Iran, The U.N. And U.S. Diplomacy

Wolfson: Diplomatic Aim Is To Squeeze Regime, Not Iranian People

(CBS)  CBS News reporter Charles Wolfson is a former Tel Aviv bureau chief for CBS News, who now covers the State Department.

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In case you missed it, the Bush administration’s diplomatic efforts on Iran are in overdrive. Yes, the same administration which was accused of giving diplomacy short shrift in favor of military action on Iraq now seems to be reaping the benefits of having worked diligently on their diplomatic skills in handling the question of how to stop Iran from its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The Bush Administration is showing it learned from its experience with Iraq that there is more than one way to confront a threat. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters last week she was surprised when, during her first trip to Europe, she said the Europeans felt they were caught between Washington and Tehran and that “it was not a good place to be.”

Thus, Rice explained, the past nine months have been spent letting European allies carry the ball in the effort to persuade Iran to back away from its nuclear ambitions. The Russians were also given an opportunity to come up with a compromise solution. “Sometimes,” Rice said, “it takes a little time to give diplomacy a chance.”

This week it became clear that most of America’s allies were on the same page with Washington. In a display of careful diplomatic choreography, first the Europeans admitted their efforts had failed. “Our talks with Iran have reached a dead end,” said Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Then Rice appeared in Washington to say the Iranians had “chosen confrontation with the international community over cooperation and negotiation.” The next phase will be to take steps at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna to bring the issue before the United Nations Security Council. Rice was careful to explain “this is not an issue of the end of diplomacy.”

Rice’s boss, President Bush, drove the point home after a meeting with the new German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. “You’re going to see a lot of public discussion about this matter,” Mr. Bush told reporters at the White House. “You’re seeing the evolution of a proactive diplomatic policy.” Merkel, in Washington for her first official visit, left little doubt there was any distance between Europe and the U.S. “We will certainly not be intimidated by a country such as Iran.”

However, Iran did not show any quick signs of backing down. Through U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, it sent the message that it was ready for further negotiations and from Tehran there were threats to bring an end to the IAEA's snap inspections of nuclear facilities.

Rice offered that perhaps Tehran “has miscalculated, that they somehow believed that the international community would not unite.” What Washington needs now is assurances from Russia and China that they will not block tougher actions against the Iranian regime in the Security Council. Russia is closer to Washington’s view but not yet on board. China, which gets more than 10 percent of its oil imports from Iran, has been less than enthusiastic about the move to bring Iran before the Security Council.

State department officials caution sanctions are not imminent. Next week two senior diplomats will go to Europe to start talks on how to bring enough pressure on Iran to get them to stop their nuclear weapons programs and there are several preliminary actions the Security Council could take short of actual sanctions – actions intended to show Iran just how isolated they have become.

To get the attention of those in power in Tehran, Iran’s trade with several European countries could be halted for a time, or Russia might delay fuel shipments for Iran’s Busheir reactor. Such actions might persuade Iran just how serious the international community is. Any action that would adversely affect Iran’s oil shipments is not likely, not only because it would be felt by China, Russia and India, but also because the loss in income would hit ordinary Iranians and no one wants to make this a fight where the Iranian people are hurt. The aim here is to squeeze the regime in power.