The findings of the recent US National Intelligence Estimate on Iran have rekindled debate on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and on the appropriate international response to its nuclear programme. It must be stated without illusions, however, that a government which has threatened Israel with obliteration and which is pursuing the most ambitious missile programme in the Middle East is probably unscrupulous enough to resume an abandoned nuclear weapons programme at any time.

Iran’s nuclear programme continues to be shrouded in secrecy. Tehran has granted limited if any access to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. The international community’s central demands – for an immediate suspension of uranium enrichment and a comprehensive response to all open questions – have not yet been met. President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad’s call for 50,000 additional centrifuges to enrich what could be weapons-grade uranium only reinforces the likelihood of continued Iranian intransigence.