Consider the following:  17 United Nations resolutions were passed against Iraq during the decade before the U.S.-led invasion.  Each failed to alter Hussein's behavior.  In fact, calls increased for sanctions to be lifted with Syria and France leading the world in undermining the UN resolutions.  Over a decade of efforts failed to alter Iraqi behavior.  Arguably, if Saddam had respected the UN weapons inspectors, there would have been no cause for an American invasion.

If one begins with the premise that Iran should not have nuclear weapons, and one hopes to achieve this without a military option, then a decade of feckless and unimplemented resolutions will guarantee Iran nuclear weapons.

In fact, the Iranian regime is counting on it.

In early 2006, the U.S. began their campaign to step-up diplomatic pressure on Iran with the goal of demonstrating to the regime that its "provocative and destabilizing policies will entail painful costs for Iran" and that "another, more constructive course is available to it."

The U.S., however, was the only permanent member of the UN Security Council in favor of sanctions while Russia and China were bitterly opposed.  They were reluctant because the Security Council members and Iran shared $18 billion in trade in 2005.  The consensus also remained among the EU countries who were Iran's largest trading partner accounting for 40% of Iran's exports and 25% of their imports.

Finally, the first round of UN sanctions were passed against Iran in December 2006 with resolution 1737.  It blacklisted 10 Iranian entities and 12 individuals with ties to Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile programs.

Resolution 1747 was adopted in March 2007 banning a number of additional groups and entities, including companies and officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (also known as the Pasdaran and recently added to the U.S. terrorist list).  It created a one-way arms embargo prohibiting them from exporting arms.  Of course importing arms from Russia and others was still considered fine.

It took 8 months to negotiate the third resolution.  When in June 2007, the IAEA and Iran agreed to a timeline under which the regime would provide answers to questions about their past secret nuclear program, Russia and  China pushed for waiting until the report would be delivered in November 2007.  The report was released in December 2007 at nearly the same time as the NIE estimate. 

Finally, in March 2008 the most recent sanctions were passed: Resolution 1803.  This one built on the previous two resolutions by expanding the blacklist and banning dual-use component sales to Iran.  It also called for countries to exercise "vigilance" over financial institutions and their dealings with Iranian banks.

Yet, none of these measures have had an affect.  The current international pressure is merely in the form economic and financial sanctions.  It will be too late if the world waits until UN sanctions change Iranian behavior.

(Stay tuned for Part III)

Read Part I: Confronting the Iranian Threat: Myth-Conceptions