IAEA Votes to Censure Iran

Iran Censured at UN Nuclear Meeting - Associated Press 

• The U.N. nuclear agency's board censured Iran on Friday, with 25 nations backing a resolution that demands Tehran immediately mothball its newly revealed nuclear facility and heed U.N. Security Council resolutions calling on it to stop uranium enrichment.
• The resolution was endorsed by six world powers — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — reflecting a rare measure of unity on Iran.
• It also appeared to signal possible support for any new Western push for a fourth set of U.N sanctions, should Tehran continue shunning international overtures meant to reach agreements that reduce concerns about its nuclear ambitions.
• Even most nonaligned IAEA board members abandoned Tehran, despite their traditional backing of the Islamic Republic.

A Defiant Iran Vows to Build Nuclear Plants - New York Times [link]

• Iran angrily refused Sunday to comply with a demand by the United Nations nuclear agency to cease work on a once-secret nuclear fuel enrichment plant, and escalated the confrontation by declaring it would construct 10 more such plants.
• Even if Iran proceeded with a plan to build 10 enrichment plants, it is doubtful Iran could execute that plan for years, maybe decades. But the announcement drew immediate condemnation from the White House, which hoped Iran’s defiant tone would help persuade Russia and China that imposing harsh sanctions was justified.
• Western nuclear experts said that taking the declaration of the 10-plant goal at face value was akin to believing in the tooth fairy. “They’re hyping it,” said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington that tracks nuclear proliferation. “They couldn’t build that number of centrifuges. They don’t have the infrastructure.” 

Pakistani PM Takes Charge of Nuclear Weapons - Reuters [link]

• Pakistan's president has transfered authority over the nation's nuclear weapons to the prime ministership, as the unpopular leader tries to deflect growing criticism he has too much power.
• The transfer of the chairmanship of the National Command Authority (NCA), which oversees Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, came as Zardari could face pressure after the lapse of an amnesty opened several of his top aides to prosecution on graft charges.
• That amnesty, and growing criticism that Zardari has too much power, may herald more political instability in Pakistan, worrying the United States and its allies as the government also gets increasingly embroiled in a war against Islamist militants.

Richard Grennell: 'John Bolton Was Right' On Iran - Max Bergmann in the Wonk Room [link]

• Richard Grennell, the Bush administration’s UN spokesperson, writes a love-struck op-ed claiming that his old boss John Bolton was right all along when he said negotiating with the Iranians was pointless.
• This misses the point entirely and demonstrates a totally one-dimensional view of diplomacy that was endemic during the Bush administration. During the Bush years, figures like Bolton blustered endlessly about Iran, but despite all of this empty rhetoric, nothing came of it. Iran accelerated its nuclear program, leaving the Obama administration to deal with an Iran well on their nuclear way.
• The point of Obama’s decision to engage Iran was to put the onus on the Iranians and force them to decide whether they are with the international community or against it. Our willingness to engage in serious talks, and Iran’s willingness to reject them, has made Iran the bad guy and given us the credibility to establish a more robust international response.

Yukiya Amano, The IAEA's New Nuclear Watchdog - TIME [link]

• After 12 years, International Atomic Energy Agency director general Mohamed ElBaradei is stepping down Nov. 30. Taking his place will be Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano, who was elected in July to become the fifth leader in the organization's history.
• He is supportive of U.S. President Barack Obama's position on Iran and has praised him for fostering diplomacy with the country.

A View from the Dark Side

500,000 Iranian Centrifuges - Wall Street Journal Editorial [link]

• Mohamed ElBaradei caps his contentious and ultimately failed 12-year stint as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency today, having spent many years enabling Iran's nuclear bids only to condemn them in his final days in office.
• Mr. ElBaradei combined his rebuke of Iran with his familiar calls for more negotiation, but we'll take his belated realism about Iran as his tacit admission that Dick Cheney and John Bolton have been right all along. Let's hope the education of the Obama Administration doesn't take as long.