Free Republic

THE foreign secretary Jack Straw sought to distance Britain yesterday from comments by President George W Bush that he would not rule out a military strike against Iran. It came as diplomats gave warning that British attempts to solve the crisis prompted by Tehran’s resumption of its nuclear programme last week were doomed to failure. Bush raised the temperature by giving an interview to Israeli television from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Asked if he would consider force, he replied: “All options are on the table.” He added: “The use of force is the last option for any president and...

...Because Iran's endless gaming of the IAEA is fast becoming a story of short memories getting shorter, it's useful to recap the events of just the past two weeks. In mid-November, Tehran finalized an agreement with Britain, France and Germany to suspend its uranium-enrichment program -- crucially and explicitly including the use of uranium-enriching centrifuges. In exchange, Europe promised not to refer the Islamic Republic's known and suspected breaches of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose economic sanctions. No sooner was the ink dry on that agreement than Iran rushed to convert 22 tons...