Obama: Iran Can’t Be Permitted to Be a Nuclear Power

In the latest sign that the administration is ratcheting up anti-Iran rhetoric in the wake of the disputed election in that nation, President Obama declared in an interview today that he is “not reconciled” to the notion of Iran having nuclear weapons within a year, a prospect which appears to be a virtual impossibility but signals an even harsher line frrom the administration.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has been keeping a close eye on Iran’s uranium enrichment program and has repeatedly confirmed that the nation is only enriching to the low level necessary for energy generation, and that it has diverted none of that uranium to any other use.

Iran itself has repeatedly denied that it has any ambitions for nuclear weapons, and has gone so far as to condemn the idea is contrary to the nation’s very nature as an Islamic Republic. Though the US has continued to levy accusations, they have provided no series evidence to support their case. In the end the accusations are of more rhetorical value than as series indications of what US intelligence (which has publicly insisted Iran has no nuclear weapons program) believes.

But perhaps the most telling statement was President Obama’s declaration that Iran cannot be allowed to become a “nuclear power”, a more vague statement that may cover more than simply its farsical accusations of a covert weapons program ande may even indicate that he is backing off statements last month that he believed Iran has an inherent right to civilian nuclear programs. It should be noted however that President Obama spent at least as long in the interview discussing the number of Michael Jackson songs in his iPod as he did the situation in Iran, so the off-the-cuff remarks may not have been carefully considered.