Iran must hear a resounding 'No'

NewsDay: Editorial

The nuclear crisis with Iran has ebbed and flowed over the years, and at the moment, it is flowing again. At some point, it might pass a point of no return. So it's imperative that the United States work with its European allies as well as Russia and China to devise a common front against Iran's going nuclear.

The reason for renewed alarm was a statement this week from Tehran that it planned to restart nuclear research. For experts, this has been code for producing nuclear weapons-grade fuel. At the same time, a just-revealed British intelligence report says that Iran has steadily moved toward attaining nuclear weapons while claiming otherwise. And yesterday, Iran officials didn't show up for a meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency to discuss the country's plans.

The best way to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions should be a unified, tough reaction from the United Nations. Forming an effective coalition, however, has proved to be elusive. Still, it should be attempted. Washington and its European allies have said that if Iran doesn't cooperate they will ask the UN Security Council to impose economic sanctions.

The problem is that either Russia or China could veto such an action. The Russians, however, are unhappy with Tehran's recent announcement, because it slams the door on their offer to supply Iran with non-weapons-grade nuclear fuel. China's reaction to the news is still uncertain.

Now is the time to renew the effort for collective action against Iran. The option used in Iraq - a unilateral preventive war - is not realistic and would do more to break apart the allies than bring them together. But until now the nations involved have not acted in unison. If they don't soon, it will be too late - and Iran's nuclear program will become a full-fledged world crisis. READ MORE