Demands

As I have previously written, Iran is the important issue in this campaign, not Iraq. We will have to confront Iran sooner or later, and from the looks of this article, Iran seems to be pushing for sooner rather than later.

Iranian officials refused point-blank to comply, saying they had every right under international law to pursue "peaceful" nuclear technology.

They then stunned the Europeans by presenting a letter setting out their own demands.

Iran said the EU-3 should support Iran's quest for "advanced (nuclear) technology, including those with dual use" - a reference to equipment that has both civilian and military applications.

The Europeans should "remove impediments" preventing Iran from having such technology, and stick to these commitments even if faced with "legal (or) political . . . limitations", an allusion to American pressure or even future international sanctions against Iran.

More astonishingly, Iran said the EU-3 should agree to meet Iran's requirements for conventional weapons and even "provide security assurances" against a nuclear attack on Iran.

Has someone at the Iranian Foreign Ministry been sniffing too much glue? Or is this a direct challenge to the US and the EU-3? It seems that Iran is not waiting for the election results here, possibly thinking that in the midst of an election Bush is unlikely to do anything to them.