Security Council must act on Iran nuclear bid
There's a new Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran, and his name is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Iranian president came into power five months ago with tough talk about a return to the hard-line ideologies of the past.
But it was this week's uncapping of the uranium facility in Natanz — thus reopening the possibility of an Iran with nuclear capability — that made it clear to all the world: Ahmadinejad means business.
Iran insists it's only conducting research and is more interested in developing nuclear as a modern energy source than as weapons of mass destruction. But that line sounds more like a cover story for the West.
The truth is any uranium research only helps Iran better understand nuclear technology and hastens its arrival to what some call "the point of no return."
That's where a country has nuclear secrets and is no longer able to feign innocence.
It brings us to the immediate question: Is the world ready for an Iran led by a latter-day Khomeini who has at his disposal the threat of a nuclear bomb?
That untenable scenario is the reason the U.S. must not waste time and immediately call for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
History suggests Iran cannot be trusted. Natanz wasn't even known as an underground nuclear site to U.N. nonproliferation inspectors until it was exposed by Iranian exiles in 2002. On top of that, Ahmadinejad has already made threats to Israel that would set off the region.
Only intervention by the U.N. Security Council now would keep the Iranians honest. Then, if Iran's intentions prove to be less than honorable, the world body can stand together and place sanctions on Iran.
Barring that, Russia could play a role in resolving a safe outcome. An ally of Iran, Russia has offered to deliver enriched uranium for that country's nuclear program. So far, Iran has rejected any offer, only furthering isolating itself, while raising tensions world-wide.
It only makes the U.N.'s involvement more urgent.
The U.S. is already in the grips of a war on terror. It doesn't need a new version of the Cold War.
