Transparency is necessary

SWITZERLAND has five nuclear plants. No one loses any sleep over them. The plants generate 40 per cent of the country's electricity supply. End of story. Now turn to Iran. There, its leaders say that they too are building a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes. But if a country whose gas and oil reserves are among the largest on

earth needs nuclear power, the rest of the world is in trouble. Every nation outside Opec might as well start planning nuclear power plants. The difference between Iran and Switzerland (or for that matter, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Finland for starters) is that while the latter is beyond any suspicion, Teheran challenges credulity with every assertion it makes.

Of course, nuclear technology isn't exclusively for rich nations or the West. Every nation has a right to its peaceful use. Still, the international community needs the assurance that no new country is seeking to join the nuclear-weapons club. But nothing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says offers this comfort. 'It is worth it to stop other activities for 10 years and focus only on the nuclear issue,' he has said. It's an unstoppable train without brakes or reverse gears, he has explained. Such talk, while in control of so much oil and so much gas, does little to convince that Iranian atoms are meant only to power light bulbs and run factories. Indeed, while the focus last month, when the International Atomic Energy Agency released its report on the country, was on Teheran expanding its uranium enrichment programme, just as important was that the IAEA noted that the country still had issues from past nuclear activities to be cleared up. There is much that is unclear, and this naturally sparks wariness. Mr Ahmadinejad would do well to take note of former president Mohammad Khatami's remarks that the outside world needs reassurance over Iran's nuclear programme. This was as much what Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong is reported to have communicated to the country's leadership during his visit last week. For without this, the world is not unreasonable to be cautious.

New UN sanctions that are scheduled to be debated may help change Teheran's mind. But we emphasise the word 'may'. Indeed, what's perhaps more important is to let Iran better understand that this is not the final word. If all the major powers resolve to meet any Iranian intransigence with further measures, Teheran eventually can be drawn back to negotiations. Its people are weary of sanctions, and at some point the leadership must acknowledge this. Getting to that point, however, won't be easy and will require much more hard work.