UN nuclear diplomats debate solution to Iran crisis
Diplomats at the UN nuclear watchdog agency were debating a draft resolution today that expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s resumption of uranium conversion but left open the possibility of more talks on the crisis.
The resolution said the agency cannot confirm that Tehran has declared all its nuclear materials and activities.
But it made no mention of reporting the regime to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose crippling sanctions.
The text, which was to be reviewed later today by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors, noted that "outstanding issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme have yet to be resolved and that the agency is not yet in a position to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran".
It expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s resumption of uranium conversion this week at its nuclear facility at Isfahan, saying the move “underlines the importance of rectifying the situation … and of allowing for the possibility of further discussions in relation to that situation.”
The measure requested IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to provide the board with a comprehensive report on Iran’s compliance with an agency safeguards agreement by September 3.
Negotiations on how to rebuke Iran started on Tuesday when the board met for an emergency session. A meeting tentatively planned for yesterday was postponed to give delegates more time for informal talks.
Although the IAEA board has the power to report Tehran to the Security Council, which can impose economic and political sanctions on the regime, diplomats made clear they were not considering that step – widely seen as a last resort – and instead were holding out hope for a negotiated end to the stand-off.
Uranium enrichment was a sticking point at the IAEA talks, with some member states arguing that no countries should be barred from doing it for peaceful purposes. Highly enriched uranium can be used to make weapons. Enriched to a lower level, uranium is used to produce energy.
Yesterday, agency inspectors watched as Iranian workers removed IAEA seals at a uranium conversion plant in Isfahan. Workers were set to resume the final steps of conversion, a process that precedes enrichment. Some conversion activities were resumed on Monday.
In the past, the IAEA board has said the suspension was a voluntary but necessary confidence-building measure to alleviate concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme.
“This should (in) no way be seen as an endorsement,” IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said of the removal of the seals. A surveillance system allowing the agency to keep track of nuclear material at the plant had been installed, she said.
Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. But the US and others fear Iran could use its programme to build bombs – concerns fuelled by past revelations that Iran concealed 18 years of nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment.
Matthew Boland, a spokesman for the US mission to the IAEA, called the breaking of the seals “yet another sign of Iran’s disregard for international concerns”.
“We strongly support (Germany’s, Britain’s and France’s) efforts to convince Iran to stop its dangerous activities,” he said.
The European Union said in a statement it does “not believe that Iran has any operational need to engage in fissile material production activities … if the intentions of its nuclear programme are exclusively peaceful.”
But Iran’s chief IAEA delegate, Sirus Nasseri, argued earlier that all countries should be permitted to produce their own nuclear power plant fuel to prevent being “dependent on an exclusive cartel of nuclear fuel suppliers – a cartel that has a manifest record of denials and restrictions for political and commercial reasons.”
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the Iranians to continue discussions with the three European Union nations and urged all parties not to take any actions that would further escalate the situation.
“I think it is essential that we break this current impasse. And I believe the best way to break the impasse is to continue the discussions, the EU three with the Iranians,” he told reporters yesterday.
Iran had suspended uranium conversion and enrichment under an agreement with the three EU countries. Enrichment remained suspended.
On Saturday, Tehran rejected the latest EU offer of economic and political incentives, but has said it still wanted to continue with the talks, expected to continue later this month.
