Iran's Nuclear Scramble

Iran’s plan to be the nuclear thorn in the world’s side has hit a bump in the road: It’s almost out of yellow cake uranium. The Western powers, including the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, now “have started intensive diplomatic efforts to dissuade major uranium producers from selling to Iran,” according to The Times of London. The move, “while unlikely to cripple any effort to develop a bomb, would blunt its ambitions and help to contain the threat, authoritative sources said.” Lobbying is particularly focused on Kazakhstan, which has 15 percent of the world’s uranium deposits, as well as other countries like Uzbekistan, and the DRC.