Strategic Panorama 2009 - 2010 - IEEE

The future of the nuclear non-proliferation regime: the 2010 NPT review conference
However, the Obama Administration’s new approach to the North Korean
nuclear issue differs substantially from that of the Bush Administration.
For example, despite North Korea’s announcement in November 2009
that it had completed the reprocessing of 8,000 spent fuel rods and had
accomplished «Noticeable successes […] in turning the extracted plutonium
weapon-grade for the purpose of bolstering up the nuclear deterrent»
(in violation of its own denuclearisation commitments and several
UN Security Council resolutions), the US has not adopted any sanctions,
stating that «Washington is only focused on achieving «a comprehensive
peaceful solution to the
As for Iran, the Obama Administration’s official line is also diametrically
opposite to that of its predecessor. Barack Obama stated at Prague
that «Iran has yet to build a nuclear weapon. My administration will seek
engagement with Iran based on mutual interests and mutual respect. We
believe in dialogue. But in that dialogue we will present a clear choice. We
want Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations, politically
and economically. We will support Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy
with rigorous inspections. That’s a path that the Islamic Republic can take.
Or the government can choose increased isolation, international pressure,
and a potential nuclear arms race in the region that will increase insecurity
for all.»
Nevertheless, the course of events has led this discourse, which was
initially optimistic about the Iranian nuclear crisis (in his address to Cairo
University on 4 June 2009, President Obama reiterated his willingness to
the Iranian leaders and people to «move forward without preconditions on
the basis of mutual respect») to become more realistic. Indeed, pressure
on Iran and a more favourable attitude on the part of the US towards the
implementation of stricter sanctions has become more evident following
the discovery in September 2009 of a second underground pilot uranium
enrichment plant not previously declared to the IAEA in Qom, which,
according to the organisation, «does not contribute to the building of confidence»
(61).
On 15 December 2009, the US House of Representatives approved
by overwhelming majority new sanctions against Iran and companies that
do business with its government as a punishment for failing to suspend
(61) Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security
Council resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008) and 1835 (2008) in the
Islamic Republic of Iran, Report by the Director General of the IAEA, GOV/2009/74, 16
November 2009.
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