To the Point

UN Nuclear Agency Delivers Ultimatum to Iran

President Bush says the US is on the alert against any nation that-s trying to develop nuclear weapons. Last week, at America-s urging, the International Atomic Energy Agency set October 31 as the deadline for Iran to prove that it-s not conducting a nuclear weapons program. But Iran is resistant to international pressure, especially from the country it calls -the Great Satan,- and which calls it part of an -axis of evil.- If Iran fails to meet next month-s deadline, would that lead to economic sanctions? What are the prospects for the pre-emptive use of force? Could the US and Europe learn to co-exist with another nuclear power? We speak with a journalist in Tehran, an expert in global security and disarmament, a former Iranian ambassador to the UN, and former officials of the State and Defense Departments. Making News: General Accounting Office Issues Warning on Deficit The man who runs the investigative arm of the Congress warned today that the federal deficit is out of control. David Walker, head of the General Accounting Office, said, America needs -a wake-up call.- Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan, budget watch-dog group, says US is building in long-term deficits at a dangerous pace.