Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons cannot be ignored

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: While the Bush administration is pressing its thus-far abortive search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, U.N. inspectors are trying to grapple with the likelihood that neighboring Iran plans to build the same sort of weapons. The Iranians say this is all nonsense, but the best way for them to prove this is to give the U.N. team what it wants: the right to conduct aggressive new on-site inspections.
Last week, after a three-month investigation, the Los Angeles Times reported that Iran appears to be in the late stages of developing the capacity to build a nuclear bomb. U.S. intelligence officials have been saying similar things for a long time, and two months ago, the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency complained that Iran had failed to report several activities related to its program to produce nuclear power.
Agreement sought
In an effort to be sure of what's happening, the IAEA has been trying to persuade Iran to sign an agreement requiring it to accept more rigorous inspections -- including unannounced on-site visits -- than those provided for under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
Russia and several European countries have also urged Iran to sign the agreement. The White House is supporting the IAEA's efforts along these lines, too. (However, the administration belittled intrusive inspections when the IAEA proposed to conduct them in Iraq, even though Iran is at least as far along the path toward nuclear weapons as Saddam Hussein's Iraq ever was.)
A dangerous first
A nuclear-armed Iran would pose several difficulties for this country. For starters, Iran would become the first avowed adversary of Israel to possess such a weapon. Iran's acquisition might then encourage other Muslim countries, such as Jordan or Syria, to seek or build such weapons. That might prompt Israel to expand its own nuclear weapons arsenal.
A nuclear-armed Iran could also complicate U.S. attempts to establish democracy in Iraq and to expand its influence in the Middle East and Persian Gulf. In fact, it is possible that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons for precisely this reason.
So far, negotiations between the IAEA and Iran appear to have been businesslike, and another round of talks is set for later this month. A successful conclusion to these talks would be the best way for Iran to prove its sincerity and its peaceful intentions.