[rmnunez]

While Rice took a strong line, she did not call for an emergency meeting of the Council, saying it should consider action after receiving an IAEA report by April 28. She did not elaborate on what measures the US would support, but economic and political sanctions are under consideration. The EU is considering travel restrictions on Iranian officials, but White House and State spokesmen said what the Security Council might be asked to do was under discussion. "It's time for action and that is what the secretary was expressing," Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said. "The president wanted to make sure that she made that very clear to all that were listening."

I really don't think mere diplomatic travel restictions, even a few embassy closures, would bring about the desired change in nuclear policy, this was ineffective against Afghan and Iraqi rulers so it apparently doesn't have much impact on Muslims.

Sean McCormack said, "There is now a consensus Iran should not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapons program."

Yes, Rice indicated this was a case-specific situation too. Everyone agrees Iran shouldn't nuke-up, most would agree it would be good if nobody nuked-up, and ideal if even the Security Council nuked down, especially the united statians.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announcing on Tuesday that his country had crossed the line into enrichment, said Iran's objectives were peaceful. Iran is said by many analysts to lack the equipment, including a nuclear reactor, to make nuclear weapons. Cordesman added in an interview, "this issue is not going away. The more Iran pushes the tolerance of the international community to its limits, the more support the US can count on in the future." "Ahmadinejad spoke to the UN and afterwards was quoted as saying that for the 23 minutes that he spoke, there was a halo around his head that transfixed the audience and caused them to be completely focused on his message," he said. Rove noted, however, that world leaders speaking before the UN General Assembly are often watched attentively in silence by the delegates. Rove said that President George W. Bush, for instance, says that speaking to the General Assembly is like appearing before a "waxworks." "This guy (Ahmadinejad) had the sense that he was mystically empowered and as a result transfixed the audience -that is not a rational human being to deal with," he said. http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...OVE.xml&rpc=22

Before you dismiss the perspective as provocative rhetoric, do note Ahmadinejad is the same dude who said Israel should be wiped off the map and that an Islamic nation could use nukes absent a nuclear attack, showing of need for self-defence and even upon non nuclear-armed states. Ahmadi..., also said he thought the Jewish holocaust was grossly exagerated and they are evidently on the verge of acquiring the ballisitic capacity specifically to hit Israel. Ahmadinejad subscribe to very conservative theology (this is awful because this means much worse than "conservative" means outside the Islamic fundamentalist circles he moves in).

Duing ballisitics tests around the time the IAEA is debating the merits og united statian concerns is not a very inteligent approach. I think the probabilities are high Iran will be atatcked, though not nuked, within the term of the incumbent. After that Iran will have a nuke unless it has been attacked and after Iran has a nuke it al becomes dark.