Agreement on Iran

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council agreed on a statement Wednesday demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, setting the stage for the first action by the powerful body over fears that Tehran wants a nuclear weapon.

The 15 members of the council planned to meet later Wednesday to approve the statement, the text of which was not immediately disclosed. Uranium enrichment is a process that can lead to a nuclear weapon.

The council has struggled for three weeks to come up with a written rebuke that would urge Iran to comply with several demands from the board of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to clear up suspicions about its intentions. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The devil, as always, is in the details. Count on this statement to be being far less decisive than it should have been. China and Russia oppose sanctions, and Russia has already stated that it opposes military action against Iran should they fail to adhere to any kind of agreement that they eventually sign onto.

This tells you all you need to know about the chances for a diplomatic solution involving the UN. With Russia and its veto power standing in the way, Iran will continue down the path towards nuclear weapons with the complicity of the Russians and Chinese who are busy trying to coopt the Iranians and build up a bulwark against US interests in the region.

UPDATE:
Ed Morrissey has more, and notes:

The UNSC adopted the resolution by consensus, but the only agreement that the 15 nations could reach was to punt for another month. The UN representatives plan to debate the consequences for Iran if it fails to comply with the request, but that will wait until tomorrow -- and it's unclear that any decision could affect this resolution anyway. The resolution did not give any indication that the UNSC will modify its approach in any way.

I'd say that this punt was shanked badly.