After several weeks of delay, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors has voted on a resolution calling for Iran to 'come clean' on all aspects of its nuclear program.  The vote is essentially an ultimatum that says unless Tehran opens up all of its nuclear facilities to inspection; the case will be brought before the UN Security Council, which could then impose economic sanctions.

The month—long delay was used by the IAEA itself and certain member countries opposed to economic sanctions to dilute the findings of a previous report on Iran's potential violations of the Nuclear Non—proliferation Treaty (NPT).  The IAEA went so far as to hire a secret group of scientists  to aid in rationalizing the mullahs' deceptions.  Despite the cooperation of the legacy press in muddying the waters, it seems there was more than enough doubt about Iran's suspicious activities.

A total of 22 out of 35 board members voted for European Union motion while 12 abstained.  Voting for the measure were Canada, Australia, Japan, India, Peru, Singapore and Ecuador.  All European members of the Board of Governors voted for the ultimatum, which is not surprising considering they were scammed out of billions of Euros in nuclear fuel reprocessing contracts by Russia and Iran .

The affirmative vote from India is particularly reassuring for  Indo—US cooperation in South Asia.  India has an ever—growing demand for energy, and their IAEA vote reinforces their sincerity vis—à—vis the Indo—US Nuclear Pact signed last July.  India is recognizing its responsibilities in the international coalition to prevent rogue nations from acquiring nuclear weapons.  The US and India now appear to have teamed up to thwart Iran's plans to split off important allies in the War on Terror by using the carrots of cheap energy deals and gas pipeline jobs for Pakistan and India.

The only member nation voting against the resolution was Venezuela, which is also not surprising.  This past spring, the Iranian energy company, Petropars, tendered a bid to run Venezuela's Bidboland gas refinery.  Cooperation with dictator Hugo Chavez would be a logical move for the mullahs in order to gain a lever of influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Iran's non—compliance with the provisions of the NPT could result in referral to the Security Council in November; however, any vote to impose economic sanctions would face a veto from Russia and China.  This would further demonstrate the power and influence of a new Asian alliance working against US national security interests in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Therefore, look for the UN to be once again shown impotent in keeping the lid on the nuclear ambitions of rogue nations.  The Security Council votes in November will tell the tale of who will be in the newly developing alliances, and possibly show that old alliances are being rebuilt.  The battle lines are being drawn anew.

Hat tip: N.S. Rajaram

Douglas Hanson is the national security correspondent of The American Thinker.