Diplomacy, not sanctions

The agreement brokered on Monday by Brazil and Turkey was a slap in the face of the United States and its allies who have been arguing for some time now that diplomacy has no role to play in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue. Under the terms of the deal, Iran would send 1,200 kg of low enriched uranium to Turkey within one month of the ‘Vienna Group' — the U.S., Russia, France, and the International Atomic Energy Agency — signalling its acceptance of the plan. The Iranian low-enriched uranium (LEU) would be held in Turkish escrow for a year, at the end of which Russia and France would hand over 120 kg of uranium enriched to 19.75 per cent in the form of fuel rods suitable for use in the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR). By itself, the agreement and its successful implementation would not bring an end to the nuclear dispute between Iran and the West.

But it is an important confidence-building measure that demonstrates the importance of dialogue. Had the Obama administration chosen to engage with Iran over the TRR proposal, the current formula could have been finalised in 2009. Instead, Washington wasted precious months insisting that the Vienna Group's initial offer, under which Iran would send its LEU directly to Russia and France for enrichment, could not be modified in any way.

For the U.S., the attractiveness of the original TRR fuel swap idea lay in the fact that the LEU, which Tehran could theoretically enrich to bomb grade should it decide to ‘break out' of the NPT, would no longer be available. This would still be the case under the Brazil-Turkey proposal. Because of the West's foot-dragging and the global shortage of medical isotopes, Iran declared earlier this year that it would go ahead and enrich its LEU to the level needed for the TRR. Acceptance of the latest proposal should lead to Iran suspending that initiative, pending completion of the swap. Instead of pursuing this constructive route, the U.S. has virtually repudiated the deal by pushing for tighter sanctions at the U.N. Security Council. Russia and China may feel the new proposal doesn't go far enough.

But the sanctions route makes no sense in this case; it only complicates efforts for a more comprehensive, dialogue-based approach to the problem. It is a pity that India, which has a big stake in the maintenance of peace and security in the region, has been reduced to watching the action from the sidelines. It knows sanctions are counterproductive and has spoken out against them. It must now add teeth to its opposition by supporting Brazil and Turkey and offering to join them in their quest for a negotiated end to the nuclear standoff. HN