The Best Weapon Against Iran is Diplomacy

John Burroughs from Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy has an excellent Op-Ed in Newsday today in which he writes about the escalating situation between the US and Iran.

According to Burroughs, "What is needed is not another UN Security Council resolution strengthening existing sanctions. Rather the Bush administration should talk directly with Iran, and soon, because the U.S.-Iran confrontation is heating up dangerously." He also argues, "To avoid unpredictable and extremely dangerous escalation arising both from the Iraq war and the nuclear dispute, the United States and Iran must now negotiate on the range of issues dividing them. "

He also outlines the way forward for dealing with Iran's nuclear program:

"A diplomatic approach to reversing North Korea's breakout from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is yielding results. Key elements were direct U.S. involvement and a willingness to contemplate normalization of relations and security guarantees. A similar approach to Iran should be pursued.

"There is real potential for reaching agreement with Iran on monitoring and limiting its nuclear program. Since 2003, when its history of reporting violations was revealed, Iran appears to have met reporting requirements. In a report last month, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Gen. Mohamed ElBaradei stated that his agency "is able to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran." While the IAEA cannot now confirm the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and activities, that is a challenging determination that takes considerable time and requires enhanced inspections not now accepted by Iran.

"The IAEA and Iran have reached agreement on a work plan to clear up outstanding questions about Iran's past nuclear activities. To encourage the process, the six governments meeting at the United Nations this week should defer a Security Council decision on stiffening sanctions. Iran has repeatedly indicated its openness to operation of limited enrichment facilities in Iran under heightened IAEA monitoring and with foreign participation."