China concerned over Iran war threat
China expressed concern that a proposed UN resolution to curb Iran’s nuclear programme could lead to a new war and called on Britain and France to eliminate any reference to possible future sanctions or military action against Tehran.
China’s UN Ambassador Wang Guangya remained adamant yesterday in his opposition to putting the resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which sets out actions to respond to threats to international peace and security ranging from breaking diplomatic relations to arms embargoes, economic sanctions and the use of force.
Britain and France, which are sponsoring the resolution with strong backing from the US, insist that the resolution must be under Chapter 7 to make its demand that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment legally binding.
But Wang disagreed, saying China takes the view that all Security Council resolutions are legally binding and there is no need for a reference to Chapter 7 “because Chapter 7 is about enforcement measures”.
“I believe it is time since the Iranians have not co-operated, have not complied, have not responded positively – so I think a Security Council resolution is needed,” he said. “But I think that the resolution has to be (an) appropriate resolution.”
Asked whether he believed that a resolution under Chapter 7 could lead the Security Council further down the path that led to the Iraq war, the Chinese ambassador replied: ”Yes, this is a concern.”
Did this mean China would veto the resolution? “We are not thinking about veto. We are thinking about unifying the whole council,” he said.
Wang spoke to reporters before a meeting of ambassadors from the five veto-wielding permanent nations on the Security Council – the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.
After the meeting, ambassadors said they had scrapped efforts to agree to a resolution before their foreign ministers meet over dinner in New York on Monday evening to discuss the Iran nuclear issue.
Wang and the other ambassadors said the ministerial meeting will focus on longer-range strategic thinking about how to deal with Iran, but with the Security Council resolution still in limbo there is almost certain to be some discussion of its most contentious issues.
“I don’t think it’s a deadlock,” Wang said. “I think after so many days of intellectual exchanges … we all know where the difficult area is. So I do hope that on Wednesday, when the Europeans come back with the revised version, it will certainly cover the concerns of others.”
US Ambassador John Bolton said after an informal council meeting on Saturday afternoon that the US wants a vote this week, with or without Chinese and Russian support.
Yesterday, Bolton told reportrs the supporters are “not going to drop” their effort to adopt the resolution.
“We need to see if there’s movement by Russia and China,” he said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters before a one-on-one meeting with Britain’s new foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, that “this is a time for the international community to come together to say to the Iranians with very great clarity, to say it’s time for Iran to accede to the demands of the international community”.
“The Iranians can have a civil nuclear program, but they need to do so in a way that gives confidence to the international community that they are not seeking a nuclear weapon undercover,” Rice said.
In a separate interview with The Associated Press, Rice dismissed a letter that Iran’s president sent to US President George Bush yesterday, saying the first direct communication from an Iranian leader in 27 years does not help resolve the stand-off over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
“This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort,” the top US diplomat. “It isn’t addressing the issues that we’re dealing with in a concrete way.”
Iran’s parliament threatened on Sunday that if the dispute is not resolved peacefully it will ask the government to withdraw its signature from a protocol to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty allowing for intrusive snap inspections of its nuclear facilities.
According to an unofficial translation of its declaration obtained yesterday by the AP, parliament said returning the nuclear issue to the IAEA “would create a situation where any necessary step in building the confidence - including the consideration of the ratification of the additional protocol - will be included in the agenda of the parliament”.
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