Urging a Diplomatic Resolution to U.S./Iran Nuclear Dispute

An editorial in the Sunday, October 28, 2007, Toronto Star, Comment section, page 22, urges a diplomatic resolution of the American/Iranian showdown over Iran's nuclear capabilities:

PRESSING IRAN TO DISARM

Having branded Iran an "axis of evil" soon after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, U.S. President George Bush seems determined not to lave the White House without taking one last kick at his nemesis.

His recent dire warning that Iran might trigger "World War III" if it acquires nuclear weapons has many wondering whether the United States or a proxy is preparing to bomb Iran's reactors. And the economic sanctions Bush has just imposed on Iran's Revolutionary Guards, defence ministry and banks are being read by some as a ploy to give Washington political cover for such an attack.

Yet while Iran's two-decade-old nuclear ambitions, support for terror and hostility to Israel are hugely worrying, Bush cannot realistically expect to turn all this around before he quits office, with or without a military strike. Reining in Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and those who think like him is a huge challenge best tackled by the United Nations Security Council, acting collectively.

That's something Prime Minister Stephen Harper seems to understand. Reacting to Bush's sanctions, an Ottawa official noted Canada has not followed the U.S. in designating the Revolutionary Guards as terrorists, and looks to the Security Council for its cues. That is a prudent approach, with Canada backing UN efforts to defuse tension.

Realistically, if Iran's nuclear ambitions are to be reined in, it will be through a complex grand bargain" involving the Security Council, the U.S. and Iran. Tehran will want guarantees that Washington will stop threatening military action and will lift sanctions that have been in place since the Islamic revolution of 1979. As well, Iran will seek approval to retain civilian reactors, if it suspends or scraps military ones.

Ottawa should support UN efforts, including progressively harsher sanctions, to prod Tehran to that bargain. We should also urge the U.S. to negotiate, not threaten. It will be hard to make much progress before Bush and Ahmadinejad bow out. But we needn't provoke a crisis.