LITTLE ROCK — It should be clear by now that Iran is on a collision course with the United States and other Western nations over its quest for nuclear weapons.
Years of diplomatic engagement, proposed deals and three rounds of sanctions by the United Nations have failed to deter Iran from getting closerto acquiring the capacity to produce nukes.
Indeed, the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has grown more defiant. In the last few weeks, it has dropped all pretense of wanting to work with UN inspectors and Western nations, angrily refusing to comply with a UNdemand to cease work on a nuclearfuel enrichment plant and vowing to construct 10 more plants as soon as it can.
The latest bad news involves reports that Iran is getting closer to solving the most difficult aspects of making nuclear weapons.
The Times of London reported that Iran appears to be working on a “neutron initiator,” a device that could trigger an explosion in a nuclear warhead. This means Iran is becoming self-sufficient in nuclear weapons technology and has no intention of putting an end to its clandestine weapons program.
Since the West can clearly not do business with this regime, it is time to get serious about sanctions. Last week, the House of Representatives by an overwhelming margin (412-12) approved a measure that dramatically increases the economic pressure on Iran by curtailing its ability to import refined products, such as gasoline. Itskey provision requires the president to impose sanctions on any company here or abroad that helps to supply Iran with refined petroleum.
Because Iran relies on imports for 40 percent of its refined petroleum, this would oblige the regime to consider the consequences of its continued defiance of the international community.
The effort was led by U.S.
Representative Howard Berman, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, and U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, the ranking minority member of the panel. As a rule, multilateral sanctions are far preferable to unilateral moves.
But it’s hard to blame theHouse for deciding to take action.
Iran has a long record of deviousness and duplicity and the clock is ticking toward the day when it will become a nuclear power unless its leaders become convinced that the nations arrayed against it have finally lost all patience.
The Obama administration has shown little enthusiasm for Congress’ action, but it is working on its own set of sanctions, which officials hope will gain international support. Both Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have said in recent days that a broader package of sanctions is in the works.
As described by Gates, the point would be “to persuade the Iranian government that they would actually be less secure with nuclear weapons” because “their people will suffer enormously” from sanctions.
Clearly, the time has come to take such measures.
Editorial, Pages 14 on 12/21/2009