Iran’s Nuclear Diplomacy Helps to Pull Teeth from U.N. Sanctions

James Phillips / May 20, 2010

The Obama Administration unfortunately has been outmaneuvered by Iran and hoisted on its own petard. By trumpeting the supposed benefits of diplomatic engagement and ignoring its own deadlines for Iran to meaningfully engage, it left the door open for Tehran to engage the leaders of Turkey and Brazil, who share a common interest with Iran in undermining American leadership. Iran resurrected an even more flawed version of the October deal hatched by the Obama Administration to exchange part of Iran’s stockpile of low enriched uranium for more highly enriched fuel for Iran’s research reactor.

Iran’s new deal is even worse than the old proposal that Iran initially accepted but eventually torpedoed last fall. Iran gives up next to nothing, while getting fuel for its research reactor and an acknowledgment of its right to enrich uranium to 20 percent for the research reactor, which is well on the way to the 90 percent enrichment required for a nuclear weapon. (more…)