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BEIRUT - -Deft diplomacy and regional security woes are driving Iran and the United States toward a deal on Iran's nuclear program, experts say, illustrated by movement Wednesday in talks to transfer most of the Islamic Republic's fissile material abroad to be processed for medical uses. Iranian, American, Russian and French diplomats agreed to a proposal by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, for most of Iran's stockpile of nuclear material to be sent to Russia and France for further processing for an Iranian medical reactor.

SEATTLE -- Facing a secretive nation and its potential nuclear threat in Asia, Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher warned North Korea yesterday of "options other than negotiation" if it continued to resist international inspection of its nuclear sites.While stressing "the U.S. is committed to a diplomatic solution," the secretary of state made clear that the United States soon would press for United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea if it failed to cooperate.At the same time, he said he expected cooperation from China, a North Korean ally with a Security Council veto, if the stepped-up pressure is applied in a "sequential" fashion that stresses negotiation and dialogue first.

If ever there was a time when "see, I told you so" was warranted, it is now as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported last week that Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon. That so many in the State Department over several administrations could deceive themselves into believing claims by the Iranians that their intentions are nothing but peaceful and their sole objective is to develop more sources of electricity for their country reminds me of the Munich Agreement of 1938.

Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran ... Or as Mitt Romney put it, playing the irresponsible-lunatic game convincingly enough to become the leading Republican presidential candidate: "If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. " The consensus congeals: Our next war must be with Iran. A report issued by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, which The New York Times called "chillingly comprehensive" (though this is debatable), stoked this long-simmering agenda.

Iraq's small stock of highly enriched reactor fuel has not been diverted to build a nuclear weapon, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported yesterday. The announcement, which followed a technical examination of the Iraqi uranium by international experts, seemed likely to quash speculation that Baghdad might have built a nuclear explosive device using the reactor fuel.The fuel, 27.6 pounds of 93-percent-pure uranium 235, was salvaged from Iraq's Osirak research reactor in 1981 after an Israeli air raid destroyed the reactor.

PARIS - The International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a resolution yesterday welcoming Iran's promised suspension of its nuclear program but said it would continue to monitor Iran's activities. The resolution came after Iran backed off Sunday from a demand to operate uranium enrichment equipment that could be used either for energy purposes or in a nuclear bomb-making project. The board of the IAEA, the United Nations nuclear monitoring body based in Vienna, Austria, approved the resolution, which recognizes that Iran's suspension of sensitive nuclear activities was "a voluntary, confidence-building measure, not a legal obligation," according to a copy of the resolution posted on the agency's Web site.

LONDON -- Global criticism rained down on Iran yesterday after it broke seals set by the International Atomic Energy Agency on a nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, ending a two-year freeze on activities that Western leaders fear could lead to the building of nuclear weapons. In response, European ministers scheduled an urgent meeting for tomorrow to determine whether to recommend that Iran face proceedings before the U.N. Security Council that could result in economic sanctions. Several governments said the action by Iran's new hard-line government led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was unnecessary and provocative.

VIENNA, Austria - The International Atomic Energy Agency's board failed to agree on language for a resolution yesterday to condemn Iran for concealing its nuclear activities as the top U.S. diplomat and the head of the U.N. watchdog agency traded criticisms. The United States accused the agency of undercutting its credibility by denying that it had uncovered evidence that Iran was seeking atomic weapons. "It will take time to overcome the damage caused to the agency's credibility by this highly unfortunate and misleading `no evidence' turn of phrase," Kenneth Brill, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, told the organization's board of governors.

The latest United Nations report on Iran's nuclear program questioned Tehran's credibility regarding a recently disclosed facility built into a mountain near the holy city of Qom. The International Atomic Energy Agency report issued Monday noted Iran's contention that it began work on the nuclear facility in 2007 in response to Bush administration threats of war as part of a plan to safeguard sensitive "organizations and activities" that could...