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Running Out of Time to Stop Iran's Nuclear Program
(Washington Post) Editorial - The International Atomic Energy Agency has now spelled out in detail what governments around the world have known for a long time: Iran's nuclear program has an explicit military dimension, aimed at producing a warhead that can be fitted onto one of the country's medium-range missiles. The IAEA's evidence ought to end serious debate about whether Tehran's program is for peaceful purposes. The Obama administration and other Western governments must recognize that the sanctions they have so far put in place, and covert operations aimed at sabotaging Iranian centrifuges and killing scientists, have not succeeded in changing the regime's intentions or stopping its work. The Obama administration appeared to back away from measures that would have real impact - such as a Treasury ban on transactions with Iran's central bank. The administration is wary that, by effectively shutting down Iran's oil exports, it would provoke a spike in energy prices that would damage the fragile global economy. President Obama has said repeatedly that Iran's acquisition of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable - and the IAEA report makes clear the danger is growing, not diminishing. If Iran is to be stopped without the use of military force, the president, and the country, should be willing to bear some economic pain. The alternative - allowing Tehran to go forward - would be far more costly.