With the caveat that they have to prove that their intention isn’t to produce nuclear weapons.

President Barack Obama suggested that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy _ provided it proves by the end of the year that its aspirations are peaceful.

In a BBC interview broadcast Tuesday, he also restated plans to pursue direct diplomacy with Tehran to encourage it set aside any ambitions for nuclear weapons it might harbor.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity. But the U.S. and other Western governments accuse Tehran of seeking atomic weapons.

“What I do believe is that Iran has legitimate energy concerns, legitimate aspirations,” Obama said, adding that the international community also “has a very real interest” in preventing a nuclear arms race.

The president has indicated a willingness to seek deeper international sanctions against Tehran if it does not respond positively to U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program. Obama has said Tehran has until the end of the year to show it wants to engage with Washington.

A few problems.

First of all, giving Iran until the end of the year to even show that it eventually has intentions to engage with Washington is just buying the Islamic Republic time to produce a nuke. Intelligence officials are now estimating that Iran will have enough material for a bomb by, you guessed it, the year’s end. Then what happens? We’ll be told that we’ll have to live with a nuclear Iran with a whole new bargaining chip.

Second, Iran has absolutely no need for nuclear power. The country is quite literally sitting on an ocean of oil. Tehran could’ve built quite a few refineries with all of the money and time they’ve invested in their nuclear program. But, of course, it’s not running a nuclear program to produce nuclear energy. Iran’s intention is to become a nuclear power in the Middle East, sparking an arms race and giving the Mullahs a grand bargaining chip.

President Obama’s seeming lack of interest in stopping Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is beyond troubling. He appears more interested in running General Motors from the Oval Office than doing his Constitutional duty in protecting this country. National security is an afterthought to him.