Immediately after the International Atomic Energy Agency welcomed Iran's offer to suspend uranium enrichment while negotiating with Britain, France, and Germany over a long-term nuclear deal, Iran's chief negotiator, Hassan Rohani, declared, "We have proved that, in an international institution, we are capable of isolating the U.S

* Immediately after the International Atomic Energy Agency welcomed Iran's offer to suspend uranium enrichment while negotiating with Britain, France, and Germany over a long-term nuclear deal, Iran's chief negotiator, Hassan Rohani, declared, "We have proved that, in an international institution, we are capable of isolating the U.S.

And that is a great victory." Unfortunately, Rohani is right: This latest European diplomatic "breakthrough" allowed Iran to avoid facing the Security Council, and now the U.S. has to sit on the sidelines while Europe buys the mullahs more time. Iran will almost certainly continue to pursue weapons clandestinely, as it would even in the unlikely event that a long-term deal went through. If the Europeans believe otherwise, they are delusional. More likely, they are so desperate to prove they can take care of world problems without using force--unlike those cowboys in Washington--that they are willing to be strung along by the mullahs indefinitely (they have been negotiating to no avail since August 2003). This could have dire consequences. In Iran, the world may soon face a nuclear-armed terror state. Phony diplomatic deals will only delay the day of reckoning--if that.