Iran Caught with Its Hand in the Cookie Jar

The lead story in The New York Times today is titled, “U.S. and Allies Press Iran Over Nuclear Plant Deception.” It describes the action of Western allies after the revelation of a new, previously hidden, nuclear plant being built by Iran deep inside a mountain at a Revolutionary Guard headquarters near Qom. Because of the small size of the plant, it is unsuitable for commercial uses but perfect for building a bomb that only requires 55 pounds of enriched uranium.

Iran, after learning that the Western allies had discovered the plant, rushed to declare it in a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Meanwhile, President Obama, Sarkozy of France and Gordon Brown of Great Britain, revealed the deception and warned Iran to cooperate during the first direct negotiations with the United States in 30 years, due to start on October 1.

The article requires little commentary because it speaks for itself. Iran was caught and its pretense of only wanting peaceful nuclear energy was shown to be a farce. I am pessimistic about any change in direction by Iran; it’s attempt to build a bomb has become a matter of national pride, and it will be unable to reverse direction without losing face. This crisis, however, does present an opportunity for President Obama to really show what he’s made of. It will be interesting to follow events over the next few weeks to see how he handles the situation.