GLOBE EDITORIAL
Critical condition in IranIRAN'S LIES about its nuclear program form a pattern suggesting that its clerical rulers have something to hide.
This is the gist of a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA's director, Mohamed ElBaradei, will present the report to the agency's 35-nation board of governors on June 14. The most disquieting Iranian falsehoods revealed in the report concern traces of highly enriched uranium on centrifuge equipment, the origins of those traces, and the discovery of special magnets Iran had denied having. These magnets are used in advanced P-2 centrifuges capable of producing bomb-grade enriched uranium. The Iranians had told the IAEA that traces of highly enriched uranium found earlier on centrifuges were from an external source -- Pakistan or perhaps Russia. But the report says the inspectors cannot verify the Iranian claim of contamination at a foreign source. This implies that the Iranians may have been enriching uranium themselves. If so, that would suggest there is an Iranian program to produce fissile material for a nuclear device. The presence of homemade highly enriched uranium would also mean Tehran had been lying to the IAEA. The IAEA also found three workshops in Iran that are still producing components for centrifuges despite Tehran's pledge that it suspended uranium enrichment and all related activities as of early April. These incriminating discoveries are just that -- arrows pointing to the conclusion that the rulers of Iran have been pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program. Found-out lies are not the same as a smoking gun. ElBaradei was not only being prudent, he was speaking the truth when he told a NATO meeting Tuesday, "There is no evidence that the Iranian program has some military dimension."
If Tehran continues to lie to the IAEA, however, and does not verifiably cease the pursuit of nuclear weapons, the agency should bring the matter to the UN Security Council, whose members must be prepared to apply sanctions against Iran. The purpose of the IAEA is not merely to uncover lies but to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
|
