Iran's nuclear ambitions continue apace, and they are not without international competitors. On April 9, Iranian officials acknowledged a total of 7,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges currently running, upon which Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triumphantly declared that "today, with the grace of God, Iran is a country controlling the entire nuclear fuel cycle."

As you may recall, Iran used a Safir 2 missile on February 2 to launch a satellite into space, which seems to have prompted North Korea to attempt the same just last week. Even more aggressive was yesterday's order that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors exit North Korea, which would end the global monitoring of a research reactor at Yongbyon, and theoretically allow reprocessing of fuel rods to make plutonium. And the intentions are not opaque. According to today's Wall Street Journal, "North Korea announced a plan to reactivate all its nuclear facilities and resume reprocessing nuclear fuel."

The timing of these developments is no coincidence. North Korea and Iran know better than anyone that President Obama has yet to formulate a clear nuclear policy. This vacuum opens the door for both to leverage their capabilities, the truth of which is secondary to the powers of perception. Monday's report that the U.S. is considering dropping the condition that Iran cease enrichment in order to initiate diplomatic talks may be an indication that Ahmadinejad (at least) has the upper hand.

In an excellent Wall Street Journal piece, AEI scholar Michael Rubin counsels the Obama administration to heed the lessons of the past. Rubin argues that Iran's record makes at least one thing clear: there is no reason to accept what they say at face value. Furthermore, while diplomacy may mean one thing to the U.S., it can mean - or be made to mean - something vastly different to the Islamic Republic.

FDD's Reuel Marc Gerecht reenforces this pointat an even broader levelin today's "Speaking Truth to Muslim Power: Obama does no favors to Islam by ignoring its internal debates." I highly encourage you to read his piece.