The UN and IAEA should take the initiative to arrange for a tri-partite   agreement between Iran, Israel and the US to ensure that these arrangements are put in place and implemented as early as possible

Iran’s nuclear program is one of the most vexing issues in one of the world’s most unstable regions. While American and European officials believe Tehran is planning to build nuclear weapons, Iran says that its goal in developing a nuclear program is to generate electricity without dipping into the oil supply it prefers to sell abroad, and to provide fuel for medical reactors.

Iran has been saying from the beginning that while it has the capacity to make nuclear explosive devices, it does not intend to develop nuclear bombs.  It has fully demonstrated to the world that it has the capacity to make fissile devices using indigenous nuclear technology and equipment such as centrifuges, etc. Now for the world to be satisfied with these assurances, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) needs to be brought into the picture and Iran should agree to allow them to inspect all its installations to make sure that the country is only developing energy related nuclear devices. This should be accepted by Israel and the US and they should remove or suspend sanctions against Iran.  

Israel should also assure Iran that if the above conditions are fulfilled it will not hold out the threat of a nuclear attack against Iran. This should be verified and certified by the US and they should support suspension of sanctions against Iran.

The UN and IAEA should take the initiative to arrange for a tri-partite   agreement between Iran, Israel and the US to ensure that these arrangements are put in place and implemented as early as possible.

(GV Ramakrishna, IAS and MPA, is former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Disinvestment Commission and former Member of the Planning Commission. Mr Ramakrishna started his career as a biochemist with the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1952, he opted for civil service and the IAS. He was chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh in 1983. In his diplomatic assignments, he was minister of economic affairs at the Embassy in Washington in 1972 and was later India's Ambassador to the European Economic Community (European Union) in 1989. In his varied career he worked for ten years with the Finance Minister. He also worked in the Ministries of Industry, Steel, Coal and Petroleum. He was Advisor in the Planning Commission in 1981 and member in 1994. He was the first Chairman of SEBI and also of Disinvestment Commission.)