AS the date for acceptance of a package of incentives designed to persuade Iran to abandon its enrichment of uranium came and went, Tehran again prevaricated, issuing a letter that did not state acceptance of the proposal but did not express acceptance, either. Instead, the Iranians said that they would give a “clear response” at an unspecified later date. Iran has been playing something of a cat-and-mouse game with its nuclear program for years now, hiding behind the cover of China and Russia to fend off western criticism of what is clearly an effort to develop a nuclear weapon. A country intent only on developing nuclear power for civilian purposes would have jumped at the offer made by the most powerful nations on Earth to supply with the material needed to operate nuclear reactors for peaceful purposes. Iran is already under the burden of three rounds of sanctions placed upon it by the UN Security Council and there are calls for the Security Council to place more on the country. That is unlikely, however, as China and Russia along with Germany have voiced reluctance to support more sanctions. Germany has called for unity among the EU3 nations – Germany, France and Great Britain – and the US, China and Russia, making it even more unlikely that the six nations will join in further unified sanctions against Iran. The danger is that the process of engagement with Iran, which seemed to have started recently, could stagnate, allowing Iran to continue its nuclear program unfettered. If there is no diplomatic engagement and Iran continues its enrichment activities, it only raises the possibility of a military action against it by the US or, even, Israel. The response to such an attack would most likely lead to Iran's blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, which a US official termed “self-defeating.” Iran will only have itself to blame should such a situation come to pass. __
