Something new to worry about
HONESTY is a rare commodity in the nuclear underworld, where Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, Syria and possibly others—as well as Argentina, Brazil, Libya and South Africa in times past—have long done deals for the equipment, technology and materials needed for their illicit nuclear programmes. Yet North Korea and Pakistan’s notorious blackmarket-maker, Abdul Qadeer Khan, have both proudly and separately decided to tell the world more about their nuclear exploits. By contrast there is a worrying silence from Iran and Syria, two countries in the spotlight this week at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear guardian, for their suspect nuclear activities.
Iran’s refusal to answer inspectors’ questions about mounting evidence of nuclear-weapons-related work, or to pick up the offer of talks on its nuclear ambitions from America, China, Russia and three European states, bodes ill for the diplomatic effort to hold the non-proliferation line. Come the UN General Assembly later this month, foreign ministers of the six will be taking stock of Iran’s readiness to co-operate before they decide whether to start the hard job of trying to agree more sanctions. They will have little to go on. …