U.N. - Iran Can't Strike A Deal

The UN offered Iran a deal that shouldn't be turned down. Under the International Atomic Energy Agency deal hammered out by negotiators from France, the US and Russia, Iran would send 1.2 tons of low-enriched uranium to Russia in one shipment before January.  It would be converted to fuel for an Iranian research reactor.

The Associated Press reports that the amount of uranium is about 70 percent of Iran's stockpile. According to the Iranian state news agency, IRNA, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said, "While enemies have used all their capacities ... the Iranian nation is standing powerfully and they are like a mosquito.

Given the negative record of Western powers, the Iranian government ... looks at the talks with no trust. But realities dictate to them to interact with the Iranian nation."  

Only two months prior, Ahmadinejad told the UN General Assembly something much different: "Our nation is prepared to warmly shake all those hands which are honestly extended to us. We welcome real and human exchanges and stand ready to actively engage in fundamental global reforms." Isn't the Iran he is hoping for based upon his most recent sentiments towards the "west." Or, he could be the "chihuahua" of the Middle East and be all bark with no bite.

Ahmahdinejad is known to spurt out random accusations toward western countries and blame them for their misery, but he should be careful not to overlook what happened with Hussein of Iraq just a couple of years ago.

Many political scientists agree that it was Hussein's misinterpretation that the United States would not follow through on their demands and expectations because the US fell short of what they promised to do in Desert Storm.  If Ahmadinejad isn't careful in appeasing the United States and the collective "western" countries, he might find himself in a bit of a conundrum.

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, warned Iran on Saturday.  She said, "Patience does have its limits." Clinton called on the regime to accept the deal, although she did not compare Iran to any sort of animal or insect.  She did slightly threaten Iran into a decision-making process in her statement, which might not fare well in the U.N./Iran deliberations.  In her defense, Russia's envoy to Tehran, Alexander Sadovnikov, chimed in Sunday, urging Iran to sign the fuel deal, reports Agence France-Presse.

"This is not to trick Iran in order to take its low-enriched uranium out of its hands," Mr. Sadovnikov said in an interview with the official IRNA news agency. "We believe that reaching this agreement and signing the technical contract to produce fuel for the Tehran reactor is beneficial to Iran and will help in resolving the nuclear issue."

The biggest question is: Why is the UN offering such a deal to a country where the President is constantly offering insults to the so-called "western" countries? It has nothing to do with appeasing a country out of fear, but rather, coming to peaceful, arranged terms with Iran. This is something rarely seen in modern Middle Eastern/Western talks.

If there can be peaceful talks with Iran over nuclear rights, then perhaps Ahmadinejad will lose some of his power in his long-winded rants against the "west." It seems, that he has already lost power in his own country.  "The Guardian" reports that Iranian students are orchestrating a large protest on Wednesday against the president's regime on the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the US embassy in Iran by students.

The demonstration is a continuation of the protests that swept through Iran after a disputed election in June, in which Ahmadinejad claimed victory over accusations of massive fraud. "The Guardian" reports that universities have become, "hubs of underground dissent since June." Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi appeared to support the planned protest, the newspaper reported, and also said that the significance of planning it on the anniversary of student takeover of the US embassy is to remind Iran "it is the people who are the leaders."  In regards to Iran, the only thing predictable now, is conflict.