Posted on 09/20/2005 6:07:42 PM PDT by mdittmar
Russian opposition delays referral
Confrontation grew Tuesday over a U.S.-European push to haul Iran before the UN Security Council, with Tehran threatening to limit UN inspections, resume ultra-sensitive fuel work and saying it could even be forced to quit the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Speaking in Tehran, Iran's pointman on nuclear issues, Ali Larijani, also said Tehran would base its business dealings with individual countries - especially in the oil sector - on whose side they took in the dispute.
He was speaking as Britain, France and Germany lobbied members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to haul Iran before the UN Security Council over "breaches" of international atomic safeguards.
"If you want to use the language of force, Iran will be left with no choice, in order to preserve its technical achievements, to get out of the framework of the NPT and out of the framework of the additional protocol, and resume enrichment," Larijani warned.
He later elaborated: "If our dossier is sent to the Security Council, we will cease the application of the additional protocol" - a clause that gives reinforced inspection powers to the IAEA. Concerning the NPT, it depends how they will send our case to the Security Council," he said, without elaborating on what precisely could trigger Iran to abandon the cornerstone of the UN's fight against the spread of nuclear arms.
Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and argues that it merely wants to access atomic energy technology as a signatory of the NPT. Nuclear bombs, it asserts, are "un-Islamic."
But enrichment technology can be diverted to produce nuclear weapons, and the country is under mounting U.S. and EU pressure to abandon fuel cycle work altogether.
Larijani also warned that states which lined up with the Europeans and U.S. against Iran would suffer consequences when it came to their involvement with Iran's oil sector.
"Those countries that have economic transactions with Iran, especially in the field of oil, have not defended Iran's rights so far," complained Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
This top decision-making body, he added, was "very determined to make a balance between these two things, so based on how much they defend Iran's national right will facilitate their participation in Iran's economic field."
He did not refer to oil sales by Iran - OPEC's second largest producer - but was later asked if countries like Japan, recently awarded a major contract to develop Iran's Azadegan oil field, could lose contracts.
It is not only Japan but other countries that are concerned. We will examine their attitude," Larijani said.
European negotiators appeared undeterred. Their draft
resolution demanded Iran's referral for alleged "failures and breaches of its obligations to comply" with the NPT.
But Europe appeared caught in the middle by Russian resistance to referral and Washington's opposition to any delay. Board members were discussing a delay on the vote, diplomats said.
Proponents of the Security Council option now only have a slim majority among board nations, but with Russia's backing more support would swing their way, a diplomat said, explaining the rationale for delaying a vote.
The Russians "want a little more time to see how the discussions go on Iran" within the IAEA instead of immediate referral, said another. A third senior European diplomat was more pessimistic, saying Moscow's rejection of referral was "strong and deep." American diplomats declined to comment. But others familiar with U.S. thinking said the Americans were hoping for a vote at the current session and were confident of winning it, even if only by a relatively slim margin.
Still, even U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hinted that while referral was a near certainty, its timing remained uncertain. On Monday, she said only that she was certain Iran would have to answer to the council "at some point in time."
Washington has been pushing to put Iran's suspicious nuclear activities before the Security Council for more than two years.
But forcing a vote on referral risks angering Russia, which along with fellow Security Council member China could then veto any decision on what the UN's top decision-making body should do about Iran.
The draft resolution requests IAEA chief Mohammad al-Baradei report Iran's alleged failure to comply with the provisions of the NPT to the Security Council.
The draft also asks the Security Council to ask Tehran to re-impose a recently broken freeze on uranium conversion, a precursor to enrichment, and allow the IAEA to expand its inspecting powers. - AP, AFP
How very diplomatic of them.
Iran is beginning to sound like North Korea. However, most despots do sound that way. I recall Saddam and Teriq Aziz saying the same.
Boy are they asking for it!
Time to take these kids behind the woodshed for a good old fashioned whipping.
The UN is going to put them on double secret probation.
That does it, Iran is grounded.
save for later
Sounds like MOAB time.
Anyone notice Islamic Jihadis being picky about how they kill innocent people? I sure haven't.
Lets just nuke them now before they have nukes and see what kind of response we get then. I don't want our brace servicemen going into that hell hole.
It's because they know that Russia will not allow SC action any more than France would have with Iraq.
But perhaps they will understand what happened to Saddam even with his UN frog buddies.
Perhaps not.
You are right. It is all a deadly kabuki dance.
Timing is everything.
I just wish someone had the guts to say to the Iran ambassador,
"We have an additional requirement for you. We ask that you, the Iranian ambassador, come before the Security Council publicly and apologize to the world and get down on your knees and grovel and beg for forgiveness on behalf of your country. We further ask that the Iranian President come before us and do the same. And then and only then will we consider what further actions we will take. Are we clear?"
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