Current Event # 4: Clinton Issues Another Warning to Iran

Here is a link to the February 16th, 2010 article titled "Clinton Issues Another Warning to Iran" from The New York Times. According to this article, it seems that the confrontation between the Western powers and Iran regarding Iran's nuclear program is only getting worse. During her speech in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, Clinton listed recent Iranian actions contradicting its claim to peaceful intent and has threatened to take action if Iran were to acquire a nuclear weapon. While Iran claims to have begun enriching uranium purely to feed a medical reactor, Clinton claims the evidence proves otherwise. President Ahmadinejad says that Iran is willing to suspend uranium enrichment in exchange for a swap of processed fuel rods. The United States has refused to agree to this exchange. Ms. Clinton recently claimed that Iran was moving towards a military dictatorship ruled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Iran claimed that America was the country with a military dictatorship in the Iranian rebuttal by its foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. Russia has recently come to the aid of the United States and France and signed a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency claiming that Iran's enrichment of uranium and lack of notification to the I.A.E.A. were "wholly unjustified." While Bejamin Netanyahu of Israel tried to convince Russian president Medvedev to take a greater role in the opposition of Iran, Russia refused and continues to support cooperation with Iran. In response to American criticism, Iran has negatively portrayed Washington via its English broadcaster, Press TV. Clinton is now urging Iranian political and religious leaders to take a stand against the Revolutionary Guards before a full military dictatorship has been instated. While France is fully behind the Obama administration and its recent actions and sanctions, Russia has taken a more ambivalent stance in regards to Iran. This article is significant because it involves international factors influencing policy making, regional clevages (hence Russia's lack of support), and threats to international security.

Thanks to US Mission Canada for the photo!

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