September 12, 2007 (LPAC)--The U.S., Britain and the European Union failed to turn yesterday's meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into a "showdown" against Iran, with a large fraction of the 35-member Board of Governors continuing to support Agency head Mohammed ElBaradei in his recommendations to continue negotiations in good faith with Iran.

So, now the Cheney-acs are reportedly pursuing a two-track confrontation with Iran: (1), a military strike against the Revolutionary Guard, and other locations in Iran, based on the hyped-up allegations that Iran is behind terrorism in Iraq; and, (2), going to the United Nations to push for more crippling economic sanctions, paired with a UN sanctioned clause in a resolution that would allow a military strike over Iran's refusal to give up enriching uranium for peaceful purposes.

After failing to get the Board of Governors to reject ElBaradei's recommendations, the Bush administration announced today, through State Dept. spokesman Sean McCormack, that it would host a meeting on Sept. 21 to discuss "broadening U.N. sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend nuclear activity," reported Reuters. The meeting will include the U.S., United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France (the "Permanent Five" members of the UN Security Council), plus Germany, and will be "centered largely on a discussion of what sanctions will be included" in a new U.N. Council resolution, said McCormack. But, U.S. intelligence sources have told EIR New Service that China is prepared to block any new sanctions, and it is possible that a Security Council effort to block Iran's nuclear energy enrichment program could even fail to get the required number of votes.