To the Point

Iran's Nuclear Weapons

Rejecting appeals from Germany, France and Britain, Iran has resumed its effort to produce enriched uranium, which can be used for both nuclear reactors and atom bombs. Nobody-s calling for pre-emptive action yet, but Bush administration hardliners are hinting about -destabilizing- the Islamic regime. Meantime, Iran-s Defense Minister warned today that his generals might strike first if they see a threat from the US or Israel. Iran is accused of supporting terrorists, upsetting its neighbors and building nuclear weapons. Will the US demand economic sanctions from the United Nations? Will the European allies go along? Would negotiation work better than confrontation? Warren Olney considers the best way to avoid a crisis with experts on Iran, weapons of mass destruction and disarmament, and a former Middle East specialist for the CIA. Making News: Al-Sadr Given Last Chance to End Insurgency in Najaf Muqtada al-Sadr still has not emerged from the Shrine of Imam Ali. The interim Iraqi government says there will be no more peace negotiations, and that a final assault will begin within hours. We get an update on the tense standoff from Newsweek's Babak Dehghanpisheh and Scott Baldauf of the Christian Science Monitor, who was part of a delegation of journalists that entered the Shrine. Reporter's Notebook: Google Goes Public Sergey Brin and Larry Page are the world-s latest billionaires, at least on paper. The price of $85 a share makes their Internet-search firm worth nearly as much as General Motors at $23 billion. Shares of Google started at $100 today on the Nasdaq Stock Market, $15 higher than the initial offering price. Raymond Hennessy has been watching the action as news editor for Dow Jones and Company, which publishes the Wall Street Journal.