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IAEA Report: What's Driving Iran's Latest Bout of Nuclear Obstinacy
(Christian Science Monitor) Scott Peterson - The IAEA report provides the latest indication of a spreading pattern of restrictions under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to limit the work of nuclear inspectors, according to Iran experts. They say hurdles facing inspectors are raised as America and Western pressure on Iran increases over its nuclear program. "What we are seeing is an accelerating loss of transparency into Iran's nuclear fuel cycle program," says Shannon Kile, a nuclear specialist at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden. "This is typical Iranian hardball tactics, saying 'Two sides can play tough, what are you going to do about it?'" says Shahram Chubin, a Geneva-based Iran expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "The regime is moving on as fast as it can - neither faster nor slower than usual - just as fast as it can. And eventually it will get there," says Mr. Chubin, author of the 2006 book Iran's Nuclear Ambitions.