Here we go again, as Iran moves back into the “cheat” phase of their cheat-and-retreat nuclear shell game, aided and abetted by hopelessly weak-minded diplomats: Diplomats: Iran Resumes Nuclear Program.

VIENNA, Austria - Iran has broken the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s seals on centrifuge equipment and resumed building the devices, which are key to making nuclear weapons, in a show of defiance against international efforts to monitor its program, diplomats said Tuesday.

The United States and its allies accuse Iran of working on a weapons program, something Tehran denies. It says its centrifuges are part of a nuclear program aimed solely at producing energy.

Under international pressure last year, the Islamic republic agreed to stop enriching uranium and making centrifuges used for enrichment. But after the International Atomic Energy Agency rebuked it in June for not being open enough about its nuclear program, Tehran responded by saying it would end the suspension on building centrifuges.

The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that several weeks ago, Iranian officials broke IAEA seals on the equipment and restarted the process of assembling and installing centrifuges.

The diplomats cautioned against equating Iran’s move with the removal of IAEA seals on nuclear equipment by North Korea two years ago as it expelled agency inspectors and declared itself no longer bound by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The agency was informed of Iran’s decision to break the seals, which — unlike in North Korea — “were not a legal requirement” on the part of Tehran, one of the diplomats told The Associated Press.

Iran still was respecting its pledge not to resume nuclear enrichment, which can be used to generate power or make warheads, said the diplomat, who is familiar with Tehran’s nuclear dossier.

So if I understand these nameless diplomats correctly, just because Iran has broken promise after promise and agreement after agreement, we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions about their nuclear ambitions.

My own take is that Iran is a lot closer to having operable nuclear weapons than anyone wants to admit, and in fact, may have at least one or two already. In every case where secret nuclear programs have been discovered—Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, North Korea—the so-called experts have been forced to admit—after the fact—that the programs were much more advanced than they had believed.

And yet, in each case, they were shocked by the discovery.