There are no signs the US is about to use force to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And even if the White House were so inclined, its closest allies might not go along.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Monday there were no circumstances in which Britain would agree to an attack on Iran.
PHOTO: AP
"No one should ever compare Iran with Iraq in terms of their political systems or their danger," said Straw, whose government stood alongside the US in going to war to depose Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Two weeks ago, the foreign ministers of the 15 EU countries, meeting in Luxembourg, virtually ruled out force against Iran. They adopted a strategy statement that reflected the opposition many of their governments had to the war with Iraq.
The statement said weapons of mass destruction must be combatted primarily with political and diplomatic measures, mostly through the UN.
"Coercive measures," such as intercepting arms shipments or using force, "could be envisioned" only if diplomacy failed, they said.
But as disinclined as European countries may be to using force against Iran, they appear to be more concerned about the challenge of Iran's nuclear weapons program than they were a few months ago, a senior US official said Monday.
The US has incontrovertible evidence that Iran is enriching uranium for the production of nuclear weapons, a State Department official told reporters on condition of anonymity in early June.
US President George W. Bush warned last week that Iran had better keep its promise not to develop nuclear weapons. If the Iranians don't, "we will deal with that when they don't," the president said.
Bush said Iran's failure to provide access to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors was unacceptable. "Iran must comply," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose government has provided Iran with questionable technology, promised last month that Russia would insist that all Iranian nuclear programs be put under control of the IAEA.
And Straw said the international community was united in demanding Iran agree to a protocol that provides for more intrusive inspections.
If Iran balks, Straw warned, it might find the Europeans delaying a projected trade agreement with Tehran.
Responding to an initiative by Bush, some 10 countries now have held two meetings on how to deprive Iran of technology to develop nuclear weapons.
A third meeting is expected in Washington this month.
The senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said participating countries were trying to decide what is legal and proper, for instance whether it would be acceptable to intercept ships bound for Iran.
He said Iran posed a different situation from Iraq so far as using force. "You never take anything off the table," he said of the military option.
"But we want to use the International Atomic Energy Agency, we want help from the Europeans, and we want help from the Russians," he said.
There are no signs that Bush has asked the Pentagon to update its contingency plans to take into account a possible war with Iran. Nor are there signs of military preparations. US forces are stretched thin already with major troop commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to ongoing peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo and a defensive presence in South Korea and Japan.
Yet, the administration has made clear that the military option remains.
John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, told BBC radio that "the president has repeatedly said that all options are on the table."
"But that is not only not our preference, it is far, far from our minds," he said.
Meanwhile, Tehran said yesterday that the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog Mohammed ElBaradei would visit Iran on July 9 as pressure mounts on the Islamic Republic to accept tougher inspections of its nuclear sites.
"He is going to come to Iran next Wednesday, July 9," Khalil Mousavi, a spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese