Victories for Bush administration diplomacy are rare these days, and the adoption of a third U.N. Security Council resolution tightening sanctions against Iran is worth celebrating - even though it probably represents more of a belated act of self-defense by the rest of the council than a triumph of U.S. statecraft. True, the resolution ... isn't as strong as the U.S. wanted, it took an entire year, and in the short term, it won't stop a determined Iran from making nuclear weapons. Still, it's an important step in the long-term international campaign to convince Iran's coolest head - Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - the cost to Iran in isolation and lost prestige if it persists with its nuclear program simply will be too high.

Three little-noticed aspects of the U.N. resolution deserve closer scrutiny. First, unlike its two predecessors, Resolution 1803 wasn't sponsored by the United States. It was a European draft (watered down by the Russians and Chinese), and it was French President Nicolas Sarkozy who worked all weekend persuading the four Security Council members who voiced objections on Friday.

Second, the sanctions are narrow, and that's smart.

Third, the evidence of nuclear warhead designs found in an Iranian laptop is said to have stiffened the spines of the Russians, Chinese and Europeans, who genuinely fear an Iranian bomb, but who aren't willing to risk war to prevent it. This resolution finally passed in part because President Bush is so weakened by the latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, by domestic economic woes and by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the Russians, Chinese and Europeans no longer fear he'd attempt to take advantage of a tougher U.N. stance to justify a military attack on Iran in his waning days in office.

- The Los Angeles Times