The World Community: Is it on Crack?

Iran made a friend (China) at the UN today by sharing its oil!

First things first: besides the obvious reasons, why is Iran becoming so determined to force a showdown on the issue of nuclear weapons?

The IRGC leadership is widely viewed in Iran to be employing the nuclear
stand-off as a vehicle to encroach further into the political sphere. As the
constitution prohibits serving IRGC staff from running for office, a number of
retired officials from its ranks have recently been appointed to senior
positions or elected to the Majlis. There has even been speculation that IRGC
could field its own candidate for the 2005 presidential elections. Further
political influence, combined with its full control over Iran's nuclear and
ballistic missile programmes, could make the IRGC the most formidable obstacle
to a transformation of Iran's foreign policy.

Hmmm...okay...so turning to everyone else...
(via LGF)
On the heels of the US election, China, Russia and EU have all backed off the efforts to disarm Iran. Why?

Iran wins key backing from China in nuclear stand-off

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran was given crucial backing from China in its
stand-off with the UN's nuclear watchdog, with Beijing saying it opposed US
efforts to have the Islamic republic referred to the United Nations Security Council.

Russia, makes no bones about what it wants, being the perenial broke ass at the UN:

Russia, another permanent and veto-wielding Security Council member, has
also voiced its strong opposition to Iran's case being referred there by the
IAEA. The country is helping Iran build its first nuclear power plant in a deal
worth some 800 million dollars.

But China's involvement, and the EU's recent 'turn-tail' on the issue is puzzling. It's true that the EU and China have been coordinating their efforts on the world stage, but what are their motives? Is it to catch Bush off guard? Do they have a joint interest in the oil? China, for sure, has been attempting to secure its own oil supply for a while, because of its rising consumer demand....the EU might have similar motives, or more accurately, Total Elf Fina has similar motives:

On Thursday, Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot said the Europeans were offering "a
bunch of carrots" as incentives for Iran to abandon uranium enrichment. The
biggest, he said, was resumption of a trade agreement

ahhhh...I see. It would be for the benefit of the Iranians to resume trade. I see.

Oh boy, be ready for the latest installment of :
"UN Security Council: The Talking Shop Without Results"...