Editorial: Iran’s big (nuclear) lie
The United States has
accused Iran of shopping for components for a dangerous nuclear reactor
whose construction was supposed to have been suspended while Iran and
Western countries negotiate limits on what Iran may do to develop a
nuclear industry. This ought to, but likely won’t, lead President Obama
and U.S. allies to conclude that Iran can’t be trusted to keep its word on anything.
The accusation was reported in Foreign Policy magazine by staffer Colum Lynch, a former reporter for The Washington Post, who said U.S. officials passed the information to a panel of experts advising the United Nations Security Council. (The nature of the components was not stated.)
The Arak reactor is dangerous because it is a kind that makes plutonium production easier than in common civilian reactors. Plutonium can be used for bombs as well as uranium, which can be enriched to bomb grade by centrifuges of which Iran operates about 10,000.
Iran has granted inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency only limited access to Arak. Critical construction work there was said to be still suspended.
When negotiations were extended for a second time last month, Secretary of State John Kerry said, “Iran has held up its end of the bargain.” In light of Iran’s component-shopping, that amounts to hair-splitting of a particularly devious kind. There is no good reason for Kerry to hide Iran’s maneuvers from the American people.
Perhaps Kerry wants to keep Congress in the dark too. In the Senate particularly, sentiment is growing for tighter economic sanctions against Iran, perhaps deploying automatically if negotiations fail. This could be a most useful weapon for Kerry’s negotiating toolbox but it appears his ego prevents him from considering it — which he may greatly regret.
The accusation was reported in Foreign Policy magazine by staffer Colum Lynch, a former reporter for The Washington Post, who said U.S. officials passed the information to a panel of experts advising the United Nations Security Council. (The nature of the components was not stated.)
The Arak reactor is dangerous because it is a kind that makes plutonium production easier than in common civilian reactors. Plutonium can be used for bombs as well as uranium, which can be enriched to bomb grade by centrifuges of which Iran operates about 10,000.
Iran has granted inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency only limited access to Arak. Critical construction work there was said to be still suspended.
When negotiations were extended for a second time last month, Secretary of State John Kerry said, “Iran has held up its end of the bargain.” In light of Iran’s component-shopping, that amounts to hair-splitting of a particularly devious kind. There is no good reason for Kerry to hide Iran’s maneuvers from the American people.
Perhaps Kerry wants to keep Congress in the dark too. In the Senate particularly, sentiment is growing for tighter economic sanctions against Iran, perhaps deploying automatically if negotiations fail. This could be a most useful weapon for Kerry’s negotiating toolbox but it appears his ego prevents him from considering it — which he may greatly regret.
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