The Wall Street Journal reports:

Iran rejected any compromise with the West over its nuclear program Wednesday, as blunt comments from the Obama administration over Tehran’s bomb-making capability suggested that the two sides were headed toward a renewed diplomatic crisis. Iran offered Western officials a long-awaited package of proposals to restart negotiations over its nuclear program. But diplomats who viewed the offer Wednesday said the document of fewer than 10 pages essentially ignored questions over Iran’s production of nuclear fuel and instead focused broadly on other international issues. It made no mention of Tehran’s willingness to suspend its uranium-enrichment activities or to enter into substantive talks about the future of its nuclear program, they said.

This will be hard even for Foggy Bottom to spin as anything other than an utter rejection of Obama’s “engagement” offer. They appear unmoved by his restraint during the repression of the Iranian protests. Their hearts were not melted by letters or a video valentine.

And the U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency perked up as well, making “the Obama administration’s strongest comments yet on Iran’s nuclear threat.” The Journal reports:

Speaking at the board meeting of the IAEA in Vienna, Glyn Davies warned on Wednesday that Iran has enough fissile material to produce a nuclear bomb, if Tehran enriches the uranium to weapons-grade level. “Ongoing enrichment activity…moves Iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity,” he said. Iran denied the U.S. allegations.

U.S. officials have made generally similar warnings before, but Mr. Davies’s remarks were the most public and specific. U.S. officials said the comments were made to stress to the international community the need for a united response to Iran’s growing nuclear capabilities.

It seems that, like the North Koreans, the Iranian leaders are immune to Obama’s charms. With no engagement (let alone a first date) in sight, the question turns to what we do next. Can Obama’s smart diplomacy move the Russians and Europeans to enact meaningful sanctions? It seems that Obama must abandon the fantasy that progress must be made on the Palestinian problem before we can address the Iranian threat. (It was never clear why.)

We will see now if, after having been disabused of the fantasy that good manners would induce the mullahs into meaningful discussions, Obama can rally world opinion to change the cost-benefit analysis for the Iranian regime. And if sanctions are not forthcoming, or if they have no impact, Obama then will be faced with a choice that isn’t one of the “false” ones he is fond of deriding—pursue a military option or live with a nuclear-armed Iran (and the threat of Iranian-backed terrorists with access to the same).

Obama is going to chair the Security Council—a dream come true, no doubt, for a citizen of the world. He can raise the issue there with the “international community” he has courted so assiduously. Let’s hope they are more enamored of his invitations than the mullahs.