We demanded that Iran halt Uranium enrichment and Iran has missed the deadline. So we in the international community should be discussing exactly what sanctions to impose on Iran, when to start them, how to enforce them, and the conditions we have for ending them.
So why would anybody consider this progress?
Iran is ready to consider merely suspending enrichment. If the Iranians are considering a short-term suspension, you can be sure that the Iranians have reached a point where they don't need to enrich for a short period and so are willing to get credit for temporarily halting non-critical work. Once Iran needs to enrich again, their suspension will halt.One diplomat said Larijani floated the possibility of stopping enrichment activities "voluntarily, for one or two months if presented ... in such a way that it does it without pressure."
Such a concession would be a major departure by Iran, which is under threat of possible U.N. Security Council for ignoring an Aug. 31 deadline to halt all enrichment activities.
Earlier, both Larijani and Solana spoke of progress in their discussions and agreed to meet again later this week.
This is not progress--unless you think the Europeans believe that it is "progress" if they can surrender while making it sound like it is victory.
One can't rule that out, now can one?
