By Charles Snow

It was business as usual at the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly as Iranian and Israeli leaders traded recriminations over Iran’s alleged campaign to acquire nuclear weapons. In his curiously low-key speech on 26 September, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad failed to mention Syria at all, instead decrying what he described as the “continued threat by the uncivilized Zionists to resort to military action against our great nation.” The next day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the assembly that “at this late hour, there is only one way to peacefully prevent Iran from getting atomic bombs, that is by placing a clear red line on Iran's nuclear program” – and while Mr Netanyahu was less than specific about the red line he is seeking, he did suggest it must be drawn “before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb,” which, he said, would be by the spring or summer of next year at the current rate of enrichment.

The Iranians responded with a statement saying that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is strong enough to defend itself and reserves its full right to retaliate with full force against any attack.” Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also told the assembly that disagreement over Iran’s nuclear program had reached “a new, crucial stage.” If so, nothing that took place in New York this week did much to move the impasse over Iran’s alleged nuclear intentions any nearer to a resolution