As representatives of Iran and Iraq sat at the ends of a horseshoe-shaped table at the United Nations Security Council last week, they looked almost like schoolboys about to be disciplined. They stared straight ahead as Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar announced that after eight years of war and a million or more casualties, Iran and Iraq had agreed to end all hostilities on Aug. 20. The two sides, he added, would begin peace talks in Geneva five days later.
Although the session lasted only 15 minutes, it underscored the new power and respect that the U.N. has recently won as...
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