With hawks in the US Senate pushing hard for a new round of sanctions against Iran seemingly with the explicit intent of derailing diplomatic progress with the country, hardliners in Iran’s parliament look set to follow suit with a “retaliatory” bill.
The bill would respond to any new US sanctions with an immediate demand for the Iranian government to begin enriching uranium to 60 percent, still below weapons-grade but far higher than anything they’ve attempted before.
With Iran in the process of winding down 20 percent enrichment and focusing mostly on 3.5 percent, the move to jump to 60 would deal another potentially mortal blow to diplomacy with the P5+1, and as with the US sanctions that seems to be the idea, as the bill is being pushed by MPs who are openly opposed to the talks.
Nominally, the MPs are arguing the 60 percent enriched uranium could be used for nuclear submarines, though in practice Iran appears to have no such need, and the whole point of the threat is to be deliberately provocative. The Rouhani government hasn’t openly discussed the bill yet, but will likely oppose it.
The neocons wet dream of snatching war from the jaws of peace has come one step closer to reality. The sanctions bill now before congress was intended to sabotage the peace talks between Iran and the United States: mission accomplished! The warmongers know that US involvement in a third Middle Eastern war would be unpopular with the American people; thus the need for an elaberate subterfuge of diplomacy to pave the way to war. Now the warmongers can say, "See, we have tried diplomacy and it has failed. The Iranians have responded to our diplomacy by jumping their enrichment capacity to 60%." The pretext for war with Iran is about complete. War with Iran looms in the future.
About time.
What is about time? War on Iran? If so, maybe you'd take the trouble to explain your wish.
Given the character of those who lead both the US and Israel (as well as the dictatorships of the Arab nations/kindgoms the US supports) reactionary tit-for-tat escalation is counter-productive and greatly increases the odds against peace. Is this really what we want? The warmongers are only looking for that opportunity to loose the dogs of war, again.
Iran needs to do this to protect itself from relentless American warmongers with much to gain from the destruction of yet another country in unfortunate proximity to Israel.