.

Citing unidentified Iranian sources, Jane’s Defense Weekly earlier this week said some members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council were pushing for such a move.

Remember this little nugget the next time the war chorus heaps scorn on the diplomatic process and urges a swift military confrontation. There is still plenty of time for diplomacy to work. That is, as long as we want it to work.
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