When it comes to Iran, there's no time to waste

September 23, 2008
The International Herald Tribune
Original Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/23/opinion/ediran.php?pass=true%20 http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/23/opinion/ediran.php?pass=true%20

We have long felt that Mohamed ElBaradei and his UN nuclear inspectors were too patient with Iran's cat-and-mouse games and constant evasions.
Even their patience is running out. In a report last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency declared that it had reached an impasse over Tehran's refusal to answer questions about its past nuclear activities. The report also said that Iran had substantially improved its ability to produce nuclear fuel in direct defiance of a Security Council ban.
Tehran's scientists are getting ever closer to mastering the skills that are the hardest part of building a nuclear weapon. This is not a problem that can be shunted off to the next president.
Let us be clear, there are no good military options. A sustained bombing campaign would kill a large number of civilians, provoke a furious backlash in the Islamic world and still might not cripple Iran's program. What is needed is a game-changing diplomatic initiative. For that, Europe and the United States must agree quickly on a more persuasive set of punishments and incentives.
That means far tougher restrictions on trade and investment in Iran - if Russia and China block action at the Security Council, Europe and Washington will have to act without them - and far more generous diplomatic incentives, including a credible U.S. offer of improved relations and security guarantees if Tehran abandons its nuclear ambitions.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had hoped to salvage at least part of President Bush's legacy by brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before Bush leaves office. That's looking ever less likely. Rice could still make history if she got on a plane to Tehran to deliver an offer of a grand bargain.
She could prove that she was serious by proposing to immediately open an American interests section in Tehran - an idea her aides floated a few months ago that seems to have disappeared.
We don't know if any mix of sanctions and rewards can persuade Iran's leaders to abandon their nuclear program. But without such an effort, we are certain that Tehran will keep pressing ahead, while the voices in the United States and Israel arguing for military action will only get louder.