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Teaming up on Iran

10/2/2003

THE BUSH administration, in conjunction with the rest of the international community, is confronting two kinds of challenges from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Policy makers should not confuse the two. In response to Iran's program to develop nuclear weapons, the International Atomic Energy Agency has done what the Bush administration asked it to do: set a deadline of Oct. 31 for Tehran to sign a protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty permitting intrusive short-notice inspections of any site in Iran. The recent disclosure that IAEA inspectors found traces of highly enriched uranium at a second site in Iran suggests that the administration was right to push for the deadline. In this crisis, President Bush has thus far worked within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, relying on the IAEA and cooperating with other governments.

Fittingly, the European Union issued a statement Monday linking Iran's compliance with the IAEA deadline to progress on a trade pact that Tehran desperately needs. The foreign ministers of the 15 EU members also issued a demand that went beyond the IAEA request for anywhere, any time inspections. They said Iran must "refrain from fuel-cycle activities which can also be used to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons."

An Iranian official retorted that Iran will not respond to "threats and pressures." But it should be obvious that the EU's threats and pressures are precisely what is required to prevent Tehran from exploiting loopholes in the Non-Proliferation Treaty and then opting out of it, as North Korea has done.

It should also be obvious that Washington and the Europeans are on the same page in their assessment of Iran's nuclear threat. This is true despite a marked difference in European and American attitudes toward diplomatic engagement with the regime in Tehran.

Bush would be wise to lean more toward the Europeans' carrot-and-stick approach. He could learn from the EU foreign ministers who declared Monday that before they complete work on a trade agreement, Tehran must not only halt its enrichment of uranium but also improve human rights, cease sabotaging the Middle East peace process, and cooperate more against terrorism.

US and Iranian officials held talks in Geneva on Iraq and other matters, but the administration broke off the talks in May. They should be renewed. Iran's foreign minister has rightly noted that Washington and Tehran have cooperated fruitfully in Afghanistan and share a common interest in preventing disorder or fragmentation in Iraq. Bush should remain unyielding on Iran's nuclear program but explore possibilities for cooperation in Iraq and elsewhere.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2003/10/02/teaming_up_on_iran/