Top Security Council Members Agree on Iran

(LONDON) - Russia and China agreed with the United States and its European allies Monday that
Iran must fully suspend its nuclear program, but the countries stopped short of demanding referral to the
U.N. Security Council, Britain's Foreign Office said.

In a conciliatory statement, Iran's ambassador to Moscow praised a Russian proposal to move the Iranian uranium enrichment program to its territory — a step that could resolve the deadlock over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Russian President
Vladimir Putin also urged caution in dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue, saying that Tehran might still agree to the Russian offer and warning 'it's necessary to work carefully and avoid any sharp, erroneous moves.'

Britain, France and Germany, backed by Washington, want Iran to be referred to the Security Council, which can impose sanctions.

But Russia and China, which have close commercial ties with Iran, have resisted such a move in the past and could stymie efforts against Tehran as veto-wielding members of the U.N. body. More...

Is anyone willing to take any bets here that this sudden change in rhetoric is a result of Russian appeasement? Without inspections, how can the U.N. be sure that Iran is not developing a parallel enrichment effort? I guess we will only know when our space satellite sensors pick up signs of underground testing in the Iranian desert. Seems like it is only a matter of time that the world will have another nuke equipped nation in the region. The American people don't have the stomach for another invasion and we suspect neither do the Europeans, and frankly many experts believe that bunker buster bombs won't do the trick either. The Iranian engineers learned how to decentralize their program deep under ground. And so... the clock ticks... and the world sits on it's hands.