Tensions continue to mount over Iran’s nuclear weapons plans, following a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The nuclear watchdog claims to have found “credible information” that Iran had carried out tests that would help develop a nuclear bomb. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad immediately dismissed the findings and claimed that Iran’s nuclear programme was for civilian purposes only. However, he also struck a defiant tone by insisting that Iran “will not budge one iota from the path we are committed to”.
The international community appears split. France and America threatened to increase existing economic sanctions against Iran. But Russia and China, who traditionally take a softer stance, have stayed noticeably quiet. Meanwhile, Israel is reported to be considering a pre-emptive military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
What the commentators said
The IAEA’s report is worrying, said The Daily Telegraph editorial. It’s the first time the agency has “acknowledged that Tehran is conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of weapons”. Iran can “no longer credibly sustain the fiction that it is engaged in a civil nuclear programme”. The report’s findings should make it easier to form a united front against Iran, and Western leaders should get support for stronger sanctions.
Actually, said Al Jazeera’s Teymoor Nabili, the IAEA’s report is “utterly irrelevant”. There is nothing new in it and no evidence that Iran’s nuclear programme has been diverted from peaceful intentions. “The only thing that has changed is that the IAEA has a new head, known to be sympathetic to Washington’s priorities, who has chosen to spice up the presentation.”