[The following, by Kenneth Bandler, is crossposted from Z Word.]

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) representatives visited Sudan this week to discuss the African nation's plans to build at least one nuclear reactor by 2020. The ambitious scheme, which oil-producing Sudan claims would be purely for civil use to produce electricity, is the latest in Arab nuclear initiatives, paralleling Iran's highly controversial program.

What distinguishes Sudan, however, is the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment, issued last year, against the country's president, Omar Al-Bashir, for crimes against humanity and atrocities in Darfur. The global outcry over the Al-Bashir regime's horrific human rights violations should give the IAEA pause before assisting Sudan's nuclear program.

Last month the ICC issued a second arrest warrant for Al-Bashir, adding the charge of genocide. No doubt this action was partially in response to the Arab League and African Union rejection of the original ICC indictment. Several countries, such as Chad, Iran and Libya, have openly welcomed Al-Bashir on official visits.

Sudan's defiance of the international community regarding Darfur, its close alliance with Iran, which even the IAEA has concluded is likely assembling the materials for a nuclear weapon, and its continuing denial of the ICC genocide charges, together should be more than enough to mobilize international action against any Sudanese nuclear aspirations.

What should be of particular concern to the IAEA, as well as the UN Security Council, is the Iran-Sudan alliance. As Al-Jazeera reported, "Iran is prepared to transfer the experience, knowledge and technology of its scientists," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian leader, told visiting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in March.

At least one country is watching Sudan closely. In January 2009, Israel reportedly carried out an air strike on a 23-truck convoy in Sudan that was carrying Iranian arms intended for Hamas in Gaza.

That incident indicates what might transpire if Iran does succeed in manufacturing nuclear weapons and decides not to use a bomb itself, but to transfer it to equally radical regimes or even to terrorist organizations. The IAEA should make clear that there is no need for a nuclear program in any country as corrupt and criminal as Sudan.