Anoush Maleki

Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Sunday raised the stakes against the United States in a dispute over a nuclear deal. Days after saying he sees no problem in sending some of the country's low enriched uranium stockpile abroad to be further refined, he ordered the country's nuclear agency to begin producing a special form of the nuclear material that could fuel the Tehran Research Reactor.

"I had said let us give the world powers two to three months and if they don't agree, we would start ourselves," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech at a ceremony marking Iran's latest laser technology achievements. "Now Dr. [Ali Akbar] Salehi, start to make the 20 percent with the centrifuges," the president told the atomic chief who was in the audience. He also asserted that the road to "engagement" is open as negotiations can go on over the swap proposal

The White House for months has pushed for the deal under which Tehran would ship out some 1,200 kilos of its uranium to Russia and France to be further enriched and returned to the country for the reactor that produces medical isotopes. Although it was initially accepted by Iran's representatives, agreement has been delayed as the country's governing bodies — Parliament and the Supreme National Security Council — maintain Iran, as a buyer, is entitled to seek guarantees and bargain for a better deal.


Under the allegation, which is yet to be substantiated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) whose inspectors have kept a close eye on Iran's activities during the past few years, the Obama administration claims that to ease international concerns, Iran must accept the swap deal or be punished by a fresh round of United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution. The West's logic, however, has raised the ire of Iranian officials who accuse the world powers of orchestrating a "political fraud" under the guise of a nuclear deal.

"The fact is that you [Western powers] seek to pull a fast one and are planning a political fraud," Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying on Saturday. "You want to coax Iran out of its enriched uranium … But, we will make our own decision about the [20 percent] enriched uranium for the Tehran research reactor."

President Ahmadinejad's move on Sunday to put the country's nuclear agency on alert amid the political games of the international community ruffled far too many feathers in the West. In reaction, Robert Gates, the US secretary of defense, who is travelling around the globe visiting allies and war zones to raise awareness about threats facing them while the US Congress studies President Barack Obama's budget which includes billions of dollars for war spending, called for a united front to pressure Iran.

He said US allies as well as Russia and China — which have effectively blocked new UNSC sanctions against Tehran — should get on the US bandwagon and approve Washington's demand in punishing Tehran for delaying to accept the nuclear fuel swap deal. "The international community has offered the Iranian government multiple opportunities to provide reassurance of its intentions. The results have been very disappointing," said the military chief. "If the international community will stand together and bring pressure on the Iranian government, I believe there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work. But we must all work together."

Britain was quick to follow suit and issued a statement, saying Iran's plan was "clearly a matter of serious concern." "Reports that Iran is planning to enrich some of their fuel to 20 percent level of enrichment are clearly a matter of serious concern," a spokeswoman for the ministry said in the statement released by the Foreign Office in London.

The statement, which aimed to promote a close relation between Washington and its allies in Europe, added that the response to Iran's decision should be made in "partnership with the IAEA and others," in an alliance to the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany, the so-called P5+1 which has been involved in negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.

Germany also intervened on the issue and said Iran should be alert that the West's patience is running out. "It may be that the sanctions screw needs to be or can be turned here and there," German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said. "We need to consider very carefully what impact our options could have. At the same time, however, it must be made clear to Iran that patience is at an end."

The official objective of the P5+1 is to bring a diplomatic closure to Iran's nuclear dossier. But according to The New York Times, US intelligence officials say that "covert efforts to interfere with Iran's production capability are extremely active." The revelation contradicts Mr. Gates' claim that "no one has tried more sincerely to reach out and engage with Iran than President Obama" as espionage at the time of diplomacy does not spell out sincerity.

And Iran, although keeping the option open to engage the West over the fuel swap deal, is right to move to domestically produce the uranium it needs — even though it must reconfigure the enrichment process at the Natanz plant. Self-sufficiency has a high price that only brave nations are willing to pay.