The U.S. must soon accept the reality that Iran will become the world’s 10th nuclear power. If we cannot persuade the Iranians to abandon pursuit of nuclear capabilities, contrary to the rodomontade emanating from the White House and State, we will be unable to prevent them from doing so. Imposing broader economic sanctions or launching military strikes would be ineffective and potentially counter-productive. However, Iran developing nuclear capacity does not necessarily mean it’s the end of the world. That, we can prevent.
Sanctions doomed without China
The sooner we quit fiddling with otiose sanctions against Iran, the sooner we can begin crafting containment and deterrence strategies that are actually effective. Besides, nearly all experts agree any sanction program the U.S. concocts that does not have China’s full commitment is a sanctions program designed to fail.
Embarrassingly enough, as we were wooing Chinese leaders earlier this week to support more stringent measures, the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) sold 600,000 barrels of gasoline to Iran. It was their first direct sales to Iran since January 2009, filling a void for the month of April left by other suppliers who wanted to avoid getting hit with sanctions.
Plus, there’s not a shred of evidence to support the theory these types of measures would persuade Tehran to change its behavior in the least. Broader restrictions would only strangle the Iranian people,…
