Posted on 11/29/2004 6:15:28 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -
1129iran The U.N. nuclear agency agreed Monday on a plan for policing Iran's nuclear programs designed to avoid a showdown at the United Nations. But Iran's representative immediately raised questions about the wording of the pact, and the United States said it retained the right to take the case to the U.N. Security Council on its own.
U.S. chief delegate Jackie Sanders listed more than a dozen open questions about Iran's past nuclear activities still before the International Atomic Energy Agency, despite a nearly two-year investigation.
"This makes it clear that the IAEA cannot ... offer the necessary assurances that Iran is not attempting to produce nuclear material for weapons," she told the agency's board of directors.
Sanders spoke shortly after the board passed a toned-down resolution authorizing IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei to monitor Iran's commitment to freeze uranium enrichment activities that can produce either low grade nuclear fuel or the raw material for atomic weapons.
The issue of what's included in the suspension of activities had dominated the meeting since it opened Thursday, with the Iranian insistence on exempting some equipment forcing the meeting to continue Monday, after a weekend adjournment.
The United States - which has labeled Iran part of an "axis of evil" with North Korea and prewar Iraq - wants the Islamic Republic referred to the Security Council, where it could face sanctions for allegedly violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
"We believe Iran's nuclear weapons program poses a growing threat to international peace and security," Sanders said, alluding to the possibility of a unilateral U.S. push. "Any member of the United Nations may bring to the attention of the Security Council any situation that might endanger the maintenance of international peace and security."
White House press secretary Scott McClellan urged vigilance, telling reporters in Washington "the implementation and verification of the agreement is critical."
"We will see, as time goes by, if they are now finally going to comply in full," McClellan said.
France, Germany and Britain, who negotiated a Nov. 7 agreement with Iran on the suspension, came to the meeting saying the deal meant that all equipment used for enrichment must be at a standstill. Iran, which insists its nuclear program is peaceful, had demanded it be allowed to run 20 centrifuges for research.
Seeking to avoid tough measures by the board that could have led to referral to the Security Council, Iran delivered a letter to the agency Sunday pledging "not to conduct any testing with these sets of components."
Hossein Mousavian, the chief Iranian delegate to the meeting said the commitment meant "we are not going to introduce material or any gas" into the centrifuges - a pledge that seemed to fall short of the European demands.
Later, Iranian delegate Cyrus Nasseri appeared to move closer to the European interpretation, telling reporters Iran "will not" run even empty centrifuges.
The enrichment process involves introducing uranium hexafluoride gas into centrifuges that then spin them to low-level nuclear fuel or highly enriched uranium used in the core of nuclear warheads.
Delegates to the meeting - including senior diplomats with nuclear expertise - suggested the contradictory language was meant to ease fears among Iranian hard-liners that Tehran gave up too much in exchange for a resolution that didn't even include an indirect mention of possible Security Council referral.
That lack of a "trigger mechanism" beginning the referral process in case of violations disappointed the United States - which insists Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons.
The deal with the Europeans commits the Iranians to the freeze only during negotiations with France, Germany and Britain on economic, political and technological aid from the 25-nation European Union. Those talks are set to start in mid-December.
But ElBaradei urged Iran to keep suspension in place as long as possible. That, he said, was needed "to mitigate the confidence deficit" in Iran, its record of past clandestine activities and continued reluctance to fully cooperate with an agency probe of its nuclear agenda.
The proposed deal also commits Iran to a pledge not to reprocess plutonium - which it would be able to do in several years' time, once it completes work on a heavy water reactor in the city of Arak.
With the EU deal envisaging a light-water reactor for Iran - from which extraction of weapons-grade nuclear material is difficult - diplomats said the Europeans hoped Iran would not complete its heavy-water facility.
---
On the Net:
International Atomic Energy Agency, http://www.iaea.org
--
"We will see, as time goes by, if they are now finally going to comply in full," McClellan said"
I have your answer now......NO
And how is this plan going to topple the regime?
The UN is more like "tits on a ......" Why do we even bother with this den of thieves?
"We will see, as time goes by, if they are now finally going to comply in full," McClellan said"
So, what are they gonna do when Iran DOESN'T comply? Send them a letter explaining how angry they are? What a joke.
Good question.
Which you cut though all the diplomatic BS, the conclusion that the EU is Iran's B!t@h is inescapable.
ElBaradei will fail exactly as he did in DPRNK when Blix was his boss. This is exactly the kind of UN resolution that causes NOTHING but grief.
Oh, I feel much better now since the IAEA is monitoring the Iranians. < /sarcasm>. I don't trust El Baradei any farther than I can throw him.
... - diplomats said the Europeans hoped Iran would not complete its heavy-water facility
The enrichment process involves introducing uranium hexafluoride gas into centrifuges that then spin them to low-level nuclear fuel or highly enriched uranium used in the core of nuclear warheads.
The contradictions in these statements are extraordinary.
Basic physics.
If you use heavy water (D2O), then you do NOT need enriched uranium at all. Heavy water reactors, such as the Canadian CANDU reactor, use natural uranium. So why the enriching centrifuges at all???
The only possible explanation for BOTH enrichment centrifuges and heavy water is a weapons program.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.