A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his support for Iran’s nuclear ambitions and warned the United States of any military attack on the Middle Eastern nation, the Bush administration has once more fallen flat on its face. This time the shock arrives from the European Union , which is internally divided on the Iran nuclear issue.
While Britain and France are in firm alliance with US to impose tougher international sanctions, the rest of Europe is somewhat suspicious of this move. EU foreign ministers held a meeting in Brussels this week to discuss the issue but arrived at a conclusion that has disheartened US.
The EU wants to approach the sensitive Iran matter with caution and wants more time to come at a final decision on whether to impose sanctions or not. Italy and Austria, two of the most important members of the 27-nation elite club, were barely enthusiastic about Europe severing its ties with Iran while Germany is trying to play safe by not exposing its exact attitude as for as the imposition of sanctions is concerned. As of now, only Britain and France are overt in their opinions about the Iran situation.
Bush has consistently maintained that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons through its uranium enrichment project while Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that he wants nuclear facility for peaceful purposes only. IAEA inspectors have so far failed to establish that Iran is trying to construct a nuclear bomb.
Iran appears to be on its path to securing nuclear status with the backing of Russian and China, who are both skeptical of the international policies of the Bush administration. With the European Union also not quite supporting the US against Iran, Mr. Bush appears to be losing the nuclear battle to President Ahmadinejad.
Image Source: John Bowis
Source: The Washington Post
