U.S. Hails IAEA Decision on Iran Referral
Saturday September 24, 2005 9:46 PM
AP Photo XPZ102
By GEORGE JAHN
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The U.N. atomic watchdog agency Saturday put Iran
just one step away from referral to the Security Council unless Tehran
eases suspicions about its nuclear activities in coming months - a move
the United States has been pushing for years.
The chief U.S. delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency hailed
the decision, describing it as a wake-up call for Tehran ``to come clean''
or face the consequences.
But his Iranian counterpart blasted the approval of the resolution and
warned of retaliation. Tehran maintains its nuclear program is for
generating electricity.
The decision by the 35-nation board represented a victory for Washington,
which asserts Iran has nuclear weapons ambitions. For more than two years,
it has failed to enlist board support to haul Iran before the council for
allegedly violating commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
``The international community is ... not satisfied with the level of
confidence-building measures Iran has so far taken,'' IAEA chief Mohamed
ElBaradei said.
Saturday's decision was far from unanimous, though. Only 22 of the 35
board nations voted for the U.S.-backed European Union motion.
Twelve nations abstained, including Russia and China, which are
veto-wielding members of the Security Council, diplomats said. The others
were developing nations.
Those supporting the resolution included the United States, European
countries, Canada, Australia and Japan. They were joined by India, Peru,
Singapore and Ecuador, reflecting some support in the developing nations'
camp.
Javier Solana, the chief EU foreign policy official, welcomed the board's
``broad support'' and said it left the door open to negotiations with
Tehran.
Venezuela cast the only vote against. On Friday, Foreign Integration
Minister Gustavo Marquez told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency that
powerful countries with nuclear energy programs were unfairly keeping
others from developing their own.
The resolution called on the board to consider reporting Iran at a future
meeting. As grounds, it mentioned noncompliance with the nuclear arms
control treaty and suspicions that Iran's nuclear activities could
threaten international peace and security.
Diplomats from countries backing the resolution said it set Iran up for
referral as early as November, when the board next meets in regular
session, unless it dispels international concerns.
Outlining what Iran must do to avoid such action, the draft called on it
to give IAEA experts access to nuclear-related documents and sites,
suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and ratify an
inspection agreement with the IAEA.
Iran last month resumed uranium conversion - a precursor of uranium
enrichment, which can make material for either nuclear fuel or the fissile
core of warheads.
The chief U.S. representative to the meeting, Gregory Schulte, said the
approval reflected board concern over Iran's ``long history of concealment
and deception.''
In opting for referral, the board is ``concerned that Iran's activities
pose an increasing threat to international peace and security,'' Schulte
said. ``The IAEA has called on Iran to ... come clean.''
But Iran's delegation head, Javad Vaeidi, said the vote was evidence
``there is no consensus on the way forward.'' He also warned, ``Threat
invokes threat.''
Tehran already warned Friday that if the resolution was approved, it could
respond by starting uranium enrichment - a possible path to nuclear arms -
and by reducing IAEA powers to inspect its activities under the additional
agreement it signed but had not yet ratified.
Both threats were contained in unsigned letters and shown by a member of
the Iranian delegation to ElBaradei, diplomats accredited to the agency
said on condition of anonymity because their information was confidential.
The Security Council could impose sanctions if it determines that Iran
violated the treaty, but the draft did not mention sanctions in
recognition of Russian and Chinese opposition.
A nation's failure to comply with the nonproliferation treaty is automatic
grounds for a report to the Security Council under IAEA statutes, and the
draft said ``Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations ...
constitute noncompliance.''
Additionally, Iran's spotty record on cooperating with an IAEA
investigation that began in 2002 has led to an ``absence of confidence
that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes,'' the
document said.
That finding puts Iran ``within the competence of the Security Council, as
the organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security,'' the text said.
The Europeans for years avoided U.S. demands for support in its push to
haul Iran before the Security Council. They reluctantly swung behind
Washington last month after Tehran effectively walked away from talks with
Britain, France and Germany meant to reduce suspicions about its nuclear
aims and began uranium conversion.
---
Associated Press reporter Andrea Dudikova contributed to this report.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5300275,00.html
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