Iran wants lead IAEA inspector gone

Originally posted at Right Truth

Upset with the sanctions placed upon Iran by the United Nations Security Council, Iran barred 38 IAEA inspectors from entering the country. Now Iran has now also demanded the removal of the IAEA’s lead nuclear inspector, Chris Charlier.

Threats Watch reports, "Last year, Iran had made a similar demand of the IAEA regarding the removal of Charlier as head of the IAEA inspection team. Iran seeks his removal because of his views that Iran “is obviously making a bomb” and is operating clandestinely beyond the view of IAEA inspectors."

In the PBS Frontline report ‘Iran – Going Nuclear,’ Charlier detailed his experiences dealing with, as he puts it, Iran’s “games” surrounding its dealings with IAEA inspectors. The footage and interviews were recorded before Iran demanded his removal last year.

The response from IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei to Iran’s demand last year was murky at best. While there was speculation that ElBaradei had actually acquiesced and fired Charlier at Iran’s behest, he remains today but is still barred from entry and personal observation by the Iranian regime. [snip]

As the UN Security Council’s 60-day deadline for Iran to cease enrichment activities fast approaches, eyes are on Iran’s actions elsewhere, including the rapidly increasing violence in Lebanon as the result of Hizballah’s ongoing protests, an open coup seeking to bring down the elected Lebanese government.(read more)

In adddition to Egypt, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has warned Iran to rein in it's radicals and says Sunni Muslims will not allow a Shia caliphate in the middle east. Read more at The Point Rider Republican.

In the interview in Kuwait’s Al Seyassah on Saturday, King Abdullah also issued a veiled warning to Iran to quit what he said were efforts to spread Shi’ism in the Sunni-dominated Arab world. (Khaleej Times)

But as Caroline Glick says, Ahmadinejad doesn't care what anybody says. He is not motivated by a desire to fit in with the neighbors or to please friends or adversaries.

The source of his frenetic motivation for destruction is his deep-seated and fanatical desire to hearken the arrival of the Shi'ite messiah - the twelfth imam or the Mahdi. Ahmadinejad promises that the arrival of the Mahdi will signal the enduring defeat of liberal democracy and the notion of human freedom and the eradication of Christianity and Judaism. All will be replaced by the "pure" Islam of the Mahdi, of Ahmadinejad and of the late Ayatollah Khomeini. (source)

America-hating, international-loving Senator John Kerry says the United States to become "a sort of international pariah." He made these statements ', speaking during a world economic forum panel discussion that also included Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi and Mohammad Khatami, Ahmadinejad`s more moderate predecessor as Iranian President.'

Jim Saxton believes the United States finally has a 'comprehensive Iran containment strategy'.

Contrary to the view of many pundits, a policy that engages Iran on every front where it uses terrorism and destabilizes the Middle East is the best way to avoid a military conflict. [snip]

Moreover, this new policy will pave the way for diplomatic success. Demonstrating to Tehran that adventurism will come at a cost will provide our diplomats with the leverage they need to force Iran to negotiate and make concessions. This policy enhances diplomacy—it does not set it aside. (source)

It is my understanding that the sanctions placed on Iran by the United Nations Security Council are having very little, if any, influence on Iran. However, sanctions placed on Iran by the United States are putting a huge crimp in Iran's economy. Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton worked hard to get the sanctions passed in the UN. But since he is no longer employed in that capacity, he is speaking out.

Bolton now 'says the United States may not be able to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons because the Bush administration is following a flawed diplomatic strategy.' He says the UN Security Council resolution is "very weak" and that 'the administration placed too high a priority on achieving unity in the council.'

Maybe the Bush administration is listening to Bolton now.