Interests Diverge on Iran

When President Obama addressed the U.N. he proclaimed that for the first time in human history the interests of all nations were aligned. The New York Times' Clifford Levy offers a few (major) caveats:

Russia, a neighbor of Iran, is far more intertwined with it geopolitically than any other world power, and has more concerns about upsetting relations.

Russia is also reluctant to mass the might of the United Nations Security Council against a single country, especially at Washington’s behest. That in part explains why Russia has historically sought to dilute sanctions, as it did in previous rounds against Iran.

And then, of course, there's China:

The dynamic is complicated by China, another sanctions opponent with a Security Council veto. The Kremlin can publicly show more leeway toward sanctions — in essence, offering gratitude to Mr. Obama for canceling the antimissile system in Eastern Europe — while knowing that China may continue standing in their way.

China trades heavily with Iran, and its skeptical comments on Friday after the announcement about the new enrichment plant indicated how reluctant it may be on sanctions.

Reading the above, it's understandable why Eliot Cohen writes the following:

Pressure, be it gentle or severe, will not erase that nuclear program. The choices are now what they ever were: an American or an Israeli strike, which would probably cause a substantial war, or living in a world with Iranian nuclear weapons, which may also result in war, perhaps nuclear, over a longer period of time.

I think that's right, and it also underscores the dangers of the Obama administration's rhetoric on the Iranian program. On the one hand, it has a clear interest in trying to rally the world around sanctioning Iran and conveying a sense of the gravity of the situation. So we get words like "unacceptable." On the other hand, I don't think it's a stretch to conclude that the administration has no interest in starting a third war in the region. That will mean that when Iran does grasp the nuclear ring in the face of American threats, the U.S. looks only that much more impotent.

(AP Photos)