UN deadline on Friday for Iran
ArabTimesOnline
10.30.2003
VIENNA (AFP) - Iran is facing an international deadline on Friday to prove to the United Nations nuclear watchdog it is not secretly making atomic weapons, with UN sanctions a possibility if it fails to comply. Although nothing definitive will happen Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is to begin writing a report on Iranian compliance, with the matter to be considered at an IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna on November 20.
The IAEA had on September 12 imposed the October 31 deadline on Iran to provide full disclosure of its nuclear program. At stake is whether the IAEA judges Iran to be in non-compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and sends the issue to the UN Security Council, which could then impose punishing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the United States, which has said Iran is part of an "axis of evil" of proliferating rogue states, expects Tehran to meet its international commitments. "They need to follow through on what they've committed to do," he said. Iran seized the diplomatic initiative when it delivered a report to the IAEA October 23 that it said answered all the agency's questions, just a week ahead of the deadline.
The IAEA has been investigating Iran's nuclear program since February but Tehran only issued the report after reaching an agreement with three leading EU foreign ministers. Iran admits in the report to failures in honoring nuclear safeguards commitments, Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's representative to the IAEA, said last week.
Salehi said the failures involved "some lab tests" but he said they were "not significant" and that "it is 100-percent clear that Iran has never been involved in anything that would indicate it was involved in a nuclear weapons program." The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany had come to Tehran October 21 to persuade Iran to come clean on its nuclear program and allow tougher inspections of nuclear sites.
Diplomats close to the IAEA said these three countries would now be in Iran's corner when the IAEA board of governors meets. The United States has already said that Iran is in non-compliance, charging it with dodging international safeguards controls by secretly trying to find ways to enrich uranium. But, said one Western diplomat, "the three (European) nations think Iran is willing to carry out some sort of commitment and should be encouraged."
In addition, it would take the IAEA "months, if not years" to verify information from Iran, if the IAEA judged that the report was a sincere and serious effort. This would seem to weaken the US hand in seeking condemnation of Iran. But a senior Western diplomat said that if "the Iranians are truly coming clean then they will have to report to the board and therefore to the world a number of activities that would be in clear violation of their safeguards obligations."
"That would suggest there will be grounds for a non-compliance resolution," the diplomat said. But others said this logic will not work if Iran does give facts on its program and then shows good faith by signing a protocol allowing unrestricted and unannounced inspections. Iran has said it will in the coming days inform the IAEA of its intention to sign the protocol.
Iran has also promised to suspend enrichment that can produce highly enriched uranium useable for nuclear fuel but also to make atomic bombs. Salehi said Iran was currently working through the modalities of suspending enrichment and that a halt was "probably a matter of weeks, maybe before or after the (next IAEA) board meeting".
A Western diplomat said "this talk of modalities raises concern that the Iranians may in fact be dragging out a process that could be resolved in a short amount of time." Another diplomat, however, said Iran had time. "Apparently the Iranians have made the choice at a very high level to cooperate with the IAEA," he said. The key is to see "how this translates into action," the diplomat said.
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/breakingnews/view.asp?msgID=3414U.S. Would Be Open to Limited Iran Talks
The Guardian
By TERENCE HUNT
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is open to talks with Iran on a limited basis, the Bush administration said Wednesday while insisting that any improvement in relations would require Tehran to hand over terror suspects.
Even as the administration raised the prospect of a dialogue, the United States said it would be watching to see if Iran complied with a Friday deadline to prove that its nuclear program is peaceful under terms set by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
``Our feeling has been and continues to be that they are not in compliance with their nonproliferation obligations and that, under those circumstances, the matter as a matter of course should be referred to the (United Nations),'' said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
The administration is debating whether to soften its hardline attitude toward Iran, a nation that President Bush branded as part of an ``axis of evil'' along with North Korea and prewar Iraq. Concern about Iran's nuclear program has aggravated U.S. suspicions about Tehran.
A day after an administration official signaled a more conciliatory approach, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, ``Our policy towards Iran remains the same.
``We are continuing to insist that they abide by their international obligations on nonproliferation, that they stop supporting terrorism and that they turn over to the countries of origin the al-Qaida terrorists that they are now harboring,'' McClellan said.
McClellan's comments followed testimony Tuesday by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said, ``We are prepared to engage in limited discussions with the government of Iran about areas of mutual interest, as appropriate. We have not, however, entered into any broad dialogue with the aim of normalizing relations.''
McClellan called attention to Bush's comments earlier this month about Iran. ``He (Bush) said that Iran must change its course, change its behavior'' particularly with regard to terrorism, McClellan said.
``If they could resolve that issue, it would be an important step in our relations,'' the spokesman said. ``But we cannot move forward without that step. There are still serious concerns we have with Iran and they need to address.''
In Iran, government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said that if the United States wants better relations, it could start by ending accusations that Iran supports terrorism. ``They have to avoid making irrelevant accusations against us,'' he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3325268,00.html