I.A.E.A. CHIEF AND IRAN.

Iran's ambition to procure nuclear weapons is something that has to occupy the minds of lawmakers in Congress and the officials of the Obama administration, just as much as the Afghanistan troops debate and the health care reform question.

Even after the censure by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) last Friday in Vienna, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, "with 25 nations backing a resolution demanding that Tehran immediately freeze construction of its newly revealed nuclear facility and heed Security Council resolutions to stop uranium enrichment", Iran continues with its intransigence on coming clean with its nuclear program.

Its chief delegate Ali Asghar Soltanieh to the IAEA declared that "his country would resist pressure, resolutions, sanction(s) and threat of military attack.", so long as the nuclear program Iran was pursuing was for peaceful purposes. The IAEA resolution criticized Iran for defying a U.N.Security Council ban on uranium enrichment--the source of both nuclear fuel and fissile core of warheads--as the organization's chief Mohamed ElBaradei has consistently said, he could not confirm that "Tehran's nuclear program is exclusively geared toward peaceful uses."

He expressed "serious concern" in that regard, and continued by saying, "Iran's stonewalling of a IAEA probe means, the possibility of military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program, cannot be excluded.", according to media reports.

However, that was the question; and not many countries believed any assurances that the Iranian authorities were putting out to refute the allegations that Iran's ultimate goal was to make nuclear bombs, and if so, the situation should not be acceptable to the U.S. and its allies, particularly with its (Iran's) threats to annihilate Israel, in view.

Israel was also adding to its arsenal, as announced earlier this week, to protect itself from any kind of attack that would be unleashed by its enemies, and therefore there was the continued insecurity adding to the "tug of war" that has prevailed in the Middle East for so long.

The U.S. has rebuked Iran since the vote by the IAEA of 25 to 3, with the backing from Russia and China to pass the resolution; yet, Iran has continued to be adamant. Therefore, the White House must not stop applying pressure on Iran to comply with U.N. and IAEA resolves, for the sake of a safe and peaceful world.

Take heed, Iran.