With Iran seeming to thumb its nose at the IAEA, both the EU and the US have recently been circulating proposals with recommendations on how to handle the situation. It is also to set a deadline for compliance by Iran.
The US proposal is to the point (AP)
They demand Iran grant agency inspectors "complete, immediate and unrestricted access;" provide "full information" about past illegal nuclear activities; suspend "immediately and fully" uranium enrichment and related activities; and meet all agency demands to "resolve all outstanding issues" nurturing suspicions of a possible weapons program.
This plan seems sound. Show us what you have since you claim to not be pursuing Nuclear weapons. Of course I doubt Iran would go for it seeing as though they threw inspectors out.
The EU proposal, however is almost identical to one that the US has said was unacceptable on Friday. The Friday proposal was put together by France, Germany and England.
The IAEA meeting has become the main battleground between Iran and Washington, which wants to take Iran before the U.N. Security Council for alleged violations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
The Americans asked the draft include an Oct. 31 deadline. The EU text remained vaguer in demands and in a time frame, asking only that IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei submit a comprehensive report before November for evaluation by the board.
ElBaradei shrugged off the idea of a deadline.
"We cannot just say there is a magic date," for an end to his agency's Iran probe, he said. He also repeated that his investigation has not definitely established whether Iran is trying to make nuclear arms — as Washington asserts.
"We haven't seen any concrete proof that there is a weapons program," ElBaradei told reporters on the second day of the board meeting. "Can we say everything is peaceful? Obviously we are not at that stage."
And of course because of the lack of balls at the IAEA we get Iran stepping up to take a shot at everyone.
Indirectly exploiting the U.S.-European differences, Iran on Tuesday warned against attempts to force it to freeze uranium enrichment, with a senior envoy asserting his country had a right to what Washington claims is a key component of a secret nuclear weapons program.
"Nothing should be imposed against (Iran's) legitimate right" to enrich uranium, Hossein Mousavian, Iran's chief IAEA delegate told AP.
Hat tip: Right Thinking On The Left Coast
Two articles from Captains Quarters also here and here
