Reminder: Iran Deadline Looms

Lest we forget about Iran in the midst of our Pain At The Pump(TM): Iran ‘will harm U.S. if attacked’. This Friday, the IAEA will be reporting back to the UN about whether Iran is going to comply with the UN’s demand that they cease their enrichment program. I think you can guess what the report is going to say.

ElBaradei [of the IAEA] has said that, overall, Iran has not proven it does not harbour a military nuclear programme at undeclared locations, and Tehran’s halt to short-notice IAEA inspections in February has magnified such concerns.

Since Iran is thumbing their nose at the UN, it is likely (I should say, it is hopeful) that the UN Security Council will step in and start making some resolutions against Iran. (Not that anyone will have the guts to enforce any of those resolutions.) Unfortunately:

The United States, Britain and France favour sanctions unless Iran bows to pressure soon but the council’s other veto-holders, Russia and China, both with lucrative business stakes in Iran, oppose punitive measures.

Funny how both Russia and China oppose Iran building nuclear weapons, and simultaneously oppose any action that would prevent them from building nuclear weapons. Kind of suspicious (or gutless), if you ask me.

Also, I think it’s worth noting that this latest rhetoric comes from Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei rather than President Ahmadinejad. You may recall that a common argument for burying our head in the sand against clashing with Iran is that crazy ol’ President Ahmadinejad doesn’t have any real power, and the Ayatollah, who does, is much more reasonable.

Related

• Cenk Stinks
• Reframing Iranian Appeasement
• What Would Cenk And Bob Do? (Part 2)
• What Would Cenk And Bob Do?
• Iran Seeks Answers