Iran was denied a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi griped that awarding Japan the non-permanent Asian seat was a “blatant injustice.” It has been 52 years since Iran had a seat at the table.
Sarah Stern and Ari Rudolph argued in the Fall 2008 issue of inFOCUS that diplomatic isolation is one way to deter Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Indeed, diplomacy coupled with the threat of force could be effective. However, as Jonathan Schanzer noted in the Summer 2007 issue of inFOCUS, the threat of force is futile if Iran believes America will not follow through on military threats.
Iran’s UNSC rejection is a small win for the West. However, only a cocktail of painful punishments will deter Iran from its path of aggression and its nuclear ambitions.