And now that we've dutifully exhausted diplomacy, is the world allied to us?

ElBaredei's last word on Iran: 'We have . . . reached a dead end'

Outgoing IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei last week confirmed that Iran had violated its obligation to the U.N. nuclear watchdog by failing to notify the agency of its secret nuclear facility at Qom.

ElBaradei said told the board of governors that there was "no movement" on resolving the issue of Iran's nuclear program and thus we unable to conclude that the program is not for producing nuclear arms.

"We have effectively reached a dead end, unless Iran engages fully with us," he said.

Iran notified the agency in September that it was constructing a uranium enrichment facility in Qom that will contain 16 cascades of about 3,000 centrifuges. "The facility is at an advanced stage of construction and Iran plans to make it operational in 2011. Iran stated that construction of the plant was part of its efforts to protect sensitive nuclear activities against attack by using 'passive defense systems.'"

Iran failed to notify the agency of the existence of the facility until September 2009 instead of as soon as the decision was made to build it and the action is "inconsistent" with Tehran's safeguards agreement.

"Iran´s late declaration of the new facility reduces confidence in the absence of other nuclear facilities under construction in Iran which have not been declared to the Agency.

The declaration by ElBaradei will likely signal the end of the Obama administration's diplomatic initiative to engage Iran on its nuclear program. The next step is likely to be the imposition of economic sanctions against Iran.