The retreat of the EU...

You might have already caught this....but is it really surprising?

Britain and its European allies were forced to climb down yesterday after failing to win backing from key nations to take action against Iran over its nuclear programme.

Two days after Britain, France and Germany proposed a resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency that urged members to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for possible punishment, the EU withdrew the document after objections from Russia and China.

Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, said that it was “a significant victory”. A watered-down version faced strong resistance yesterday in Vienna. The issue is expected to be debated further today.