NYC Letter: "Crise Internationale" ! Amour Dur

FRANCE AGAIN THREATENS TO HAUL IRAN BEFORE UN

UNITED NATIONS September 14 (AFP) - French prime minister Dominique de Villepin "strongly" called Wednesday for Iran to keep its nuclear non-proliferation promises or face action before the UN Security Council.

"If a State fails in its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is legitimate, once dialogue has been exhausted, to refer it to the Security Council," de Villepin told a summit of world leaders at the United Nations.

A referral, we hasten to add, that will cripple Iran with more dialogue. An endless dialogue. It is no secret that Security Council dialogue goes well beyond the bounds of exhaustion.

"It is in this spirit that France urges Iran to conform to the resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency and comply with its international commitments, and first the Paris Agreement," said de Villepin.

Clearly worried, the contrite Iranians quickly fell in line.

IRAN 'WILL TRADE NUCLEAR SECRETS'

September 15, 2005 (BBC) - Iran is ready to trade nuclear secrets with other Islamic states for peaceful purposes, the country's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said.

An IAEA report earlier this month said questions about Iran's nuclear programme remained unanswered, despite an intensive investigation.

Tehran argued the findings were politically motivated, but said it would continue to co-operate with the agency.

TOUGH TALKS WITH IRAN'S LEADERS FAIL TO END NUCLEAR STANDOFF

NEW YORK September 16, 2005 (Guardian) - A diplomatic move by Britain, France and Germany to end the standoff over Tehran's expanding nuclear power programme failed to achieve a breakthrough yesterday after top level talks with the new Iranian leadership at the United Nations.

"It seems we're on track for the security council," a diplomat in Vienna said. "The Iranians are being given every opportunity to climb down. If they don't, it's New York."

Another senior diplomat close to the IAEA who opposes reporting Iran to New York said: "People are running headlong into a brick wall. It's not looking good."

You have to hand it to the EU3, you cannot deter them with disregard, you cannot insult them with contempt, you cannot discourage them by crowning their every effort with failure. They are tenacious sit-downers. They will sit down for anybody. At the drop of a hat.

But we interrupted Dom, who was just pulling out the EU3 ace:

"In the nuclear sphere, we have all put our trust in the International Atomic Energy Agency," said de Villepin. "There are rights to uphold, in particular the peaceful use of nuclear energy. But there are also duties to enforce, for the security of all."

Not to worry. The IAEA is on it. Everyone, back to your mots croisé.

UN INSPECTORS 'POWERLESS TO STOP ATOM BOMB PLANS IN IRAN'

September 11, 2005 (Telegraph) - For the past six years Dr Pierre Goldschmidt, a Belgian nuclear scientist, has been in charge of the inspectors sent by the UN-sponsored International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, to investigate Iran's nuclear programme.

Throughout that period the Iranians have tried to conceal crucial aspects of the programme and have indulged in a dangerous game of diplomatic brinkmanship with the IAEA and the UN over the level of access provided to the inspection teams.

"The IAEA can only work on the basis of the facts that are presented to it, and there have been many serious omissions by the Iranians. The Iranians are exploiting all the loopholes in the international agreements. As to why they are doing this you can draw your own conclusions."

He took issue, however, with the way Mohammed El Baradei, the head of the IAEA, had handled negotiations with Iran in the past two years. "El Baradei says that any judgement about Iran should be made on their intentions. My view is that we should look at the indications, not the intentions, and then decide.

"As things stand we cannot prove that Iran has a military nuclear programme. But do you have indications that this is the case? This is the question I think everyone should now be asking."

"Our experience with Libya shows that it is almost impossible for the agency to decide whether a country's nuclear intentions are peaceful or otherwise," Dr Goldschmidt said. "If the Libyans had not admitted [that they were trying to build an atomic bomb] we would not have been able to prove it."