"A Lot of Hype"

The United Nations atomic energy chief Mohamed ElBaradei has spoken out against earlier French comments concerning war with Iran:

The United Nations nuclear watchdog chief has warned against the hasty use of force over Iran's nuclear programme after the French foreign minister said the world needs to prepare for the possibility of war.

Bernard Kouchner said in an interview broadcast on French television and radio: "We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war."

Mohammed ElBaradei dismissed Kouchner's comments as "a lot of hype" at an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference on Monday. "We need always to remember that use of force could only be resorted to when ... every other option has been exhausted," he said.

"There is a UN charter and there are rules for the international use of force."

Even if military action turns out to be all hype, sanctions could be a reality soon enough. And if the UN decides to get soft on Iran, France and much of the Western world might just deal with it themselves:

France is leading the calls for the European Union to consider new sanctions against Iran, outside of United Nations action.

French pressure has grown since President Nicolas Sarkozy took power in May. But Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday that European countries should prepare their own non-UN sanctions.

If the European Union and United States can do whatever they want outside of the UN, what does it say about the organization's effectiveness?