When you wake up in the morning, remember that the mullahs of Iran are one day closer to an atomic bomb. Days are going by, wasted in negotiations that seem to have no end. Does the world have enough time? No. We don't have the luxury to play hide and seek with the mullahs any more. Tehran is getting closer and closer to the point of no return in its nuclear endeavor.

With all the information about Iran’s plan of making nuclear weapons, the international community will be as responsible for such a disaster as the mullahs for taking no action when it could.

Are we prepared for the consequences of our appeasement policy toward Tehran? Are we prepared to tell our children and grandchildren that we knew what was coming but we did not do anything about it? Let's face it: There are two choices before us: dealing with the mullahs without an atomic bomb today or dealing with them with an atomic bomb tomorrow.

The U.S. Congress passed a resolution last week to condemn Iran's policy of denial, delay and deception. It demanded that Japan, Russia and the European Union cut trade with Iran. Even Mohammad ElBaradei, the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency chief, is losing patience and told the French parliament last Thursday that the world would not wait forever for the Islamic republic to divulge the full extent and nature of its nuclear program.

Just last week, Iranian exiles in Brussels revealed that Iran was pursuing two parallel nuclear programs. The public program is used as a camouflage for the main, top secret nuclear project, which works to produce nuclear weapons.

Apparently this top secret nuclear weapons project is being conducted in military bases and under close supervision of Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The same report says that 400 Iranian nuclear scientists working on this project are now being overseen by the Revolutionary Guards to prevent any leak of any kind.

Iran's tactic is to buy more time through more negotiations. It is also demanding that the EU and Russian offer assistance for its nuclear program. The sad part is that Russia and the EU countries such as France, Italy and Germany might actually consider lucrative offers from Iran, as they have done in the past.

Another important tactic by Iran is to get out of the spotlight by cracking fires somewhere else in the world. Iran sent thousands of Revolutionary Guards, intelligence agents and millions of dollars to Iraq to destabilize the country, right on time, when Iran is under immense pressure to come clean for its nuclear power programs.

How long is the world going to tolerate these games from mullahs in Iran?

As the mullahs in Iran are the root of the problem, the world community must severe its ties with Tehran and lend support to the democratic opposition to Tehran. A majority of Iranians displayed their distrust of the mullahs by boycotting the parliamentary elections last February and by frequent protests all over Iran.

Iranians want a UN-monitored referendum on regime change. A free and democratic Iran without mullahs means peace and democracy for the region and a future without fear of terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

The world has to keep the pressure on Iran and not let the issue be overshadowed by developments in Iraq. Iran's dossier has to be sent to the UN Security Council to take effective measures. But no action would be effective in and of itself unless it is coupled with support for a democratic regime in Iran.

Hedayat Mostowfi is the Executive Director for nationwide Committee in Support of Referendum in Iran.

Email Hedayat Mostowfi

Send this Article to a Friend