After a brief hope that Iran was nudging back toward a deal on uranium enrichment with the West, the US and Germany acknowledged after a meeting that the Islamic Republic won’t reach agreement, leading to probable sanctions. But US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Iran had failed to address Western concerns and suggested it was [...]

The Iranian regime submitted an ultimatum to the West over uranium enrichment. Iran set a one-month deadline Saturday for the West to accept its counterproposal to a U.N.-drafted nuclear plan and warned that otherwise it will produce reactor fuel at a higher level of enrichment on its own. The warning was a show of defiance [...]

On Friday, the IAEA voted overwhelmingly to censure Iran for its uranium enrichment activities, including what they consider a the illegal construction of a secret enrichment plant near Qom. The 25-3 vote for censure included not only Western powers but China and Russia, which have been reluctant to impose sanctions or penalties on Iran. The response inside Iran has not been positive. One official intimated that Iran could pull out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to which it is a co-signer, and Sunday the regime announced a plan to build ten new uranium enrichment sites. Unfortunately, an increasing hardline stance both in Tehran and Western capitals could spark an unnecessary action.

A potential victory for diplomacy is brewing in Vienna. After initial reports about Iranian nuclear talks were termed “slow,” today negotiators have reached a draft deal on shipping Iran’s nuclear enrichment to Russia for processing. Under the draft deal, most of Iran’s stockpile of low enriched uranium would be shipped out of the country for [...]