March 5 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. and its European allies have agreed with China and Russia to give Iran another 60-day deadline to halt uranium enrichment activities, Chinese and Russia envoys said after their first meeting on a new draft resolution…
The Dec. 23 resolution set a 60-day deadline for Iran to halt enrichment activities while imposing an asset freeze on 12 named individuals and 11 groups such as the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and barring the government in Tehran from acquiring materials or technology that might be used to build nuclear weapons.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog agency reported on Feb. 22 that Iran plans to install 3,000 centrifuges designed to produce nuclear fuel at its underground facility in Natanz, 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Tehran, by May.
So, have I got this straight? In December, the UN gave them 60 days and applied mild sanctions. Time’s up, enrichment continues, and new plans are made to expand nuclear programs. In response, they get another two months, to really stop this time.
Is military action by the US or Israel likely? Given the scale of the operation that would be required, the fact that the best result that could be hoped for would be a delay in the program, and the many ways in which Iran could retaliate (for all this, see the Oxford Research Group’s report), I think the answer is no.
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