Nuclear Board Said to Rebuff Bush Over Iran

The Bush Administration was rebuffed this week when the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, issued a resolution that condemned Iran’s covert development of a nuclear program but stopped short of recommending Security Council action against the country. US officials had pushed for a formal censure, but European countries on the agency’s board argued that UN sanctions would undermine Iran’s recent openings. Iran recently agreed to halt the enrichment of uranium and open itself to full inspections. Bush Administration officials say a failure to send the issue to the Security Council will convey the message that covert nuclear programs will not be punished. But although the debate over Iran’s weapons resembles that held about Iraq in the buildup to war, the Bush Administration “appears to be working toward building diplomatic pressure rather than moving to military action”. - YaleGlobal