It’s difficult to keep up with all the updates about the confrontation between Iran, the U.S., and the rest of the world over Iran’s decision to go ahead with a nuclear program, but by all accounts it appears as though the situation is quickly deteriorating. The latest Associate Press article reports that Iran’s president has “denounced” Western nations for threatening to refer Iran to the United Nations’ Security Council for possible sanctions:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iran’s president said his country has not violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which allows signatories to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel.

“There is no evidence to prove Iran’s diversion (toward nuclear weapons),” Ahmadinejad said at a news conference.

His comments came a day after Iran threatened to end surprise inspections and other cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency if it is referred to the Security Council. Europe and the United States have been trying to build support for such a move, saying more two years of acrimonious negotiations have reached a dead end. But they faced resistance from China, which warned the move could only escalate the confrontation.

Iran insists its program is peaceful, intended only to produce electricity, but the U.S. and others believe it is seeking to develop atomic weapons…

It is interesting to note Iran’s brazen—bordering on downright stupid?—defiance of U.S. demands. We know that one result of the war in Iraq has been to further unify Muslims against the U.S., and as one friend suggested to me, it almost appears as though Iran is trying to goad America into attacking for perhaps the same purpose.