Iran Resumes Enrichment Activity

In a moment that the European Union hoped would not come, Iran has partially resumed sensitive nuclear fuel work at its Isfahan nuclear facility. The move came after the UN's nuclear watchdog IAEA began installing surveillance equipment, and sent a clear signal that Iran, at least for the moment, is not going to bow to the wishes of Britain, France and Germany, known as the EU-3, to desist from its uranium conversion operations.

Earlier Monday, IAEA officials had said the recommencement would not start until later in the week.

The crisis rose to a new level after Iran last week rejected as "unacceptable" a package of proposals from the EU-3 aimed at securing guarantees that Tehran's nuclear program was not a cover for efforts to build a nuclear bomb.

In addition to the rejection, ultraconservative Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, just five days in office, also turned heads by naming Ali Larijani as the country's new atomic energy commissioner. The Western press refers to Larijani as a hardliner.

Larijani replaces Hassan Rowhani, who has managed to maintain dialogue with the West through thick and thin over the last two years, and his appointment will worry some Western negotiators.

Germany appeals to mullahs

The reactions from Berlin to the resumption of activity at Isfahan were quick, sharp but also appellative.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer urged Iran Monday to return to talks with the EU. He said the EU-3 were doing everything in their power "to avert a negative development with disastrous consequences."

"We hope Iran will now examine the comprehensive proposal from the EU-3 very carefully and seriously. We hope that Iran doesn't make any miscalculations here. We are thoroughly convinced that the suggestion of the EU-3 provide a good foundation for further talks," Plötner said in Berlin.

The Social Democratic Deputy Chair and foreign affairs expert, Gernot Erler, said the moves by Iran constituted what he called "a step closer to a serious international crisis." Erler said Iran was close to being sanctioned.

That threat seems not to intimidate Tehran. Iran has insisted on resuming the process at Isfahan, which turns uranium ore into a feed gas for enrichment, despite the risk of being hauled before the UN Security Council.

Nine months for naught

The EU, which has been negotiating with Iran for nine months, has called for an emergency meeting Tuesday of the IAEA board, which is expected to issue an ultimatum demanding a commitment to suspend nuclear fuel work.

Yet escalation seems to be the game that Tehran wants to play according to the German army's Iran expert, Hans Krech. Not only the reactivation of the Isfahan facility indicates this but also the appointment of Larijani, who has described giving up Iran's right to uranium enrichment in exchange for EU incentives as like swapping "a pearl for a sweet," makes more difficult negotiations inevitable.